FRIDAY, AUGUST 24:
Football:  Brandon Valley @ Sioux Falls O’Gorman
   Aberdeen Central @ Sioux Falls Roosevelt
   Lead-Deadwood @ Douglas
Parker @ Baltic
   Sioux Valley @ Beresford
   Deuel @ Flandreau
   Sioux Falls Christian @ Garretson
   Aberdeen Roncalli @ Groton
   Clark/Willow Lake @ Hamlin
   Canistota @ Howard
   McCook Central/Montrose @ Platte-Geddes/Dakota Christian
   Canton @ Tri-Valley
   Vermillion @ West Central

Volleyball:  South Dakota State vs. Southeast Missouri State, Iowa @ Hawkeye Challenge, Iowa City, IA
   Brookings @ Rapid City Stevens
   Harrisburg @ Watertown
   Elkton-Lake Benton @ Chester

Soccer:   South Dakota State vs. Nevada-Las Vegas @ Lawrence, KS
   Pierre @ Brookings (Girls-4 & 6pm; Boys-6 & 8pm)

Cross Country:  Brookings @ Sioux Falls O’Gorman Invitational, 4:00pm
   Milbank, Sioux Valley, Tri-Valley, West Central, Howard @ Madison, 2:00pm
   Baltic, Dell Rapids, McCook Central/Montrose, West Central, Canistota @ Beresford, 10:00am

Girls’ Tennis:  Aberdeen Central, Marshall, Yankton @ Brookings, 1:00pm

Boys’ Golf:  Brookings @ Huron Invitational, 10:00am   

SATURDAY, AUGUST 25:
College FB:  Peru State @ Dakota State, 4:00pm

Football:  Huron @ Brookings (Live on KCountry 102 @ 6:30)
   Yankton @ Pierre
   Mitchell @ Watertown
   Sturgis @ Belle Fourche
   Sioux Falls Washington @ Rapid City Central
   Sioux Falls Lincoln @ Rapid City Stevens

Volleyball:  South Dakota State vs. Chicago State, Valparaiso @ Hawkeye Challenge, Iowa City, IA
   Brookings @ Rapid City Central
   Brandon Valley @ Harrisburg
   Huron @ Yankton
   Madison @ Milbank
   Howard @ Sioux Valley
   Sioux Falls Christian @ Tea
   Arlington @ Parkston
   Oldham-Ramona/Rutland, Chester, Tri-Valley @ Flandreau
   Clark/Willow Lake, Hamlin, Great Plains Lutheran, Waverly-South Shore, Colman-Egan, Dells
St. Mary’s @ Estelline
   Dell Rapids, Garretson @ Canton

Cross Country:  Clark/Willow Lake, Deuel, Hamlin, Elkton-Lake Benton, Garretson, DeSmet, Estelline,
Arlington, Chester, Dells St. Mary’s, Lake Preston @ Deubrook, 9:00am

Girls’ Tennis:  Jim Holwerda Jamboree, 11:00am, Hillcrest Park Courts

Competitive Cheer: Brookings @ Aberdeen Central, 11:00am

SUNDAY, AUGUST 26:
Soccer:   South Dakota State vs. Georgia @ Lawrence, KS


MONDAY, AUGUST 27:
Volleyball:  Brandon Valley @ Sioux Falls Washington
   McCook Central/Montrose @ Chester

TUESDAY, AUGUST 28:
Volleyball:  Sioux Falls O’Gorman @ Harrisburg
   Watertown @ Pierre
   Milbank @ Deuel
   Canby, MN @ Sisseton
   Redfield/Doland @ Hitchcock/Tulare
   Lake Preston @ Deubrook
   Estelline @ Hamlin
   Sioux Valley @ Parker
   Elkton-Lake Benton @ Flandreau
   Canton @ Madison
   Alcester-Hudson @ Baltic
   Elk Point-Jefferson @ Dell Rapids
   Garretson @ Sioux Falls Christian
   Howard @ DeSmet
   Arlington @ Colman-Egan
   Great Plains Lutheran @ Wilmot
   Oldham-Ramona/Rutland @ Dells St. Mary’s

Cross Country: Baltic, Dell Rapids, Flandreau, Garretson, Arlington, DeSmet, Tri-Valley, West Central, Canistota,
Chester, Dells St. Mary’s, Howard @ McCook Central/Montrose Invitational, 4:15pm

Soccer:   Watertown @ Brookings (Girls-6 & 8pm; Boys-4 & 6pm)

Competitive Cheer: Brookings @ Watertown Invitational, 5:30pm

BHS XC…Brookings opens the cross country season Friday at the Sioux Falls O’Gorman Invitational – the meet will be held at Pasley Park.
   Returnees include state placewinners Emily Berzonsky and Addison DeHaven.  Head coach Chris Gruenhagen talks about the two teams:  9762C   :59   “sophomore this year”.
   Brookings cross country coach Chris Gruenhagen.

SDSU VB…South Dakota State will see Southeast Missouri State, Iowa, Chicago State and Valparaiso in the Jacks’ season opening volleyball tournament at the University of Iowa.
   Head coach Phil McDaniel says it’ll be good to play the Hawkeyes Friday night, in a Bg Ten atmosphere.  He says SDSU’s shown more maturity thus far.  9762D   :48   “we’ve got options”.
   McDaniel says fall camp’s been a time to brush up, and add to, the team’s systems – rather than teach a whole new style.

SCHMIDT-HURON FB…Huron visits Brookings Saturday night for the football season opener, and Bobcat Athletic Hall of Fame game.  Kickoff at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium is 7:00, with live coverage on Kcountry 102 at 6:30.
   Brookings head coach Lee Schmidt says Huron returns a nice defensive team.  97626   :27   “than we are”.
   Meanwhile, Huron head coach Mike Postma's biggest concern is developing depth as the season wears on.  97628   :32  “what we have”.
   Huron’s three wins last year were the most by a Tiger team since 2002, and three of the six losses came by six points or less.

MITCHELL FB… The Mitchell football team is coming off its most successful season in recent memory by finishing 8-4 last season.  A lot of new faces will be in the lineup, but some solid players return to help with the process.  Head coach Kent VanOvershelde:  9762A   :14   “guys with ‘em”.
   The Kernels and will feature only seven seniors on the roster.  It looks as if Brandon Valley and Yankton are the strong forces in the ESD Conference and the rest will battle it out each week.  9762B   :32   “in the ESD”.
   Mitchell will travel and play at Watertown on Saturday night with kick-off set for 7:00pm in Watertown.

SUMMIT XC POLL…After winning its first cross country title in program history, the reigning Summit League Women's Champion North Dakota State and the South Dakota State men's team were tabbed the favorites to win the 2012 Summit League Cross Country titles in a vote of the league's nine head coaches.
   Atop the men's poll, the Jackrabbits, the league champion twice in the past three years, tallied 46 total points and five first-place votes. North Dakota State with 43 points and two first-place tallies finished second. A single point separated the third and fourth spots as Kansas City finished third with 33 points and South Dakota came in fourth with 32 points.
   For the women, the Bison were picked to repeat as champions and collected 64 points and eight first-place selections. South Dakota State finished as runner-up in the poll with 53 points. A narrow margin decided third and fourth-place with Kansas City tallying 48 points and one first-place vote ahead of South Dakota's 46 points.
-DASH-
   A total of 13 all-league honorees return this season, including seven men and six women. On the men's side, Kansas City and South Dakota State lead the way by welcoming back two all-league selections. Returning for the Kangaroos are Cosmas Ayabei (first team) and Zach Mathias (second team). The Jackrabbits are paced by second team honorees Trent Lusignan and Jared Ailts.

SPORTS NUMBERS… Participation in high school sports increased for the 23rd consecutive year in 2011-12, according to the annual High School Athletics Participation Survey conducted by the National Federation of State High School Associations.
   Based on figures from the 51 NFHS-member state high school athletic/activity associations, which includes the District of Columbia, sports participation for the 2011-12 school year reached an all-time high of 7,692,520 participants – an increase of 24,565 from the previous year.
   An additional 33,984 girls participated in high school sports last year, making the all-time record total 3,207,533. This also marks the 23rd consecutive year for an increase in the number of female participants. Outdoor track and field (468,747), basketball (435,885) and volleyball (418,903) continued to be the top three participatory sports for girls, with volleyball up 9,571 participants from 2010-11.
   Boys participation figures dipped for the first time since the 1992-93 school year, down 9,419 from last year’s number of 4,494,406 to 4,484,987. Seven of the top 10 boys sports registered drops in participation, with 11-player football (1,095,993), outdoor track and field (575,628), basketball (535,289), wrestling (272,149), tennis (159,800), golf (152,725) and swimming and diving (133,823) all down from last year. Baseball (474,219), soccer (411,757) and cross country (248,494) all had increases from the previous year, with soccer registering the largest increase of 13,406.

HUNTSAFE…The South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Department is offering an exciting new opportunity for schools to introduce conservation and safety training in their curriculum.
   Two training sessions are planned this fall that allow schools to participate in the HuntSAFE in the Schools Program.
Trainings are currently scheduled for Fort Pierre on Sept. 19 and Sioux Falls on Oct. 15. The full-day trainings are open to all educators in South Dakota who work with youth ages 11-15.
   There is no charge for the training. Upon successful completion, teachers will be able to provide HuntSAFE certification to their students who complete the HuntSAFE course.

POLE JOB… Former Dakota Wesleyan University football coach Brad Pole is now the offensive coordinator at Morningside College, another Great Plains Athletic Conference school.
   Pole, who resigned from Dakota Wesleyan in January and led the Tigers to a 6-4 record last year, is listed on Morningside’s athletic website as the team’s offensive coordinator.
   Morningside won the GPAC last year with an 8-1 mark and was selected second in the preseason coaches’ poll behind only Northwestern. Dakota Wesleyan was selected fourth.
   Morningside and DWU play on Oct. 13 in Sioux City, Iowa, this season.

HUSKER OFFENSE… The offense is Tim Beck's baby, and Nebraska expects a big growth spurt soon.
   There was lots to improve on after Beck's first season as an FBS-level offensive coordinator.
   Hamstrung by penalties, turnovers and a limited playbook, the Cornhuskers ranked 66th nationally in total yards. They were 44th when coach Bo Pelini fired former coordinator Shawn Watson after the 2010 season.
   Quarterback Taylor Martinez is entering his third season as the starter but, more important, his second in the same system. The top four rushers, including 1,300-yard workhorse Rex Burkhead, also are back, as are seven of the top eight receivers.
Martinez can tie it all together if he becomes a sharper passer — he completed 56 percent last season — and better decision-maker.

BIG 12 TV… Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby believes a multi-year television deal that could be worth as much as $2.6 billion could be finalized in a matter of weeks.
   Bowlsby also says a TV deal for the Champions Bowl, a new postseason game between the Big 12 and SEC, will be announced soon, and that officials from both conferences are ready to review five bids to host the game.
   The recently hired commissioner is touring member schools, hitting nine of 10 in the coming days. Bowlsby plans to visit West Virginia in last September.
   The Mountaineers and TCU are new members of the Big 12 this season. They were part of a wave of conference realignment that Bowlsby said he hopes has calmed down.

SHIRT FLAP… The 5-year-old boy who was told to turn his University of Michigan T-shirt inside out because of an Oklahoma City school district dress code has been invited to a football game by the Wolverines.
   A Michigan spokesman says Cooper Barton and his family have been invited to the Michigan-Massachusetts game Sept. 15 by athletic director Dave Brandon.
   Shannon Barton says the Wilson Elementary School principal asked her son, Cooper, to make the change last week and he changed behind a tree on the playground. The school district said it would review its dress code policy.
   The dress code allowed Oklahoma college apparel to be worn but not other schools' clothing. The dress code was created in 2005 with the help of an anti-gang task force.