Mike Condon

In a season of what might have been, the Linn-Mar football team just did not have enough in Friday night’s regular-season finale against Class 5A No. 4 Pleasant Valley.

Iowa City West has been the gold standard for girls’ swimming in the Mississippi Valley Conference in recent years. There should be an interesting battle with Cedar Falls at this year's conference meet at Dubuque Hempstead.

Top-ranked and two-time defending state champion Waukee headlines a nine-team field assigned to the Linn-Mar state qualifying meet to be held on Nov. 4. Assignments for the six girls’ swimming qualifying meets were released over the weekend by the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union.

In a game where the prize was a Class A playoff berth, North Linn turned away Bellevue at every turn. The Lynx took the ball away from the visitors nine times, including eight interceptions, rolling to a 56-6 victory on a windy, rainy night on North Linn's field.

Coleton Beasler-Weber returned a pair of punts for scores and added a third on a 24-yard run as No. 6 Xavier rolled to a 42-0 homecoming win over the Indians on a blustery night at Saints Field.

Dylan Muszynski made his mark right away in his return from injury, taking off on a 65-yard run on his second carry. He finished with 198 yards on 25 carries and caught two passes for another 33 yards as the Lions snapped their three-game losing streak with an impressive, 35-9, win over the Muskies.

Iowa high school swimming notebook: In a year of transition for the Iowa City West girls’ swimming team, the level of success has remained constant.

Cedar Rapids bolted to a 21-0 lead, only to see turnovers and penalties take hold, especially in the second half. In the end, Prairie was able to come away with a 38-30 victory over Iowa City Liberty.

As a swimmer, coach, teacher and administrator at Cedar Rapids Washington, Chris Cruise had a drive to succeed and nothing gave him more joy than seeing his students strive for and achieve success. That fighting spirit was extinguished on Thursday. Cruise's wife, Kim, announced Thursday night on social media that the Hall of Fame coach, who had been diagnosed with Stage IV pancreatic cancer in August, had “passed away peacefully” at home.

Even in defeat against No. 3 Bettendorf on Friday night at Linn-Mar Stadium, the Lions showed they are far from broken. A late touchdown was taken off the board when officials called Linn-Mar for an illegal block, allowing Bettendorf to head home with a 21-14 victory.

Cedar Rapids Kennedy piled up 412 yards of total offense and held the Lions to 233 yards en route to a convincing 34-0 victory before a near-capacity crowd at Linn-Mar Stadium.

Elusive senior Casey Kelley scored six touchdowns, rushing for 226 yards on 14 carries as Cedar Rapids Prairie, ranked No. 7 in Class 5A, rolled to a 49-13 win over Dubuque Senior on Friday night at John Wall Field.

Trey Franck has not practiced one play at quarterback. All Franck did was produce a pair of first downs that set up Marion's first TD, a 19-yard Hunter Horak run. He capped his night by throwing a 34-yard strike to Darius Rouson in the fourth quarter to seal the Wolves' impressive 15-0 win on a warm night at Clipper Field.

A look at Gazette area teams and individuals to watch during the 2023 Iowa high school swimming and diving season this fall.

For Maria Trotta, the road to swimming success has been as much mental as it has been physical. Now a senior at Cedar Rapids Xavier, Trotta said there was only one path to meeting her high expectations.