Dave Riggert – Page 386 – St. Joseph Post Archive

NU’s Gerry named semifinalist for Bednarik Award

Posted on October 31, 2016

Nebraska safety Nathan Gerry has been recognized for his outstanding play in 2016, being named a semifinalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award.

The 6-2, 220-pound Gerry is one of 18 players named to the semifinal list on Monday. The Bednarik Award is presented annually to the Outstanding Defensive Player of the Year.

Gerry is one of three Big Ten players on the list, joining Michigan linebacker Jabrill Peppers and Iowa cornerback Desmond King. Gerry is one of five defensive backs on the watch list and joins Washington’s Bubba Baker as the only safeties on the watch list.

The Sioux Falls, S.D., native is having an outstanding senior year, highlighted by a team-leading four interceptions. Gerry picked off two passes in the fourth quarter at Wisconsin, helping the Huskers rally to force overtime. Gerry has 13 career interceptions, leaving him one shy of the Nebraska career record.

Gerry also ranks second on the team with 50 tackles, including 31 solo stops and seven tackles for loss. His 19 career tackles for loss are a Nebraska record for defensive backs. Overall, Gerry has 249 career tackles, the second-most for a Husker defensive back.

Three finalists for the Bednarik Award will be announced on Nov. 22.

— NU Athletics —

MIAA hands out weekly football awards

Posted on October 31, 2016

Kansas City, Mo. – Emporia State’s DeAndre Glover has been named the MIAA Football Defensive Athlete of the Week while Washburn’s Perry Schmiedeler was named the Special Teams Athlete of the Week. Northwest Missouri’s Kyle Zimmerman has been named the Offensive Athlete of the Week.

MIAA Offensive Athlete of the Week
Kyle Zimmerman, QB, Northwest Missouri

Zimmerman set Northwest single game records with six passing touchdowns and seven total touchdowns in Saturdays 69-10 win over Pittsburg State. Zimmerman completed 19-of-21 passes for a career-best 385 yards, with no interceptions. He also ran the ball six times for 33 yards and a touchdown. The 6-1 senior quarterback is a native of Overland Park, Kan. where he competed at Blue Valley High School.

MIAA Defensive Athlete of the Week
DeAndre Glover, DL, Emporia State

Glover had a career high three sacks and four tackles for loss in #10 Emporia States 24-16 win over Ft. Hays State. He anchored a defensive line that held the Tigers to just 99 yards on the ground, the second straight game they have held an opponent to under 100 yards rushing. His three sacks are the most in the MIAA this year and the most by a Hornet since Danny Webb had 3.0 against Central Missouri in 2010. The four TFL are tied for the most in the MIAA this season and are the most by a Hornet since Bryan Tarkington had four against Augustana (SD) in 2008. He now leads the MIAA in solo TFL and is second in total TFL this season. The 6-2 senior defensive lineman is a native of Hempstead, Texas where he competed at Hempstead High School.

MIAA Special Teams Athlete of the Week
Perry Schmiedeler, K, Washburn

Schmiedeler Hit 3 field goals in the 16-13 win over Missouri Western including a 50-yard field goal putting Washburn up 3 with 6:46 to play in the third quarter in the homecoming win. His first field goal of 27 yards tied the score at three and then with 9:31 left in the third quarter he hit one from 43-yards which tied the score at 13. Schmiedeler also averaged 61.4 yards per kickoff with two touchbacks in five attempts while connecting on his only point after attempt. The 5-11 sophomore kicker is a native of Topeka, Kan. where he competed at Washburn Rural.

— MIAA Press Release —

Foles comes off the bench to lift Chiefs past Indianapolis 30-14

Posted on October 30, 2016

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Coming in for the injured Alex Smith, Nick Foles kept the Kansas City Chiefs on a roll on Sunday.

It’s a job he may have to hold down a while longer.

Foles threw for one touchdown pass each time he replaced Smith, leading the Chiefs to their third consecutive victory, 30-14 at Indianapolis on Sunday.

Smith left twice after taking hits to the head, once with a cut on his ear that left him disoriented and the second time with a concussion.

Somehow, the tag-team quarterbacks kept the Chiefs chugging along against Indy’s struggling defense.

“He has a pretty good feel for the offense. He’s been in it before,” coach Andy Reid said. “He’s been a Pro Bowl player before. He’s pretty good.”

It was a rough game for the Chiefs, who lost Smith twice after hits to the head and finished the game with Charcandrick West as their only healthy running back.

Smith left on the game’s opening series, but was cleared by doctors to return. He left again early in the third quarter after Clayton Geathers shoved Smith’s head to the turf as the quarterback tried to slide underneath the tackle.

Geathers said the hit was not intentional, but the hit left Smith with a concussion and he did not return.

But both quarterbacks got the job done.

Foles’ 14-yard TD pass to Travis Kelce early in the second quarter made it 10-0. Smith made it 17-7 at halftime with a 13-yard TD pass to Jeremy Maclin, and after Smith’s second departure, Foles hooked up with Tyreek Hill on a 34-yard scoring pass for a 24-7 lead.

Foles finished 16 of 22 for 223 yards with no interceptions.

And this time, the Chiefs (5-2) defense prevented Andrew Luck from pulling off another comeback — similar to the previous time these teams met in January 2014.

Luck has three come-from-behind wins this season with Indy (3-5) and tried to deliver another one Sunday, but couldn’t get the Colts closer than 24-14.

Luck was 19 of 35 with 210 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, one fumble lost on a day his top receiver T.Y. Hilton caught only one pass.

“I struggled,” Luck said. “I think every offensive player in the room felt like we let each other down.”

SOCIAL MEDIA CONCERN

The social media traffic about the hits on Smith came from all corners. Some fans questioned whether Geathers intentionally drove Smith’s head into the turf to knock him out of the game. Former Colts linebacker Gary Brackett wrote on Twitter that whoever cleared Smith to return should be fired, while the television announcers questioned the play call because of Smith’s previous injury. Even Smith’s wife, Elizabeth, piped in — questioning how many hits it takes to draw a flag. Smith took several hits to the head in last week’s game that weren’t called.

TROUBLE WITH TRAVIS

Travis Kelce exposed an old flaw in the Colts’ defense, covering tight ends. The Colts struggled with that all of last season, and Kelce took advantage again Sunday. He matched his season high with six receptions in the first half and finished with seven catches for 101 yards, both season highs.

SLOW START

After better starts each of the past two weeks, the Colts reverted to their old form against the Chiefs. Not only did they trail 17-7 at halftime, they were lucky it wasn’t worse given that Kansas City had a 4 1/2-minute advantage in time of possession in the first half, settled for a 33-yard field goal and missed a 28-yarder.

INJURY REPORT

Chiefs: In addition to Smith, starting running back Spencer Ware missed the second half with a concussion. Ware started in place of Jamaal Charles , who was inactive because of swelling in his surgically repaired knee. Left guard Parker Ehinger also left in the second half with a right knee injury and did not return.

Colts: The Colts began the game without three starters and got hit even harder during the game. Pro Bowl cornerback Vontae Davis and right tackle Joe Reitz both left with concussions and did not return. Hilton returned after hurting his hamstring bur wasn’t the same. And receiver Phillip Dorsett sustained an undisclosed injury on the second to last play of the game.

THEY SAID IT

Chiefs: “If we were at all concerned, we wouldn’t have put him back in. That’s the bottom line,” Reid talking about the decision to let Smith return in the second quarter.

Colts: “We took a step back today, that’s obvious,” coach Chuck Pagano said.

UP NEXT:

Colts: Travel to Green Bay next Sunday.

Chiefs: Host Jacksonville next Sunday.

— Associated Press —

Missouri Western soccer falls at No. 4 UCM, gets No. 7 seed in MIAA Tournament

Posted on October 30, 2016

ST. JOSEPH – A wild final two weekends of the MIAA regular season left the Missouri Western soccer team with the No. 7 seed in the upcoming MIAA Tournament.

Missouri Western will make its third-straight MIAA Tournament appearance on Wednesday, Nov. 2 at second seeded Fort Hays State at 6 p.m. Fort Hays State shared the regular season championship with Central Missouri, but drew the second seed in the postseason tournament. The Griffons lost 3-0 at Fort Hays State in the regular season.

A 6-1 loss at No. 4-ranked Central Missouri Sunday, combined with an Emporia State loss at Nebraska-Kearney and a Lindenwood win over Northwest Missouri State left the Griffons in a three-way tie for fifth place in the MIAA standing with Emporia and Lindenwood. The Griffons drew the seven seed after losses to both earlier this season.

The Griffons end the regular season 11-7 overall and 6-5 in the MIAA. The 11 wins overall are a program record and the six MIAA wins equal the most in program history.

— MWSU Athletics —

Northwest soccer loses to Lindenwood in season finale

Posted on October 30, 2016

The Northwest Missouri State soccer team drops match to Lindenwood Sunday afternoon, 3-1.

– Northwest falls to 4-12-1 overall and 2-9 in MIAA play. The Lady Lions improve to 9-7-1 and 6-5 in conference action.

– Izzy Romano scored her fourth goal of the season in the 80th minute to tie the game.

– This concludes the 2016 regular season for the Bearcats.

Key Northwest Statistics
– Ashley Malloy with four saves on the afternoon.

– Lindenwood had seven shots on goal to the Bearcats’ four.

– Northwest earned three corners on the afternoon to the Lady Lions two.

– Lindenwood was called for five offsides. The Bearcats with just four offsides call.

– The Lady Lions were whistled for 17 fouls with Northwest being called 16 times.

– Izzy Romano had a team high three shots on the afternoon.

– Danielle Wolfe, Ashley Cole, Jessica Breyfoggle and Cassie Phillips all added shots for the Bearcats.

Key Northwest Sequence
– In the 80th minute, Izzy Romano dibbled past a defender before firing a low shot towards the left post. Her shot found the back of the net to equalize
the score.

— Northwest Athletics —

MWSU volleyball falls in five sets at Emporia State

Posted on October 30, 2016October 30, 2016

EMPORIA, Kan. – The Missouri Western volleyball team fell 3-2 (25-22, 25-12, 27-29, 23-25, 9-15) at Emporia State Sunday afternoon.

The Griffons overcame a slow first set start by using a 12-3 run to win the set. The second set was all Missouri Western as they raced out to a 12-3 start and close out on a 9-1 run to put Emporia State on the ropes.

After leading most of the third set, MWSU had three set points fought off by the Hornets to force a fourth set. Ashley Mainord’s kill in the fourth set would tie it at 23 but ESU would find a way to escape, forcing a decisive fifth set. Missouri Western would go on a 4-1 rally in the fifth set; however it was not enough to win the match.

Shellby Taylor tied her career high of 15 kills in a match for the Griffons. Rachel Friedrichs finished with 14 kills on a .538 hitting percentage while Ashley Mainord ended with 13 kills. Lauren Murphy paced the MWSU offense with 50 assist.

The Griffons return home on Friday, Nov. 4 as they host Fort Hays State at 7 p.m. in the MWSU Fieldhouse.

— MWSU Athletics —

Missouri State’s Lambert named Valley Offensive Player of the Week

Posted on October 30, 2016

ST. LOUIS – After turning in a career day to help Missouri State rally for a key conference win over Southern Illinois Saturday, senior quarterback Brodie Lambert has been named Missouri Valley Football Conference Offensive Player of the Week, the league office announced Sunday.

Lambert completed 25-of-39 passes and posted career highs for total offense (390), passing yards (339) and rushing yards (51), while tossing four touchdown passes to lead MSU to a 38-35 comeback win over the Salukis. Lambert threw for three TDs in the second half and guided an offense that racked up 516 yards of total offense in helping the Bears rally from a 14-point deficit.

The Arlington, Texas native ignited the MSU comeback by ripping off a career-long 46-yard rush to set up the first of his three second-half TDs, then tied the game with a 36-yard scoring strike to Zac Hoover with just over three minutes remaining in regulation. Lambert’s 390 yards of offense represent the sixth-best single-game total in school history, and his 76-yard first-quarter TD pass to Hoover is the Bears’ longest under head coach Dave Steckel.

With the first Valley player of the week honor of his career, Lambert joins fellow Bears Sam Ellifrits (Offensive Lineman of the Week—Oct. 2), Dylan Cole (Defensive Player of the Week—Oct. 2) and Deion Holliman (Special Teams Player of the Week—Sept. 4) as MVFC weekly award winners this season.

Up next, the Bears (4-4, 2-3 MVFC) travel to Brookings, S.D., next Saturday (Nov. 5) for a 2 p.m. match-up with South Dakota State at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.

— MSU Athletics —

Griffons’ rally comes up short in 16-13 loss at Washburn

Posted on October 29, 2016

TOPEKA, Kan. – It looked like the Missouri Western football team was about to come from behind and win in the closing seconds at Washburn Saturday, then an interception in the end zone ended the Griffons rally as they lost 16-13 to the Ichabods.

Trailing by three, Missouri Western had the ball second and goal at the Washburn 10-yard line with 28 seconds remaining. Then Corey Bertini lofted a pass into the end zone that was intercepted by Washburn’s Keaton Cofield in the back of the end zone, ending the game. The interception was set up by a Bertini pass to Patrick Bolton for 16 yards on a fourth and seven from the Washburn 35-yard line. The fourth down conversion was aided by a roughing the passer penalty by Washburn.

It was the third-straight loss for the Griffons and the third straight week the team had a chance to comeback late in the fourth quarter. Washburn’s defense shut out Missouri Western in the second half and limited the Griffons to 128 yards of offense.

The Griffons jumped out to a 13-3 lead and were driving to take a three-score lead, but a failed fourth down conversion at the Washburn 30-yard line with 3:36 to go in the first half set Washburn up for a long drive that resulted in a Wesley Collins touchdown run – Washburn’s only TD of the game – to make the halftime score 13-10 in favor of Missouri Western.

Two third quarter turnovers by the Griffons resulted in Perry Schmiedeler field goals that first tied the game then gave Washburn the 16-13 lead that would hold.

The Griffon defense held Washburn to 296 yards and one touchdown. Missouri Western’s offense was limited to 361 yards, well below the Griffons’ season average and also just one touchdown. Bertini entered in the second quarter after Skyler Windmiller was injured on the last play of the first quarter. Bertini finished the game 14-28 for 181 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions.

The loss dropped the Griffons to 4-5 on the season. Missouri Western hosts No. 10 Emporia State next week in the final home game of the 2016 season.

— MWSU Athletics —

Mizzou falls to Kentucky for fourth consecutive loss

Posted on October 29, 2016

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Kentucky running backs Benny Snell and Boom Williams were just infants in 1999 when the Wildcats won three consecutive Southeastern Conference games.

Saturday, their performance helped Kentucky accomplish that feat for the first time in 17 years.

Snell rushed 38 times for 192 yards and two touchdowns, and Williams added 19 carries for 182 yards and a touchdown as the Wildcats defeated Missouri 35-21. It’s the first time in school history two running backs have rushed for at least 175 yards apiece in a conference game.

Snell said he was not fazed in carrying the ball 38 times.

“I’m very happy about this win,” Snell said. “I’m used to this in high school, but I just take a different approach, that I’ve got a better line in front of me, so I just tried to attack the defense.”

“We didn’t play strong enough run defense,” Missouri coach Barry Odom said. “They were able to get a few formations in that we didn’t stop.”

Stephen Johnson completed 14 of 23 pass attempts for 208 yards, two touchdowns and an interception as the Wildcats piled up 582 yards of offense, their highest conference output since Nov. 11, 2006, when they had 597 yards in a 38-26 win against Vanderbilt.

“It’s about our preparation,” Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said of his team’s effort. “It’s about the way they go to work each day throughout the week, starting on Mondays. I enjoy coaching these guys and that is why. They take to coaching and they take to criticism and they know we can do so many things better.”

Missouri (2-6, 0-4 Southeastern Conference) has allowed 500 or more yards of offense in four consecutive games, the worst such stretch in school history.

“This is a very elementary statement but we’re not a good football team,” Odom said. “If we work together and continue to follow the plan we have in place, then we will get there, I promise you that.”

Drew Lock was 18 of 31 for 220 yards and two touchdowns, and rushed six times for 34 yards.

Dimetrios Mason caught four passes for 101 yards and two touchdowns for Missouri. The freshman entered the game with 22 catches for 249 yards.

Damarea Crockett was one of eight ball carriers for the Tigers, leading the way with 13 carries 55 yards. Fullback Josh Augusta had the only rushing score, a 1-yard touchdown run set up by a 63-yard punt return by Johnathon Johnson. Johnson also caught two passes for 27 yards and had a 25-yard carry on a reverse.

Kentucky (5-3, 4-2 SEC) dialed up a number of big plays, averaging 7 yards per play to Missouri’s 5.6. The Wildcats converted on all three of their red zone trips and nearly doubled Missouri’s time of possession.

The Tigers managed 18 first downs, but struggled on third down, converting just 4 of 15 attempts. They were also flagged 9 times for 65 yards after surrendering 125 penalty yards last Saturday in a 51-45 loss to Middle Tennessee State.

TAKEAWAY

Kentucky: Snell and Williams are just the second backfield duo in the last decade to record at least 175 yards apiece in an SEC game. Snell had runs of 32, 23 and 19 yards, and Williams had three rushes of 20 yards or more, including a 60-yard touchdown to give Kentucky a 7-0 lead near the end of the first quarter.

Missouri: The Tigers recorded one sack and six tackles for loss, and forced two turnovers, but failed to convert them into points. Missouri took the opening drive of the second half deep into Kentucky territory but was stopped on third down, setting up a 24-yard field goal attempt by Tucker McCann, which he missed wide right.

MASH REPORT

Missouri’s defense was short-handed after losing senior linebacker and leading tackler Michael Scherer for the season with a torn ACL. Scherer was one of several Missouri players injured against Middle Tennessee State, including defensive tackle Terry Beckner Jr. and cornerback John Gibson. Beckner is out for the season with a torn ACL, and Gibson, who injured his left knee, did not play Saturday.

“We will piece it together,” Odom said. “Everybody in the country is banged up, and that’s just college football. We will be all right.”

UP NEXT

Kentucky: The Wildcats will host Georgia next Saturday. The Bulldogs beat Kentucky 27-3 last season in Athens.

Missouri: The Tigers visit South Carolina next Saturday. Missouri defeated the Gamecocks 24-10 on Oct. 3, 2015 at Faurot Field, its most recent SEC win.

— Associated Press —

MWSU volleyball gets swept by No. 14 Washburn

Posted on October 29, 2016

TOPEKA, Kan. – The Missouri Western volleyball team fell 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-15) at #14 Washburn Saturday night.

The Griffons took an early first set lead but Washburn would use a 7-2 rally to win the first set. Second set saw the Ichabods shoot out of the gates with an early lead to take a 2-0 match advantage. MWSU again would have another early lead in the third set before Washburn used a rally midway through the set for the victory.

Shellby Taylor paced Missouri Western with 14 kills and a .343 hitting percentage. Ashley Mainord added nine kills and five blocks as Kayla Ruff finished with a match high 16 digs for MWSU.

The Griffons travel to Emporia State for a 2 p.m. match Sunday.

— MWSU Athletics —