Metro Sports Report

Nominate prep athletes for 'Metro Spotlight'

It's time for parents, grandparents, coaches, athletic directors, teachers, teammates and fans to brag a little bit about their favorite high school athletes and nominate them for the "Metro Spotlight" award on the Metro Sports Report website.

The new weekly feature will begin on Monday, Aug. 5 and will run during the entire course of the 2013-14 school year. There will be one male and one female winner each week.

The "Metro Spotlight" is being sponsored by Capriotti's Sandwich Shop, which is located at 4640 1st Avenue NE in Cedar Rapids.

Local players in pro baseball

RYAN SWEENEY (Xavier, Chicago Cubs) - Placed on disabled list June 30 with fractured rib. Expected to miss at least six weeks. Season stats: G - 44, Avg. - .295, AB - 112, H - 33, HR - 4, RBI - 15, SB - 1.

SCOTT SCHEBLER (Prairie, Rancho Cucamonga (Dodgers)) - Started in right field Sunday and was 1-for-4 with a solo home run in the Quakes' 11-10 win over Lancaster. Season stats: G - 94, Avg. - .309, AB - 356, H - 110, HR - 22, RBI - 67, SB - 12.

KELLEN SWEENEY (Jefferson, Lansing (Blue Jays)) - Started at third base Sunday and was 0-for-3 in the Lugnuts' 7-1 loss to Bowling Green. Season stats: G - 85, Avg. - .181, AB - 270, H - 49, HR - 5, RBI - 20, SB - 0.

ANDREW HANSE (Linn-Mar, Hudson Valley (Rays)) - Did not pitch Sunday in the Renegades' 4-2 loss to Brooklyn. Season stats: W - 2. L - 2. Sv - 2. ERA - 4.71. G - 14. IP - 21. H - 21. BB - 7. SO - 14.

CHAD CHRISTENSEN (Washington, GCL Twins (Twins)) - The Twins were idle Sunday. Season stats: G - 21, Avg. - .267, AB - 75, H - 20, HR - 1, RBI - 8, SB - 2.

JON KELLER (Xavier, GCL Orioles (Orioles)) - The Orioles were idle Sunday. Season stats: W - 0. L - 0. Sv - 0. ERA - 0.00. G - 1. IP - 1. H - 1. BB - 0. SO - 1.

Hanna shines in Shrine Bowl

CEDAR FALLS - One quarterback had a day he will always remember. Another had one he would like to forget.

But for both Cedar Rapids Prairie's Jace Hanna and Cedar Rapids Xavier's Reggie Schulte, Saturday's 41st edition of the Shrine Bowl at the UNI-Dome was put in the proper perspective as just one part of a special week.

Hanna was likely playing football for the final time. He completed a pair of touchdown passes of 32 yards each to West Des Moines Valley's Clint Boffeli as the South rolled to a 28-0 win over the North before an estimate crowd of 3,500 at the UNI-Dome.

On the other side of the field, it wasn't the best of days for Schulte. He was under constant pressure from a swarming South defense and ended up throwing five interceptions, including one that was returned for a touchdown. He completed just 9-of-25 passes for 91 yards.

Kepler in right spot for Kernels

Max Kepler spends most of his time patrolling the outfield for the Cedar Rapids Kernels, but Saturday night he took a turn at first base.

Regardless of the position, Kepler brought his “A” game and led the Kernels to a come-from-behind 5-2 win over the Clinton LumberKings in front of a packed house of 5,161 fans at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Kepler made a diving stop in each of the first two innings to preserve a scoreless game and hit a solo home run to move the Kernels to within a 2-1 score in the fifth inning. He added another run-saving, diving snag in the seventh frame and topped off his night with an RBI single in the Kernels’ eighth.