WILDRunning

Grant Petersen

Bondurant-Farrar’s Grant Petersen has run through Class 3A defenses with ease this fall. The senior is averaging 298 rushing yards per game through September. (Photo courtesy of The Des Moines Register)

Bondurant-Farrar RB

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4 BE A SPORTSportsmanship is one of life’s most important lessons. However, a recent Liberty Mutual Responsible Sports survey reveals it is declining in youth sports.

6 DRIVING RANGE TO STATE HONORSDevotion and enthusiasm on the high school golf scene have brought Ottumwa senior Matthew Walker multiple successes. Now he’s ready to cap a brilliant prep career.

12 FOR LOVE OF THE GAMEFather and son Bob and Rob Brooks are known through-out the Big Ten Country for their work covering Iowa sports radio and television.

Editor’s Note: In this issue, read up on Bondurant-Farrar’s Grant Petersen, who has torn through Class 3A defenses in the first month of the season to the tune of 250 yards per game and is making a run at the state’s single-season rushing record. Also learn about Ottumwa’s Matthew Walker, who is chasing another fall golf state title. Be sure not to miss our special feature on Bob and Rob Brooks, the father-son broadcasting duo with nearly a century’s worth of experience covering Iowa Hawkeye sports.

wild

18 HS PIC PAGEPhotos from Weeks 2-4 football action around the state.

Nancy Justis | Contributor

Sportsmanship in youth sports isn’t dead, but it is dying. Why do I say this? Hey, have you been to a kids’ baseball game recently? Or a basketball game? Pick a sport. Parents are yelling at officials, coaches and kids — even their own kids — and coaches are yelling at kids and officials. And most often, the kids just want to have fun.

I’m not just stating my opinion on this dismal state of the game. A recent survey conducted by Liberty Mutual Responsible Sports, powered by Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA), shows that sportsmanship in youth sports is on the decline. This, despite the survey also revealing that sportsmanship is considered to be one of the most important lessons taught in these activities. The national survey of 2,000 youth sports parents and coaches revealed that 50 percent of the respondents believe that sportsmanship has worsened in youth sports since they themselves were children, while only 12 percent felt it had improved.

Sixty percent reported either witnessing or participating in “negative or abusive sideline behavior”, 26 percent of parents said they had witnessed “a verbally abusive coach”, and 16 percent said they had witnessed a physical confrontation between parents. Fifty-five percent of coaches had “experienced parents yelling negatively at officials or their own kids” and two in five had experienced “parents yelling negatively at other kids”.

The survey also found that 75 percent of parents and coaches believe that teaching sportsmanship is the responsibility of the parents.

Conversations with persons involved with youth sports on various levels show the survey’s findings hold true even in laid-back Iowa.

“I do think sportsmanship has declined with the increased presence of social media in all of our lives,” said John Allan, a former coach, athletics director and official. “I officiated for 20 years and don’t recall sportsmanship sinking to the level it has today.

“Sportsmanship needs to be taught by coaches, teachers, parents and whomever has a direct impact on student-athletes, especially when they are young and more able to be influenced in a positive manner.

I think that involvement in sports by student-athletes must come with a commitment from parents to do whatever is necessary to impact the need for sportsmanship.”

Stan Hughes of EGOS (Education, Goals, Opportunities, Sports) Unlimited said players need to keep everything in perspective

“In order to improve good sportsmanship, players need to understand winning isn’t everything. When participating in sports, it is imperative that players grow in the particular sport, improve on their skills/fundamentals, show respect for teammates and opposing team members, and hold themselves accountable.”

Mark Gallagher, a city recreation services manager, believes the coach and the staff are the leaders.

“If the coach sets a good example, most times parents and players will follow suit,” he said. “Parents need to help children keep youth sports in perspective and remind them the priority in youth sports should be enhancing skills and nurturing a true love of the game rather than worrying about championships and future college scholarships.”

I say don’t live your childhood dream of becoming an athletic star through your own child who’s playing on the field or court.

It’s not too late to reverse the trend, I believe. Fixing the problem begins with conversation. Numerous organizations, including Liberty Mutual, PCA and Character Counts Pursuing Victory With Honor, provide useful tools for teaching sportsmanship, which can translate into learning life lessons.

Liberty Mutual takes a four-step approach in starting the conversation.

1.) Start with explaining what sportsmanship is, i.e. play fair, follow the rules, respect officials, treat the opponent with respect, and value teammates, remembering that everyone makes mistakes and that it takes a “whole team, not just one player, to play a game”.

2.) Talk about when sportsmanship happens -- with a win, a loss, in practice, and even when “no one is looking”.

3.) Brush off and refocus on the next play if bad sportsmanship comes in the form of trash talk, for example. If bad sportsmanship comes in the form of dangerous play, bring it to the attention of coaches and officials. And talk about it after the game.

4.) Finally, the role of the parent should be caring about the effort more than the wins and losses;

parents should cheer for the good plays, no matter who makes them; promise not to yell at officials, and respect the parents and coaches of the opponents.

Doug Abrams, a youth hockey coach for 40 years and a law professor at the University of Missouri, in writing for “Ask Coach Wolff ” online, said there is room for both sportsmanship and competition.

“The first lesson is that sportsmanship and respect are perfectly compatible with a player’s desire to win...The second lesson is that sportsmanship and respect can strengthen the desire to win.”

He continued by quoting Ryne Sandberg from his Baseball Hall of Fame induction speech.

“(If) there was a single reason I am here today, it is because of one word -- respect,” Sandberg said. “I was in awe every time I walked on to the field. That’s respect. I was taught you never, ever disrespect your opponent or your teammates or your organization or your manager and never, ever your uniform. I played (the game) right because that’s what you’re supposed to do -- play it right and with respect.”

Pursuing Victory With Honor outlines sportsmanship in terms of the Six Pillars of Character -- Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring and Citizenship.

For example, always pursue victory with honor. Demonstrate and demand scrupulous integrity. Treat the traditions of the sport and other participants with respect. Be a positive role model on and off the field. Adhere to high standards of fair play. Assure that the academic, emotional, physical and moral well-being of athletes is always placed above desires and pressures to win. Avoid gamesmanship and promote sportsmanship by honoring the rules and goals of the sport.

If you need further convincing that there is a slide in sportsmanship, a 2010 Reuters News poll conducted in 22 nations ranked parents in the U.S. as the world’s “worst behaved” parents at children’s sporting events. Runners-up were India, Italy, Argentina, Canada and Australia. I’m embarrassed for us.

So, the next time you take your child or grandchild to a game or practice, keep in mind what the exercise should be all about. Keep it fun, don’t take it too seriously, don’t embarrass your athlete, or yourself. And start the conversation.

Nancy Justis is a former competitive swimmer and collegiate sports information director. She is a “Champion” for Positive Coaching Alliance and a partner with Justis Creative Communications.

4 SportsSpotlight.comVolume 3 Issue 1

Youth

BE A SPORTIs sportsmanship declining in youth sports?

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DRIVING RANGE TO STATE HONORSDarrin Cline | Reporter

Senior Matthew Walker’s talent and passion have carried him far through Iowa golf.

Ottumwa’s Matthew Walker lines up a putt. The senior won the 2012 fall golf state title and took runner-up honors in 2013, and is now poised to take a curtain call for his high school career. (Photo courtesy of The Des Moines Register)

Matthew Walker couldn’t stand simply watching. Barely old enough to swing a golf club, he was captivated by the sport after watching his dad on the driving range. At five years old, Walker was hooked on golf.

“He’s so enthusiastic about golf and so committed to it,” said Ottumway golf coach Scott Maas, who is in his third year as the head coach for the storied program. “I’ve never had to worry about motivating him.”

That rare level of passion and exuberance is on display every time Walker takes to the course. In a sport that often treasures silence amongst competitors, Walker has no trouble striking up a conversation with anyone on the course. The golf course is his comfort zone, the place where he can show that excitement.

An infatuation that began in kindergarten has evolved into devotion for the Ottumwa senior. Already committed to play golf for the Iowa Hawkeyes next season, Walker is looking to cap off a spectacular high school career that has seen him win across the state and the country.

During his freshman year in 2011, Walker was already putting himself on the map, qualifying for the state tournament in his first attempt.

“My freshman year I was a bit nervous…but I played like I wanted and it was an experience,” Walker says. “The next year I was able to capitalize on that experience and come away with a ‘W’ at state.”

Walker’s state medalist win was the latest in a

long line of Ottumwa golf achievements. With 11 team titles, Ottumwa ranks second in Iowa boy’s golf history; the Bulldogs most recent championship came in 2009. The nine individual medalist honors are also second best in state history.

That sophomore performance further stoked the competitive fires for Walker. His third year in the high school ranks, Walker blazed through the field and again found himself in contention on the last day of the state tournament. After two rounds of play, Walker was tied with Griffen Matthias of Ankeny Centennial, sending the two into a playoff.

“I went a little long on the first hole and got myself into trouble and ended up with a bogey. He nailed a 3-footer and he deserved to win,” Walker says. Matthias would claim medalist honors and Centennial would win the team title in its inaugural season.

In the year since that nail-biting finish, Walker has continued to chase his golf dreams—including that second state title. Only 16 golfers in state history have earned state medalist honors twice or more in their Iowa high school careers, with three of them claiming top prize three times.

Over the summer, Walker competed on the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) Tour. He collected his first AJGA win at the Midwest Junior Player Championship at the Mistwood Golf Club in Illinois. His final round 69 propelled him to a 2-under tournament total and a three stroke victory.

He would go on to collect five more top-5 finishes on the tour and earned an invite to play in the

Junior Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass, home to the PGA Players Championship. Walker finished in the top 35 with a three-round 227. He is currently the highest ranked Iowa golfer on the tour.

Walker has long favored the unique 4A fall season and being able to carry over momentum from a full summer of play. Well into the meat of the golf season, Walker has stuck among the elite in Class 4A. He has maintained the lowest 18-hole average throughout much of the season.

“My biggest strengths have been keeping the ball in play and my ball striking ability,” Walker said. “More recently I’ve really started to improve my short game.”

Maas is impressed by the dedication his senior golfer continues to show to improvement. Following a 9-hole home dual meet in which Walker shot a 36, he immediately walked over to the driving range to tweak his game.

“He’s been good for a long time and he’s getting better,” Maas said. “He’s got a terrific head on his shoulder for the game of golf.”

As Walker pursues another individual title and a team title for the Bulldogs, the path runs through a course he knows very well. The 4A state meet will be held at the Tournament Club of Iowa in Polk City, the same course where Walker won his first state title as a sophomore.

“I really like this course,” Walker said. “It’s always in good shape and really fits my style. The tougher the course, the better I play; it keeps me on my toes.”

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Jess SchabenHarlan Community High School, Class of 2015, 3.18 GPA

Sports: Volleyball, basketball, track and field

Athletic Achievements/Honors: Volleyball - First team All-State, IGCA (3x); first team All-State, Des Moines Register (2x); second team All-State, Des Moines Register (2011); Elite All-State (2x); Class 4A All-Tournament team captain (2013). Basketball - First team All-State, Des Moines Register, INA, IGCA (2014); second team All-State, Des Moines Register, IGCA (2013); Class 4A All-Tournament team captain (2014).

College or post-high school plans: Play volleyball at Iowa State and major in elementary education.

Achievements

of t

he

What’s your favorite sport to play? Why? Volleyball because I love the game.

What’s your favorite sports memory? When Kenzie Swanson was playing volleyball when we were in eighth grade and she sneezed and her tooth fell out.

Do you have any fun pre-game “rituals” that prepare you for an event? My teammates and I dance to some awesome music.

What’s your favorite subject in school and why? My favorite classes are Speech and Exploring Teaching.

Who inspires you? Why? Nadine Kenkel. She battled ovarian cancer and was still the biggest inspiration a person could have. She was the strongest and most amazing lady I know. She inspired the entire team to play strong.

What was the best movie you saw in the last year? The Hobbit

What is your dream job? To play professional volleyball.

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talk the world of sports in Iowa.

Bondurant-Farrar’s Grant Petersen has blazed through Class 3A defenses this fall and is ahead of the pace for the state’s single-season rushing record. (Photo courtesy of The Des Moines Register)

Grant Petersen, Bondurant-Farrar’s senior tailback, fired an explosive opening salvo

over the first month of the season. And it has him on pace to challenge the single-season state rushing record.

In the BlueJays’ opening game against North Polk, Petersen ran for a school record 386 yards and 6 touchdowns on 26 carries. Through four games, he averaged just under 250 yards per game, which is well ahead of former Bishop Heelan (Sioux City) star Brandon Wegher’s record-setting pace from 2008, when he ran for 3,238 yards. BlueJay head coach Brad Kjar said Petersen hasn’t achieved this level of success all by himself.

“It’s a combination of things,” Kjar said. “Grant having a better understanding of what we’re trying to do, offensively, along with having basically six senior offensive lineman — our H-back does a lot of blocking and is a senior. So when you take those two things into account, his numbers have improved.”

Petersen didn’t hesitate when asked what the biggest reason for his elite production this year has been, and also put the spotlight on his blockers.

“My offensive line has been making huge holes for me all year,” Petersen said. “I’ve broken a couple tackles here and there and juked guys out, but they’ve been the key to this whole rushing game.”

Petersen, a self-described balanced runner who can make defenders miss in the open field but also isn’t afraid to run to contact when necessary, said the front

line’s aggression has given him plenty of opportunities to hit the hole with a head of steam. And that aggression, he said, is something the team can feed off of and needs to maintain if it wants to win.

One of the BlueJays’ starters up front, senior Connor Meislahn, said the group put an emphasis on improving not just their strength in the offseason, but their athleticism, too. Four of the starting linemen went out for track to work on getting faster, because Meislahn said that’s critical with a back like Petersen running behind them.

“We’ve got to keep up with him for the first five yards or so, and then he just takes off,” Meislahn said.

As Petersen has racked up yards and touchdowns this fall, he’s naturally become the player defenses spend a great deal of time game-planning for. But that hasn’t stopped him — or even slowed him down — from putting up big numbers. Kjar said the team’s grasp of the offense, which he has gradually shifted from a power run game to a more spread-out attack, has allowed the BlueJays to impose their will with the ground game.

“Obviously, Grant’s the focal point,” Kjar said “Everybody’s pretty keyed in on him. They know what we’re attempting to do, but I think the biggest thing is our offensive line knows what we’re attempting to do. Grant deserves a lot of the credit, but when you have six senior offensive linemen who have been working in the same system for four years, they deserve some of the credit, as well.”

This year’s senior class is the first group Kjar has had for all four years at Bondurant-Farrar, and he credited his line for their on-field performance, but also for their attitude off the field.

“Those guys understand our system, they communicate well, they understand our blocking rules,” Kjar said. “They’re a very intelligent group and very unselfish. They don’t care that Grant gets a little more publicity for carrying the ball; they understand that that’s part of being an offensive lineman.”

Sophomore quarterback Dylon Story is in his first year under center, and he said having a back like Petersen and a great offensive line has made his inaugural season much less stressful.

“It helps a ton,” Story said. “Just knowing that in any situation, I can just give it to Grant and be completely confident in him and our offensive line.”

Going forward, Kjar said there are plenty of tough opponents that could throw up roadblocks in Petersen’s pursuit of the state record. But he also said the record isn’t the team’s primary concern, even though it would be fun to have that happen, too.

“I don’t think anybody on our team is concerned about setting the state record; we’re concerned with trying to win the next game and finding a way to qualify for the playoffs.

“If we’re fortunate enough to set some kind of record in the process, then that’s great.”

RunningWild

Bondurant-Farrar’s Grant Petersen was splitting carries a year ago. Now, the senior is ahead of the pace for the state’s

single-season rushing record.By Tork Mason

Somebody, someday, needs to write a book about Bob and Rob Brooks, the father and son both known best for their radio and television work covering University of Iowa athletics.

Not only is the Brooks name well-known around the state, but it’s also respected throughout Big Ten country, largely for the legacy Bob, the College Football Hall of Fame member who recently turned 87, has left on the airwaves over the last 70 years. Rob is a broadcast veteran of more than 20 years. Together, they’ve covered countless high school, college and professional athletic events.

“It’s a lot of thrills that would be wrapped up in a great, big bundle,” Bob said.

Come next Saturday, Bob and Rob will cover for their respective broadcast entities the next game in another chapter of Iowa football history. Bob will file his game report and interviews for KMRY out of Cedar Rapids, where the two reside. Rob will walk the sidelines for the Learfield Sports Iowa radio broadcast, a position he’s held since 2004.

Rob listed the 2005 Capitol One Bowl as one of his top memories of covering Iowa football, which he’s done on and off since his days as a student at the

University of Iowa and the last decade as a sideline reporter.

Picture an elated Bob Brooks running to the other end of the field to be closer to the dog pile that had covered Warren Holloway after his 56-yard game-winning touchdown reception. That’s a glimpse of what Rob experienced from where he stood.

“Gary Dolphin was calling at the end of the game, my dad running down the field after the game, getting into the celebration and I could hear that call on the radio — that’s a memorable one,” Rob said.

HigH ScHoolSpecial Feature

12 Volume 3 Issue 1 SportsSpotlight.com

FOR LOVE OF THE GAMETim Weideman | ContributorFollow father and son Bob and Rob Brooks’ whirlwind careers covering Iowa sports.

Bob Brooks has been covering University of Iowa athletics for seven decades and is still going strong. (Photo courtesy of University of Iowa Athletic Communications)

13Volume 3 Issue 1SportsSpotlight.com

Bob’s favorite recollections span a few more years. One of the first football memories he says comes to mind is the Hawkeyes’ two Rose Bowl victories in 1957 and 1959 under head coach Forest Evashevski.

“That had to be a highlight,” he said. “In fact, I can remember saying to the late Jim Zabel while standing at the Huntington Sheraton Hotel in Pasadena, I said, ‘Jim, did you think we’d ever be here?’ In my view, that was like climbing a mountain and finally getting to the top.

Bob’s now considered by fans and peers alike to be at the top of most memorable voices of the Hawkeyes. He began his broadcast journey as a high school student at Franklin High School in Cedar Rapids. He got his first shot in radio from the University of Iowa student station.

“I was in high school while World War II was on,” he said. “WSUI, the student station in Iowa City, had some openings because most of the male voices were serving in the war.

Bob said he developed his interest in sports because of his parents, who were avid baseball fans — his father was on the board of the Cedar Rapids Ball Club in the 1930s — and Bob spent a lot of time around sports.

In 1943, Bob became a gofer for WSUI Iowa football broadcasts. From there, he enrolled at Iowa and took journalism and radio courses, continuing to work for the station. In three and a half years, Bob had graduated and began working for KCRG Cedar Rapids. He continued doing play-by-play for Iowa football, basketball and the Cedar Rapids minor league baseball team.

“The rest is what’s left of history, I guess,” Bob said.

Rob certainly has some highlights from his childhood when Bob was in the broadcast booth covering the Hawkeyes.

“When I was growing up, I was real fortunate to be in the radio booth when he was calling the Iowa basketball or football games,” Rob said.

Bob has covered the triumphs and tribulations of sports teams at all levels. He’s had many moments to reflect upon at each of those levels.

“It’s been a great ride with a lot of people,” he said. “A lot of my focus, too, was on the high schools and also Coe and Cornell College here in the area. It just became a great relationship with a lot of people.”

In the 1980s, Learfield Sports took over Iowa athletics radio broadcasts. For play-by-play broadcasters like Bob, that meant a consolidation.

“It was a transitional thing with Learfield because they kept the gang around, doing wrap-arounds for Gary Dolphin’s play-by-play and Ed Podolak’s color,”

he said.Bob remembers the three years of pregame and

postgame shows he did with fellow legends Ron Gonder and Jim Zabel as a “fun and enjoyable” experience.

“I think the transition, looking back, went as smoothly as it could have,” he said. “I would be the first to congratulate Gary and Eddie on their work and their ongoing careers. It worked out probably the way it should have.”

While Bob was diligently covering Iowa sports, his son was preparing to build a similar career. Rob grew up watching his father on KCRG, then listening to him on the radio at KHAK. Rob used the radio station’s spare studio to practice imitating his father and other role models while Bob was working in KHAK’s main studio.

“I’d just pop into that other studio and practice and read stuff off the wire,” he said of those early years. “I’d just sit there behind the microphone and go at it. Probably wasn’t any good at it, but I stayed with it from a practice standpoint.”

Bob said Rob developed the passion mostly on his own.

“It kind of evolved,” he said. “I certainly never had a conversation with him about ‘that’s what you oughta do.’ Whatever he has done that way has been of his own choosing.”

In Rob’s second year of college at Iowa, he started scratching the play-by-play itch. He covered high school sports for the university-operated KRUI. Later, he’d cover women’s basketball road games when the Hawkeyes were under the command of coach C. Vivian Stringer.

Other opportunities came up from time to time to work at area stations, including KCJJ. Rob would also fill in at KHAK when Bob was on the road or the station was airing a double-header.

“Really, really enjoyed it,” he said. “Then I really started to think, I’d really like to do this for a living. Probably the big, I don’t want to call it a break, but the first real job that I got in radio was doing the Cedar Rapids Silver Bullets CBA games right out of college and I loved it. Just the pro basketball — everything about it — I just really liked it.”

As part of the Silver Bullets gig, Rob did a coaches show, all the games and even some public address when the home games weren’t aired on the radio. That stint ended in 1991, when the team moved.

“It was tough,” Rob said. “I tried to follow them and it didn’t work out. And by that time, all the other jobs in the league were taken.”

After a radio package with the Cedar Rapids

Kernels minor league baseball team fell through, Rob eventually took off for Denver, then Minneapolis. At first, he worked in careers other than broadcast.

Even now, Rob devotes some of his time to other projects. He currently is involved in Shankopotamus Global, LLC in Cedar Rapids.

“I’d always been trying to find a way to be involved in game broadcasts and do play-by-play without it being a full-time job, because that was always my goal,” he said. “That seems to be the way the business is today.”

While in Minnesota, however, Rob again caught the broadcast bug and began doing some work as a stringer. He soon moved back to Iowa, where he became involved with Mediacom and dabbled in radio for a year with WMT.

Rob said the Mediacom relationship really took off in 1997.

“It allowed me to do a truck pull all the way to Iowa basketball,” he said. “Just that array of games — and I love that. I love the versatility and the challenge of doing a lot of different stuff.”

Around that same time, Learfield called with the opportunity that allowed Rob to return to one of his passions — working the production side of University of Iowa sports broadcasts.

“Obviously, you don’t grow up in the household I grew up in and not have a passion for Iowa athletics as a whole,” he said.

Then came Rob’s chance to move to the sidelines. “Been down there ever since,” he said. “Love

working witho those guys — Dolph and Eddie. It’s been great.”

Rob’s father also has remained a reliable voice of expertise on Iowa sports. To this day, Bob still files his reports on the Hawkeyes and other sports around the state for KMRY. Listerners tune in regularly to hear Bob’s familiar, friendly voice.

Since Rob returned to Iowa, he and Bob have been pursuing their shared passion of all things Iowa Hawkeyes, although they don’t see each other often during the games.

“He’s down on the field, I’m upstairs,” Bob said. “We see each other when we’re interviewing the players, but he’s doing his thing and I’m doing mine.”

Rob enjoys the times he and his dad are able to chat in the work environment.

Continued on page 18

www.agentkeithh.com

Special Feature

Senior | Waukee

Maddie GehrkePhoto courtesy of Waukee High School

Gehrke has helped lead the Warriors among the state’s top teams this season. Her times in the 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard backstroke and 100-yard butterfly all rank among the state’s best this fall.

Senior | Bondurant-FarrarGrant PetersenPhoto courtesy of The Des Moines Register

Peterson rushed for a school-record 386 yards and 6 touchdowns on 26 carries against North Polk on Aug. 29. The senior led Class 3A with 998 rushing yards and 11 scores as of Sept. 24.

Junior | Ballard

Abby Kohut-JacksonPhoto courtesy of Ballard High School

Kohut-Jackson was ranked on top of the Class 3A girls cross-country field by the Iowa Track Coaches Association as of Sept. 24. She has helped lead the Bombers to a top 10 ranking this fall.

Sophomore | M

adrid

Michael SantiPhoto by Tork Mason

Santi rushed for 228 yards and 3 touchdowns on just 14 carries against Ogden on Sept. 19. The Tigers took their first loss of the season that night, but Santi bumped his season totals to 769 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Photo courtesy of Linn-Mar High School

Drake has made a big impact for the Lions since transferring from Cedar Rapids Jefferson. The sophomore owned top 5 times in the 100- and 200-yard freestyles, as well as the 100-yard breastroke and 100-yard butterfly.

Sophomore | Linn-M

ar

Kelsey Drake

Senior | Sioux City North

Tillo was very efficent in the Stars’ 36-29 victory over Fort Dodge on Sept. 6. The senior completed 32-of-49 passes for 447 yards and 4 touchdowns in the game, and he was second in Class 4A in passing yards as of Sept. 24.

Photo courtesy of Gene Knudsen

Daniel Tillo

Senior | Central (Elkader)Nathan FitzgeraldPhoto courtesy of Central High School

Fitzgerald had a brilliant performance against Springville on Sept. 12. The senior rushed for 383 yards and 9 touchdowns — one score short of tying the state record for a single game — on 32 carries. He was second in Class 8-player with 915 yards as of Sept. 24.

Junior | Dow

ling Catholic

Sadler owned the best kill efficiency mark in Class 5A (.468) among players with at least 150 kill attempts, and she ranked in the top 20 in total kills (129) as of Sept. 24.

Photo courtesy of The Des Moines Register

Mykal Sadler

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Photos of the Sept. 19 game between Dowling Catholic and WDM Valley courtesy of Preston Underwood.

All other phtos by Tork Mason

Each month we publish youth and high school action photos from around the state. We would love to get yours! Send us your photos at support@sportsspotlight.com

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“The nice thing is seeing him after the games, even though I’m down on the field and he’s upstairs, just a quick talk about that particular game,” he said.

Over the years, Bob has developed a routine for Iowa football Saturdays.

“I try to get there two hours in advance,” he said. “Of course, when I was doing play-by-play it was altogether different in the times you got there. My wife, Susie, she is a hostess in the press box on the second level. So, she and I get there about two hours ahead of the game. She goes to her spot and I go to my spot. I check in with her at halftime. She waits for after the game for the quotable quotes, the coach the the players. Then we go back home and get something to eat.”

It’s a routine Bob says hasn’t gotten monotonous, no matter how many times he’s been through it.

“It’s not boring,” he said. “The crowd, the students, the fans, the bands, everything that goes with it, the tailgating — the whole day — you know, every day it’s different and exciting to see and cover.”

Bob travels to Iowa away games on a regular basis. He says he can’t recall the last time he missed an Iowa home game. He’s been a fixture during Iowa

football and basketball games for decades.Rob is fairly certain he won’t surpass his dad’s

longevity.“That’s and easy one — no,” he said. “I’m not

going to chase that. I’ll let him have it.”Not only does one have to live long enough to be

in the business for as many years as Bob has, but as Rob says, there’s a certain drive required.

“It’s a real passion, there’s no doubt about it,” he said. “I’m glad he’s had the opportunity to keep going because I don’t know what else he’d do if he didn’t go to press conferences and do radio shows.”

The state will be poorer for it when the day comes that Bob no longer reports on the heppenings of Iowa football, basketball and other sports, no longer attends games with his signature fedora and enormous tape recorder that uses actual tape and a handheld microphone. Perhaps media members left behind will honor Bob by alloweing a moment of silence before interviewing Kirk Ferentz or whoever may be leading the Iowa team that day. He’s commonly given that first dibs interview when the home games conclude.

“I’m sure after I can’t go anymore, in about a

week, people will say, ‘Who was that guy was was here?’” Bob said.

Surely it won’t be that quick.“Well, it’ll be quick, anyway,” he said with a laugh.

“You have to recognize that, because it’s fleeting. But I, over a period of time, I got to know a lot of great sports writers and broadcasters. I remember them.”

As for Rob, he says he doesn’t have a five- or 10-year play. But he’s comfortable with where he’s at and what he’s doing — both in and outside of his broadcast career.

“You just get to the point where you’re at, where your family’s at, where your business interests are,” he said. “I don’t want to be one of those guys ‘well it’s always greener on the other side.’ I really enjoy everything I’m doing and for the foreseeable future, that’s where I see myself.”

That’s all Bob needs to be proud of how his son has followed in his footsteps.

“As long as he’s having fun and enjoying it — and I think he is — that’s all I need,” Bob said. If that’s fulfilling and happy for him, then that’s wonderful.”

Special Feature

Rob Brooks has followed in his father’s footsteps as a sports broadcaster. He has served as a sideline reporter during Iowa football games for Learfield Sports for the past 10 years, and also does play-by-play broadcasts for other Hawkeye sports. (Photo courtesy of University of Iowa Athletic Communications)

Continued from page 13

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