Jeff Johnson

This Linn-Mar boys’ basketball team should be one of the best teams in the Mississippi Valley Conference this season. The Lions notched a solid early season non-conference victory Saturday afternoon over Waukee, 68-60.

Cedar Rapids Jefferson head boys’ basketball coach Wes Burns has a deteriorating back issue. He’s supposed to take it easy, but he didn’t on the sideline Friday night. Jeff lost a home game to Davenport North, 68-50.

Cedar Rapids Xavier’s boys’ basketball team didn’t have its season opener until Thursday night. Most teams in the state got theirs in either Monday or Tuesday. But the late start made no matter, as the Saints beat Iowa City High, 62-49.

Marion’s boys’ basketball team, which has several new pieces, led the majority of it season opener Tuesday night against Waverly-Shell Rock, but the Go-Hawks rallied late, forced overtime and won, 63-60.

There are six freshmen on the Cedar Rapids Washington varsity boys’ basketball roster this season. Three of them start, as does a sophomore. Another frosh came off the bench Monday night in Wash’s 59-55 season-opening win over Mount Pleasant.

A.J. Reyelts of the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders was honored Monday as the United States Hockey League’s Goalie of the Week. The 18-year-old Minnesota resident’s mother and father both played hockey in college and his older brother plays junior hockey in the NAHL as a forward, which is how A.J. got started as a goaltender.

Cedar Rapids Kennedy senior boys’ basketball guard Trey McKowen is a returning first-team all-stater. He plays for his father, Jon, who is Kennedy’s head coach. He’ll play college ball for his uncle, Brooks, at Upper Iowa. His grandpa, Marty, is a hall of fame coach who is about to begin his 42nd season at Wapsie Valley

Here is a quick synopsis of the conferences in the Gazette area and a prediction for each winner.

A closer look at Iowa’s 13-10 win Saturday night over Nebraska at Kinnick Stadium. Max Llewellyn’s strip sack led to Drew Stevens’ game-winning field goal as the Hawkeyes rallied to win Heroes Game.

Defenseman Jules Boscq of the Iowa Heartlanders had a pair of goals in his team’s overtime loss Sunday to Bloomington. Those were the first two of his pro career in North America. The 22-year-old from France appears to have a bright future.

The Iowa Heartlanders and Bloomington Bison have played each other seven times so far in the early portion of the ECHL season. Sunday’s 3-2 Bloomington win in overtime was the third of six consecutive games between the teams.

Bethel University got two touchdowns each from quarterback Cooper Drews and running back Aaron Ellingson and eked past Coe, 31-26, in a NCAA Division III playoff football first-round game Saturday at St. Paul, Minn.

Coe College senior football running back Trenton Barnes is from Madison, Ind., in the very southern part of the state. He answered a recruiting e-mail from Coe head coach Tyler Staker his senior year of high school and ended up coming to Cedar Rapids for college. He became the American Rivers Conference’s leading rusher this season.

Tai Felton began to emerge as a wide receiver last season for the Maryland Terrapins. Despite interest from other schools, he decided to remain at the school for his senior season and is the Big Ten Conference’s leading pass catcher.

For the first time since 1977, there are no Gazette-area teams in the Iowa high school state football championships. But the Prep Football Huddle is making picks for all seven of this week’s games anyway.