FORT DODGE — Competing in a triangular Thursday on the road at Fort Dodge, the Spencer girls swim team would find themselves on the short end of the score to both the host Dodgers and Carroll, 57-44 and 54-40 respectively. Despite the outcome of the scores, Tigers coach Amie Lawrence lauded the efforts of her ladies in the pool.

“The swimmers fought hard and had some tough races,” she said. “Although we did not win we did have a great number of swimmers who had season best times.”

The “football gods,” as they are often referred, turned the scoring spigot on for the Spencer Tigers Friday night in a way they hadn’t for years, and the road team took full advantage scoring almost every way possible in a 69-6 win against a depleted Sioux City West.

Something had to give when two winless teams met in Sioux City. Those anticipating a close battle between the Tigers and Wolverines — both in pursuit of their first victory — were sadly disappointed.

POCAHONTAS — Taking advantage of its home field, the Pocahontas Indians made it five straight against the visiting Sioux Central Rebels, claiming a narrow 12-6 victory in district play.

“Played a tough game tonight but came up short,” Sioux Central coach Bradon Goodchild said. “Effort was good. We had a few breakdowns on tackling and got stopped short on couple of drives due to penalties.”

ESTHERVILLE — Iowa Lakes fought in two of three sets, falling to Marshalltown, 25-21, 25-13, 25-20, at home Tuesday. The Lakers' lack of efficiency in the key moments took them out of the match.

That’s not a typo. It’s a soccer victory disguised as a football score. Iowa Lakes didn’t just defeat Scott on Wednesday for the team’s eighth win of the season, they put up 31 goals in 90 minutes, averaging a goal almost every three minutes.

Laker men's coach Ben Macrae opted not to comment on the lopsided outcome

An estimated 60,000 hunters will be heading to the timber in the next few months with Iowa’s archery deer season, which got underway Oct. 1. With some careful planning and scouting, hunters can capitalize on the predictable behavior of deer in the early fall.

The past couple of weekends have been fun ones for me. Two weekends ago I got the chance to go duck hunting. At age 75, my ability to go wandering in a slough, throwing out and picking up decoys and getting around in the mucky, sticky slough bottom has become a distant memory.

During my fishing career I’ve shared a boat with a lot of anglers in a lot of places. I’ve learned how fish react in different places to a variety of factors. Some of those things that I’ve learned are unique to the autumn months. Following are some of those things.

We hit the months of September and October, and it’s time for our four-legged friends to take over. Although I have had breeds ranging from pointers to retrievers, there are so many great breeds out there, and I’m not here to tell which breed is better or how to train them. No, that’s for the experts. No, this article is about how these dogs become such a huge part of our lives, and there are always stories to be told.

After a year of planning and discussions, repairs to the Clay County Courthouse are set to begin soon. On Tuesday, The Clay County Board of Supervisors awarded a bid to MTS Contracting for $296,350 for the building’s tuckpointing repair work.

SPENCER TIGERS (0-6) AT SIOUX CITY WEST WOLVERINES (0-6)

7 p.m. — Friday, Elwood Olsen Stadium, Sioux City

Spencer Fall 3-on-3 Basketball League

The Spirit Lake Indians swooped into Spencer Tuesday for a Lakes Conference matchup, rolling to a three-game sweep over the Tigers in the field house, 25-18, 25-16, 25-15, as the home team celebrated with its annual Pink Out Night.

“We struggled to get anything going (Tuesday night),” Spencer coach Tara Hauschen said. “Spirit Lake has a strong block that we couldn’t seem to find our way around.

WAVERLY — Saturday, Spencer’s girls and boys cross-country found the going touch in a crowded field of competitors amplified by the extreme temperatures during the late morning and early afternoon hours. The Tiger runners earned a top 20 team finish in the girls race, while the boys — anchored by two surprise efforts — placed 26th among 47 squads, on Wartburg’s Max Championship Cross-Country Course at the Steve Johnson/Dan Huston Invitational in Waverly.

Youth soccer clubs from the Upper Midwest participated in the two-day Northwest Iowa Fall Classic. Formerly known as the Great Balls of Fire and Galaxy Cup youth soccer tournaments. Spencer’s youth soccer complex fields were packed with players and fans last weekend. (Photos by Amanda Young, David Munson and Derek Bailey)