Sports

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)

Tuesday, October 13, 2026

Tennis - Girls - Section 6A Team Tournament Semifinal matches at Rogers Tennis Club: 8:30am - #5 Osakis vs #1 Foley, 10:30am - #3 Sauk Centre vs #2 Minnewaska - Winners will play in championship match at 1:00pm

Cross Country - Boys & Girls - Bertha-Hewitt, Parkers Prairie, Staples-Motley, Barnesville, Bemidji,  Brainerd, Breckenridge/Wahpeton, Crosby-Ironton, Detroit Lakes, Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton, Fergus Falls, Frazee, Hawley, Lake Park-Audubon, Little Falls, Moorhead, New York Mills, Ottertail Central, Pelican Rapids, United North Central, Verndale & Wadena-Deer Creek at Perham 4:00pm

Cross Country - Boys & Girls - Osakis, Pillager, Royalton, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City, East Central, Hinckley-Finlayson, King's Academy, Maple Lake, Milaca, Mille Lacs, Rush City & St. Cloud Tech at Royalton 4:00pm

Cross Country - Boys & Girls - Sauk Centre, New London-Spicer, St. Cloud Cathedral, Lac Qui Parle/Dawson-Boyd, West Central Area & Morris Area at Minnewaska Area 4:30pm

Soccer - Boys - Section 8A East Semifinals: 4:00pm - #5 Albany at #1 St. John's Prep, 7:00pm -  #3 Long Prairie-Grey Eagle at #2 St. Cloud Cathedral at Whitney Field

Soccer - Boys - Section 8A West Semifinals: 4:00pm - #4 East Grand Forks at #1 Hillcrest Lutheran Academy, 7:00pm - #3 Pelican Rapids at #2 Minnewaska Area

Soccer - Girls - Section 8A South Quarterfinals - 2:00pm - #3 Albany at #2 St. John's Prep, 4:30pm - #4 Melrose at #1 St. Cloud Cathedral at Whitney Field

Soccer - Girls - Section 8A North Quarterfinals - 2:00pm - #3 Pelican Rapids at #2 Hillcrest Lutheran Academy, 6:30pm - #4 Walker-Hackensack-Akeley-Laporte at #1 East Grand Forks

Swimming & Diving - Girls - Sauk Centre at Park Rapids 6:00pm

Volleyball - Menahga at Bertha-Hewitt 4:30pm

Volleyball - Swanville at Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 4:45pm  - Varsity match at 7:00pm on 99.7 FM Hot Rod Radio

Volleyball - Osakis at Browerville-Eagle Valley 4:45pm

Volleyball - Benson at Upsala 4:45pm

Volleyball - Minnewaska Area at Melrose 5:45pm

Wednesday, October 14, 2026

Tennis - Girls - Long Prairie-Grey Eagle, Osakis, Sauk Centre, Melrose, St. John's Prep, Foley, Minnewaska Area, New London-Spicer & Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa at the Section 6A Individual Tournament at Rogers Tennis Center 9:00am

Football - Browerville-Eagle Valley at Benson 7:00pm - On 1400AM & 103.1 FM Hometown Radio KEYL

Football - St. Cloud Cathedral at Osakis 7:00pm - On 99.7 FM Hot Rod Radio KXDL

Football - Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa at Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 7:00pm

Football - Upsala/Swanville at Ashby/Brandon-Evansville in Brandon 7:00pm

Football - Sauk Centre at Litchfield 7:00pm

Football - Staples-Motley at Pillager 7:00pm

Football - Melrose at Little Falls 7:00pm

Football - McGregor at Bertha-Hewitt 7:00pm

Football - Wadena-Deer Creek at Parkers Prairie 7:00pm

Football - St. Cloud Apollo at Holdingford 7:00pm

Football - Eden Valley-Watkins at Kimball 7:00pm

Football - Maple Lake at West Central Area 7:00pm

Football - Verndale at Sebeka 7:00pm

Football - Royalton at Paynesville 7:00pm

Thursday, October 15, 2026

Volleyball - Melrose, Sauk Centre, Royalton, Breckenridge, Detroit Lakes, Fergus Falls, Fosston, Hawley, Hillcrest Lutheran Academy, Lake of the Woods, Minnewaska Area, Park Rapids, Perham, Walker-Hackensack-Akeley & West Central Area at the Fergus Falls Tournament 9:00am

Volleyball - Osakis, Bertha-Hewitt, Ashby, Holdingford, Mille Lacs, Aitkin, Brandon-Evansville & Milaca at the Upsala Tournament 9:00am

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.