Metro Sports Report

No.7 Decorah dumps Marion, 34-7

DECORAH - A 32-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Trevor Hardman to Quinn Cannoy was the lone scoring offense mustered by the Marion football team Friday night as the Indians fell to Class 3A No.7 Decorah, 34-7, in Decorah.

The Vikings (2-0) won their 16th straight game, the second longest winning streak in the state.

Decorah, which last year won the Class 3A title, took the opening kickoff 50 yards to set up shop on a short field. They scored less than three minutes into the game, taking a 6-0 lead.

Local players in pro baseball

RYAN SWEENEY (Xavier, Chicago Cubs) - Started in center field Friday and was 1-for-3 with two runs scored in the Cubs' 8-5 win over the Brewers. Season stats: G - 49, Avg. - .299, AB - 127, H - 38, HR - 5, RBI - 17, SB - 1.

SCOTT SCHEBLER (Prairie, Rancho Cucamonga (Dodgers)) - Started in right field Friday and was 0-for-3 with a run scored in the Quakes' 7-6 playoff loss to Inland Empire that eliminated Rancho from the postseason. Season stats: G - 125, Avg. - .296, AB - 477, H - 141, HR - 27, RBI - 91, SB - 15.

JON KELLER (Xavier, Aberdeen (Orioles)) - Did not pitch Friday in the Iron Birds' 1-0 playoff loss to Tri-City. Season stats: W - 1. L - 0. Sv - 0. ERA - 3.00. G - 1. IP - 3. H - 1. BB - 1. SO - 2.

KELLEN SWEENEY (Jefferson, Lansing (Blue Jays)) - Season completed. Season stats: G - 109, Avg. - .185, AB - 352, H - 65, HR - 5, RBI - 32, SB - 1.

ANDREW HANSE (Linn-Mar, Bowling Green (Rays)) - Season completed. Season stats: W - 1. L - 0. Sv - 3. ERA - 0.49. G - 10. IP - 18.1. H - 13. BB - 2. SO - 21.

CHAD CHRISTENSEN (Washington, GCL Twins (Twins)) - Season completed. Season stats: G - 47, Avg. - .235, AB - 162, H - 38, HR - 3, RBI - 21, SB - 4.

DAKOTA FREESE (Washington, Oakland) - Signed with A's out of June draft, but spent summer on disabled list with shoulder injury.

Kernels suffer quick exit from playoffs

Terrific regular season, crummy playoffs.

That's the epitaph for the 2013 Cedar Rapids Kernels, who delighted their fans for five months before firing blanks in the Midwest League playoffs.

The Kernels collected only four hits for the second straight game and got bumped from the postseason by the Quad Cities River Bandits, 4-2, before 2,660 bummed-out fans at Veterans Memorial Stadium Thursday night.

The River Bandits swept the best-of-3 series, 2-0, and advance to the league semifinals. The frustrated Kernels, meanwhile, will go home to various parts of the United States, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Australia and Germany.

The Kernels led the Midwest League in runs scored this year by a wide margin and hit .267 during the regular season, but they went 8-for-65 in the playoffs for a woeful team batting average of .123.

Manager Jake Mauer closed the clubhouse doors for a few minutes after the game, not to chew them out but to pat them on the back and share a few tears.

Football prevues - Sept. 6

The second week of the prep football season brings more crossover matches in the Mississippi Valley Conference and one huge non-district encounter for the Marion Indians.

Four games take place on Metro fields, highlighted by Kennedy's trip to Prairie. A year ago these teams engaged in a highly entertaining shootout that showcased Prairie's Demetrius Harper (13 catches for 134 yards and two touchdowns, and a 90-yard kickoff return for a score) and Kennedy's Alex Hillyer (214 yards rushing and two TDS). Those guys are gone, however, now teammates at Iowa Western Community College.

This appears to be a more traditional, smash-mouth matchup. And both teams have brawn in the lines, making for an interesting tilt.

Elsewhere in he Metro, Jefferson travels to Xavier, Dubuque Senior is at Linn-Mar and Washington hosts Iowa City West at Kingston Stadium.

Marion travels to Decorah to take on the defending state champion Vikings, who throttled the Indians 35-0 a year ago.