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)

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

Soccer - Boys - Section 8A East Championship - #2 St. Cloud Cathedral at #1 St. John's Prep in Collegeville 1:30pm

Soccer - Boys - Section 8A West Championship - #2 Minnewaska Area at #1 Hillcrest Lutheran Academy in Fergus Falls 3:00pm

Soccer - Girls - Section 8A South Championship - #3 Albany at #1 St. Cloud Cathedral at Whitney Field 11:00am

Soccer - Girls - Section 8A North Championship - #2 Hillcrest Lutheran Academy at #1 East Grand Forks 12:00pm (noon)

Monday, October 19, 2026

Cross Country - Boys & Girls - Sauk Centre, Melrose, Montevideo, West Central Area, Morris Area, BOLD/Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart & Minnewaska Area at West Central Conference Meet hosted by Morris at Pomme De Terre Golf Course 4:00pm

Volleyball - Upsala at Bertha-Hewitt 4:30pm

Volleyball - Browerville-Eagle Valley at Parkers Prairie 5:00pm

Volleyball - Staples-Motley at Hawley 6:00pm

Tuesday, October 20, 2026

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

Cross Country - Boys & Girls - Long Prairie-Grey Eagle, Bertha-Hewitt, Parkers Prairie, New York Mills, Ottertail Central, United North Central, Verndale, Pillager, Pine River-Backus & Wadena-Deer Creek at the Park Region Conference Meet hosted by Long Prairie-Grey Eagle at the Long Prairie Country Club 4:00pm

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

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

Volleyball - West Central Area at Melrose 1:00pm

Volleyball - Bertha-Hewitt at Pillager 4:45pm

Volleyball - Sauk Centre at Montevideo 5:45pm

Football - West Central Area at Upsala/Swanville in Swanville - On 1400 AM & 103.1 FM Hometown Radio at 7:00pm

Football - Browerville-Eagle Valley at Maple Lake - On 99.7 FM Hot Rod Radio at 7:00pm

Football - Long Prairie-Grey Eagle at Benson 7:00pm

Football - Pelican Rapids at Staples-Motley 7:00pm

Football - Holdingford at Sauk Centre 7:00pm

Football - Melrose at Osakis 7:00pm

Football - Minnewaska Area at Royalton 7:00pm

Football - Kimball at Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 7:00pm

Football - Ashby/Brandon-Evansville at Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa 7:00pm

Wednesday, October 21, 2026

Soccer - Boys - Section 8A Championship game at Thunder Stadium in Long Prairie 5:15pm

Soccer - Girls - Section 8A Championship game at Thunder Stadium in Long Prairie 7:30pm

Football - Little Falls at St. Cloud Apollo 4:30pm

Football - Bertha-Hewitt at Mille Lacs in Onamia 7:00pm

Football - Cromwell-Wright at Verndale 7:00pm

Football - New York Mills at Wadena-Deer Creek 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.