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, September 1, 2026

Tennis - Girls - Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa at Osakis 4:00pm

Tennis - Girls - Morris Area at Sauk Centre 4:30pm

Tennis - Girls - Minnewaska Area at Melrose 4:30pm

Soccer - Boys - Melrose at St. John's Prep 4:00pm

Soccer - Boys - Minnewaska Area at Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 5:00pm

Soccer - Girls - Melrose at Zimmerman 4:00pm

Swimming & Diving - Girls - Sauk Rapids-Rice at Melrose 6:00pm

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

Volleyball - Bertha-Hewitt at Browerville-Eagle Valley - Varsity match at 7:00pm on 99.7 FM Hot Rod Radio

Wednesday, September 2, 2026

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

Thursday, September 3, 2026

Tennis - Girls - Melrose at Lac Qui Parle/Dawson-Boyd 3:30pm

Tennis - Girls - Parkers Prairie at Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Upsala/Swanville in Long Prairie 4:30pm

Tennis - Girls - Sauk Centre at Minnewaska Area 4:30pm

Volleyball - Bertha-Hewitt at Battle Lake 1:00pm

Volleyball - Pillager at Upsala 1:00pm

Volleyball - Parkers Prairie at Verndale 4:45pm

Volleyball - West Central Area at Sauk Centre 5:45pm

Volleyball - Dawson-Boyd at Benson 5:45pm

Soccer - Boys - Hillcrest Lutheran Academy at Melrose 3:30pm

Soccer - Boys - Long Prairie-Grey Eagle at Morris Area 5:00pm

Soccer - Girls - Hillcrest Lutheran Academy at Melrose 3:30pm

Swimming & Diving - Girls - Melrose at Foley 5:00pm

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

Football - Warroad at Pillager 4:00pm

Football - Staples-Motley at East Grand Forks 6:00pm

Football - St. Cloud Apollo at Osakis - 7:00pm on 99.7 FM Hot Rod Radio

Football - Montevideo at Melrose 7:00pm

Football - Kimball at Royalton 7:00pm

Football - Minnewaska Area at Morris 7:00pm

Football - Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa at New York Mills 7:00pm

Football - Ottertail Central at Ashby/Brandon-Evansville 7:00pm

Football - Blackduck at Bertha-Hewitt 7:00pm

Football - Holdingford at St. Cloud Cathedral at St. John's University 7:30pm

Friday, September 4, 2026

Cross Country - Boys & Girls - Holdingford/Upsala at Maple Lake Invitational 9:00am

Cross Country - Boys & Girls - Parkers Prairie at the Dragon Twilight Invitational in Moorhead 5:00pm

Football - Parkers Prairie at Upsala/Swanville in Upsala - 4:00pm on 99.7 FM Hot Rod Radio 

Football - Verndale at South Ridge 5:30pm

Football - Long Prairie-Grey Eagle at Wadena-Deer Creek - 7:00pm on 1400 AM & 103.1 FM Hometown Radio KEYL

Football - Frazee at Browerville-Eagle Valley 7:00pm

Football - Pierz at Sauk Centre 7:00pm

Football - Benson at Breckenridge 7:00pm

Football - Annadale at Little Falls 7:00pm

Football - Lake Park-Audobon at West Central Area 7:00pm

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.