CEDAR FALLS -- Another Regina blowout had suddenly become a white-knuckler, and Marv Cook wasn't about to punt the ball to a hot offense."We had a chance to win the game right there ... let's go win it," Cook said.Joe McCaffery picked up three yards on ...

 CEDAR RAPIDS -- Leading can take several forms.It can mean mentoring young, talented players. And it can mean stepping forward and, well, leading the team.Sara Koch has done a lot of the former this season. Friday night, she did the latter.The fourth-leading player on her ...

CEDAR RAPIDS -- For Grundy Center, this was the big upset that got away.Top-ranked Western Christian wiggled off the hook in the second and third games, and escaped with a four-set win over No. 4 Grundy Center in a Class 2A semifinal at the state ...

By Rob GrayFORT DODGE — No panic.A little stress.One raucous celebration.Iowa City Regina pitcher Hannah Stein closed out a historic, white-knuckle 5-4 Class 2A state softball tournament semifinal win over No. 2 Bondurant-Farrar Thursday, helping her 11th-ranked team to its first championship game.“I was just ...

 FORT DODGE -- West Burlington is in the Class 2A state softball final, with a lineup that features four girls that haven't experienced a whiff of high school.Full of youth and full of speed, the fifth-ranked Falcons put constant pressure on Mid-Prairie in an 8-3 ...

CEDAR FALLS -- Bob Lape has seen offensive lines like this before. But not at this level."Sure I have," said Lape, the football coach at North Fayette. "I see it all the time -- at Coe, Luther, Wartburg ... "Virtually flawless in the first half, ...

FORT DODGE -- The unthinkable will go unrealized.Top-ranked Conrad BCLUW scored six runs -- five unearned -- in the second inning and pasted No. 6 Mount Vernon, 7-0, in a Class 2A semifinal at the state softball tournament Thursday night at the Rogers Sports Complex.Mount ...

DES MOINES — By now, no accomplishment by these Mount Vernon girls should surprise you. No victory, no championship seems out of reach these days. The Mustangs put another notch into their recent run of glory Thursday afternoon, pulling away from No. 9 Roland-Story in the fourth ...