Dave Riggert – Page 826 – St. Joseph Post Archive

Northwest Missouri State well represented on the Don Hansen Super Region Three team

Posted on December 13, 2013

Northwest Missouri State had nine players represented on the Don Hansen Football Committee’s Super Region Three squad on Friday. Head coach Adam Dorrel was named the Super Region Three Coach of the Year and Matt Longacre was the Defensive Player of the Year.

Earning first team honors with Longacre were offensive lineman Cody Carlson, defensive tackle Brandon Yost, linebacker Eric Reimer, linebacker D.J. Gnader and defensive back Brandon Dixon. Quarterback Trevor Adams earned second team honors. Earning third team honors were defensive back Brian Dixon and offensive tackle C.J.Keeney.

The Don Hansen team carries out the legacy of long-time small college football advocate Don Hansen, who passed away at age 75 on Aug. 29, 2010. Hansen, from Brookfield, Ill., started and published Don Hansen’s National Weekly Football Gazette for three decades, selecting NCAA Division II All-America teams for the first time in 1988. Don Hansen’s Football Gazette began selecting Division II All-Region squads in 2003.

The first-team and second-team All-Region selections advance to a national ballot from which the 2013 Don Hansen NCAA Division II All-America team will be named in January.

— Northwest Sports Information —

Chiefs bring back WR Chad Hall; release DT Jerrell Powe

Posted on December 13, 2013

The Kansas City Chiefs announced on Friday that the club has signed wide receiver Chad Hall. The team has released defensive tackle Jerrell Powe.

Hall (5-8, 187) has played in 23 games (one start) in just over two NFL seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles. Hall originally came to Kansas City on Sept. 1, 2013 via waiver claim from San Francisco. He has played in eight games with the Chiefs recording one catch for nine yards. Hall’s career numbers include 15 receptions for 144 yards (9.6 avg.) with two touchdowns. He has returned 10 punts for 107 yards (10.7 avg.) and six kickoffs for 108 yards (18.0 avg.). He originally entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Eagles in 2010. Hall played collegiately at the Air Force Academy and prepped at Wesleyan School in Norcross, Ga.

Powe (6-2, 331) originally joined the Chiefs as the club’s sixth-round pick (199th overall) in the 2011 NFL Draft. He was released prior to the start of the 2013 season and then rejoined the club on Dec. 3, 2013. He played in 10 contests in two NFL seasons with the Chiefs (2011-12), recording six tackles (five solo). Powe saw action in 37 games (22 starts) at Mississippi, recording 69 tackles (49 solo), 24.0 stops for loss (-80.0 yards) and 7.0 sacks (-29.0 yards). He also had an INT, two passes defensed, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and three QB pressures. He spent one season at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Va., and prepped at Wayne County High School in Waynesboro, Miss.

— Chiefs Media Relations —

Mizzou basketball announces SEC single-game ticket on-sale date

Posted on December 13, 2013December 13, 2013

Single-game tickets for Mizzou Basketball’s Southeastern Conference season, excluding the Feb. 1 contest against Kentucky, will go on sale to Tiger Scholarship Fund members starting Monday night at 6 p.m. online at mutigers.com.

Tiger Scholarship Fund members will also be able to purchase tickets over the phone by calling 1-800-CAT-PAWS (884-PAWS in Mid-Missouri) or in person at the Mizzou Arena Box Office starting Tuesday morning at 8 a.m. The remaining tickets will go on sale to the general public on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Ticket availability for the home game against Kentucky will be announced at a later date.

Missouri Basketball was a perfect 9-0 at home in SEC play last season and the Tigers carry the nation’s longest home court winning streak (24 games) into Sunday night’s game against Western Michigan. Mizzou is one of 14 remaining unbeaten programs in college basketball and fans can purchase four tickets for just $20 to see the nationally-ranked Tigers face the Broncos.

— MU Sports Information —

Mizzou’s Sam named 1st Team All-American by Walter Camp Football Foundation

Posted on December 12, 2013

The University of Missouri football program has a proud history of outstanding teams and high-caliber players over the years. Add another one to the list of all-time great Tigers, as senior DE Michael Sam (Hitchcock, Texas) has been named a Walter Camp Football Foundation First-Team All-American, for his stellar play in 2013. Sam becomes the 33rd First-Team All-American in school history, the seventh at Mizzou for Head Coach Gary Pinkel, and the school’s first defensive selection since former great Justin Smith in 2000.

Sam ranked among the most disruptive defensive players in the nation this year, and his play was a key factor in Mizzou’s surge into the top-10. He led the Southeastern Conference in both quarterback sacks (10.5) and tackles for loss (18.0), ranking in the top-10 nationally in those categories. He was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Year by the Associated Press recently, and was also a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, the Lombardi Award and the Hendricks Award. He has 45 tackles in 13 games this season, including nine quarterback pressures, two pass break ups, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery, which he returned 21 yards for a touchdown in a win at 7th-ranked Georgia in October.

“Wow, what a great honor, I’m really grateful to be selected and for our team to be recognized like this,” said Sam. “It’s been a really rewarding season, especially after what we went through a year ago, and I feel like this validates all of the hard work we put in and all of the sacrifices we made as a team. My name is on the award, but that wouldn’t happen without everyone else pulling in the same direction together, and I want to thank all of my teammates and coaches for helping push me and for their support,” he said. Sam will be receiving his Parks, Recreation and Tourism degree this Saturday.

“We couldn’t be more proud of Michael,” said Head Coach Gary Pinkel. “He’s a walking example of a ‘never-say-quit’ attitude; he’s the kind of player you want others to emulate when they see him on film and how relentless he is. I also think the positive energy he brings to the team has been contagious, he’s helped others elevate their play this year, and that’s been really important for our team,” he said.

Sam becomes the seventh First-Team All-American at Mizzou under Pinkel. The previous list includes: Martin Rucker, TE (2007), Jeremy Maclin, All-Purpose (2007, 2008), Chase Coffman, TE (2008), Danario Alexander, WR (2009), Grant Ressel, PK (2009) and Michael Egnew, TE (2010).

— MU Sports Information —

KSU’s Zimmerman named to USA Today All-America team

Posted on December 12, 2013

Kansas State senior defensive back Ty Zimmerman was named to the USA Today All-America team, the publication has announced.

Zimmerman, who earned second team honors, picked up All-America honors for the second-straight season. Last year, the Junction City, Kan., product was a Second Team All-American by CBSSports.com, recorded third team honors from the Associated Press and was an honorable mention selection by Sports Illustrated.

A two-time team captain, Zimmerman logged 69 tackles in 10 games in 2013 to go along with three tackles for loss and three interceptions. He returned two of his interceptions for touchdowns to lead the Big 12 and tie for second nationally in that department. He has 13 career interceptions to tie for third in school history, while his 221 career interception-return yards rank second.

Earlier this week, Zimmerman was named an All-Big 12 First Team performer by both the league’s coaches and the Associated Press. His designations made him the first player in school history to garner four-straight all-conference accolades, while he is one of just four Big 12 defensive backs to earn four All-Big 12 honors with at least one of those being a first-team designation.

Kansas State travels to Tempe, Ariz., to take on Michigan in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, December 28, at Sun Devil Stadium. The game kicks off at 9:15 p.m. (CT) and will be televised to a national audience on ESPN.

— KSU Sports Information —

Benton girls rally past Notre Dame de Sion; Central advances to Liberty North title game

Posted on December 11, 2013December 11, 2013

The Benton girls basketball team rallied from a 14-point first half deficit to defeat Notre Dame de Sion Wednesday night at Springer Gymnasium, 47-42.

Notre Dame de Sion made five three-pointers in the first quarter and used a 13-2 run to take a 19-8 lead after one.

The Cardinals started to chip away as they pulled within seven points, 24-17, at halftime by using an 8-1 run to end the half.

Benton extended the run to 18-1 as they scored the first 10 points of the second half and the game was tied 30-30 after three quarters.

After Sion scored the first basket of the fourth quarter, Lindsey Doolan scored six straight points and Benton never trailed again as they went on to the five point victory.

Mallory McAndrews led the Cards with 18 points, while Doolan added 10 and Daejah Benard added eight points.

Benton improves to 2-0 as they return home Friday to host Harrisonville.

Also Wednesday night, the Central girls advanced to the championship game of the Liberty North Tournament with a 51-42 victory over Liberty North in the semifinals.

The Indians are now 2-1 as they’ll play Friday night at 7:00 p.m.

NCAA Division II Football Championship moving to Kansas City’s Sporting Park

Posted on December 11, 2013December 11, 2013

It was announced today by the NCAA that the MIAA, in partnership with the Kansas City Sports Commission and Foundation has been selected to host both the NCAA Division II Football and Men’s and Women’s Soccer Championships.

“We are excited that the NCAA and the governing sports committees have recognized that Kansas City will provide a great experience for the student athletes, coaches and fans that will travel here over the next few years,” said Kansas City Sports Commission CEO Kathy Nelson. “The MIAA has the expertise, commitment and passion to host these Championships and we look forward to working with their staff on these events.”

Kansas City will host the NCAA Division II Football Championship beginning in 2014 at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan. and will continue to serve as host through the 2017 season. The hosting partners will also welcome the NCAA Division II Men’s and Women’s Soccer Championships to Swope Park Soccer Village in Kansas City, Mo. during the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

Prior to its move to Kansas City, the NCAA Division II Football Championship was played for the last 26 seasons at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Ala. During those 26 seasons only the MIAA and Gulf South Conference have had teams appear in more than ten games with each having 12 participants. The MIAA has sent a team to seven of the last ten national championship games.

Kansas City will serve as the 15th host in the history of the Men’s and Women’s Soccer Championship. It will mark only the 11th time the games have been hosted outside of Florida, California and Texas in its 28 year history.

“We are thrilled that we can partner with the Kansas City Sports Commission to bring these Division II national championship events to Kansas City,” MIAA Commissioner Bob Boerigter said. “Our MIAA members are excited about the possibility of watching MIAA teams play for national championships in these outstanding venues and we are confident student athletes that participate here will have a first class national championship experience.”

The dates for the NCAA Division II Football Championship are Dec. 20, 2014; Dec. 19, 2015; Dec. 17, 2016 and Dec. 16, 2017.

The soccer championships will be Dec. 1-3, 2016 and Nov. 30-Dec. 2, 2017.

“We really want to thank everyone who put in a bid,” said Mark Lewis, NCAA executive vice president of championships and alliances. “The competitiveness of the bids made it extremely difficult for the sport committees to select sites as there just weren’t spots for all of the great bids we received. Ultimately the sites that were selected will provide our student-athletes, coaches and fans the best experience possible.”

— MIAA Press Release —

Missouri’s Sam named SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Year by coaches

Posted on December 11, 2013December 11, 2013

Mizzou Football senior defensive end Michael Sam (Hitchcock, Texas) has been named the Southeastern Conference’s Co-Defensive Player of the Year, as voted on by the league’s 14 head coaches. The First Team All-SEC Tiger defender has turned heads in 2013 as he currently leads the conference in both sacks (10.5) and tackles-for-loss (18.0) and resides in the top 10 nationally in those categories. Sam shares the SEC coaches’ honor with Alabama linebacker C.J. Mosley.

Sam is the first Mizzou player in program history to earn a conference defensive player of the year award from league coaches. Overall, he is the second Tiger to ever win conference defensive player of the year honors, matching former standout Jeff Gaylord, who won the Associated Press award in the Big Eight in 1981. Sam claimed the AP honor on Tuesday.

Sam was recognized three times during the season with weekly SEC awards, twice as the league’s defensive line player of the week (Sept. 28, Oct. 5) and once as its defensive player of the week (Oct. 19). All three weekly awards followed impressive 3.0-sack performances from Sam (vs. Arkansas State, at Vanderbilt, vs. No. 22 Florida).

Sam and Mizzou next play in the 2014 AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic, set for Friday, Jan. 3 in Arlington, Texas, at the world-renowned AT&T Stadium. Kickoff for the game, which will pit the Tigers against former conference foe Oklahoma State (10-2, second place in Big 12), is set for 7 p.m. (central time) and will be televised nationally on FOX.

— MU Sports Information —

Lockett, Mueller lead K-State’s All-Big 12 selections

Posted on December 11, 2013December 11, 2013

Paced by Special Teams Player of the Year Tyler Lockett and Defensive Lineman of the Year Ryan Mueller, Kansas State landed 13 players on the coaches’ All-Big 12 teams, the conference office announced Wednesday.

Joining Lockett – who was honored as both a wide receiver and kick returner – and Mueller on the first team were offensive lineman B.J. Finney and defensive back Ty Zimmerman, while offensive lineman Cody Whitehair was a second-team selection. Additionally, Lockett and Zimmerman picked up votes for the league’s Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year awards, respectively.

Kansas State’s honorable mention selections included defensive lineman Travis Britz, fullback Glenn Gronkowski, running back John Hubert, offensive linemen Cornelius Lucas and Tavon Rooks, quarterback Daniel Sams, linebacker Blake Slaughter and kick returner Tramaine Thompson.

Lockett is the first Wildcat to earn Special Teams Player of the Year honors since Brandon Banks in 2009, while Mueller garnered Kansas State’s second-straight Defensive Lineman of the Year honor (Meshak Williams). The two specialty awards in 2013 pushed K-State’s total to six over the last two years as Bill Snyder (coach), Collin Klein (offensive), Arthur Brown (defensive) and Williams were honored last season.

A product of Tulsa, Okla., Lockett led the Big 12 during the regular season with 151.4 all-purpose yards per game, an astonishing 22.3 yards per game better than the player in second place. His average ranks 14th nationally and is a product of a 104.2 receiving yards-per-game average, which ranks second in the conference and 11th in the nation. The all-conference honor was the third of Lockett’s career as he was a second-team honoree in 2011 and 2012.

Lockett sits in the school’s top 10 in six single-season receiving categories and four career receiving categories, while he produced the top two single-game receiving outputs in school history this season (278 vs. Oklahoma, 237 vs. Texas) and tied the school record with three receiving touchdowns on two occasions (West Virginia and Oklahoma). He also owns the school record for career kickoff-return yardage (1,760), and he ranks second in school history in career kickoff-return average (30.9) and touchdowns (4).

Mueller, a junior from Leawood, Kan., leads the Big 12 with 18.5 tackles for loss and is second in the league with a school-record tying 11.5 sacks. A former walk-on who has at least a half tackle for loss in every game this year, Mueller enters the postseason a half sack away from entering the Big 12’s single-season top 10 and 1.5 away from appearing on the school’s career top-10 list.

Zimmerman’s designation made him the first player in school history to garner four-straight all-conference accolades. Additionally, he is one of just four Big 12 defensive backs to earn four All-Big 12 honors with at least one of those being a first-team designation, joining Nebraska’s Ralph Brown (1996-99) and Oklahoma’s Brandon Everage (2000-03) and Derrick Strait (2000-03). The Junction City, Kan., native ranks third in the Big 12 among defensive backs with seven tackles per game, while he has returned a Big 12-best two interceptions for touchdowns.

Finney joins Zimmerman and Lockett as one of 14 players in school history with three or more career all-conference honors. The Andale, Kan., product has started all 38 games in his Wildcat career, including the last 37 at center, and is a two-time team captain.

A native of Abilene, Kan., Whitehair garnered his second-straight all-conference accolade as he was an honorable mention pick by the coaches in 2012. He has started 24 of 25 career games, including all 12 regular-season contests in 2013 at left guard.

Hubert, Lucas, Rooks and Thompson each garnered their second-straight All-Big 12 designation, while Britz, Gronkowski, Sams and Slaughter were named all-conference for the first time in their careers.

K-State takes on the Michigan Wolverines for the first time in school history in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, December 28, at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz. The game, which kicks off at 9:15 p.m. (CT), will be televised nationally on ESPN.

— KSU Sports Information —

Missouri’s Pinkel named AFCA Regional Coach of the Year; finalist for FWAA Award

Posted on December 11, 2013December 11, 2013

University of Missouri Head Football Coach Gary Pinkel has been recognized for the outstanding job his program has done in the 2013 season. Pinkel has been named the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Coach of the Year for Region 2, in acknowledgement for his Tigers putting together an 11-2 season which included an Eastern Division championship in the Southeastern Conference.

Additionally, Pinkel has also been named one of eight finalists for the prestigious Eddie Robinson National Coach of the Year, as awarded by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA). The winner will be announced on Monday, Dec. 16th, and Pinkel will be considered along with fellow finalists Art Briles (Baylor), David Cutcliffe (Duke), Mark Dantonio (Michigan State), Jimbo Fisher (Florida State), Gus Malzahn (Auburn), George O’Leary (UCF) and David Shaw (Stanford).

Pinkel has guided Mizzou to one of its top seasons in program history in 2013. After being picked to finish sixth in the seven-team SEC East in the pre-season, his Tigers went 11-1 in the regular season, and turned in a 7-1 mark in SEC play to claim the East Division outright – marking MU’s fourth division title in the last seven years (2007, 2008, 2010, 2013). Mizzou reached as high as 5th in the weekly polls, and after last week’s defeat to Auburn in the SEC Championship Game, the Tigers landed 8th in the final Bowl Championship Series season poll. Pinkel’s 101 wins at Mizzou in 13 seasons have him tied with former Coach Don Faurot for most in school history. He’ll go for sole possession of the record on Jan. 3rd, when his team plays in the 2014 AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic against former conference foe Oklahoma State.

The AFCA recognizes five regional Coach of the Year winners in each of the Association’s five divisions: Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision, Division II, Division III and NAIA. The winners are selected by Active members of the Association who vote for coaches in their respective regions and divisions.

The 2013 Regional Coach of the Year winners will be recognized at the AFCA Coach of the Year Dinner at the 2014 AFCA Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana. The dinner is scheduled for Tuesday, January 14.

— MU Sports Information —