Home / Sports

Finally, the fall sports season has arrived.

After about a month on the job, it’s been difficult some days finding content to the fill this section.

Fortunately, it has allowed us to run more articles and profiles on the Iowa, Iowa State and University of Northern Iowa football teams.

While we’ll continue to provide college coverage, high school athletics are the backbone of what we do here.

There is nothing like the opening week of Friday night football, with the smell of the butterfly pork chop sandwiches, the sound of the marching band and typically ideal weather conditions.

Plus, every team is optimistic about its chances for that special season.

That said, the Journal sports department is geared to take you along for the ride and provide extensive coverage.

We’ll kick things off with our annual fall sports preview section that will appear in Thursday’s edition.

The 24-page keepsake has football previews on Muscatine and the six area high school teams, features on new Louisa-Muscatine football coach Guy Dierikx, the Durant-Bennett girls cross country program and new MHS volleyball coach Laura Proffitt. We also have team photos, capsules and schedules for all the area teams.

Going forward, here’s our game plan for the fall and what you can expect from us each day:

 Monday

- Sports editor’s commentary: Whether it’s my reaction to an Iowa home football game from the previous Saturday or another topic that is gnawing at me, I’ll have my insights in a piece called “Coss’ Corner.”

- Weekend prep recap: We will staff an occasional Saturday volleyball tournament or swimming invitational. If we’re not there coaches, please send us your results. 

- We’ll recap the Iowa and Iowa State football games from the previous week.

Tuesday 

- Alumni update: There are a slew of area high school alums currently competing at the collegiate level. Every other Tuesday, we plan to catch up with one of these athletes and profile him or her. We’ve generated a few names (Durant-Bennett’s Jake Soy at Northwest Missouri State; Muscatine’s Tanner Sulzberger at Wartburg) already, but if you have any ideas for someone we should write about, send me an e-mail.

- Meanwhile, on the Tuesdays we don’t have the alumni report, we plan to report on some of the non-mainstream sports in our area. Next week, I’ll have an extensive package on Muscatine dirt track driver Brian Birkhofer and his rise to fame.

- Johnnie Crain: Our recreation writer will continue to provide insight on the local fishing and hunting scene.

- Iowa State football: Kelly Beaton, a former colleague of mine at the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, will document the latest on Iowa State football after its weekly Monday press conference.

Wednesday

- Prep of the week: We’ll profile one prep from our area that is having a terrific season and/or an incredible week. Along with that, we’ll also point out some other preps that had moments to remember from the week before.

- We’ll also continue to staff Muscatine home volleyball matches, girls swim meets and an occasional boys golf meet. We’re also going to attempt to get out to more area volleyball matches and cross country meets.

- Iowa football: The Hawkeyes have their weekly press conference on Tuesdays. Get coach Kirk Ferentz’s thoughts and the latest from Iowa City.

Thursday

- Muscatine football preview: Besides breaking down the Muskie opponent for the week, we’ll have facts about the matchup, statistical information and keys to the game. 

- Area football report: We’ll have information on each of the area games, including comments from the coaches about the week’s contest. Occasionally, we’ll feature or profile an area individual or team, too.

- Stats: Each Thursday, we’ll publish a list of statistical leaders in the Mississippi Athletic Conference and around the area.

- More Johnnie: Once again, Crain talks about the latest news surrounding the outdoors.

Friday

- If Muskie volleyball, cross country or swimming is at home, we’ll plan to be there. It starts Thursday night when the 12th-ranked Muskie volleyball squad entertains 11th-rated Bettendorf in the season opener and varsity coaching debut for Laura Proffitt.  

- Weekly football picks: The Journal sports staff and one member of the community will make our selections on 12 games for the upcoming weekend. We’ll have four prep games, four college contests and four from the NFL. Since the college and NFL seasons don’t begin until September, we’ll hold off on this for another week.

- Iowa and Iowa State football: Whether it’s a player profile or looking ahead to the game on Saturday, we’ll have content on the Hawkeyes and Cyclones.

Saturday

- We’ll have comprehensive coverage of Muscatine’s football game from Friday night and results from across the MAC.

- Area football: Unfortunately, we don’t have the manpower to staff every area game. Still, we’ll highlight an area game or two each week with photographs. This week, Wilton at Durant-Bennett is the marquee contest.

We’ll also continue to follow the Cardinals and Cubs down the stretch run of the baseball season. We’ll try and sneak in an NFL story on the Bears, Packers and Rams, too.

If there’s something you’d like to see in the section, feel free to contact me at (563) 262-0528 or matt.coss@muscatinejournal.com.

In the meantime, enjoy the games and don’t be surprised if you see me with a pork chop sandwich in my hand.