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)

Thursday, September 4, 2025

Soccer - Boys - Long Prairie-Grey Eagle vs St. John's Prep at the College of St. Benedict's 3:00pm

Tennis - Girls - St. John's Prep at Parkers Prairie 4:00pm

Tennis - Girls - Long Prairie-Grey Eagle at Wadena-Deer Creek 4:30pm

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

Volleyball - Long Prairie-Grey Eagle at Upsala 4:45pm

Volleyball - Osakis at Swanville 5:45pm - Varsity match at 7:15pm on 99.7 FM Hot Rod Radio

Friday, September 5, 2025

Football - Pillager at Thief River Falls 6:00pm

Football - Roseau at Staples-Motley 6:00pm

Football - Long Prairie-Grey Eagle at Browerville-Eagle Valley 7:00pm on 99.7 FM Hot Rod Radio

Football - Benson at Upsala/Swanville Area in Swanville 7:00pm on 1400AM & 103.1 FM Hometown Radio KEYL

Football - Minnewaska Area at Osakis 7:00pm

Football - Melrose at Sauk Centre 7:00pm

Football - Little Falls at Milaca 7:00pm

Football - Frazee at Menahga 7:00pm

Football - Paynesville at Kimball 7:00pm

Football - Ottertail Central at New York Mills 7:00pm

Football - Holdingford at Royalton 7:00pm

Football - Maple Lake at Ashby/Brandon-Evansville 7:00pm

Football - St. Cloud Cathedral at Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 7:00pm

Football - Ogilvie at Bertha-Hewitt 7:00pm

Football - Parkers Prairie at Breckenridge 7:00pm

Football - Wadena-Deer Creek at Lake Park-Audubon 7:00pm

Football - Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa at West Central Area 7:00pm

Saturday, September 6, 2025

Volleyball Tournament - Browerville-Eagle Valley, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle, Bertha-Hewitt, Brandon-Evansville, Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley, Henning, New York Mills, & Verndaleiin Long Prairie 9:00am

Volleyball Tournament - Osakis at Sauk Rapids-Rice 9:00am

Tennis - Girls - Osakis at Alexandria 10:00am

Monday, September 8, 2025

Soccer - Boys - Long Prairie-Grey Eagle at Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 4:00pm

Cross Country - Boys & Girls - Long Prairie-Grey Eagle, Osakis, Sauk Centre, Melrose, Parkers Prairie, Bertha-Hewitt-Verndale, Alexandria Community, Ashby-Brandon-Evansville, Border West, Holdingford, Minnewaska Area, Morris Area, Ortonville, Pillager, & Royalton at Long Prairie Country Club 4:30pm

Tennis - Girls - Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Upsala at Melrose 4:30pm

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

Tuesday, September 9, 2025

Soccer - Boys - Long Prairie Grey Eagle at Central Minnesota Christian 4:00pm

Tennis - Girls - Morris Area at Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Upsala 4:30pm

Tennis - Girls -Litchfield at Osakis 4:30pm

Volleyball - Benson at Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 4:45pm

Volleyball - Upsala at Osakis 4:45pm

Volleyball - Browerville-Eagle Valley at Swanville 4:45pm - Varsity match at 7:15pm on 99.7 FM Hot Rod Radio

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.