Jeff Johnson

It didn’t look great for Iowa City Liberty’s football team when star quarterback Reece Rettig had to come out of the game with a leg injury in the second quarter of its Class 5A playoff football first-rounder Friday night against Waukee. But Rettig returned, and the Lightning rambled to a 34-20 win. Next up is Southeast Polk, which Liberty beat in the regular season but is the four-time defending 5A champion.

Defenseman Nolan Orzeck began his professional hockey career in the 2022-23 season with the ECHL’s Iowa Heartlanders. After almost three years in Texas and Finland, the 24-year-old Calgary native is back in the Corridor.

Iowa Valley’s football team takes a 9-0 record and No. 4 ranking into its Class Eight-Player second-round playoff game Friday night at home against Janesville. The Tigers have the ability to reach the UNI-Dome and the semifinals for the first time in 25 years.

The Gazette sports writers Jeff Johnson, Jeff Linder and K.J. Pilcher discuss Iowa High School Football Week 9 results, upcoming playoff matchups in Week 10 and games to watch.

The hay is in the barn and all classes have reached the postseason. See what Jeff Linder, Jeff Johnson, K.J. Pilcher and Scott Unash have to say about high school football in our last 4 Downs.

Justin Graf of the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders has had a fine start to his United States Hockey League acreer, picking up six goals and 11 points in his first 11 games. The promising forward wants to follow in the footsteps of his older brother, Collin, a forward for the NHL’s San Jose Sharks.

Running back Campbell Janis went over 1,000 yards rushing this season Friday night for the Iowa City West football team. Wide receiver Ethan Headings went over 1,000 yards receiving Friday night for the Iowa City West football team. But the biggest accomplishment in the Class 5A No. 10 Trojans’ 42-14 win Friday night over Linn-Mar was a spot in the state playoffs.

Minnesota’s football team set a school record with nine quarterback sacks last week in a win over Nebraska. Iowa is the Golden Gophers’ opponent Saturday afternoon and knows the importance of keeping QB Mark Gronowski from being under siege.

The Gazette sports writers Jeff Johnson, Jeff Linder and K.J. Pilcher discuss Iowa High School Football Week 8 results, upcoming matchups in Week 9 and games to watch.

What underdogs could bite home teams in postseason openers? Does parity reign in Class 5A? What changes would you like to see in the playoff system and to prevent forfeits?

Defenseman Will Francis was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia shortly after the conclusion of his junior hockey career with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders. After treatment brought him into remission, he relapsed twice while playing at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Again cancer free, he is playing his first full professional season in the ECHL with the Tulsa Oilers.

It was a three-in-three weekend for the Iowa Heartlanders this past weekend as the ECHL regular season began. And it was three one-goal games for the Heartlanders, who went 2-1. The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders split a pair of USHL games this past weekend.

Jaxon Nelson scored a pair of goals Sunday for the Iowa Heartlanders in their 5-4 loss at Xtream Arena to the Tulsa Oilers. A former captain for the University of Minnesota hockey team didn’t play a ton of minutes last season with the AHL’s Providence Bruins, something that won’t be the case this season.

Class 4A No. 1 Cedar Rapids Xavier scored a touchdown in each quarter and dominated on both sides of the football in a 34-0 win Friday night over No. 9 Decorah at Saints Field. Xavier won the District 2 championship with the victory.

The Gazette sports writers Jeff Johnson, Jeff Linder and K.J. Pilcher discuss Iowa High School Football Week 7 results, upcoming matchups in Week 8, games to watch in Week 7 and the recently rankings.