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 18, 2025

Tennis Conference Championship - Girls - Long Prairie-Grey Eagle, Parkers Prairie, Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa, St. John's Prep & Benson at Osakis 11:00am

Volleyball - Osakis at Benson 4:45pm

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

Volleyball - Swanville at Upsala 4:45pm

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

Friday, September 19, 2025

Football - Upsala/Swanville Area at Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 7:00pm on 1400 AM & 103.1 FM Hometown Radio KEYL

Football - Osakis at Holdingford 7:00pm on 99.7 FM Hot Rod Radio

Football - Browerville-Eagle Valley at Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa 7:00pm

Football - Royalton at Sauk Centre 7:00pm

Football - Benson at Maple Lake 7:00pm

Football - Foley at Little Falls 7:00pm

Football - Pierz at Albany 7:00pm

Football - West Central Area at Ashby- Brandon-Evansville 7:00pm

Football - Minnewaska Area at Melrose 7:00pm

Football - Kimball at St. Cloud Cathedral at St. John's University 7:00pm

Football - Perham at Staples-Motley 7:00pm

Football - Breckenridge at Wadena-Deer Creek 7:00pm

Football - Ogilvie at Verndale 7:00pm

Football - Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton at Pillager 7:00pm

Football - Menahga at Parkers Prairie 7:00pm

Saturday, September 20, 2025

Tennis - Girls - Osakis at Elk River 8:00am

Volleyball Tournament - Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa, Dassel-Cokato, Maple Lake, Melrose, & Royalton at Sauk Centre 8:30am

Volleyball Tournament - Long Prairie-Grey Eagle, Browerville-Eagle Valley, Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley, Northern Freeze, Litchfield, West Central Area, Marshall County Central, & Park Christian at Parkers Prairie 9:00am

Volleyball - Swanville vs Ogilvie at St. Cloud State University 9:30am

Monday, September 22, 2025

Tennis - Girls - Long Prairie-Grey Eagle at Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa 3:00pm

Tennis - Girls - Staples-Motley at Osakis 4:00pm

Tennis - Girls - Melrose at St. John's Prep 4:30pm

Volleyball - Long Prairie-Grey Eagle at Bertha-Hewitt 4:30pm

Tuesday, September 23, 2025

Soccer - Boys - Long Prairie-Grey Eagle at Melrose 3:30pm

Cross Country - Boys & Girls - Long Prairie-Grey Eagle, Ashby-Brandon-Evansville, Henning, United North Central, New York Mills, Pillager, Verndale, Wadena-Deer Creek, & Alexandria Community Christian at Bertha-Hewitt at the Double Eagle Golf Course 4:00pm

Tennis - Girls - St. John's Prep at Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 4:00pm

Tennis - Girls - Osakis at New London-Spicer 4:00pm

Volleyball - Swanville at Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 4:45pm - Varsity match at 7:15pm on 99.7 FM Hot Rod Radio

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

Volleyball - Benson at Upsala 4:45pm

Thursday, September 25, 2025

Cross Country - Boys & Girls - Long Prairie-Grey Eagle, Osakis, Hinckley-Finlayson, Hutchinson, Legacy Christian Academy, Maple Lake, North Lakes Academy, Parkers Prairie, Royalton, Rush City, St. Cloud Christian, & Watertown-Mayer at St. John's Prep 4:00pm

Tennis - Girls - Sauk Centre at Osakis 4:15pm

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

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

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

Soccer - Boys - Long Prairie-Grey Eagle at Pelican Rapids 5:00pm

Soccer - Boys - St. John's Prep at Little Falls 5:15pm

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.