HARLAN -- It wasn’t yet the knockout punch to Harlan Community’s 2016 playoff hopes, but it was a damaging body blow at the very least. For the second straight week, HCHS scored a lot of points but allowed even more, yielding 632 yards in an exciting, but disappointing, 49-41 loss to Glenwood at Merrill Field. Coupled with their 70-49 setback at Creston/O-M in Week 3, the Cyclones have allowed an astonishing 119 points and 1,174 yards in a tw

 HARLAN -- Two nights after starting slowly in a three-set loss at Kuemper Catholic, the Harlan Community volleyball team reversed roles in Thursday’s home match with Atlantic, scoring 21 of the first 26 points and cruising by the Trojans, 25-11, 25-14, 25-15. It was a marked turnaround for the 12th-ranked (Class 4-A) Cyclones, who fell behind 19-3 in the opening set Tuesday but raced to a 21-5 lead on Thursday. HCHS improved to 6-8 overall an

 AVOCA -- The AHSTW football team ran its shutout streak to three straight games here Friday night, blowing out ACGC (Adair-Casey/Guthrie Center) 55-0 to improve to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in Class 1-A, District 7. Since opening the season with a 13-6 overtime win over Shenandoah, the Vikings have blanked Lawton-Bronson, 28-0, Tri-Center, 40-0, and the Chargers, 55-0, and have not allowed a point in 14 consecutive quarters.

 CARROLL -- Payton Sporrer of IKM-Manning placed third in the Class B girls division of Saturday’s Kuemper Catholic Cross Country Invite, pacing eight area runners to earn top 25 finishes at Swan Lake State Park. Sporrer’s five-kilometer time of 21:43 trailed only two Underwood runners - Karley Larson (19:59) and Ryann Portch (21:22) in the small-school girls race.

 MANNING -- The IKM-Manning football team came within five yards of a possible win over Logan-Magnolia here Friday night, falling just short, 14-8, when a fourth down pass was incomplete with 2:24 to go. The Wolves dropped to 2-2 overall and 1-1 in Class 1-A, District 7, while the Panthers improved to 3-1 and 2-0. Trailing 14-0 at the half, IKM-Manning pulled within a touchdown following Cody Chapman’s five-yard TD run and Stephen Grimm’s two-

 WESTPHALIA -- After a five-year absence, the Harvest Baseball Tournament returned to Westphalia with a game on August 27 and two games over the Labor Day weekend. The Council Bluffs Diablos won the 2016 incarnation of the tournament after defeating the Omaha Yankees 9-6 in the championship game on September 4. The Diablos beat the Massena Red Sox 11-6 in the first round and defeated Blair 19-10 in the semifinals. 

Exira-EHK swept Woodbine in three games Monday, Sept. 12.  The host Spartans won 25-9, 25-3 and 25-17 to push their record to 3-4 on the year.

 CARROLL -- Kuemper Catholic demonstrated early and often why it should be considered a serious state title contender in 3-A volleyball Tuesday night, starting fast and showing late grit in a 25-9, 25-22, 25-19 sweep of Harlan Community. The 2nd-ranked Knights dominated the opening set with authority, scoring eight of the first nine points and racing to a 19-3 lead, but the 10th-ranked (4-A) Cyclones were much more competitive the rest of the

HARLAN -- Time will tell how key Friday night’s game at Merrill Field is in determining this year’s two automatic playoff qualifiers from Class 3-A, District 7. It’s only Week 4, and this is just the second of seven district games on the schedule, but Glenwood (2-1, 0-1) and Harlan Community (1-2, 0-1) both know what’s at stake as they prepare for tonight’s 7:30 kickoff. The winner basically still controls its own destiny in pursuit of a top-t

 RED OAK -- While many of her teammates have battled illness or injury during the first few weeks of the cross country season, Greichaly Kaster remains a solid mark of consistency for Harlan Community. Kaster placed second to fellow sophomore Ashley Wendt of Atlantic at Monday’s Red Oak Tiger Invite, giving her four straight top-five finishes to start the year, including back-to-back second-place medals. Kaster’s teammates all placed in the to

 CRESTON -- At some point in time Friday night, football’s inventor of the form tackle stopped rolling over in his grave, curled up in the fetal position and covered his eyes. It was that much of a full-fledged offensive showcase at Panther Field as 10th-ranked Creston/Orient-Macksburg outscored Harlan Community 70-49 in the District 7 (Class 3-A) opener for both teams. Creston/O-M senior standout Chase Shiltz amassed 507 all-purpose yards on

 COUNCIL BLUFFS -- Harlan Community sophomore Greichaly Kaster stepped up her game at Iowa Western Community College on Saturday, posting a season-best second-place performance to pace a group of four Cyclone medalists at the Lewis Central Cross Country Invitational. Both HCHS squads placed sixth out of 12 teams, with the girls scoring a 125 and the boys scoring 179.

 MANNING -- The IKM-Manning volleyball team took a good first step toward contending for the top of the Western Iowa Conference here Thursday night, sweeping Audubon 25-17, 25-18, 25-23 in the WIC opener for both squads. Five days after losing to the Wheelers (20-22, 17-21) as part of a fourth-place showing at the South Central Calhoun Tournament, the Wolves played consistently sharp and aggressive on their home floor and trailed only once - o

 EXIRA -- Drew Buckholdt returned to Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton’s lineup with a vengeance Friday night, scoring five touchdowns as the Spartans routed Sidney 53-18 for their first win of the football season. Buckholdt, one of three Spartan starters to miss last week’s 40-6 non-district loss at Bedford, caught touchdown passes of 8, 9 and 19 yards from Kyle Petersen and also scored on runs of five and two yards.

 CRESTON -- If you like offense, and lots of it, then Friday night’s game between Harlan Community and Creston/O-M was the place to be.