ELDON — “If we play like we did tonight, we’re going to be real, real tough to beat,” said Pekin head coach Bryan Marlay.
Pitching, defense and some crafty offense came together for the Panthers at Monday’s Class 2A regional semifinal vs. West Burlington-Notre Dame. Also serving as a pseudo-SEISC title game, north division champ Pekin took a 4-0 decision from the south division-winning Falcons to continue its march through the postseason.
Click here to read the entire article from the Fairfield Daily Ledger.

ELDON — For the second straight night with its season on the line, Pekin found itself on the short end of the scoreboard early.
For the second straight night, the 12th-ranked Panthers didn’t seem to care.
From a 3-2 deficit, Pekin outscored Davis County 9-2 the rest of the way to take an 11-5 victory and move one step deeper into the Class 2A regional tournament.
Click here to read the entire article from the Fairfield Daily Ledger.

EDDYVILLE, Iowa — Second inning Cardinal errors proved costly and Pekin had its lead as long as Dalton Stone could zone in from the mound.
Stone did exactly that, and Pekin picked up a 4-2 win over the Comets Saturday in Eddyville to stay alive in Class 2A District 10 play. Pekin moves on to Tuesday’s district semifinal vs. Albia, which picked up a 1-0 victory vs. host Eddyville-Blakesburg in Saturday’s nightcap.
The first pitch of the game left Stone’s arm and sailed to the backstop, …

BLOOMFIELD — As if Pekin needed any more momentum heading into regional play, they went and got it anyway.
The Panthers picked up two more wins Tuesday at Davis County to move to 28-6 on the year and wrap up the regular season. The 12th-ranked Panthers will now get set for their regional opener Thursday night at Sigourney.
“I like to schedule doubleheaders like this just to get a few more swings of the bat in before the second season,” said head coach Bryan Marlay. “Now …

Mother nature has caused a hiccup in the posteason season wrestling schedule. All but one regional dual across the state are postponed until tomorrow evening.
The Class 2A regional dual event at Winterset, featuring  Centerville, Harlan, Creston/orient-Macksburg and Clarke (Osceola) is the only one that will be competed. All others are scheduled for Wednesday at 6 p.m.
CLASS 2A ASSIGNMENTS
AT: GILBERT (POSTPONED UNTIL WEDNESDAY, 2/10, SAME TIME)
Semi-Final Round
Bondurant-Farrar vs. Webster City
Ballard vs. PCM, Monroe
After the completion of the semi-final round, the winners will compete to determine
the team advancing to the State Dual Team Tournament.
AT: …

East Buchanan is attempting to claim its first state duals berth, but if the Bucs are going to end their season in Cedar Rapids they will have to earn it.
The third-ranked Bucs host a competitive Class 1A regional dual at Winthrop, featuring No. 9 Lisbon, Alburnett and West Branch. East Buchanan opens with West Branch, while Lisbon takes on Alburnett in the semifinals, starting at 6 p.m.
Opening round winners then compete for a trip to the state duals Feb. 27 at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids.
East Buchanan Coach …

WEST BRANCH 20, PEKIN 14 — Travis Maher 116 yards and a touchdown on just nine carries and Jason Madsen added 12 carries for 101 yards and a touchdown as West Branch (6-0, 4-0) won at home.

Here is a look at the area’s top football games tonight.
C.R. KENNEDY at C.R. WASHINGTON

Time & place: 7:15 p.m., at Kingston Stadium (Washington is the home team, and its fans will sit on the west side).
Radio: KGYM-AM (1600)
Records: Both teams are 2-2
Notable: Before last year’s playoff expansion, this would be a game for postseason survival. Washington racked up 495 yards of total offense last week, but couldn’t hold a 14-point halftime lead and succumbed to Linn-Mar, 41-38. Kennedy begins life without RB Royce Bell, who tore his ACL and meniscus …

Tonight’s Class 2A substate prep baseball game between Solon and Pekin in  Wellman has been postponed due to wet grounds. The game will be made up Wednesday night at 7.