School starts...and so does football

IT is truly the best time of the year. The kids are back to school and that can only mean one thing. Football. Some Iowa high school teams kicked off their season last week in week..0? Zero means nothing but don't tell that to the teams in action last week. If not THE biggest game of the regular season, certainly one of the few, took place before week one. West Des Moines Valley and West Des Moines Dowling clashed at Drake Stadium to a riled up crowd of around 10,000. On a more local scale, Sioux City East hosted Sioux City Bishop Heelan in another city rivalry that disappoint. Do fans like seeing these epic battles early in the season? Valley and Dowling almost always matchup in the playoffs but with East being 4-A and Heelan being 3-A you only get one shot at your rival. With Heelan winning 20-18, I'm sure the Crusaders are just fine with that.
The big story of the short week has been that of the Iowa-Iowa State trophy. Previously something that looked like it was made in a shop class, many fans had high expectations when they decided to change it. But to some, no, most people the new trophy just didn't satisfy. People were outraged! No this isn't going to make national sports radio but when you get the Iowa governor involved, it gets serious. Instead of taking the stance of putting their head in the sand and ignoring the bad pub, the Iowa Corn Growers handled it professionally and made the announcement that they are going to change it, with input from both fans. Smart move. I heard someone say that this was done on purpose and everything is going just the way the ICG expected. Not sure if I buy that. But look at the NFL. Several months of bad publicity, one good move, and poof..one of the biggest seasons to remember. More institutions might start taking the rout of getting some swear words thrown at them, make a monumental P.R. move, and then become the heroes. I don't advise it.
Steele Jantz was named the quarterback for head coach Paul Rhoads and the Cyclones. Jantz beat out Jerome Tiller. Too most Clone fans this really isn't a shocker. What is is that Tiller is academically ineligible. Jantz might not only have the coolest name on the Cyclone roster, but maybe even the best haircut.
More to come on the Hawks and Huskers next Monday.