Sports

“Expect the unexpected.” This may be the best way to describe the first four contests of 2021 for the Spencer Tigers, which improved its mark to 3-1 following 17-7 win over Sioux Center at Dale Norton Field Friday night under the full moon. The game was full of twists and turns...

FOREST CITY — Spencer’s girls volleyball team won three of four matches at the Forest City Tournament in preparation for a key nonconference match Tuesday. The Tigers achieved a 15-6 record following the four match, best-of-three format Saturday at Forest City...

FORT DODGE — The Spencer swim team chalked up two first-place finishes the four-team Gary Winkler Invitational hosted by Fort Dodge Saturday. The first event of the meet, the 200-yard medley relay, ended with a championship for the quartet of Emily Quanbeck, Brooke Moser, Mya Miller and Brooklyn Ferguson who bested the field at 2:00.36...

SIBLEY — The Sioux Central football squad opened Class 1A, District 1 contests with a solid 29-2 victory over Sibley-Ocheyedan Friday. The Rebels were victorious on the Generals’ homecoming night. “It was a tough game through four quarters,” The Sioux Central coach Brandon Goodchild said. ...

SIOUX RAPIDS — The Sioux Central girls and boys cross-country teams hosted 10- and 13-team fields at Little Sioux Golf Course Thursday. The Rebels boys placed fourth among the 13 teams while the girls ran a combined eighth of 10 squads. “Both varsity squads ran great races as a team,” Sioux Central coach Kelsey Miller said. “They are showing consistent improvement and ran very well at a meet in warm, windy conditions.”...

Lucas Oil American & Sprint Car Series results at the Clay County Fair Speedway on Sept. 14 which attracted many drivers from a half-dozen states and Canada. LUCAS OIL ASCS — A FEATURE 1. Matt Covington, Glanpool, OK; 2. Blake Hahn, Sapula, OK; 3. Dylan Wesbrook, Scotland, Ontario, Canada; 4. ...

The annual IMCA Hobby Stock took center stage Wednesday at the Clay County Speedway. Race winners when the dust was settled were: A Feature I, Cory Probst, of Brewster, Indiana; IMCA Modified, Kelly Shyrock, of Fertile; IMCA Sportmod, Matthew Looft, of Swea City; IMCA Sport Compact, Jaedon Erickson, of Welcome, Minnesota; IMCA Stock Car, Kaylee Devries, of Spencer...

The Tigers have won two consecutive games, 49-14 over Bishop Heelan and 41-8 against Mason City. Spencer scored 40-plus unanswered points in stretches during both non-district victories after the opposition led early.

STORM LAKE — It was a solid day for Tiger runners at the Storm Lake cross-country meet Tuesday. The seventh-ranked girls out-paced 12 other teams to win the championship by 21 points, besting M-OC/FV. The boys ended in third place, 11 points out of runner-up honors, behind Unity Christian...

HOLSTEIN — Sioux Central’s boys and girls cross-country teams competed at the Ridge View hosted Tim Thomas Meet Saturday in Holstein. The Rebel girls finished fifth among the 14-team field while the boys placed ninth out of 16 squads. The girls missed fourth place by two points, finishing just behind Alta-Aurelia and the boys finished by the same margin behind eighth place Bishop Garrigan...

Like many years in the past, Iowa Lakes Community College men’s soccer coach Ben MacRae’s 2021 roster includes players from many continents, in addition to top regional recruits. The formula has been rewarded in the past three months with two wins at the NJCAA Division I National Tournament and a 6-1 record so far this season. ...

Spencer and Sioux Central clashed on the volleyball court for the second time in three days and the Tigers prevailed 3-0 Monday at the field house. Spencer won by set scores of 25-16, 25-15, 25-11. The Tigers improved to 11-5 after the victory. “It took a little adjusting to get used to ‘the big net,’ as we call it, but then we found the groove,” Spencer coach Tara Hauschen said. “We had some good passing to the net and Abigail Horst had some great sets...

SIOUX CITY — Spencer girls swimmers at Sioux City West’s meet Saturday were led by the 100-yard breaststroke as Brooke Moser, Lily Gross and Audrey Farrar finished second, third and fourth. “We had excellent relays and time cuts across the board which is great this early in the season,” Spencer coach Amie Lawrence said...

Spencer’s offense featured both its run and passing games as it dominated for 3 1/2 quarters, scoring 41 unanswered points in a 41-8 victory over Mason City. Karter Petzenhauser recorded three touchdowns, two on passes from Evan Johnson and one on a rush. Johnson and TaRon Green added the other rushing touchdown. Izak Peterson also converted two field goal attempts. The defense shut out the Mohawks after allowing them their early lead.

Ten volleyball teams will compete beginning at 8:30 a.m. Saturday for the crown at Spencer’s volleyball tournament at the field house. Squads are assigned to one of two pools. Teams in the Tigers’ pool (records prior to Thursday) are: Spencer 8-3, Sioux Central 1-3, West Lyon 9-3, Bishop Heelan 1-2 and Mason City 5-2...

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is accepting comments on the proposed fee for the new lifetime trout fishing license, through Oct. 26. During the 89th General Assembly, House File 234 was passed and signed into law on June 8. House File 234 establishes a new lifetime trout fishing license for Iowa residents who are at least 65 years of age. House file 234 also initiated the process to set the fee for the new lifetime trout fishing license...

The Iowa deer hunting tradition will be passed on to about 10,000 young hunters who are participating in the youth deer season, which opened last Saturday, Sept. 18. This season is designed as a mentor-styled hunt, matching young hunters with a licensed adult to teach proper deer hunting techniques, wildlife behavior and safe hunting practices without the added pressure of other hunters in the field...

The first of Iowa’s two-day youth waterfowl seasons begin Sept. 25 in the north zone, allowing the kids to experience the fun of the hunt, without the pressure of keeping up with the adults, or fighting lousy weather. “The young hunters get to spend some time outdoors and learn from an experienced waterfowl hunter in a one on one situation, and that’s priceless,” said Orrin Jones, state waterfowl biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources...

I’ve had the opportunity to fish in many areas across North America, from Ontario and Manitoba in the north to Florida in the south. I’ve been able to participate in lots of memorable bites, for big fish and for numbers of fish. But when I think about it, and I think about it a lot, if the remainder of my fishing trips could take place in only one geographic area, it would be in the Midwest, not only for numbers, but also for size and variety...

The 33rd annual Pocahontas Iowa Great Lakes Invitational Fishing Tournament was held on the Iowa Great Lakes chain Sept. 11-12, and I, along with partners John Amick and Bill Elling, fished the tournament for the 31st consecutive year. A total of 32 three-person teams had the choice of fishing walleye and panfish (perch, bluegill, crappies). A team could only win one category for the weekend...

Show off your outdoorsy side and support conservation with a natural resources license plate. Every penny of the $45 initial fee and $25 renewal feel (automatically included in your annual vehicle registration) goes toward trails, habitat, parks, wildlife and more...

Awesome! That word best describes my feeling of elation at the recent news that the East Okoboji Shoreline Project has been achieved. The $8.2 million project to protect 2,020 feet of the last privately owned, undeveloped piece of shoreline on East Okoboji. The cool part is it happened before the Monday deadline...

It feels like the autumn season has arrived. It’s been a warm, dry summer in many areas across the Midwest, and some people who predict weather are predicting a cold, snowy winter. I don’t know what the winter will bring, but I do know that past autumns have brought some outstanding fishing. Outstanding fishing: That’s what I’m looking forward to...