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Author: Dave Riggert

Berkstresser fills in for Franklin as Mizzou holds on to defeat Arizona State

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Corbin Berkstresser ran for a score in his first career start at quarterback in place of injured James Franklin, and Missouri’s defense forced four turnovers to ease the pressure on the redshirt freshman in a 24-20 victory over Arizona State on Saturday night.

Missouri (2-1) built a 17-point cushion in the third quarter in front of a sellout crowd of 71,004, the school’s first for a non-conference game since Notre Dame in 1984. The Tigers held on late a week after fizzling late in a 21-point loss to No. 7 Georgia that spoiled the school’s SEC debut.

Marion Grice scored on a pair of fourth-quarter runs that cut the deficit to four for Arizona State (2-1), which had a fumbled snap on the second extra-point kick.

Kendial Lawrence scored on a pair of short runs, and T.J. Moe was strong overall with eight catches for 88 yards and a 43-yard kickoff return to open the game for Missouri.

Missouri kicker Andrew Baggett made a 46-yard field goal early but missed from 37, 45 and 48 yards.

Kenronte Walker made two big plays late, a pass deflection on fourth and goal from the 2 to turn it over on downs and an end-zone interception and 49-yard return to clinch it in the final minute.

Missouri had quarterback suspense until just before kickoff with Franklin the final starter announced, followed by intrigue when Berkstresser took the field while Franklin wore a cap and headset on the sideline, nursing an elbow injury. It was the first start missed by the Tigers’ No. 1 quarterback since coach Gary Pinkel’s first season in 2001.

Brad Smith didn’t miss a start in four seasons, Chase Daniel made it three years in a row and Blaine Gabbert started every game two years. Franklin had made 15 consecutive starts and warmed up without obvious discomfort prior to the game, throwing several passes of 20 or more yards while watched closely by offensive coordinator Dave Yost.

Berkstresser, who subbed in the season’s first two games, got plenty of help early as Missouri built a 17-0 lead. He cost the Tigers a scoring opportunity in the second quarter, throwing into coverage on Brandon McGee’s interception at the Sun Devil 3.

The Tigers got touchdown runs from Berkstresser and Lawrence on a pair of 18-yard drives off turnovers, with Kip Edwards recovering a fumble and intercepting Taylor Kelly on consecutive possessions.

Arizona State had 27 total yards before putting together a 66-yard drive near the end of the half fueled by quick hitters and capped by D.J. Foster’s 33-yard score on a screen pass from Kelly that took advantage of an overzealous pass rush.

ASU punter Josh Hubner fumbled a snap late in the third quarter, recovering the ball after it slipped through his hands and rolled over the top of his head. He still managed to kick the ball, and the desperation 11-yard effort gave Missouri possession at the Sun Devils’ 33. Lawrence had a 14-yard reception to the 2, then ran it in from the 1 for a 24-7 lead.

— Associated Press —

Western volleyball gets swept by Emporia State

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Missouri Western Volleyball played a close contest against MIAA foe Emporia State, but lost 3-0 to fall to 7-4 and 1-2 in the MIAA.

The Griffons led throughout the first set, taking a 24-22 advantage. The Hornets came back off of two attacks by Sydney Hartman and took a 25-24 lead. The Griffons fought back and had two attacks themselves to take the one-point lead, but couldn’t hang on as Emporia won the next three points and won the set 28-26.

MWSU and ESU swapped points through the 2nd set. The game was tied at 10 before the Griffons took an 18-13 lead. The Griffons let the set slip out of their hands though, as the Hornets won 25-23.

The Hornets jumped out to an 11-5 lead in the 3rd set, but the Griffons fought back to take a 14-13 lead. Emporia wouldn’t give the set up however, and took the final set 25-20 to sweep the Griffons 3-0.

Melissa Cairns led with 10 kills. Sarah Faubel finished with 13 digs and Stephanie Hattey ended the game with a team-high 20 assists. The Griffons had 39 team kills.

The Hornets were led by Katie Deutschmann, who had 27 assists. Mogan Buckner had 14 kills and Paige Vanderpool finished with 20 digs.

Up Next: The Griffons take on Central Missouri Friday night at 7 p.m. and Lindenwood Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.

— MWSU Sports Information —

K-State pulls away late from North Texas for 35-21 victory

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Bill Snyder saw it coming all week in practice.

The missed tackles. The dropped passes. The lousy blocking, terrible execution and distressing lack of focus gave the Kansas State coach trepidation with North Texas coming to town.

If not for another gutsy performance by Collin Klein, and a 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Tyler Locket, the No. 15 Wildcats might have been saddled with an embarrassing defeat before heading into next Saturday’s showdown against fifth-ranked Oklahoma.

Instead, they managed to eke out a 35-21 victory on Saturday night.

”If you don’t prepare yourself well then most anything can happen,” Snyder said afterward. ”It was the attitude we took into the ballgame. There wasn’t anything else to blame it on.”

Of course, Snyder was also quick to credit North Texas.

The Mean Green (1-2) scratched and clawed their way within 14-13 late in the third quarter before Klein hit and Tramaine Thompson for their second touchdown. John Hubert tacked on a TD run moments later, and Klein’s fourth-quarter score allowed the Wildcats (3-0) to escape.

Albeit with a far less impressive showing than last week’s 52-13 romp over Miami.

”North Texas is better than people think, first of all,” said Klein, who passed for 230 yards and accounted for three scores. ”There was a lot of emotion coming off a big game, but the great teams are the exact same no matter who the opponent is.”

Evidently, the Wildcats are still in search of greatness.

”There probably isn’t anything that doesn’t need vast improvement,” Snyder said. ”It’s taking something for granted. We didn’t practice well Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.”

North Texas nearly made them pay for it, too.

Derek Thompson was 25 of 28 for 208 yards and a late TD pass for the Mean Green, who converted the 2-point conversion to get within two touchdowns with 2:31 remaining in the game. An onside kick was recovered by the Wildcats, though, allowing them to run out the clock.

”My football team came here believing that we could win, not hoping that we could win,” said North Texas’ Dan McCarney, who regularly faced the Wildcats when he was the coach at Iowa State.

”I didn’t sense any hope that we could go win a game. I sensed in our preparation and from watching on the sidelines this team really believed we could win the game,” McCarney said. “But we weren’t good enough to do it tonight.”

Still, North Texas held its Big 12 opponent to 143 yards rushing – Kansas State entered the game sixth nationally at better than 300 yards per game – while holding the ball an astonishing 37 minutes, 4 seconds, which prevented the Wildcats from getting into a rhythm.

Kansas State ran six offensive plays in the first quarter.

”We ran the ball well when we needed to, and we kept our defense off the field,” Derek Thompson said. ”Like I said, unfortunately we just didn’t execute when we needed to.”

They were executing early in the game, though. Brelan Chancellor capped an 11-play, 55-yard drive with a 6-yard scoring run midway through the first quarter for a 7-0 lead.

That’s when Lockett fielded the ensuing kickoff at his 4-yard line. He started up field, angled to his left and found a seam down the sideline for his third career kick return touchdown, pulling the Wildcats into a 7-all tie without their offense having to take the field.

”That was major,” Snyder said. ”That was probably the difference in the game.”

The game was still tied when North Texas ended a promising drive with a blocked field goal attempt. The Wildcats capitalized on the miscue, moseying downfield in five plays before Klein went over the top to Tramaine Thompson, whose 38-yard touchdown catch gave Kansas State the lead.

The Mean Green had a chance to pull even on the first drive of the second half, using nearly half of the third quarter to move 88 yards. Antoinne Jimmerson’s short TD run capped the 14-play drive, but the extra point was wide right and Kansas State clung to a one-point lead.

Klein hit Thompson a few minutes later, this time from 21 yards, and Hubert and Klein tacked on their fourth-quarter TD runs to finally allow the Wildcats – and the purple-clad faithful – to start looking ahead to next weekend’s showdown at Oklahoma.

Just in case they hadn’t been already this week.

”Across the board, I didn’t think we played like we were capable of playing,” Snyder said. ”We were hanging on by the skin of our teeth most of the game.”

— Associated Press —

Kansas comes up short as TCU wins Big 12 debut

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Everybody warned TCU coach Gary Patterson that his Horned Frogs had better bring their best every weekend when they finally joined the rough-and-tumble Big 12.

They hardly brought their best to Kansas on Saturday.

It hardly mattered, either.

Casey Pachall threw for 335 yards and two touchdowns, both of them to Brandon Carter, and the 16th-ranked Horned Frogs overcame four turnovers in a 20-6 victory over the Jayhawks.

”We’re just glad to get our first Big 12 win,” said Patterson, who grew up in Rozel, Kan., and played for Kansas State before beginning his highly successful coaching career.

”We feel fortunate to get out of here with a victory.”

Carter finished with eight catches for 141 yards, and Waymon James added 99 yards rushing for the Horned Frogs (2-0, 1-0), who nevertheless pushed the nation’s longest win streak to 10 games by beating up on the team picked to finish last in the conference in preseason polls.

Dayne Crist led the Jayhawks (1-2, 0-1) with 303 yards passing, but he was also intercepted once, fumbled as he was heading into the end zone in the fourth quarter, and missed several third-down throws that prevented Kansas from capitalizing on the TCU turnovers.

”We were really close on a bunch of plays,” said Charlie Weis, who is 0-2 against teams from the Football Bowl Subdivision in his first season at Kansas. ”It wasn’t like the first two games, now. There were some plays we made and there were some plays we definitely left out there.”

Sounds a lot like Patterson’s assessment of the game.

Pachall fumbled three times for the Horned Frogs, and Matthew Tucker also coughed up the ball, each time as TCU was trying to cap off a drive with a touchdown.

The Jayhawks have forced 12 turnovers through their first three games.

”We came out a little flat,” Pachall said. ”We were just shooting ourselves in the foot. We felt like they couldn’t stop us, but at the same time, we were stopping ourselves.”

TCU rolled up 487 yards of offense, and its defense kept the Jayhawks out of the end zone – and scoreless the second half. So despite the turnovers, the Horned Frogs still managed their 25th straight conference victory going back to their membership in the Mountain West.

Not that beating up on college football’s big boys is anything new.

TCU had won 16 of its past 20 games against schools from automatic BCS-qualifying conferences, including a stretch of five straight against Big 12 schools. Among the victims have been Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Iowa State – all schools that they’ll be facing in coming weeks.

”Everybody said, ‘When you go into the Big 12, you have to play your best ballgame every day to win games,”’ Patterson said. ”I’m not sure if we did that.”

Their first series was one example.

The Horned Frogs effortlessly marched inside the Kansas 10, only to have a fumbled snap go scooting past Pachall. The Jayhawks recovered and drove the other way, and Ron Doherty’s field goal with 8:45 left in the first quarter gave them a 3-0 lead.

TCU marched right down field again, gaining big yardage with each play, but this time Pachall fumbled while attempting a pass and Kansas jumped on the ball.

Turns out the Jayhawks are good at giving away possessions, too.

Crist threw an interception on their first play from scrimmage, and Pachall pushed his streak to 13 straight completions to start the season when he found Carter for an 8-yard touchdown pass.

Pachall’s streak ended at 14 straight on the Horned Frogs’ next drive.

Doherty and his TCU counterpart, Jaden Oberkrom, atoned for missed field goals earlier in the second quarter by each making good before halftime. That left TCU clinging to a 10-6 lead.

Things finally unraveled for Kansas in the third quarter.

The Jayhawks were forced to punt on their first two possessions, and TCU made them pay by finally finishing off a drive. Pachall completed six consecutive passes – one of them 33 yards to Carter to convert on third down – before hitting his favorite target from 25 yards out.

Pachall unloaded the pass to avoid a blitz, but the 5-foot-11 Carter managed to pull down the jump ball over cornerback Tyree Williams, and then tiptoed down the sideline for the score.

”The defense played very well today, but the offense came out in the second half and didn’t do well,” Kansas running back Tony Pierson said. ”The defense carried us this game.”

Oberkrom added a 27-yard field goal later in the third quarter, and the Horned Frogs dominated the fourth quarter – despite two more fumbles costing them points – to wrap up the victory.

”We just have to get our minds right,” Pachall said. ”We know how well we can perform and that wasn’t our normal way of performing.”

— Associated Press —

NWMSU volleyball rolls to 3-0 win over Missouri Southern

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Northwest Missouri State continued its hot play as the Bearcats dispatched of Missouri Southern 3-0 Saturday night in MIAA volleyball action.

The Bearcats not only swept a struggling Missouri Southern team, but beat the visiting Lions handily in three sets 25-16, 25-18, 25-18. Northwest saw its record improve to 7-4 overall and 3-0 in the MIAA for the first time in over 15 years as the Lions stay winless at 0-10 and 0-2 in league play.

Northwest used a solid combination of offense and defense hitting .316 as a team. It was the first time all season the Bearcats have hit over the .300 mark as a team.

Sophomore Brooke Bartosh continued her hot start to the 2012 campaign, leading the way with 14 kills and an amazing .476 hitting percentage. Bartosh has finished with double figure kills in six of her last seven matches helping Northwest go 5-2 over that span.

Abby Graves also finished with double figure kills adding 12 and a .550 hitting percentage.

Dallas Gardner continued to pace the offense for Northwest with 26 assists.

The Bearcats neared the .400 mark in sets two and three as they ran past the Lions in set one 25-16. Northwest would close out the match 25-18, 25-18 to stay perfect in league play.

Northwest continues its home stand as they host Fort Hays State Wednesday. Tipoff from Bearcat Arena is set for 7 p.m.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

High School Football Scores – Friday, Sept. 14

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WEEK 4

CITY

Central 20, Raytown South 6

Savannah 21, Lafayette 14

Smithville 35, Benton 0

Maryville 56, Bishop LeBlond 7

St. Joseph Christian 72, Chilhowee 14

AREA

Chillicothe 21, Cameron 10

East Buchanan 42, Plattsburg 41

Hamilton 49, Mid-Buchanan 14

Lawson 41, North Platte 6

Lathrop 41, West Platte 12

Maysville 46, Albany 6

South Harrison 21, Polo 13

King City 25, Braymer 13

Gallatin 40, Princeton 20

8-MAN

Worth County 2, Craig/Fairfax 0 FFT

North Andrew 58, Hardin-Central 0

Stanberry 28, Rock Port 16

Northwest Hughesville 60, DeKalb 8

Mound City 46, West Nodaway 0

Nodaway-Holt 44, Tarkio 42 OT

North Nodaway 36, South Holt 26

Union Star 48, South Nodaway 30

Royals double up Minnesota Wednesday night, 10-5

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The Kansas City Royals seem as though they’ve been a team on the rise for years, with each crop of hot young prospects supposedly the group that is going to drag the franchise up from the depths of the AL Central.

Billy Butler is hoping this latest batch of fresh faces will finally help them finish the job.

Butler had three hits and three RBIs, and the Kansas City Royals’ bullpen picked up struggling starter Luke Hochevar with four scoreless innings in a 10-5 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday night.

”I just think it’s good for our young guys to get confidence. I think every year I’ve been here we’ve had good Septembers, but we got a good August and September,” Butler said. ”Outside of a 12-game losing streak earlier in the season we’ve played really good baseball. … We’ve been really consistent after that, and it’s something we can build on in the offseason and it might make us ready sooner.”

Salvador Perez homered and drove in two runs for the Royals, who sent 10 batters to the plate in their five-run fifth and another nine in a four-run eighth.

The Royals went 17-11 in August and have won four of their last five games to improve to 6-6 in September. But they remain a few front-of-the-rotation arms away from being a legitimate threat.

Hochevar was supposed to be one of those guys, but he continues to underwhelm. He got behind 1-0 in the first on Wednesday night after a leadoff triple from Span, walked three straight batters in the third, including Doumit with the bases loaded, and gave up two more runs after the Royals handed him a 6-3 lead in the fifth.

”He hasn’t won a game in his last seven starts and I wanted to get him over that hump,” manager Ned Yost said. ”He was working hard out there, maybe a little too hard. He was trying with everything that he had to get over that hump, too. I was bound and determined to give him every opportunity to do it.”

Hochevar (8-13) won for the first time since July 31, but he gave up five runs on six hits with four walks and four strikeouts in five innings. Tim Collins pitched two innings before Kevin Herrera and Francisley Bueno finished the game.

”Of course that wears on you,” Hochevar said of his skid. ”Regardless of that, I’m going to go out and fight for every pitch, I’m going to go out and compete to the best of my ability. Tonight, our offense picked me up.”

P.J. Walters (2-4) gave up six runs on seven hits in four innings and Twins left fielder Ryan Doumit was charged with three errors in the eighth to help the Royals put the game out of reach.

Joe Mauer missed his second straight game because of back spasms for the Twins.

Doumit, who has primarily served as the backup catcher to Mauer, has been working his way into left field more often recently to try to keep his bat in the lineup. The acclimation turned ugly in the eighth when he dropped a fly ball from Johnny Giavotella after a long run to the gap, then booted a hard-hit single by Alcides Escobar that allowed a run to score. Doumit’s throw also allowed two runners to advance, giving him a third error in the inning.

It was the second time this season, and fourth since 2010, that a player has committed three errors in one inning, according to STATS LLC. Oakland first baseman Brandon Moss did it in the sixth against San Francisco on June 23.

”It’s part of the learning curve,” Doumit said. ”It’s part of all that. It’s embarrassing, but I’m going to learn from it and go out and get ’em tomorrow.”

— Associated Press —

Events finalized for Military Appreciation Night at Spratt Stadium Saturday

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Griffon Athletics in conjunction with the Missouri Army National Guard are proud to present Military Appreciation Night this Saturday at Spratt Stadium as #8 Griffon Football hosts Nebraska-Kearney at 6 PM.

The night begins with a free tailgate party in parking Lot I in front of Spratt Stadium.  Complimentary hamburgers and hot dogs will be served.  Also at the tailgate and at two other locations throughout the parking lots, fans can purchase the Official “Griffon Warfare” Gameday T-shirt.  The shirts are $10 apiece with proceeds benefitting The Wounded Warrior Project.

The Missouri Army National Guard will have several military vehicles on display outside of the stadium including humvees and a howitzer.

Fans will want to make sure they’re in their seats early for pregame festivities which will begin approximately 20 minutes prior to kickoff.  Events include a performance by the Falcon Skydiving Team, a military enlistment ceremony and the unveiling of a large American Flag in conjunction with the singing of the National Anthem by Master Sergeant of the Air National Guard Mert Hughes.

The pregame coin toss ceremony will feature Sergeant First Class Chad King who recently returned from duty in Afghanistan.  The commemorative coin is the official coin of the Adjutant General of the State of Missouri Major General Stephen L. Danner.  Following the toss, the coin will presented to MWSU President Dr. Bob Vartabedian as a memento of the day.

The halftime show will feature a patriotic performance by the Golden Griffon Marching Band concluding with an apache helicopter fly off that will be staged next to the Spratt Stadium scoreboard.

The Griffon Football team will be wearing a commemorative Black & Gold camouflage uniform during the game.

Saturday’s game is also Family Day on the MWSU campus as well as will be broadcast to over four million homes in the four state area as it has been chosen as the MIAA Television Game of the Week.

For game tickets, log on to gogriffons.com, call 816-271-4481 or pick them up at the stadium on game day beginning at 4 PM.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Slumping Cardinals get swept by San Diego

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Another day, another loss, and more frustration for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Unlike last year when a tremendous stretch run lifted St. Louis to the NL wild-card berth and, ultimately, the World Series title, the Cardinals are sinking fast.

Clayton Richard pitched seven strong innings and rookie Yasmani Grandal singled home the go-ahead run as the San Diego Padres handed slumping St. Louis its 11th loss in 15 games, 3-2 on Wednesday.

The Cardinals began the day with a one-game lead over Los Angeles for the second NL wild card. The Dodgers, who played later at Arizona, host St. Louis in a crucial four-game series starting Thursday night.

“We can’t depend on the other teams to keep losing,” Cardinals pitcher Kyle Lohse said. “We have to take care of our own business. We have a big series coming up.”

But the Cardinals need to find answers in a hurry. They have lost eight of their last nine road games and are in the midst of playing 13 of 16 away from home.

“We’re going through a rough stretch, but at the same time, we’re still in the hunt,” said right fielder Matt Carpenter, who homered but hurt his club with a key error.

Carpenter’s misplay on Cameron Maybin’s double in the fifth allowed an unearned run to score.

“I was trying to be aggressive and trying to get around where I could keep him from getting a double,” Carpenter said. “The ball just got past me and I turned one bad play into another one by missing the cutoff.”

“It’s unacceptable,” he added. “Those are the kind of things that cost you games. It just wasn’t a good play.”

Carpenter came back and hit a two-run homer off Richard (13-12) in the sixth to tie the game at 2.

St. Louis put a runner on third with one out in the ninth but was unable to score. World Series MVP David Freese and pinch-hitter Skip Schumaker both grounded out.

Last season, St. Louis went 23-9 down the stretch to capture the wild-card slot. But this team has played the complete opposite in the final weeks.

“Overall, it doesn’t matter (how hard the team plays) because it all comes down to whether you win,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “They are still aware of the sense of urgency.”

Logan Forsythe hit a solo home run for the Padres, who completed a three-game sweep of St. Louis for the first time since August 1995.

“I take it personally as a compliment to our players that we’re able to do that,” manager Bud Black said.

San Diego has an NL-best 17-5 record since Aug. 19 and has taken 21 of its last 27 games at home.

“It’s exciting when we are winning and playing good baseball like we are,” Richard said.

Richard (13-12) outpitched Lohse and gave up only three hits. The left-hander struck out five, walked one and hit a batter with a pitch.

Luke Gregerson pitched the ninth for his seventh save, working around a leadoff double by Allen Craig. After pinch runner Adron Chambers was sacrificed to third, Gregerson got Freese on a grounder to third before walking pinch hitter Carlos Beltran. Gregerson then retired Schumaker on an easy grounder to first base to end the game.

Lohse (14-3) had his eight-game winning streak snapped as he allowed three runs — two earned — on five hits over six innings. He struck out eight.

“He was sharp right from the beginning,” Matheny said. “These are the ones we have to take advantage of.”

Lohse’s streak spanned 13 starts back to June 26.

Forsythe connected with two outs in the second to give San Diego a 1-0 lead. In his last 13 games, Forsythe has 11 RBIs and 11 runs while raising his batting average 29 points to .289.

Yonder Alonso singled in the fifth and went to third on Maybin’s one-out double into the right-field corner. But when Carpenter overran the ball, Alonso scored.

Carpenter homered immediately after Jon Jay’s leadoff single in the sixth, but San Diego went ahead in the bottom half on Chase Headley’s two-out double and Grandal’s run-scoring single.

— Associated Press —

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