GLENWOOD -- Harlan Community used a big-play offense, a bend-but-don’t-break defense and a strong finish Friday night to take down unbeaten Glenwood, 38-14, in a game that was much more competitive than the final score. Leading just 21-14 with 9:30 remaining, the seventh-ranked Cyclones responded with an 87-yard touchdown drive, a record-breaking ninth field goal by Ethan Knudson and a Josh Cheek pick-six to pull away late and climb to second

 EXIRA -- Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton bounced back from its first loss of the year in a big way Friday night, routing Boyer Valley 61-6 to improve to 7-1 overall and 5-1 in District 1. The Spartans built a 48-6 lead by halftime, riding the three-pronged rushing attack of quarterback Brady Hansen and running backs Drew Buckholdt and Martin Olson.

 AVOCA -- IKM-Manning outlasted Underwood in five highly-competitive sets, 25-22, 25-22, 21-25, 26-28, 15-7, on Thursday night to earn third place in the 2015 Western Iowa Conference Volleyball Tournament.

 HARLAN -- Fighting off some mid-match bouts of sluggishness, the Harlan Community volleyball team was still able to finish off a Senior Night sweep of Creston here Tuesday, winning 25-16, 25-22, 25-17, to maintain its share of first place in the Hawkeye Ten Conference. The 2nd-ranked (Class 4-A) Cyclones took control of game one with a 9-1 run and never trailed in game three, but had their hands full throughout a second set that was tightly c

GLENWOOD -- What a difference a year can make. Last season at this time, the Harlan Community and Glenwood football teams had won four out of 14 games en route to a combined overall record of 5-13 and a 2-10 mark in district play.

 MANNING -- The IKM-Manning defense forced six turnovers, including Noah Harlow’s 58-yard fumble return touchdown, in last Friday’s 30-6, non-district home win over Manson Northwest Webster. The Wolves trailed 6-0 after the first quarter - ironically due to a 58-yard fumble return score by the Cougars - before scoring 30 unanswered points to improve to 5-2 on the season.

 UNDERWOOD -- Nick Pedersen passed for 146 yards and three touchdowns and the Underwood defense held AHSTW to just 73 total yards last Friday night as the fifth-ranked (1-A) Eagles beat the 10th-ranked Vikings, 40-0, to stay undefeated on the year. The game was marred by a season-ending knee injury suffered by AHSTW senior quarterback and safety Nate Herbst in the first quarter.

 NEWELL -- Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton did everything but win the game in last Friday’s battle of 8-Player unbeatens at Newell-Fonda. Tied at 35 with the top-ranked and defending state champion Mustangs, the 6th-ranked Spartans were driving for the possible game-winning score when disaster struck inside the 20-yard line. With just 29 seconds left, Newell-Fonda’s Cole Wise scooped up a Spartan fumble and returned it 65 yards for a touchdown, givi

 CRESTON – In 38 years and 443 games as the Harlan Community head football coach, it’s quite possible that Curt Bladt has never had a team accomplish what the 2015 Cyclones did Friday night against Creston/Orient-Macksburg. From a powerful rushing attack to an effective short-passing game to the press box coaches’ halftime suggestions, it was all clicking offensively as the Cyclones racked up 607 total yards and scored on all nine possessions

 HULL -- Losing only to Western Christian in a pair of tightly-contested matches, the Harlan Community volleyball team placed second with a 4-2 record at Saturday’s Wolfpack Kooima-Kaemingk Classic in Hull. HCHS finished second in Pool A to Western Christian following a 17-21, 19-21 loss in the morning, then set up a rematch in the championship round after sweeping Sioux City Bishop Heelan 21-13, 21-15 in the semifinals. The 2nd-ranked (Class

Ethan Knudson's field goal and a Josh Cheek 25-yard interception return make a tight game appear much more wide open. HCHS quarterback Kyle Juhl threw for 270 yards and three touchdowns in Harlan's win over Glenwood.

 COUNCIL BLUFFS -- All in all, it was a busy and successful Tuesday night in Council Bluffs for the Harlan Community volleyball team. Playing seven rapid-fire sets within a three-hour window - four of them highly competive - the Cyclones handled their own business first by winning a Hawkeye Ten triangular vs. St.

 CRESTON -- Barring any upsets elsewhere in District 8, the Harlan Community football team can actually clinch a playoff berth Friday night with a win at Creston/Orient-Macksburg. And considering all the struggles of last year’s 3-6 campaign, that’s a good place to be when it’s only Week 7 on the schedule. Bringing that victory back to Harlan may not be easy, however, when the 7th-ranked (3-A) Cyclones tackle an unranked Panther team that has

 WOODBINE -- Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton’s Evan Wilson was the overall boys champion and the Spartan girls were conference team champions at Monday’s combined Woodbine Cross Country Invite and Rolling Valley Conference Meet held at the Woodbine Athletic Complex. Area teams IKM-Manning, AHSTW and Exira-EHK were all part of the meet, which saw the Underwood girls and Tri-Center boys win team titles. The Exira-EHK girls placed third in the overall

The running of junior tailback Nick Tarney and passing of senior quarterback Kyle Juhl carried Harlan to a 59-21 victory over Creston/O-M Friday night at Panther Field in a matchup of teams that came in tied for third place in Class 3A District 8.
The win pushed the Cyclones to 3-1 in district play and 6-1 overall, while Creston/O-M fell to 2-2 and 4-3.