Be listening for our sports updates at 6:10am, 7:20am, 8:20am, 12:20pm & 5:20pm on Hometown Radio KEYL AM1400 & FM 103.1 and 99.7FM Hot Rod Radio
Area high school sports schedule
(Events are subject to change due to weather conditions or other factors)
Thursday, May 28, 2026
Track & Field - Boys & Girls - Section 6A Meet - Long Prairie-Grey Eagle, Browerville-Eagle Valley, Osakis, Parkers Prairie, Pillager, Sauk Centre, Bertha-Hewitt-Verndale, Staples-Motley & more at Concordia College in Moorhead 9:00am
Softball - Section 6A in Swanville - 3:00pm Elimination bracket game: Swanville vs New York Mills - Winner advance to take on West Central Area at 5:00pm in Championship game
Softball - Section 5A Championship game: #1 Sebeka vs #2 Blackduck at Walker-Hackensack-Akeley High School - 2nd game will be played at 2:00pm if needed
Softball - Section 6AA at the College of St. Benedict - Championship game: 2:00pm St. Cloud Cathedral vs Kimball - 2nd game will be played at 4:30pm if needed
Baseball - Section 4A - Elimination bracket games: 4:30pm - Hinkley-Finlayson at Heritage Christian Academy, Mayer Lutheran vs Upsala/Swanville in Upsala
Baseball - Section 6AA - Elimination bracket games: 4:30pm - Wadena-Deer Creek vs Spectrum at Dick Putz Field in St. Cloud, Eden Valley-Watkins vs Staples-Motley at Joe Faber Field in St. Cloud, Championship bracket games: 7:00pm Pierz vs St. Cloud Cathedral at Dick Putz Field in St. Cloud, Foley vs Holdingford at Joe Faber Field in St. Cloud
Baseball - Section 6A - 2:00pm - #5 Breckenridge vs #4 Long Prairie-Grey Eagle in Browerville, #9 Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg vs #1 Parkers Prairie in Browerville. Winners play each other at 5:00pm in Browerville. Losers play each other in Elimination Bracket game at 5:00pm in Browerville. 2:00pm #6 Benson vs #3 Brandon-Evansville in Evansville, #7 Border West vs #2 Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa in Ashby. Winners play each other at 5:00pm in Evansville. Losers play in Elimination bracket game at 5:00pm in Ashby.
Baseball - Section 5A - 2:00pm West half 2nd round: #4 Bertha-Hewitt-Verndale at #1 Sebeka, #3 Frazee vs #2 New York Mills in Nimrod. Winners play each other at 4:30pm in Sebeka. Losers play each other in Elimination bracket game at 4:30pm in Nimrod. East half 2nd round: #5 Laporte vs #1 Walker-Hackensack-Akeley in Onamia, #3 East Central vs #2 Mille Lacs in Isle. Winners play each other at 4:30pm in Isle. Losers play in Elimination bracket game at 4:30pm in Onamia.
KEYL and Hot Rod Radio are proud of our Sports Director - Kevin Houdek
KEYL/KXDL Sports Director Kevin Houdek honored with WCCO Viewers’ Choice For Best H.S. Football Announcer In Minnesota
Kevin Houdek has been calling games for the Long Prairie-Grey Eagle Thunder for 30 years. His knowledge of the teams and the game sheds a bright light for those who can’t attend.
“People all over the country [listen in],” Houdek said. “A guy from Browerville that’s down in Arizona, I’ll get a text from him every once and a while, you know, saying, ‘Great game.'”
On this night, the Thunder are playing the Staples-Motley Cardinals. Both teams were 0-2 — and hungry for a win.
“It’s not life or death,” he said. “It’s to have a good time and stay professional, and remember you’re broadcasting for two teams, not just your home team.”
Kevin Houdek (credit: CBS)
Sports teams and the media often clash, but Houdek has earned the respect of Activities Director Dan Zetah.
“Our coaches … really like him and respect him,” Zetah said. “He’s very savvy with the numbers, with stats. You ask him a stat about something, he’s got it right there.”
Listening to Houdek — as he delivers names and stats with computer-like precision — might be overwhelming to some, but it’s like poetry to someone who’s into the game.
“I think you can get some broadcasters … that can maybe get a little more opinionated or maybe get negative more, if you want to use that term. He doesn’t get that way at all,” Zetah said.
And it’s clear that Houdek loves his work.
“It’s so much fun,” he said. “As I’ve gotten older, I’ve appreciated it even more. Even at this level, I go to a game and every night I know somebody’s going to do something amazing.”
So if you’re ever driving through central Minnesota on game night, tune your radio to 1400 AM to hear the small-town guy who, in his own way, has hit the big time.
“A teenager’s going to pull off a big play, or they’re going to play their best game ever, and everybody’s having fun, and I’m having fun, too,” Houdek said.
-- Courtesy WCCO
KEVIN HOUDEK NAMED SID HARTMAN MEDIA AWARD WINNER
He was recognized at the 11th Annual Minnesota Football Honors on April 29 at U.S. Bank Stadium.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - April 16, 2018 - Longtime radio sports director and broadcaster Kevin Houdek will receive the Sid Hartman Media Award from the Minnesota Chapter of the National Football Foundation. He was recognized at the 11th Annual Minnesota Football Honors on April 29 at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Houdek has spent 30 years as the sports director at KEYL/KXDL Radio in Long Prairie, Minnesota. Last fall he won WCCO TV’s Viewers’ Choice Award for Best High School Football Announcer. Houdek has been providing play-by-play for the Long Prairie-Grey Eagle Thunder for three decades.
In addition to football, Houdek has broadcast other high school sports including volleyball, boys’ and girls’ basketball, boys’ and girls’ hockey, wrestling, baseball and softball. He has covered Minnesota State High School League state tournament games for many of those sports for his station and the Minnesota Sports Broadcast Network.
Houdek is a Minnesota native who attended Danube High School before getting his associate’s degree in radio and television broadcasting at Brown Institute in Minneapolis. He is also a volunteer coach for youth baseball and wrestling and women’s slo-pitch softball, and is a 15 year veteran of the Long Prairie volunteer fire department.
The Sid Hartman Media Award is named after the Star Tribune’s most famous sports writer who is still covering local teams at age 98.
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