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Madsy Richards of Kirkwood drives a shot past Ashley Kraber of Ellsworth during the fourth-ranked Eagles' victory at Johnson Hall Wednesday night. (MSR photo by Margaret O'Banion)

Richards family excels in volleyball

Thu - 15 Sep Written by Jim Ecker

When it comes to premier volleyball in Cedar Rapids these days, it's hard to top the Richards family and the three talented sisters who are playing at Kirkwood and Xavier.

Madsy Richards, a sophomore at Kirkwood, leads the fourth-ranked Eagles in kills and was named the national junior college player of the week for Sept. 5 through Sept. 11.

Charlotte Richards, a junior at Xavier, leads the sixth-ranked Saints in kills and is one of the top players in the state. And Olivia Richards, a sophomore at Xavier, has helped the Saints win all 15 of their matches this season.

"It's really cool," Madsy Richards said Wednesday night after Kirkwood swept Ellsworth, 25-14, 25-18, 25-18, for its 13th straight victory. "This year both teams are doing really well.

"Xavier is having a phenomenal year and they have a new coach (Austin Filer). I think they're really enjoying that and all the new stuff he brings to the program.

"And at Kirkwood we're doing really well. Our chemistry is really good and we're just taking care of business."

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Hayden & Kirk trump the Cyclone 7

Sun - 11 Sep Written by Jim Ecker

IOWA CITY - I was sitting in the fancy press box at Kinnick Stadium Saturday night, watching the Iowa Hawkeyes dismantle Iowa State 42-3, and got to wondering why the Hawkeyes have been a national power for much of the last four decades and why the Cyclones have not been able to sustain any great success during all that time.

Why have two state-supported schools that play in Power 5 conferences have such vastly different track records in football?

The obvious answers, of course, are Hayden Fry and Kirk Ferentz, Iowa's two highly successful head coaches over the past 38 years who have won 60.7 percent of their games and taken the Hawkeyes to 27 bowl games, but are there additional reasons besides the obvious?

Fry went 143-89-6 in 20 years from 1979 to 1998, led the Hawks to 14 bowl games and used the force of his unique personality to lift Iowa football from the doldrums to great heights in a short period of time.

Ferentz, one of Fry's former assistants, assumed the mantle in 1999 and has led Iowa to a 129-87 mark and 13 bowl trips. Combined, they have a won-loss record of 272-176-6. And that's pretty darn good.

Iowa State, on the other hand, has gone through seven head coaches since 1979 and none of them can boast a winning record. In fact, none of them came even close.

Donnie Duncan went 18-24-2 from 1979 to 82, Jim Criner was 16-24-2 from 1983 to 1986, Jim Walden was 28-57-3 from 1987 through 1994, Dan McCarney was 56-85 from 1995 to 2006, Gene Chizik was 5-19 from 2007 to 2008, Paul Rhoads finished 32-55 from 2009 to 2015, and Matt Campbell is off to an 0-2 start in 2016.

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The referee signals a touchdown by Xavier fullback Erik Rodriguez during Friday night's 47-14 victory over Benton Community in Van Horne. (MSR photo by Margaret O'Banion)

No. 1 Saints roll by Benton, 47-14

Fri - 09 Sep Written by Jim Ecker

VAN HORNE - Schulte pulled Schulte from the game in the third quarter and put Schulte in at quarterback instead.

Confused? Don't be. It was just Xavier rolling to an easy victory Friday night with Coach Duane Schulte and his sons - Bryce and Quinn - helping the Saints stay perfect at 3-0.

The top-ranked Saints dumped Benton Community, 47-14, in the Class 3A district opener in Van Horne with the defense and special teams making it easy for the offense.

Xavier had three touchdown drives - if you can call them drives - of 3 yards, 4 yards and 3 yards. Another drive went 25 yards, with all those easy scores courtesy of two long punt returns and two fumble recoveries.

Maliki Wilson, who led the state in rushing when the night began, broke loose for a 49-yard touchdown in the third quarter, but he carried the ball only five times for 59 yards.

The Saints led 41-0 midway through the third quarter, which allowed Coach Schulte to rest starting quarterback Bryce Schulte and give sophomore Quinn Schulte his first snaps behind center.

Schulte was able to clear his bench in the second half for the only time this season.

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Nolan Butkowski (4) intercepts a pass against Cevan Walton and the Linn-Mar Lions during Xavier's 45-17 victory at Linn-Mar last Friday night. (MSR photo by Margaret O'Banion)

Butkowski assumes big role with Saints

Thu - 08 Sep Written by Jim Ecker

Nolan Butkowski has developed into one of the top multi-sport athletes at Xavier High School in football, basketball and baseball, but he sometimes struggles to keep up with his own mother when they go for a long run.

"I always brag that I can beat her in short distances," Butkowski said with a smile before football practice this week, "but she always comes back that she can beat me in long distances."

Butkowski worked extra-hard to prepare for his final year at Xavier. That included going on four- and five-mile runs with his mother, Cori, who is an attorney and avid runner who sometimes goes nine or 10 miles, which is a little too long for her athletic son.

Butkowski's mother has been known to tease Nolan a little about that. "Yeah, a little bit," he acknowledged.

All that running, along with all his time in the weight room, have helped Butkowski fill some important roles for the Xavier football team, which is ranked No. 1 in Class 3A heading into Friday night's district opener at Benton Community.

Butkowski had a big game last Friday when the Saints defeated Linn-Mar, 45-17, at Linn-Mar Stadium. He caught three passes for 73 yards, made four solo tackles and returned an interception 33 yards to set up a touchdown.

He also caught a long touchdown pass, but the play was nullified by a penalty.

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Hawkeye fans need to wait and see

Sun - 04 Sep Written by Jim Ecker

IOWA CITY - University of Iowa football fans should probably wait a few weeks before making their reservations for the Big Ten championship game in Indianapolis this December.

The Hawkeyes might get there again, but they have a lot to prove following their 45-21 victory over Miami of Ohio in the season opener before 68,390 fans at Kinnick Stadium Saturday.

The Hawkeyes certainly looked good at times, especially with the 1-2 punch of Akrum Wadley and LeShun Daniels combining for 204 yards and four touchdown at tailback. C.J. Beathard looked good throwing the ball, especially in the first half when he was 10 of 11 for 151 yards, and the defense came away with three big fumbles that helped fuel the offense.

But there were also some disquieting moments for the Hawkeyes, who had trouble getting the RedHawks off the field at times as the visitors mounted three long, time-consuming drives for touchdowns.

Iowa jumped to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter with a fast start, but Miami of Ohio patiently worked itself back into the ballgame and trailed only 35-21 with nearly 10 minutes left in the game.

The Redhawks had three touchdown drives that measured 75, 75 and 74 yards in the ballgame, all against Iowa's top defense. All three of those drives lasted approximately seven minutes - 6:59, 6:56 and 7:10, to be exact - as Miami quarterback Billy Bahl led his club up and down the field.

Iowa scored its six touchdowns in a hurry, especially in the first quarter when they reached the end zone three times in a total elapsed time of just 4 minutes and 14 seconds. The Hawks also reached paydirt on drives that took 3:04, 3:23 and 1:58 later in the game, so when they moved the ball they moved quickly and efficiently.

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Today's Line-up

Metro Sports Report

Richards family excels in volleyball

Hayden & Kirk trump the Cyclone 7

No. 1 Saints roll by Benton, 47-14

Butkowski assumes big role with Saints

Hawkeye fans need to wait and see

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