Megan Feldman leads a pack of runners during a recent race. The senior has proven to be a steadying influence on the young TigerHawk cross country team. (Jerry Wadian photo)

XC improves at Oelwein

By Jerry Wadian
jwadian@thefayettecountyunion.com

 “Even though it is hard to actually compare week to week since conditions and courses change, there was no doubt that we saw overall improvement across-the-board from our times of last week,” commented head coach Tracy Nuss after his team returned from its meet Tuesday, Aug. 30, at Oelwein.

In a much tougher field of runners, the NFV girls finished seventh in the 15-team field, and five schools did not have full teams. The boys were 12^th.

NFV student-athlete Lily Poppen powers her way through the water Thursday in Decorah as she helps the Decorah swim team beat Waterloo East, 143-43, in the Vikings’ only home meet of the season. (photo by Jen Bissel Decorah Newspapers sports)

Poppen, Moss help Decorah win

By Jerry Wadian
jwadian@thefayettecountyunion.com

North Fayette Valley athletes Lily Poppen and Cassi Moss helped the Decorah swim team to a resounding 143-43 win over the Waterloo East swim team Thursday in Decorah; it was the only home meet of the season for the Vikings.

Katrina Mikhailova blocks this attempted spike by Central/Elkader Tuesday, Aug. 30, in West Union. The NFV junior made quite an impact in the home opener, coming off the bench to get five kills and five blocks in the TigerHawks’ four-set victory. (Jerry Wadian photo)

TigerHawk VB opens with win

By Jerry Wadian
jwadian@thefayettecountyunion.com

The North Fayette Valley volleyball team opened its 2016 season with a win over Central/Elkader Tuesday, Aug. 30, in West Union.

Thursday, the TigerHawks passed their first road test, beating a much improved Postville squad in three straight games on the Pirates’ home court. Saturday, NFV won the North Tama Tournament with a 4-1 record.

Tate Hovden (8) has a convoy of blockers after picking off a fourth-quarter pass Friday against Waverly Shell-Rock. The senior’s heads-up play stopped a WSR drive and swung momentum back to the TigerHawks. Escorting Hovden on his 16-yard return is (l-r) Blaize Frieden (15), Brandon Wolfe (55), Tanner Kuhens (20) and Logan West (6). (Jerry Wadian photo)

TigerHawks win slugfest, 14-3

By Jerry Wadian
jwadian@thefayettecountyunion.com

North Fayette Valley posted its second consecutive win over a good Class 3A school Friday night in West Union.

The home-opener for the TigerHawks was a real smash-mouth contest as NFV and Waverly-Shell Rock hammered away at each other for 40 minutes before the TigerHawks prevailed, 14-3.

Two of the South Winneshiek girls’ cross country team’s most lethal weapons for the upcoming season are junior Felicity Taylor and senior Josie Kriener (l-r). The duo claimed the top two spots at last week’s Ed-Co Invitational, which helped the Warrior girls to take first in the team race by an impressive 39-point differential. (Jerry Wadian photo)

SW XC surprises in season debut

Zakary Kriener

News Writer
zkriener@fayettepublishing.com

The South Winneshiek girls’ and boys’ cross country teams competed Tuesday, Aug. 23, at the Ed-Co Invitational in Edgewood for the first time of the 2016 season. The results for both Warrior teams were quite impressive, even surprising the coaches.

South Winneshiek junior Braxton Smith drops the Wapsie Valley ball carrier on a crucial fourth-down stop at the end of the first half Friday night in Fayette. The (red and white) Warriors defeated the (black and yellow) Warriors, 16-0. (Zakary Kriener photo)

SW shuts out WV in season debut

Zakary Kriener

News Writer
zkriener@fayettepublishing.com

It may not have been flashy, but the Warrior football team accomplished its first mission of the season Friday night by defeating Wapsie Valley, 16-0.

“I felt we had a great team effort to start the season,” pointed out head coach Jason Ohrt after the win in a contest played at Upper Iowa University in Fayette. “Our kids overcame a lot of adversity this week and put together a solid performance.”

WC falls to Vikings in opener

By Chris Deback
cdeback@thefayettecountyunion.com

The West Central girls’ volleyball team lost its first competition of the season to Edgewood-Colesburg, 3-0, Thursday, Aug. 25.

The Upper Iowa Conference match-up was the first real test of this Blue Devil squad, which doesn’t have the numbers to consistently scrimmage each other in practice.

Kaylin Muggler is in a fight to the finish against a Cougar runner Tuesday Aug, 23, in Edgewood. Muggler came from far back in the pack early in the race to place 28^th overall and third on NFV’s varsity squad. (Jerry Wadian photo)

Cross country kicks off season

By Jerry Wadian
jwadian@thefayettecountyunion.com

North Fayette Valley started its cross country season Tuesday, Aug. 23, in Edgewood.

Both varsity squads finished fourth. The girls’ JV placed third; the boys did not a have a full team. In fact, of the 11 schools at the meet, only five had full varsity men’s teams, and four had full teams for the JV.

Football is a simple game of blocking and tackling. Here, NFV gets yards on the ground as (l-r) Trey Kuhens (47) and Jesse Mackey (44) blow their opponents off the line. Meanwhile, Brandon Wolfe (55) gets enough of a shoulder on a Viking defender to prevent him from making a tackle as Tanner Kuhens (20) slides through the big hole for some of his 117 yards in Friday’s 28-7 victory in Decorah. (Jerry Wadian photo)

Slow start, but TigerHawks roll, 28-7

By Jerry Wadian
jwadian@thefayettecountyunion.com

After a slow first quarter, NFV unleashed a passing attack that opened the ground game on the way to a 28-7 win Friday at Decorah.

Early on, the TigerHawks shot themselves in the foot after penalties stopped their first two possessions.