Metro Sports Report

Staker succeeds dad as Coe football coach

Steve Staker has resigned as the Coe football coach after eight years and will be succeeded by his son Tyler Staker, athletic director John Chandler announced Monday afternoon.

“I feel the program needs to move forward with a new energy and leadership,” Steve Staker said.

Staker said he made the decision before the season, but waited to make the announcement. “With 17 active grandkids, this will allow me to be more involved in their many activities,” he remarked.

Staker retires as one of the best football coaches in school history after eight years as head coach and four previous years as an assistant. He finished with a 55-29 record, the third most wins in school history.

The Kohawks appeared in the NCAA Division III playoffs three times under Staker, including a victory over undefeated Saint John’s in the opening round of the 2009 playoffs.

4 Mount Mercy teams heading to NAIA nationals

These are exciting times at Mount Mercy University with four of its fall sports teams headed to NAIA national tournaments this Saturday.

The men's and women's cross country teams, the men's soccer team and the women's volleyball squad have all qualified for the national events and will be playing on the same day.

"It's unprecedented, to be honest with you," said Mount Mercy athletic Paul Gavin, calling it the No. 1 accomplishment in school history in terms of collective achievement. "It's exciting."

The cross country teams will compete at the NAIA national meet in Charlotte, N.C., this Saturday morning. The men's soccer team will play at Missouri Valley College in the opening round of the NAIA national tournament on Saturday, and the volleyball squad will play at Dordt in the first round of their NAIA tournament on Saturday as well.

'Seat belt' rule going away for coaches

Prep basketball coaches in Iowa will be able to walk the sidelines much more often this season as the "seat belt" rule, keeping coaches mostly tied to their benches, has been done away with.

Upon recommendations from the IGHSAU and IHSAA Basketball Advisory Committees and with the support of the IGHSAU Board of Directors and contingent upon approval from the IHSAA Board of Control and the Joint Committee, the head coach may stand within a designated coaching box effectively immediately.

The first technical foul charged directly or indirectly to the head coach results in loss of coaching box privileges and the head coach must remain seated for the remainder of the game. The use of the coaching box is for the head coach only and may not be designated to assistant coaches.

The National Federation Basketball Rule 1-13-2 states "that the coaching box shall be outlined outside the side of the court on which the scorer's and timer's table and team benches are located.  The area shall be bounded by a line drawn 14 feet from the end line towards the division line.  At this point, a line drawn from the sideline toward the team bench becomes the end of the coaching box going towards the end line."

4 Kohawks honored by Iowa Conference

Coe swimmer Ayaka Okamoto has been named the Female Athlete of the Week in the Iowa Conference.

Okamoto, a freshman from Tokyo, won five events for the Kohawks in two meets last week. She set school records in the 100 backstroke and 200 backstroke.

Farai Sewera was named the Wrestling Performer of the Week for winning the 165-pound title at the Luther Open Saturday. He dominated all five of his matches with two pins, a technical fall and two major decisions.

Brandon Abbas was named the Special Teams Performer of the Week in football. He was 7-for-7 on PATs and booted a career-best 42 yard field goal in a 52-14 victory over Buena Vista.

Collin Flynn was honored as the Performer of the Week in men's swimming. He won four events for the Kohawks last week.