Iowa

Hutchinson CC holds off No. 1 Iowa Western for NJCAA national championship

Published

10 months ago

December 19, 2024

Hutchinson CC holds off No. 1 Iowa Western for NJCAA national championship

CANYON, Texas (KWCH) – In a rematch of a thriller in the season’s second week, the top two teams in junior college football faced off Wednesday night in the NJCAA DI National Championship in Canyon, Texas. For the second time in school history and the second time in the last five years, the Hutchinson Community College Blue Dragons are national champs. The third-ranked Blue Dragons fell into an early, two-touchdown hole, stormed back to take a two-possession lead in the second half and held off No. 1 Iowa Western, 28-23. Hutchinson wraps up its dream season with an 11-1 final record.

Hutchinson completed the season sweep of the nation’s top-ranked team after outlasting Iowa Western on the road, 38-37 in September. Playing for higher stakes on Wednesday night, Iowa Western threatened to put the hammer down early. The Reivers led 14-0 early and held that two-touchdown lead through the first quarter.

Hutchinson got on the board early in the second quarter on a Samari Collier 27-yard run, but trailed 17-7 at the break. The third quarter belonged to the Blue Dragons as they outscored Iowa Western 21-0 to build a 28-17 lead going into the fourth quarter. Capping the run was a Kordell Gouldsby 73-yard punt return inside the final three-and-a-half minutes of the third quarter.

In the final frame, the Reivers scored a touchdown with a little less than 11 minutes left in the game to trim an 11-point deficit to five.

The final half of the final quarter came with its share of drama. This included a blocked field goal that kept the Blue Dragons from expanding its lead and put Iowa Western in a strong position with time and field position on its side. Hutchinson’s defense answered the call and the Blue Dragons held on to bring another title to Hutchinson.

On offense, Hutchinson did most of its damage on the ground led by quarterback Collier who rushed for 109 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown. Through the air, Collier completed six of 16 passes for 80 yards and a touchdown. Backup quarterback Christian Johnson only completed one of five passes, but that completion was huge, a 34-yard third-quarter touchdown to Tre Brown.

Iowa Western quarterback Hunter Dekkers completed 29 of 51 passes for 412 yards, but in a bend-but-not-break performance, the Hutchinson defense stepped up to limit the Reivers’ trips to the endzone as Dekkers only completed two touchdown passes. The Blue Dragon defense also limited Iowa Western’s rush attack and sacked Dekkers four times, three of those by defensive end Marshon Oxley.

For the season, Hutchinson ended its magical ride on a four-game win streak after suffering its lone setback against Kansas Jayhawk Community College rival Butler Community College on Oct. 26.

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Iowa

Iowa farmers who lost soybean sales to China now fear new hit to cattle

Published

18 hours ago

October 27, 2025

Press Room

Iowa farmers who lost soybean sales to China now fear new hit to cattle

After several years of losing money on cattle, Burleen and Pete Wobeter thought this would finally be the year things turned around. Their Iowa farm also grows corn and soybeans — crops that have been hit hard by the trade war with China — but cattle had been a bright spot so far in 2025. As Lana Zak reports, their backup plan was threatened when President Trump announced plans to increase beef imports from Argentina.

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The non-sports reason comedian Nate Bargatze picked BYU to win over Iowa State

Published

2 days ago

October 26, 2025

Press Room

The non-sports reason comedian Nate Bargatze picked BYU to win over Iowa State

Despite their perfect record and No. 11 ranking, the BYU Cougars were the underdogs heading into Saturday’s game against the Iowa State Cyclones.

But that had no bearing on the predictions from ESPN’s College GameDay crew.

Citing a consistently impressive showing from true freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier, among other strengths, Desmond Howard, Nick Saban, Pat McAfee and Kirk Herbstreit all picked BYU to win over Iowa State.

Special Collector’s Issue: “1984: The Year BYU was Second to None”

Get an inclusive look inside BYU Football’s 1984 National Championship season.

And so did celebrity guest picker Nate Bargatze — but for an entirely different, non-sports related reason.

Nate Bargatze picked BYU to win over Iowa State

When it came time for Bargatze to weigh in with his prediction for the BYU versus Iowa State game, the comedian didn’t even hesitate.

“This is a business decision right here,” he said with a smile. “I’ve got four shows in Salt Lake City. BYU, baby!”

Bargatze chose wisely. After a rough start, the Cougars went on to pull off another win on the road, defeating the Cyclones 41-27 and remaining undefeated at 8-0.

When does Nate Bargatze come to Salt Lake City?

Bargatze’s “Big Dumb Eyes” world tour comes to Salt Lake City in December.

The comedian will perform four shows at the Delta Center Dec. 4-6.

He previously did four shows at the Eccles Theater in 2022 and three shows at the Delta Center in 2023. Bargatze spoke to the Deseret News at that time about the popularity of clean comedy in Utah.

“You always heard (Jim) Gaffigan and (Brian) Regan could go there,” he said in 2023. “You heard, ‘If you’re clean, you do really great in Salt Lake City.’ … I actually now have a lot of close friends that live in Salt Lake City. And I actually end up there a lot.”

During one of his 2023 Salt Lake shows, Bargatze called Utah the “clean comedian’s Hollywood,” per Deseret News. That show overlapped with the 193rd Semiannual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the comedian thanked the crowd for sharing the weekend with him, as the Deseret News reported at the time.

Nate Bargatze hosts the 77th Emmy Awards on Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. | Danny Moloshok, Invision via the Associated Press

“The crowds were so good,” he later said of the Salt Lake City shows, per Deseret News. “You have dreams of it happening like this, but every single time it’s overwhelming.”

Bargatze’s upcoming shows at the Delta Center come just a few months after he hosted the Emmys for the first time — a major moment in his career that he put his own stamp on with a $100,000 plan to keep acceptance speeches short.

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Iowa

Where to watch Iowa State vs Northwestern basketball today, time, TV for exhibition game

Published

2 days ago

October 26, 2025

Press Room

Where to watch Iowa State vs Northwestern basketball today, time, TV for exhibition game

Iowa State basketball returns home on Sunday, Oct. 26 to play Northwestern in an exhibition game.

The game is scheduled to tip off at 12 p.m. from Hilton Coliseum in Ames.

Iowa State was 25-10 overall and 13-7 in the Big 12 last season but lost its first exhibition to Creighton, 71-58. Northwestern, meanwhile, went 17-16 in 2024-25 and was 2-9 on the road.

Watch Iowa State vs. Northwestern on ESPN+