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)

Monday, September 14, 2026

Cross Country - Boys & Girls - Osakis, Melrose, Verndale, Sauk Centre, Holdingford, Wadena-Deer Creek, Parkers Prairie, Royalton, Eden Valley-Watkins/Kimball, Border West, Minnewaska Area, Alexandria Community Christian, Frazee & Hillcrest Lutheran Academy at the Long Prairie-Grey Eagle Invitational at the Long Prairie Country Club 4:00pm

Tennis - Girls - Staples-Motley & Morris Area at Pequot Lakes 2:00pm

Tennis - Girls - Parkers Prairie at Pierz 4:00pm

Tennis - Girls - Sauk Centre at Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa 4:00pm

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

Volleyball - Paynesville at Osakis 5:45pm

Tuesday, September 15, 2026

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

Tennis - Girls - MACCRAY at Sauk Centre 4:30pm

Tennis - Girls - Yellow Medicine East at Melrose 4:30pm

Soccer - Boys - Central Minnesota Christian at Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 5:00pm

Soccer - Boys - Melrose at Albany 5:00pm

Soccer - Girls - Little Falls at St. John's Prep 4:00pm

Swimming & Diving - Girls - Albany at Melrose 6:00pm

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

Volleyball- Laporte at Bertha-Hewitt 4:30pm

Volleyball - Osakis at Upsala 4:45pm - Varsity match at 7:00pm on 99.7 FM Hot Rod Radio

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

Volleyball - Swanville at Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa 5:30pm

Volleyball - Ashby at Parkers Prairie 5:00pm

Volleyball - Sauk Centre at Morris Area 5:45pm

Volleyball - Montevideo at Melrose 5:45pm

Thursday, September 17, 2026

Tennis - Girls - Wadena-Deer Creek & Park Rapids at Staples-Motley 3:00pm

Tennis - Girls - Sauk Centre at Melrose 4:30pm

Soccer - Boys - St. John's Prep at Melrose 3:30pm

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

Soccer - Girls - Melrose at Little Falls 3:30pm

Cross Country - Boys & Girls - Staples-Motley at Pine River-Backus 4:00pm

Cross Country - Boys & Girls - Melrose & Sauk Centre at New London-Spicer 5:00pm

Volleyball - Verndale at Bertha-Hewitt 4:30pm

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

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

Volleyball - Benson at Swanville 4:45pm

Volleyball - Brandon-Evansville at Parkers Prairie 5:00pm

Volleyball - Melrose at Minnewaska Area 5:45pm

Friday, September 18, 2026

Soccer - Boys - Melrose at Princeton 4:00pm

Football - West Central Area at Browerville-Eagle Valley 7:00pm - On 99.7 FM Hot Rod Radio KXDL

Football - Osakis at Kimball 7:00pm - On 1400AM & 103.1 FM Hometown Radio KEYL

Football - Maple Lake at Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 7:00pm

Football - Bertha-Hewitt at Ogilvie 7:00pm

Football - Upsala/Swanville at Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa 7:00pm

Football - Melrose at Albany 7:00pm

Football - Morris at Sauk Centre 7:00pm

Football - Hawley at Staples-Motley 7:00pm

Football - New York Mills at Parkers Prairie 7:00pm

Football - Verndale at Bertha-Hewitt 7:00pm

Football - Benson at Brandon-Evansville 7:00pm

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

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

Football - Pillager at Barnesville 7:00pm

Football - Wadena-Deer Creek at Ottertail Central 7:00pm

Football - Minnewaska Area at Pierz 7:00pm

Football - Little Falls at Litchfield 7:00pm

Saturday, September 19, 2026

Swimming & Diving - Girls - Sauk Centre & Melrose at Park Rapids 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.