PRELIMINARY CENSUS REPORTS SHOWS DECLINE
Grand Junction has taken a significant hit in population since 2000, according to data compiled by the State Data Center Program of the State Library of Iowa. Using data from the 2000 Census conducted by U.S. Census Bureau and preliminary census data from July 1, 2008, the State Library report shows that the population of Grand Junction dropped by 116 residents, from 964 to 848, a 12% decline.
The report indicates that the population downturn was widespread across Greene County, with each community registering percentage declines ranging between -13.6% (Scranton and Churdan) and -9.4% (Paton). Jefferson posted a staggering loss of 482 people, as its population dropped from 4,626 in 2000 to just 4,144 in 2008, a 10.4% decrease.
Rippey declined by 43 residents, from 319 to 276, a 13.5% drop, while Dana was down by 8 residents, from 84 to 76, a 9.5% decline. Estimated populations for the other three towns are Scranton, 522; Churdan, 361; and Paton, 240.
The total population for Greene County in 2008, according to the report, was 9,293 compared with 10,366 in the official 2000 Census. That is a drop of 1,073 people, or a 10.4% decline.
The rural areas of the county did post an increase, however. The combined population of the seven towns decreased by 1,143 (7,280 to 5,867), a 20% drop, but the rural areas grew by 340 (3,086 to 3,426), an 11% increase. This represents a town-to-rural shift from 70/30 in 2008 to 63/37 in 2000.
In the six counties adjacent to Greene, Dallas posted a significant increase while Boone’s was relatively flat. Webster, Calhoun, Carroll and Guthrie counties saw their populations decline. Dallas grew by a staggering 47% from 40,750 in 2000 to 59,930 in 2008. Boone inched up from 26,224 to 26,349, less than 1% growth.
Dallas has been among the fastest-growing counties in the nation the last several years, and Des Moines suburbs Urbandale, Clive and West Des Moines have all extended their boundaries into Dallas County. Yet every town in the county--from big to small--has also show significant growth in the last 10 years. Those closest to the three expanding suburbs saw the biggest increases: Waukee more than doubled in size from 5,126 to 12,367, a 130.6% increase that makes the formerly small Dallas County town a full-fledged Des Moines suburb. In eight years, Waukee has surpassed both Carroll and Perry in size and is closing in on Boone, which saw its population dip from 12,816 to 12,614, a decline of 202 residents (-1.6%). Grimes increased by 64.3% to 8,419 and Granger by 92.7% to 1,054.
In the northern part of the county, Perry grew by nearly 2,000 people (1,934) to 9,569, a 25.3% increase, while Woodward posted an 18.9% increase to 1,202. Bouton, the smallest town in the county, went from 136 to 161, an 18.4% hike. Van Meter and De Soto, two towns in the southern part of the county wedged between the South Raccoon River and the Madison County line, increased by 28.2% and 23.1%, respectively. Van Meter topped the 1,000 mark, increasing from 942 in 2000 to 1,208. De Soto grew from 1,009 to 1,242.
The towns of Dexter, Redfield, Linden and Dawson in western Dallas County also grew. Dexter grew by 193 people to 887, a 27.8% increase; Redfield from 833 to 1,041, a 25% increase; Linden, from 226 to 275, a 21.7% increase; and Dawson from 155 to 163, a 5.2% increase.
In the middle of the county, Dallas Center went from 1,604 to 1.734, an 8.1% increase, and Adel, the county seat, added 993 residents, increasing its population 28.9% to 4,428, which now makes it larger than Jefferson. Minburn grew by 19.9% to 469.
Towns above 1,000 in population seemed to fare the best in the seven-county area, while the smaller communities took the biggest hits. Ogden, Gowrie, Glidden and Coon Rapids saw their populations decline in the 2% to 4% range, while Panora and Stuart in Guthrie County were down just slightly. Panora decreased by 14 people, from 1,175 to 1,161 (-1.2%) and Stuart counts 18 fewer people, moving from 1,721 to 1,703 (-1%).
Surprisingly, two county seat towns were the exception to the 1,000-plus rule. Guthrie Center, the county seat of Guthrie County, posted a 9.1% decline, from 1,668 to 1,517, and Rockwell City, the county seat of Calhoun County, had a population of 2,264 in 2000 but now counts 236 fewer residents, dropping by 10.6% to 1,988.
Overall, Calhoun County had the steepest drop in the area, decreasing by 1,228 residents (11%) to 9,887. Two very small towns in northern Calhoun posted significant decreases, with Jolley dropping by 42.6% (54 down to 31) and Kneirim by 27.1% (70 to 59).
Lohrville, Farnhamville and Somers did not fare much better. Lohrville had a population of 426 in 2000 but that has dropped to 350, a 17.8% decline. Somers went from 165 to 136, a 17.6% shift, and Farnhamville went from 430 to 358, a 16.7% drop. Another town with an under-100 population, Rinard went from 72 to 62, a 13.9% drop.
Calhoun proved to be the inverse of Dallas County, with all the towns posting double-digit percentage decreases, which is especially troubling in the larger towns: Lake City (1,618), -11.4%; Manson (1,657), -12.5%; and Pomeroy (613), -13.7%.
Ralston had the biggest drop in Carroll, Guthrie and Greene Counties, dropping 19.4% (98 to 79). Adair followed at 15%, shrinking from 839 to 713. The largest increase of any town not in the six counties adjacent to Greene with the exclusion of Dallas, was in Berkely, just east of Rippey in Boone County. Berkely, which is a few miles north of the Dallas County border and Perry, increased by three people, from 24 to 27, or 12.5%
Greene County Towns, Population Changes, 2000 to 2008:
Town Pop. '08 +/- change % change
GRAND JUNCTION 848 -116 -12%
Churdan 361 -57 -13.6%
Dana 76 -8 -9.5%
Jefferson 4,144 -482 -10.4%
Paton 240 -25 -9.4%
Rippey 276 -43 -13.5%
Scranton 522 -82 -13.6%
Area Towns with Biggest Population % Increases:
Waukee +130.6% (5,126 to 12,367)
Granger +92.7% (583 to 1,054)
Grimes +64.3% (5,123 to 8,419)
Adel + 28.9% (3,435 to 4,428)
Van Meter +28.2% (942 to 1,208)
Dexter +27.8% (694 to 887)
Perry +25.3% (7,633 to 9,569)
Redfield +25.1% (833 to 1,041)
De Soto +23.1% (1,009 to 1,242)
Linden +21.7% (226 to 275)
Area Towns with Biggest Population % Decreases:
Jolley -42.6% (54 to 31)
Kneirim -27.1% (70 to 59)
Ralston -19.4% (98 to 79)
Lohrville -17.8% (426 to 350)
Somers -16.7% (165 to 136)
Farnhamville -16.7% (430 to 358)
Adair -15% (839 to 713)
Lytton -14.4% (306 to 261)
Scranton -13.6% (604 to 522)
Churdan -13.6% (418 to 361)
EYE ON GJ SAYS: These are pretty significant numbers and they are supported by the changes in school enrollment numbers in the last 10 years, where schools in Dallas County are growing in numbers and adding new infrastructure, and school districts in outlying areas are creating new sharing plans and openly discussing widespread consolidation.
Clearly, Dallas County has been a growth juggernaut. The situation seems to shift the further one moves away from the Des Moines/Ames metro area. Boone County is holding steady, and good-size towns like Fort Dodge in Webster County in Carroll in Carroll County help stabilize those county populations, while Guthrie and Greene counties have seen significant population declines. Yet the situation is much more dire in the areas to the north and northwest of Carroll and Greene, as evidenced by the decline across the board in Calhoun County. The percentage declines are similar across Sac, Ida and Pocahontas counties. In the last several years, the school districts in those three counties have been reconfigured.
Sac County went from four high schools (Sac, WLVA, Odebolt-Arthur, and Schaller-Crestland) to just one (East Sac) as Schaller-Crestland aligned itself this year with Galva-Holstein in Ida County to form Ridge View. The only other existing district in Ida County is Battle Creek-Ida Grove, which is now in a whole-grade and sports sharing arrangement with Odebolt-Arthur which spreads across Sac and Ida counties. The sports teams are now OA-BCIG and high school students from O-A attend BCIG, while O-A maintains an elementary school in Odebolt, where the population dropped 12.8% to 1,004. Arthur’s population decreased from 245 to 209, a 14.7% slide.
In Pocahontas County, the two remaining districts, Pocahontas Area (formerly Pocahontas, Havelock-Plover, and Rolfe districts) and Pomery-Palmer, are in a whole grade sharing arrangement and the sports team compete under one banner, Pocahontas Area/Pomery-Palmer.
Discussions about possible reconfigurations are now underway in Calhoun County, which has three school districts: Manson-Northwest Webster, Rockwell City-Lytton, and Southern Cal (the former Lake and Lohrville school districts). RC-L and SoCal already share sports such as baseball, softball and wrestling. The school boards in each district agreed last month to proceed on complete sports sharing beginning in the 2010-11 school year and to begin whole-grade sharing the following year, 2011-12, but no details have been worked out.
“EYE GUY” MINI-EDITORIAL: It is readily apparent that Grand Junction, Rippey, Junction Township, Washington Township and the greater East Greene Community School District must seriously look at how the communities in Dallas County are advancing, and how those on the opposite side, are not. Despite the efforts of the Jefferson Area Chamber of Commerce; Greene County Economic Development Council; and the Midwest Partnership, an economic group serving Adair, Guthrie and Greene counties; Greene County continues to lose population. This would not be so surprising if eastern Greene County were many, many, many miles from the state’s largest city and state capital and that city’s growing--and affluent--western suburbs and its transcendent small towns-now-becoming- suburbs, and/or very, very far from one of the most robust and vibrant college towns in America and its highly regarded major university. But people, it is not.
All of those attributes are right here, and clearly Dallas County figured out quite early how to capitalize on them. Firstly, and most importantly, they did not wall themselves off into some cocoon-esque “west central Iowa.” I say, let Jefferson, Guthrie Center, Glidden and Coon Rapids--and all the other towns points west--wrap themselves around this fading “west central Iowa” flag, but if Grand Junction and East Greene want to guarantee some sort of a viable future, the community needs to recognize the advantages it has in being within realistic proximity to Ames, Des Moines and, most importantly, Dallas County. Essentially, the bandwagon has come and although it has not yet gone (I can still the tail-lights in the distance), there is no time to waste. Plans need to be made to guarantee a future. And if the future entails continuing to regard Grand Junction as some bucolic little farm town--BECAUSE THAT’S THE WAY IT’S ALWAYS BEEN--well, just lock up the city hall and tear down the school building, because there won’t be a future. Personally, I don’t think the people of Grand Junction, Rippey, Dana, Wash Township or “Junction” as in the overall, over-sized township, are hard-wired to become the East Jefferson Annex.
I propose a multi-point plan that looks at ALL of Grand Junction’s advantages and then looks seriously at its limitations, and builds toward a future, rather than the typical dig the moat deeper/pull up the drawbridge approach, or the typical “blame they neighbor” reality that has existed in Grand Junction for far, far too long. Let’s face it: Grand Junction negativity is systemic and rampant. Yes, the patient is sick but we KNOW the symptoms. They, and it, can be treated.
The proposal is simple in outline, but incredibly challenging in actual implementation, if not completely impossible (as I said, Grand Junction Negativity--GJN--is rampant and systemic....I was raised on it and we have perfected it over several generations). The broad terms of what I wanted to call, “Can This Town Be Saved?,” (but that sounds too very much GJN-oriented) are actually grouped together under “Grand Junction 2020: Blueprint for the 21st Century” with first step to be Project One Grand, an effort to get Grand Junction moving forward that so that in the near future the town will once again have reached the pivotal 1,000 mark in population. We were there once in our history, there is no reason we cannot be so again.
Yes, for those businessmen and businesswomen out there, yes, this--a population of 1,000-- is clearly a benchmark.
The ultimate goal is to actually grow Grand Junction to 2020--a sustaining population with equal number of births and new arrivals matched against deaths and depatures in the range of 2,000-plus, or, in simpler terms, 2020--two thousand and twenty (2,020). This would help guarantee that Grand Junction has enough citizens to support a viable business community offering critical goods and services, and enough students to keep the school doors open and restore to the community’s educational system to its earlier pre-eminence.
We have several key advantages to our future: Polk/Dallas/Story outgrowth; a vibrant rail and highway transportation heritage; a school district that serves as a cohesive glue to the entire eastern one-third of Greene County; a main street with enormous potential; and a very significant industrial development boost from the Grand Junction LDC biofuels plant which can serve as the anchor to what could be a vibrant industrial corridor stretching from the existing UP north-south/east-west railroad and the 144/30 highway intersections all the way up to the Grand Junction LDC plant.
Subsets of this program are the Double-R Initiative and DANA100. The RRI looks to grow Rippey/Wash Twshp so that it will double its current population so that it will become a community of over 500 citizens and DANA 100 looks to begin to rebuild Dana and bring the population up to 100.
Look to this space in the near future for more details of Grand Junction 2020.
--Alan Robinson, January 21, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Hawkettes Look to Extend 2010 Win Streak
FACE DM CHRISTIAN ON LIONS’ HOME COURT
East Greene remains undefeated in girls basketball in the new year after sweeping Earlham and Van Meter last week. The Hawkettes opened January play with a win over Woodward-Granger on Jan. 5 and followed that up with a Saturday Jan. 9 victory at Madrid.
The 4-0 January start puts the Hawkettes at 7-5 for the season and 6-4 in the West Central Conference, good for fifth place and just a game behind fourth-place Guthrie Center (7-3).
Tonight EG will be out to avenge a Dec. 21 home loss to Des Moines Christian as the two teams square off in Urbandale. DMC got the best of the Hawkettes 43-30 in their December tilt. The Lions are tied with West Central Valley for second place in the conference at 9-2.
Last week’s sweep of Earlham and Van Meter was a repeat of the conference-opening weekend in early December. EG had beaten Earlham on the road on Friday (Dec. 4) 35-29 and Van Meter the following night in Rippey, 33-26. The Hawkettes continue to play tenacious defense as they held those same opponents in check last week as the teams opened the second half of conference play.
EG went to Van Meter Saturday, Jan. 16, and came away with a 43-30 win. The Hawkettes were at home on Friday and they showed great improvement over their first game with Earlham as they drubbed the Cardinals 44-24. The Hawkettes have held those two opponents to just an average of 27.3 points per game in the four contests.
EG jumped on Earlham early, holding them scoreless in the first quarter, 13-0, and extending the lead to a comfortable 24-4 at the half. The Hawkettes were up 37-11 after three periods and coasted the rest of the way, giving freshmen reserves Tori Lowe, Brittany Gunn and Liz Gunn some valuable varsity playing time.
Malarie Gilley paced a balanced Hawkette attack with 13 points. She was 6-10 from the field and 1-for-2 from behind the 3-point line. Molly Neese added 12 points and Katylnn Gannon 11. Rounding out the scoring were Jessica Beaman and Tia Lowe with 3 each and Jasmine Kinney with two. Gilley had a big night on the defensive end with 12 rebounds and five blocked shots. Neese had boards and Beaman 6.
EG shot a very solid 53% from the line on 19-of-36 field goals. The Hawkettes were 1-3 from three-point land but stumbled a bit at the free throw line, hitting just 5 of 11 for 45%. Both teams had trouble hanging on to the ball with EG guilty of 23 turnovers and Earlham 21. EG had a big advantage on the boards, 33-21.
Van Meter jumped out to an early lead in the Saturday game but EG came back to take a 12-8 lead at the first quarter break. The game remained tight in the second quarter with VM tying it up at 12 but EG edging ahead for a 16-12 at the half.
The Bulldogs game plan was to keep Gilley in check and they succeeded in the first half, holding her to just 2 points, but she got on track in the second half as the Hawkettes moved ahead after three quarters, 27-20, and outscored VM 16-10 to win by 13 points, 43-30.
Gilley lead the attack with 20 points, 14 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. Tia Lowe added 9, Beaman had 7, Neese 6, and Gannon 1. The Hawkettes were 15-39 from the floor for 39%. Gilley and Gannon combined for EG’s free throws. Gilley was 9-17 and Gannon 1-2, giving the Hawkettes a 10-19 night at the line for 53%.
Beaman had a solid night defensively with 8 rebounds and seven steals. The Hawkettes played a solid game all around, limiting their turnovers to 16 and being whistled for just 9 fouls. Van Meter was guilty of 24 turnovers and 15 fouls. EG had the edge on the boards, 29-25.
Aspen Rhodes led the Bulldogs with 11 points and 10 rebounds. The loss dropped Van Meter to 2-7 in conference action.
EYE ON GJ SAYS: This is a big week for the Hawkettes and could go long way in defining this season’s success. EG has had its way with this month with the bottom four teams in the conference--Earlham, Van Meter, Madrid and Woodward-Granger--who have a combined conference record of just 5-34. But tonight’s opponent (DMC) is the 15th-ranked team in Class 1-A, which has been ranked as high as eighth. This week’s opponents--DMC, Panorama and Guthrie Center--are three of the top four teams in the league.
League-leader Panorama (10-0) comes to Rippey on Thursday night for a game that was cancelled and rescheduled due to the snow storm on Friday, Jan. 8. The Panthers have been ranked all season in Class 2-A. Last week, Panorama was ranked 5th but is likely to drop a few spots when this week’s poll is released by the IGHSAU. The Panthers were beaten by Audubon 41-30 Saturday night in Audubon, dropping them to 11-2 for the season. Panorama’s only other loss was to Martensdale-St. Mary’s, which is the No. 2 team in Class 1-A. Audubon, a 2A school, improved to 11-1 for the year and will no doubt be ranked this week after knocking off Panorama. The Wheelerettes’ only loss this year has been to IKM-Manning, the 8th-ranked team in Class 2A.
Guthrie Center is Friday’s night opponent for another home game. The Tigerettes thumped EG 49-31 on Dec. 11 in Guthrie Center so the Hawkettes will be out to even the slate in Rippey.
West Central Conference Standings (through Friday, Jan. 15):
Panorama 10-0 (Ranked #5 in Class 2A)
Des Moines Christian 9-2 (Ranked #15 in Class 1A)
West Central Valley 9-2
Guthrie Center 7-3
East Greene 6-4
Coon Rapids-Bayard 4-5
Van Meter 2-7
Woodward-Granger 2-7
Earlham 1-9
Madrid 0-11
East Greene remains undefeated in girls basketball in the new year after sweeping Earlham and Van Meter last week. The Hawkettes opened January play with a win over Woodward-Granger on Jan. 5 and followed that up with a Saturday Jan. 9 victory at Madrid.
The 4-0 January start puts the Hawkettes at 7-5 for the season and 6-4 in the West Central Conference, good for fifth place and just a game behind fourth-place Guthrie Center (7-3).
Tonight EG will be out to avenge a Dec. 21 home loss to Des Moines Christian as the two teams square off in Urbandale. DMC got the best of the Hawkettes 43-30 in their December tilt. The Lions are tied with West Central Valley for second place in the conference at 9-2.
Last week’s sweep of Earlham and Van Meter was a repeat of the conference-opening weekend in early December. EG had beaten Earlham on the road on Friday (Dec. 4) 35-29 and Van Meter the following night in Rippey, 33-26. The Hawkettes continue to play tenacious defense as they held those same opponents in check last week as the teams opened the second half of conference play.
EG went to Van Meter Saturday, Jan. 16, and came away with a 43-30 win. The Hawkettes were at home on Friday and they showed great improvement over their first game with Earlham as they drubbed the Cardinals 44-24. The Hawkettes have held those two opponents to just an average of 27.3 points per game in the four contests.
EG jumped on Earlham early, holding them scoreless in the first quarter, 13-0, and extending the lead to a comfortable 24-4 at the half. The Hawkettes were up 37-11 after three periods and coasted the rest of the way, giving freshmen reserves Tori Lowe, Brittany Gunn and Liz Gunn some valuable varsity playing time.
Malarie Gilley paced a balanced Hawkette attack with 13 points. She was 6-10 from the field and 1-for-2 from behind the 3-point line. Molly Neese added 12 points and Katylnn Gannon 11. Rounding out the scoring were Jessica Beaman and Tia Lowe with 3 each and Jasmine Kinney with two. Gilley had a big night on the defensive end with 12 rebounds and five blocked shots. Neese had boards and Beaman 6.
EG shot a very solid 53% from the line on 19-of-36 field goals. The Hawkettes were 1-3 from three-point land but stumbled a bit at the free throw line, hitting just 5 of 11 for 45%. Both teams had trouble hanging on to the ball with EG guilty of 23 turnovers and Earlham 21. EG had a big advantage on the boards, 33-21.
Van Meter jumped out to an early lead in the Saturday game but EG came back to take a 12-8 lead at the first quarter break. The game remained tight in the second quarter with VM tying it up at 12 but EG edging ahead for a 16-12 at the half.
The Bulldogs game plan was to keep Gilley in check and they succeeded in the first half, holding her to just 2 points, but she got on track in the second half as the Hawkettes moved ahead after three quarters, 27-20, and outscored VM 16-10 to win by 13 points, 43-30.
Gilley lead the attack with 20 points, 14 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. Tia Lowe added 9, Beaman had 7, Neese 6, and Gannon 1. The Hawkettes were 15-39 from the floor for 39%. Gilley and Gannon combined for EG’s free throws. Gilley was 9-17 and Gannon 1-2, giving the Hawkettes a 10-19 night at the line for 53%.
Beaman had a solid night defensively with 8 rebounds and seven steals. The Hawkettes played a solid game all around, limiting their turnovers to 16 and being whistled for just 9 fouls. Van Meter was guilty of 24 turnovers and 15 fouls. EG had the edge on the boards, 29-25.
Aspen Rhodes led the Bulldogs with 11 points and 10 rebounds. The loss dropped Van Meter to 2-7 in conference action.
EYE ON GJ SAYS: This is a big week for the Hawkettes and could go long way in defining this season’s success. EG has had its way with this month with the bottom four teams in the conference--Earlham, Van Meter, Madrid and Woodward-Granger--who have a combined conference record of just 5-34. But tonight’s opponent (DMC) is the 15th-ranked team in Class 1-A, which has been ranked as high as eighth. This week’s opponents--DMC, Panorama and Guthrie Center--are three of the top four teams in the league.
League-leader Panorama (10-0) comes to Rippey on Thursday night for a game that was cancelled and rescheduled due to the snow storm on Friday, Jan. 8. The Panthers have been ranked all season in Class 2-A. Last week, Panorama was ranked 5th but is likely to drop a few spots when this week’s poll is released by the IGHSAU. The Panthers were beaten by Audubon 41-30 Saturday night in Audubon, dropping them to 11-2 for the season. Panorama’s only other loss was to Martensdale-St. Mary’s, which is the No. 2 team in Class 1-A. Audubon, a 2A school, improved to 11-1 for the year and will no doubt be ranked this week after knocking off Panorama. The Wheelerettes’ only loss this year has been to IKM-Manning, the 8th-ranked team in Class 2A.
Guthrie Center is Friday’s night opponent for another home game. The Tigerettes thumped EG 49-31 on Dec. 11 in Guthrie Center so the Hawkettes will be out to even the slate in Rippey.
West Central Conference Standings (through Friday, Jan. 15):
Panorama 10-0 (Ranked #5 in Class 2A)
Des Moines Christian 9-2 (Ranked #15 in Class 1A)
West Central Valley 9-2
Guthrie Center 7-3
East Greene 6-4
Coon Rapids-Bayard 4-5
Van Meter 2-7
Woodward-Granger 2-7
Earlham 1-9
Madrid 0-11
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
HAWKETTES ADVANCE, NOW 14-6
EG Faces No. 12 Southern Cal in Regional VB Action
A win over Madrid in the second round of regional volleyball action last Wednesday has put EG into the quarterfinal round tonight in Lake City, where the Hawkettes will square off against Southern Cal, the 12th ranked team in Class 1A.
EG’s 25-17, 25-16, 25-16 regional win at Madrid on Wednesday was the its second straight win over the Tigerettes. EG had swept Madrid in three straight games the previous Thursday in Rippey in both teams’ final regular season match, 25-16, 25-16, 25-13. That capped off a busy week, as EG had downed Panorama in three straight on Tuesday, following a 2-2 showing in 4 matches at a tournament in Walnut on Saturday.
EG has now won 5 of its last 7 matches. The win over Madrid in Rippey moved the Hawkettes to 6-3 in the final West Central Conference standings, good for fourth place. Last week’s win over Madrid in the regionals upped EG’s overall season mark to 14-6.
Southern Cal brings a 21-0 record into tonight’s match. The Mustangs swept Paton-Churdan 25-16, 25-6, 26-24 in regional action at Lake City last Wednesday.
The winner of tonight’s EG-SoCal match will take on the winner of Ar-We-Va vs. West Harrison in the semifinal round Friday at Denison. The opposite side of the bracket has Exira, ranked seventh in the state, taking on Coon Rapids-Bayard in Coon Rapids. The winner of that match moves onto the other Region 3 semifinal on Friday in Woodbine against the winner of tonight’s Woodbine and St. Albert’s match in Council Bluffs.
The semifinal winners will face off next Tuesday in Denison in the regional final. The winner moves on to the State Tournament in Cedar Rapids.
EYE ON GJ SAYS: This is one of the best--if not the best--volleyball season in EG school history. Coach Carly Tiffany has the Hawkettes firing on all cylinders, as they beat 6 of 9 competitors in the West Central Conference in three-game sweeps (best-of-five game matches), and lost by just two points in the fifth game of a five-game match against league champion Guthrie Center, the closest any league team came to the Tigerettes. The Hawkettes also beat CRB--last year’s West Central champion and a 1A state qualifier--twice this season, the first win coming in the championship of a tournament hosted by CRB.
EG will meet a seasoned team in Southern Cal. Like the Hawkettes, SoCal plays in a league comprised of both 1A and 2A teams, where they finished second at 5-1, losing only to East Sac, a 2A team, but coming back to win the conference tournament. The Mustangs made it to State two years ago and just lost out on a trip last year, falling to Schaller-Crestland in the region finals.
Southern Cal and Exira (19-5), the Rolling Hills champion, are clearly the favorites in Region 3.
In addition to CRB in the opposite bracket in Region 3, the other top teams in the West Central are still in action heading into the quarterfinal round tonight. Each of the other top three teams is competing in different classes and regions, so conceivably the West Central could send four teams to the state tournament in 1A and 2A. Des Moines Christian (22-3), which finished third in the conference at 7-2, hosts Iowa Christian (14-10), the runner-up in the Rolling Hills Conference at 7-2 just behind Exira, with an unblemished 9-0 mark, in Region 4 in 1A. The winner advances to the semifinal round against either Twin Cedars or North Mahaska, also at Des Moines Christian. DMC had been ranked in Class 1A earlier this month, falling out of the Top 15 rankings, just before the final poll was released on Oct. 15.
In 2A, league champ Guthrie Center (17-6) and runner-up Woodward-Granger (19-7) are still in action, but both face tough opponents in the quarterfinal round tonight. Guthrie Center travels to Manning to take on 9th-ranked IKM-Manning (28-2) while Woodward-Granger also faces a state ranked opponent, No. 15, Gilbert (17-6), but has the home court advantage as the match will be played in Woodward. If Guthrie wins, it moves on to face either Nodaway Valley or Griswold in the Region 2 semifinal match, also at Manning. WG would advance to the next round in Eldora in Region 3 against the winner of a matchp between Grundy Center and Dike-New Hartford, a longtime state volleyball power and the No. 3 team in 2A with a 38-3 season record.
A win over Madrid in the second round of regional volleyball action last Wednesday has put EG into the quarterfinal round tonight in Lake City, where the Hawkettes will square off against Southern Cal, the 12th ranked team in Class 1A.
EG’s 25-17, 25-16, 25-16 regional win at Madrid on Wednesday was the its second straight win over the Tigerettes. EG had swept Madrid in three straight games the previous Thursday in Rippey in both teams’ final regular season match, 25-16, 25-16, 25-13. That capped off a busy week, as EG had downed Panorama in three straight on Tuesday, following a 2-2 showing in 4 matches at a tournament in Walnut on Saturday.
EG has now won 5 of its last 7 matches. The win over Madrid in Rippey moved the Hawkettes to 6-3 in the final West Central Conference standings, good for fourth place. Last week’s win over Madrid in the regionals upped EG’s overall season mark to 14-6.
Southern Cal brings a 21-0 record into tonight’s match. The Mustangs swept Paton-Churdan 25-16, 25-6, 26-24 in regional action at Lake City last Wednesday.
The winner of tonight’s EG-SoCal match will take on the winner of Ar-We-Va vs. West Harrison in the semifinal round Friday at Denison. The opposite side of the bracket has Exira, ranked seventh in the state, taking on Coon Rapids-Bayard in Coon Rapids. The winner of that match moves onto the other Region 3 semifinal on Friday in Woodbine against the winner of tonight’s Woodbine and St. Albert’s match in Council Bluffs.
The semifinal winners will face off next Tuesday in Denison in the regional final. The winner moves on to the State Tournament in Cedar Rapids.
EYE ON GJ SAYS: This is one of the best--if not the best--volleyball season in EG school history. Coach Carly Tiffany has the Hawkettes firing on all cylinders, as they beat 6 of 9 competitors in the West Central Conference in three-game sweeps (best-of-five game matches), and lost by just two points in the fifth game of a five-game match against league champion Guthrie Center, the closest any league team came to the Tigerettes. The Hawkettes also beat CRB--last year’s West Central champion and a 1A state qualifier--twice this season, the first win coming in the championship of a tournament hosted by CRB.
EG will meet a seasoned team in Southern Cal. Like the Hawkettes, SoCal plays in a league comprised of both 1A and 2A teams, where they finished second at 5-1, losing only to East Sac, a 2A team, but coming back to win the conference tournament. The Mustangs made it to State two years ago and just lost out on a trip last year, falling to Schaller-Crestland in the region finals.
Southern Cal and Exira (19-5), the Rolling Hills champion, are clearly the favorites in Region 3.
In addition to CRB in the opposite bracket in Region 3, the other top teams in the West Central are still in action heading into the quarterfinal round tonight. Each of the other top three teams is competing in different classes and regions, so conceivably the West Central could send four teams to the state tournament in 1A and 2A. Des Moines Christian (22-3), which finished third in the conference at 7-2, hosts Iowa Christian (14-10), the runner-up in the Rolling Hills Conference at 7-2 just behind Exira, with an unblemished 9-0 mark, in Region 4 in 1A. The winner advances to the semifinal round against either Twin Cedars or North Mahaska, also at Des Moines Christian. DMC had been ranked in Class 1A earlier this month, falling out of the Top 15 rankings, just before the final poll was released on Oct. 15.
In 2A, league champ Guthrie Center (17-6) and runner-up Woodward-Granger (19-7) are still in action, but both face tough opponents in the quarterfinal round tonight. Guthrie Center travels to Manning to take on 9th-ranked IKM-Manning (28-2) while Woodward-Granger also faces a state ranked opponent, No. 15, Gilbert (17-6), but has the home court advantage as the match will be played in Woodward. If Guthrie wins, it moves on to face either Nodaway Valley or Griswold in the Region 2 semifinal match, also at Manning. WG would advance to the next round in Eldora in Region 3 against the winner of a matchp between Grundy Center and Dike-New Hartford, a longtime state volleyball power and the No. 3 team in 2A with a 38-3 season record.
Friday, October 23, 2009
EG FOOTBALL SEASON FINALE
Hawks Beat Walnut, ‘Go For 2’ Tonight @ Exira
East Greene rolled over Walnut 54-14 in Grand Junction last Friday night to pick up its third win of the season and avoid the District 7 cellar. EG moved its district record to 1-4 while Walnut fell to 0-4.
The Hawks end the season tonight in Exira against Elk Horn-Kimballton/Exira. The EHK/E game does not count in the D7 standings, so EG’s win over Walnut was its final "official" game in district competition for 2009, while Walnut hosts Coon Rapids-Bayard tonight and CAM (Anita) travels to Adair-Casey in the season and district finales for those teams.
EG beat both Elk Horn-Kimballton and Exira last year, but getting a win over the combined EHK/E will be a much bigger challenge as the Wolverines are 5-3 this season while EG is 3-5. EHK/E has beaten D7 leader CAM, while its two of its three losses were by just 6 and 8 points to Adair-Casey and Glidden-Ralston.
But the Hawks will be riding the momentum from the Walnut game, which they totally dominated. EG got its ground game in gear, racking up 195 yards on 35 rushing attempts. Juniors Schyler Bardole and Nic Nicolaisen put the word out to the rest of the D7 teams that they are to be reckoned with next year, as Bardole lead the rushing attack with 72 years on 18 carries and a touchdown, and Nicolaisen was right behind with 70 yards on 5 carries (a solid 14 yards-per-carry average) and 2 touchdowns.
QB Tom Beger connected on 5 of his 13 passes for 110 yards and four touchdowns. He connected twice with Bardole for scoring strikes and once each with tight ends Aaron Lyons and Jesse Priest. Beger also scored a running touchdown, as he ground out 32 yards on six carries. His total yardage for the night was 142. Beger, Bardole and Priest each ran for a 2-point conversion to round out the Hawk scoring.
Overall, the Hawks had 305 total yards and 15 first downs while limiting Walnut to 212 total yards and 8 first downs.
Seniors Josh Neese, Tyler Gathercoal and Zach Beyerink anchored the Hawk defense. Neese had 5 solo tackles and 6 assists, Gathercoal had 5 solos and 3 assists, and Beyerink had 4 solos and 4 assists. Beyerink and Bardole each picked off a pass from Warrior QB Kyler McCarty, who was held to 81 yards and a single touchdown on 7-for-16 passing. McCarty also scored Walnut’s lone rushing touchdown.
McCarty was a real workhorse for the Warriors though, as he returned seven EG kickoffs for 119 yards total and three Hawk punts for 58 yards total, an average of 20 yards for each of his 10 kick returns.
DISTRICT 7 SHOWDOWN: Adair-Casey vs. CAM will be the spotlight game in D7 tonight as the winner will get the top seed in the 8-Man state playoffs, which get underway on Wednesday night. The game looks to be a toss-up. CAM was the hands-down favorite as the season began as it returned all but 2 of its starting lineup from 2008, when it won D7 with a perfect 7-0 record. This year’s league schedule was reduced to just 5 contests as the Elk Horn and Exira games were removed when those two schools agreed to form a combined football program and their combined enrollments made them ineligible for 8-Man competition, although EHK/E played a full nine-game schedule, including all of the other D7 teams.
EHK/E surprised the league two weeks ago when it notched a decisive 43-20 win over then unbeaten CAM on the Cougar’s home field in Anita. So clearly, CAM can be beaten. And AC will be riding the momentum of beating CRB last week in Coon Rapids, 36-29.
If CAM prevails they will be the undisputed champion at 5-0, but if they lose, then they end up tied with AC at 4-1 for the championship and AC will get the No. 1 seed in the playoffs because they won the head-to-head competition, which is the tie-breaker when two teams end the season tied and in contention for playoff seeding.
Despite last week’s loss, CRB still will qualify for the playoffs--even it should lose this week to Walnut. CRB would finish fourth in D7 at 2-3, behind AC, CAM and GR, which wrapped up district play two weeks ago, rolling over Walnut 46-6 to finish at 3-2. The more likely scenario will be CRB easily beating Walnut and finishing in a tie at 3-2 with GR and possibly AC, should the Bombers lose to CAM. That would leave a three-way tie for the runner-up spot in the district with all three teams at 3-2. As each of the three teams would end up 1-1 against the other two, the seeding for spots two, three and four in the district would then go the tie-breaker point system, which is based on the average margin of difference in each of the five district games.
Heading into tonight’s games, CRB has a slight advantage with a 4.00 tie-breaker score, just ahead of AC at 3.25 and GR at 3.00. GR’s score can’t move up or down as the Wildcats have completed district play, but if AC should lose, which must happen to create a three-way tie, the Bombers would be subtracting points from their current four-game point differential total (13), and if CRB should win, they would be adding to their existing total points (16) which would easily put them past AC and vault them into second place while AC and GR’s point total differential would determine the No. 3 and 4 seeds. And if AC loses, they can’t get anymore differential points, putting them behind GR, whose give-game point total differential is solid at 15. Thus, AC would drop down to fourth place and give GR the third seed.
So, this is a critical game for AC. If they win, they are the top dog for D7, hosting the No. 4 seed from District 8 next Wednesday. If they lose, they fall from [potentially] first place to fourth, and then face the long trip down to Stanton to take on the state-ranked and undefeated Vikings, a team that rolled over all three D7 opponents last year in reaching the 8-Man state playoff semifinal round in the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls. This would be a pretty substantial turnaround for the Bombers, considering their big win last week over CRB on the Crusaders’ home field. AC will also have the memory of last year’s 24-22 loss to CAM in Anita on the final night of the regular season, which gave the Cougars the 2008 District 7 championship and relegated AC to runner-up status. Both teams went on to win their opening round substate games, but were eliminated in first round action.
EYE ON GJ SAYS: The Hawks must contain EHK/E’s Carson Smith if they hope to prevail tonight over the Wolverines. In EHK/E’s win over CAM, Smith completed 14 of 22 passes for 186 yards and two passing touchdowns, and he ran for 137 yards on 22 carries and another three touchdowns. Eric Johnson added 104 yards and a rushing touchdown to the Wolverines’ total output of 455 yards.
Smith also kicked three extra points and ran for a two-point conversion to give him 35 points for the evening. Final tally: Smith outscored the entire CAM team, 35-20.
EHK/E rolled up 42 points against GR last week as Smith passed for 220 yards and five touchdowns and he ran for another 65, which was the entire EHK/E offensive production. GR however rushed for an amazing 458 yards and 8 rushing touchdowns and prevailed, 54-42.
Smith was intercepted three times by the CAM defense and once last week by GR, so the Hawks really need to hone in on their pass defense to shut down EHK/E.
A win at Exira would match last year’s win total for the Hawks, and would be a fine finish for the EG seniors, giving them a two-year won-loss record of 8-10, which is a big improvement over the 3-14 they suffered through during their freshman and sophomore years. This group of Hawks was responsible for ending a losing streak that stretched from the end of the 2004 season to the first game of the 2007 season, a win over CAL of Latimer in Grand Junction.
All told, EG’s record from 2002 through 2007 was a dismal 6 wins and 41 losses. So 8-10 over two years may not look like much to the small-school powers of Iowa high school football, but it means something to EG‘ers--near and fall. So, more than anything...Go Hawks!
East Greene rolled over Walnut 54-14 in Grand Junction last Friday night to pick up its third win of the season and avoid the District 7 cellar. EG moved its district record to 1-4 while Walnut fell to 0-4.
The Hawks end the season tonight in Exira against Elk Horn-Kimballton/Exira. The EHK/E game does not count in the D7 standings, so EG’s win over Walnut was its final "official" game in district competition for 2009, while Walnut hosts Coon Rapids-Bayard tonight and CAM (Anita) travels to Adair-Casey in the season and district finales for those teams.
EG beat both Elk Horn-Kimballton and Exira last year, but getting a win over the combined EHK/E will be a much bigger challenge as the Wolverines are 5-3 this season while EG is 3-5. EHK/E has beaten D7 leader CAM, while its two of its three losses were by just 6 and 8 points to Adair-Casey and Glidden-Ralston.
But the Hawks will be riding the momentum from the Walnut game, which they totally dominated. EG got its ground game in gear, racking up 195 yards on 35 rushing attempts. Juniors Schyler Bardole and Nic Nicolaisen put the word out to the rest of the D7 teams that they are to be reckoned with next year, as Bardole lead the rushing attack with 72 years on 18 carries and a touchdown, and Nicolaisen was right behind with 70 yards on 5 carries (a solid 14 yards-per-carry average) and 2 touchdowns.
QB Tom Beger connected on 5 of his 13 passes for 110 yards and four touchdowns. He connected twice with Bardole for scoring strikes and once each with tight ends Aaron Lyons and Jesse Priest. Beger also scored a running touchdown, as he ground out 32 yards on six carries. His total yardage for the night was 142. Beger, Bardole and Priest each ran for a 2-point conversion to round out the Hawk scoring.
Overall, the Hawks had 305 total yards and 15 first downs while limiting Walnut to 212 total yards and 8 first downs.
Seniors Josh Neese, Tyler Gathercoal and Zach Beyerink anchored the Hawk defense. Neese had 5 solo tackles and 6 assists, Gathercoal had 5 solos and 3 assists, and Beyerink had 4 solos and 4 assists. Beyerink and Bardole each picked off a pass from Warrior QB Kyler McCarty, who was held to 81 yards and a single touchdown on 7-for-16 passing. McCarty also scored Walnut’s lone rushing touchdown.
McCarty was a real workhorse for the Warriors though, as he returned seven EG kickoffs for 119 yards total and three Hawk punts for 58 yards total, an average of 20 yards for each of his 10 kick returns.
DISTRICT 7 SHOWDOWN: Adair-Casey vs. CAM will be the spotlight game in D7 tonight as the winner will get the top seed in the 8-Man state playoffs, which get underway on Wednesday night. The game looks to be a toss-up. CAM was the hands-down favorite as the season began as it returned all but 2 of its starting lineup from 2008, when it won D7 with a perfect 7-0 record. This year’s league schedule was reduced to just 5 contests as the Elk Horn and Exira games were removed when those two schools agreed to form a combined football program and their combined enrollments made them ineligible for 8-Man competition, although EHK/E played a full nine-game schedule, including all of the other D7 teams.
EHK/E surprised the league two weeks ago when it notched a decisive 43-20 win over then unbeaten CAM on the Cougar’s home field in Anita. So clearly, CAM can be beaten. And AC will be riding the momentum of beating CRB last week in Coon Rapids, 36-29.
If CAM prevails they will be the undisputed champion at 5-0, but if they lose, then they end up tied with AC at 4-1 for the championship and AC will get the No. 1 seed in the playoffs because they won the head-to-head competition, which is the tie-breaker when two teams end the season tied and in contention for playoff seeding.
Despite last week’s loss, CRB still will qualify for the playoffs--even it should lose this week to Walnut. CRB would finish fourth in D7 at 2-3, behind AC, CAM and GR, which wrapped up district play two weeks ago, rolling over Walnut 46-6 to finish at 3-2. The more likely scenario will be CRB easily beating Walnut and finishing in a tie at 3-2 with GR and possibly AC, should the Bombers lose to CAM. That would leave a three-way tie for the runner-up spot in the district with all three teams at 3-2. As each of the three teams would end up 1-1 against the other two, the seeding for spots two, three and four in the district would then go the tie-breaker point system, which is based on the average margin of difference in each of the five district games.
Heading into tonight’s games, CRB has a slight advantage with a 4.00 tie-breaker score, just ahead of AC at 3.25 and GR at 3.00. GR’s score can’t move up or down as the Wildcats have completed district play, but if AC should lose, which must happen to create a three-way tie, the Bombers would be subtracting points from their current four-game point differential total (13), and if CRB should win, they would be adding to their existing total points (16) which would easily put them past AC and vault them into second place while AC and GR’s point total differential would determine the No. 3 and 4 seeds. And if AC loses, they can’t get anymore differential points, putting them behind GR, whose give-game point total differential is solid at 15. Thus, AC would drop down to fourth place and give GR the third seed.
So, this is a critical game for AC. If they win, they are the top dog for D7, hosting the No. 4 seed from District 8 next Wednesday. If they lose, they fall from [potentially] first place to fourth, and then face the long trip down to Stanton to take on the state-ranked and undefeated Vikings, a team that rolled over all three D7 opponents last year in reaching the 8-Man state playoff semifinal round in the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls. This would be a pretty substantial turnaround for the Bombers, considering their big win last week over CRB on the Crusaders’ home field. AC will also have the memory of last year’s 24-22 loss to CAM in Anita on the final night of the regular season, which gave the Cougars the 2008 District 7 championship and relegated AC to runner-up status. Both teams went on to win their opening round substate games, but were eliminated in first round action.
EYE ON GJ SAYS: The Hawks must contain EHK/E’s Carson Smith if they hope to prevail tonight over the Wolverines. In EHK/E’s win over CAM, Smith completed 14 of 22 passes for 186 yards and two passing touchdowns, and he ran for 137 yards on 22 carries and another three touchdowns. Eric Johnson added 104 yards and a rushing touchdown to the Wolverines’ total output of 455 yards.
Smith also kicked three extra points and ran for a two-point conversion to give him 35 points for the evening. Final tally: Smith outscored the entire CAM team, 35-20.
EHK/E rolled up 42 points against GR last week as Smith passed for 220 yards and five touchdowns and he ran for another 65, which was the entire EHK/E offensive production. GR however rushed for an amazing 458 yards and 8 rushing touchdowns and prevailed, 54-42.
Smith was intercepted three times by the CAM defense and once last week by GR, so the Hawks really need to hone in on their pass defense to shut down EHK/E.
A win at Exira would match last year’s win total for the Hawks, and would be a fine finish for the EG seniors, giving them a two-year won-loss record of 8-10, which is a big improvement over the 3-14 they suffered through during their freshman and sophomore years. This group of Hawks was responsible for ending a losing streak that stretched from the end of the 2004 season to the first game of the 2007 season, a win over CAL of Latimer in Grand Junction.
All told, EG’s record from 2002 through 2007 was a dismal 6 wins and 41 losses. So 8-10 over two years may not look like much to the small-school powers of Iowa high school football, but it means something to EG‘ers--near and fall. So, more than anything...Go Hawks!
Friday, October 16, 2009
FINAL HOME FOOTBALL GAME
Hawks Battle Walnut To Stay Out Of D7 Cellar
East Greene looks to get back on the winning track against Walnut tonight in the final home game of the 2009 season.
Both EG and Walnut are winless in District 7 football. EG takes an 0-4 district mark (2-5 overall) into the game while Walnut is 0-3 and 3-5 on the season.
The Hawks dropped another hard-fought contest in D7 last Friday night in Grand Junction to Coon Rapids-Bayard, 46-28, falling prey to the aerial assault of Crusader quarterback Michael Schwenk who scored five of his seven touchdowns through the air.
Schwenk connected on 24 of his 44 pass attempts for 261 yards. He was also the bulk of the CRB ground game, amassing 105 years on 18 carries and two TDs.
Hawk QB Tom Beger had a big night too, connecting on 14 of 33 passes for 290 yards and two touchdowns. Beger was intercepted twice, while the Hawk defense snared one of Schwenk’s passes.
CRB pretty much shut down the Hawk ground game, though, limiting Beger to a minus 22 yards in 15 carries and holding running back Schyler Bardole to 50 yards in 11 carries. Bardole had rolled up 148 yards and 6 touchdowns in just 13 carries in the Hawk’s homecoming win over Meskwaki Settlement School (Tama), 80-14, the week before.
EYE ON GJ SAYS: EG should have the advantage here as Walnut must travel all the way from Pottawattamie County to Grand Junction. Both teams have faced four common opponents--Meskwaki, CAM, Adair-Casey and Glidden Ralston--and EG has fared slightly better than the Warriors. EG fell to CAM by 24 points but the Walnut lost to the D7 leaders by just 8 points. On the flip side, GR rolled over Walnut by 40 points last week but beat East Greene by just 8, and the game was at Glidden in both teams’ D7 opener. AC beat the Warriors by 15 but the difference in the Bombers’ game with the Hawks was just six points. EG has the edge in head-to-head comparison with Meskwaki winning by 56 points to Walnut winning by 50.
Walnut’s other wins came against Hamburg (2-7) and Essex (0-7) while EG’s second win was against Charter Oak-Ute (2-7).
WALNUT TO PLAYOFFS? It would take some major upsets but Walnut, although 0-3 in district action, still has an outside shot of making the playoffs if the Warriors get by EG tonight and then beat CRB in their home finale next week. As it stands, both AC and CRB have played just 3 games in D7 and each is 2-1 and they face-off tonight. Next week, they close out D7 play with AC hosting CAM and CRB traveling to Walnut. So if AC upends CRB tonight to go 3-1 that drops CRB down to 2-2, and Walnut would head into the game next week at 1-3 if they beat the Hawks tonight. Then, next week, if Walnut were to beat CRB, both teams would end up tied in D7 at 2-3 and Walnut would get the nod for the fourth spot in the standings because of its head-to-head win over CRB.
A more likely scenario is that EG wins tonight as does CRB, and CRB dispenses with Walnut next week to finish as D7 runner-up to CAM at 4-1. CAM would get by AC next week to finish at 5-0 and AC drops to 2-3 behind GR (3-2) but still qualifies for the playoffs because 2-3 would put the Bombers in fourth place, giving them the fourth of four playoff spots. Even if AC upsets CAM and ends the season tied for third with GR at 3-2, they would still end up fourth as GR would get the edge in a tie-breaker, having beaten AC 42-6 on Oct. 2.
EG closes out the 2009 season with a road game in Exira against Elk Horn-Kimballton/Exira in a D7 game that does not count in the standings. EHK/EX upset CAM last week 43-20 to hand the Cougars their first loss of the season.
D7 STANDINGS Through Oct. 9:
CAM (Anita) 4-0 6-1
Coon Rapids-Bayard 2-1 6-1
Adair-Casey 2-1 5-2
Glidden-Ralston 3-2 5-2
Elk Horn Kimballton/Exira 0-0* 5-2
Walnut 0-3 3-5
East Greene 0-4 2-5
Oct. 9 Games:
CRB 46, EG 28
GR 46, WAL 6
EHK/EX 43, CAM 20 (non-district)
AC 80, MESK 30 (non-district)
Oct. 16 Games:
AC @ CRB
GR @ EKH/EX
MESK @ CAM
WAL @ EG
Oct. 23 Games:
CAM @ AC
CRB @ WAL
EG @ EHK/EX
MESK @ GR
*EHK/EX not eligible for playoffs
East Greene looks to get back on the winning track against Walnut tonight in the final home game of the 2009 season.
Both EG and Walnut are winless in District 7 football. EG takes an 0-4 district mark (2-5 overall) into the game while Walnut is 0-3 and 3-5 on the season.
The Hawks dropped another hard-fought contest in D7 last Friday night in Grand Junction to Coon Rapids-Bayard, 46-28, falling prey to the aerial assault of Crusader quarterback Michael Schwenk who scored five of his seven touchdowns through the air.
Schwenk connected on 24 of his 44 pass attempts for 261 yards. He was also the bulk of the CRB ground game, amassing 105 years on 18 carries and two TDs.
Hawk QB Tom Beger had a big night too, connecting on 14 of 33 passes for 290 yards and two touchdowns. Beger was intercepted twice, while the Hawk defense snared one of Schwenk’s passes.
CRB pretty much shut down the Hawk ground game, though, limiting Beger to a minus 22 yards in 15 carries and holding running back Schyler Bardole to 50 yards in 11 carries. Bardole had rolled up 148 yards and 6 touchdowns in just 13 carries in the Hawk’s homecoming win over Meskwaki Settlement School (Tama), 80-14, the week before.
EYE ON GJ SAYS: EG should have the advantage here as Walnut must travel all the way from Pottawattamie County to Grand Junction. Both teams have faced four common opponents--Meskwaki, CAM, Adair-Casey and Glidden Ralston--and EG has fared slightly better than the Warriors. EG fell to CAM by 24 points but the Walnut lost to the D7 leaders by just 8 points. On the flip side, GR rolled over Walnut by 40 points last week but beat East Greene by just 8, and the game was at Glidden in both teams’ D7 opener. AC beat the Warriors by 15 but the difference in the Bombers’ game with the Hawks was just six points. EG has the edge in head-to-head comparison with Meskwaki winning by 56 points to Walnut winning by 50.
Walnut’s other wins came against Hamburg (2-7) and Essex (0-7) while EG’s second win was against Charter Oak-Ute (2-7).
WALNUT TO PLAYOFFS? It would take some major upsets but Walnut, although 0-3 in district action, still has an outside shot of making the playoffs if the Warriors get by EG tonight and then beat CRB in their home finale next week. As it stands, both AC and CRB have played just 3 games in D7 and each is 2-1 and they face-off tonight. Next week, they close out D7 play with AC hosting CAM and CRB traveling to Walnut. So if AC upends CRB tonight to go 3-1 that drops CRB down to 2-2, and Walnut would head into the game next week at 1-3 if they beat the Hawks tonight. Then, next week, if Walnut were to beat CRB, both teams would end up tied in D7 at 2-3 and Walnut would get the nod for the fourth spot in the standings because of its head-to-head win over CRB.
A more likely scenario is that EG wins tonight as does CRB, and CRB dispenses with Walnut next week to finish as D7 runner-up to CAM at 4-1. CAM would get by AC next week to finish at 5-0 and AC drops to 2-3 behind GR (3-2) but still qualifies for the playoffs because 2-3 would put the Bombers in fourth place, giving them the fourth of four playoff spots. Even if AC upsets CAM and ends the season tied for third with GR at 3-2, they would still end up fourth as GR would get the edge in a tie-breaker, having beaten AC 42-6 on Oct. 2.
EG closes out the 2009 season with a road game in Exira against Elk Horn-Kimballton/Exira in a D7 game that does not count in the standings. EHK/EX upset CAM last week 43-20 to hand the Cougars their first loss of the season.
D7 STANDINGS Through Oct. 9:
CAM (Anita) 4-0 6-1
Coon Rapids-Bayard 2-1 6-1
Adair-Casey 2-1 5-2
Glidden-Ralston 3-2 5-2
Elk Horn Kimballton/Exira 0-0* 5-2
Walnut 0-3 3-5
East Greene 0-4 2-5
Oct. 9 Games:
CRB 46, EG 28
GR 46, WAL 6
EHK/EX 43, CAM 20 (non-district)
AC 80, MESK 30 (non-district)
Oct. 16 Games:
AC @ CRB
GR @ EKH/EX
MESK @ CAM
WAL @ EG
Oct. 23 Games:
CAM @ AC
CRB @ WAL
EG @ EHK/EX
MESK @ GR
*EHK/EX not eligible for playoffs
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
EG NETTERS FACE WG
Hawkettes Can Tie for Conference No. 2 Spot
East Greene heads to Woodward tonight for a key West Central Conference battle against Woodward-Granger. EG swept West Central Valley last Tuesday in a 3-zip match to move to 4-2 in the West Central, just one game behind Woodward-Granger at 5-1, after WG had disposed of Des Moines Christian 25-17, 32-30, 25-23.
WG’s win dropped DMC from second into a tie for third place with East Greene. Guthrie Center remains atop the league standings with a perfect 6-0 mark and has already beaten the other top 3 teams: WG, EG and DMC. Guthrie takes on Madrid tonight on the road, then closes its conference and regular season with home games against West Central Valley and Coon Rapids-Bayard (3-3), last year’s conference champion and state qualifier.
East Greene picked up a key win two weeks ago (Sept. 22) against CRB in Rippey, rolling over the Crusaders in a three-game match 25-23, 25-23, 26-24.
EG closes out the season with a tournament Saturday at Walnut and home matches against league foes Panorama (3-3) on Tuesday and Madrid (1-5) on Thursday. EG opens regional action the following Wednesday, Oct. 21, at Madrid against the winner of a first round tilt between Madrid and Glidden-Ralston on Monday, Oct. 19, in Madrid.
West Central Conference Volleyball Standings
Guthrie Center 6-0
Woodward-Granger 5-1
East Greene 4-2
Des Moines Christian 4-2
Coon Rapids-Bayard 3-3
Panorama 3-3
Earlham 2-4
Madrid 1-5
Van Meter 1-5
West Central Valley 1-5
EYE ON GJ SAYS: It’s a battle of the birds at Woodward tonight as the EG Hawkettes take on the WG Hawkettes. This is a good test for the EG team as they face a quality team in WG. They should see some good competition in the Walnut Tournament on Saturday and will need to prepared for a much improved Panorama team next week in Rippey. The regionals get underway next week and EG can’t overlook either GR or Madrid, their opponent in round two. State-ranked Southern Cal hosts Paton-Churdan in Lake City in the opposite bracket second round game and the SC-PC and EG-Madrid or GR winners face off in Lake City the following week in the quarterfinals. So if EG makes it to the quarters the likely opponent would be Southern Cal, and the Hawkettes would really need an all-out effort to upend the Mustangs, who made it all the way to the regional finals last year and are ranked 12th this year with a 16-7 record. The other favorite in the region is Exira (13-5) ranked 11th in the state and undefeated in the Rolling Hills Conference.
East Greene heads to Woodward tonight for a key West Central Conference battle against Woodward-Granger. EG swept West Central Valley last Tuesday in a 3-zip match to move to 4-2 in the West Central, just one game behind Woodward-Granger at 5-1, after WG had disposed of Des Moines Christian 25-17, 32-30, 25-23.
WG’s win dropped DMC from second into a tie for third place with East Greene. Guthrie Center remains atop the league standings with a perfect 6-0 mark and has already beaten the other top 3 teams: WG, EG and DMC. Guthrie takes on Madrid tonight on the road, then closes its conference and regular season with home games against West Central Valley and Coon Rapids-Bayard (3-3), last year’s conference champion and state qualifier.
East Greene picked up a key win two weeks ago (Sept. 22) against CRB in Rippey, rolling over the Crusaders in a three-game match 25-23, 25-23, 26-24.
EG closes out the season with a tournament Saturday at Walnut and home matches against league foes Panorama (3-3) on Tuesday and Madrid (1-5) on Thursday. EG opens regional action the following Wednesday, Oct. 21, at Madrid against the winner of a first round tilt between Madrid and Glidden-Ralston on Monday, Oct. 19, in Madrid.
West Central Conference Volleyball Standings
Guthrie Center 6-0
Woodward-Granger 5-1
East Greene 4-2
Des Moines Christian 4-2
Coon Rapids-Bayard 3-3
Panorama 3-3
Earlham 2-4
Madrid 1-5
Van Meter 1-5
West Central Valley 1-5
EYE ON GJ SAYS: It’s a battle of the birds at Woodward tonight as the EG Hawkettes take on the WG Hawkettes. This is a good test for the EG team as they face a quality team in WG. They should see some good competition in the Walnut Tournament on Saturday and will need to prepared for a much improved Panorama team next week in Rippey. The regionals get underway next week and EG can’t overlook either GR or Madrid, their opponent in round two. State-ranked Southern Cal hosts Paton-Churdan in Lake City in the opposite bracket second round game and the SC-PC and EG-Madrid or GR winners face off in Lake City the following week in the quarterfinals. So if EG makes it to the quarters the likely opponent would be Southern Cal, and the Hawkettes would really need an all-out effort to upend the Mustangs, who made it all the way to the regional finals last year and are ranked 12th this year with a 16-7 record. The other favorite in the region is Exira (13-5) ranked 11th in the state and undefeated in the Rolling Hills Conference.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Isabel Smith Services Friday, Oct. 2
Funeral Services for Isabel Smith, 96, Ames, longtime Grand Junction resident, will be 10 a.m. Friday at the First United Methodist Church in Grand Junction. Interment will be in the Jefferson Cemetery. Visitation will be after 10 a.m. Thursday at Slininger-Rossow Funeral Home in Jefferson with the family present to greet friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Memorials are suggested to the First United Methodist Church in Grand Junction or the Ames Christian School.
Isabel is survived by her sons, Michael (Terri) Smith, Stoughton, Mass., and Mac (Peggy) Smith, Huxley, Iowa, and her sisters, Marian Dommel, Minnetonka, Minn. and Irene Eilbert, Mankato, Minn.
Isabel is survived by her sons, Michael (Terri) Smith, Stoughton, Mass., and Mac (Peggy) Smith, Huxley, Iowa, and her sisters, Marian Dommel, Minnetonka, Minn. and Irene Eilbert, Mankato, Minn.
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