Several area athletes shining this fall

The list of area athletes doing big things this fall is long. And I had a front-row seat to watch one of them on Friday night.

PCM junior Adrien Robbins had a game at halftime that a lot of tailbacks would love to have for an entire game.

But it didn’t stop there. After running for more than 130 yards in the first half, Robbins scored on runs of 67, 61 and 45 yards in the third quarter. Robbins ended the game with a career-best and a school-record 409 rushing yards. That’s the 25th most rush yards in a single game in Iowa prep football history.

Robbins currently leads Class 2A in rushing with 1,472 yards. His 18 rushing touchdowns are tied for first and he’s averaging eight yards per carry.

PCM’s 2,176 rushing yards so far this fall rank second in 2A. The state-ranked Mustangs take a 5-2 record into their final district game on Friday.

Baxter’s football team is still alive for a postseason berth. And a handful of players are shining in the 8-man game.

Treyton Travis, a senior wideout, is dominating this fall. His 78 catches are first in Iowa and he’s grabbed 32 more passes than the second-place person in 8-man.

He also leads the state with 1,170 receiving yards and 21 receiving touchdowns. He has gained 321 more yards than the second-best player in 8-man and scored seven more receiving TDs than anyone else in the class.

That also means his quarterback, junior Perrin Sulzle, is having a career year.

In his first year as a starter, Sulzle leads 8-man and ranks third in Iowa with 1,979 passing yards. His 29 passing TDs lead the state.

Defensively, Travis also is making an impact. His six interceptions rank fourth in 8-man and his 60.5 tackles are ninth. Senior Cody Samson’s 59.5 tackles rank 10th.

Sophomore Cael Wishman ranks second in 8-man with 26.5 tackles for loss and is tied for fifth with nine sacks and three fumble recoveries. Samson also has three fumble recoveries.

Lynnville-Sully’s football team is headed back to the postseason this fall. And a few Hawks are in the top 10 in Class A.

Senior CJ Nikkel ranks tied for fifth with three fumble recoveries and junior Terran Gosselink’s four interceptions are tied for 10th.

Klayton Van Dyke has 12.5 tackles for loss and that ranks tied for ninth.

Lucas Sieck ranks second in Class A with nine touchbacks on kickoffs and he’s one of four kickers with two made field goals.

The Newton volleyball team has nearly doubled its win total from each of the past two seasons.

Cardinal senior Kadance Ahn currently ranks seventh in 4A with 277 kills and her kill efficiency is .246.

Bound requires a minimum of 250 serves to be ranked in serve percentage. Newton senior Hailey Sumpter is currently 239-of-250 and the 95.6 percentage ranks fourth in 4A.

The Cardinals as a team rank second in the class with a serve percentage of 94.2.

The Mustangs also have several more wins this fall than in recent seasons. And junior Addison Steenhoek ranks tied for sixth in 3A with 48 aces.

The Newton football team has two regular season games left. The Cardinals (4-3) will be gigantic favorites in their Week 9 matchup against Des Moines Hoover.

The Week 8 home game against state-ranked Gilbert is likely a battle for the No. 2 seed in 4A District 4. That’s a guaranteed playoff berth.

The Tigers are 6-1, but the combined record of the six teams they have defeated is 10-31.

Their one loss came last week in a 38-7 defeat against district-leading Bondurant-Farrar. It was 17-7 entering the fourth quarter.

BCMoore’s website has Newton as a 15-point favorite despite Gilbert’s record. The Cardinals have played seven teams with a combined record of 26-23. It will definitely be a very big game at H.A. Lynn Stadium. And Nate Lampe’s four interceptions currently rank tied for second in 4A.

There is just one regular season football game left for PCM, Colfax-Mingo, Lynnville-Sully and Baxter.

PCM (5-2) locked up the 2A District 6 title this past week after its win over West Marshall and Jesup’s win over Iowa Falls-Alden. The No. 8 Mustangs will host two playoff games.

Lynnville-Sully (6-1) also is playoff-bound. The No. 10 Hawks play Central Decatur in Leon on Friday.

The winner of that game will be the No. 2 seed in Class A District 6, and it will host at least one playoff game. BCMoore likes the Hawks by 7.4 points.

Baxter (5-2) clinches a playoff berth with a win over district-leading Audubon on Friday. But the Bolts can get in with a loss if Coon Rapids-Bayard upsets Colo-NESCO.

BCMoore likes the Wheelers over the Bolts by 19 points and has Colo-NESCO as a 9-point favorite over CR-B.

Contact Troy Hyde at thyde@shawmedia.com