College – Page 272 – St. Joseph Post Archive

Missouri State picked fourth in preseason MVC men’s basketball poll

Posted on October 25, 2016

ST. LOUIS – Missouri State’s men’s basketball team was picked fourth, and last year’s conference Newcomer of the Year Dequon Miller was named to the Preseason All-MVC second team today, the Missouri Valley Conference announced early Tuesday at its annual Basketball Tip-Off event.

The Bears, who return four starters and 70 percent of their scoring from last season, were tabbed to finish among the MVC’s top four teams for the third time in five seasons. A preseason poll of league coaches, media representatives and athletics communications staffs has the Bears behind just preseason league favorite Wichita State (413 points), Illinois State (356) and Northern Iowa (348) among The Valley’s 10 teams.

Rounding out the poll are Southern Illinois (228), Indiana State (219), Loyola (179), Bradley (110), Evansville (106) and Drake (73). Wichita State collected 37 of a possible 42 first-place votes with Illinois State (4) and UNI (1) collecting the other five.

“You have to earn it each and every day in this league, no matter where you’re picked,” said Bears’ head coach Paul Lusk. “No matter where you’re picked, everyone’s goal is to win the conference title, and that’s what we strive to do every day in our program.”

Miller is one of 10 players to be named to the MVC Preseason All-Conference Team. First-team selections include Wichita State’s Markis McDuffie, Illinois State’s duo of MiKyle McIntosh and Paris Lee, Indiana State’s Brenton Scott and UNI’s Jeremy Morgan. Morgan was also named the MVC Preseason Player of the Year.

Joining MSU’s starting point guard on the second team are Loyola standout Milton Doyle, WSU’s Shaq Morris, SIU’s Sean O’Brien and Drake’s Reed Timmer.

Miller became just the fifth Bear to receive MVC Newcomer of the Year honors. He was also an honorable mention All-MVC selection during his first season in Springfield and led the Bears in scoring (12.7 points per game), 3-point shooting (57), assists (96) and minutes played (1,110). He ranked among the Valley’s top 10 leaders in all four categories, was the league’s seventh-best scorer (13.4) in conference games and was one of the nation’s top 100 performers in minutes played per game (34.7). He is the No. 3 returning scorer in the MVC this season.

“Dequon is more concerned about winning than any individual accolades,” Lusk said. “But there’s no doubt he has improved since last season, and we look for him to have a great senior season.”

Missouri State’s preseason poll ranking is its best since being tabbed third in 2014-15. The Bears were also picked fourth in 2013-14 under Lusk who enters his sixth season at the helm of the MSU program.

The Bears open the 2016-17 campaign with an exhibition game against Missouri Baptist on Saturday, Nov. 5 at JQH Arena.

— MSU Athletics —

MIAA hands out weekly football awards

Posted on October 24, 2016October 24, 2016

Kansas City, Mo. – Central Missouri’s Garrett Fugate has been named the MIAA Football Offensive Athlete of the Week. Fort Hays State’s Sie Doe, Jr. earned the honor on defensive while his teammate Brandon Brown earned the honor on special teams.

MIAA Football Offensive Athlete of the Week
Garrett Fugate, QB, Central Missouri

Fugate completed 28-of-41 passes for 357 yards and three touchdowns in Central Missouri’s 29-27 win over Washburn. He also added 30 yards rushing. He threw scoring strikes of 13, 37 and 31 as the Mules held off the Ichabods to improve to 6-2 on the season. The 6-3 senior quarterback is a native of Overland Park, Kan. where he competed at Blue Valley Northwest High School.

MIAA Football Defensive Athlete of the Week
Sie Doe, Jr., DL, Fort Hays State

Doe, Jr. had another big weekend with 11 tackles, two sacks, and a forced fumble in Fort Hays States 35-27 win over Missouri Western. With the two sacks, Doe tied the single season record at FHSU now with 12 on the season. His record-tying sack was a big key to the win, forcing a fumble on the sack that FHSU recovered with 8:25 to go in the game. The Tigers scored a touchdown just two plays later to gain breathing room with a 28-19 lead. The 6-1 senior defensive lineman is a native of Cleveland, Ohio and came to FHSU after playing at Butte College.

MIAA Football Special Teams Athlete of the Week
Brandon Brown, K, Fort Hays State

Brown averaged 43.5 yards per punt in the 35-27 win for Fort Hays State over Missouri Western. He punted eight times with two resulting in drives starting inside the 20 and three resulting in touchbacks. His longest punt of the game was a 78 yarder for a touchback, tying the second-longest punt in FHSU history. He averaged 54.4 yards on kickoffs with three touchbacks, and went 5-of-5 on extra-point conversions. His only blemish of the day was a missed 41-yard field goal into the wind. The 6-1 junior kicker is a native of Sam Ramon, Calif. where he competed at Chico State and Diablo Valley College after playing at California High School.

— MIAA Press Release —

Kansas State’s Willis named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week

Posted on October 24, 2016

MANHATTAN, Kan. – After climbing up the Kansas State career sack list once again on Saturday in the Wildcats’ 24-21 victory over Texas, senior defensive end Jordan Willis was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week, the conference office announced Monday.

Willis picked up his first-career Big 12 weekly honor and the second by a Wildcat defender this season. K-State ranks second in the Big 12 with 43 conference player of the week honors since 2011, including six in 2016.

A product of Kansas City, Missouri, Willis filled up the stat sheet as he carded seven tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss, a pair of sacks, a forced fumble and a pass breakup. The senior, who leads the Big 12 in both sacks and TFLs, improved his season sack total to 8.0 to rank third in the nation, while he now has 11.5 TFLs this year to stand seventh nationally.

Willis now has 22.5 career sacks as he moved into fourth place in Kansas State history, the most by a Wildcat since Darren Howard set the school record with 29.5 from 1996-99. He also has 34.5 career TFLs, just 4.5 shy of entering the school’s top-10 list that does not include anyone that has played in the last 15 years.

K-State travels to Iowa State this Saturday in an 11 a.m., contest that will be shown nationally on FSN.

— K-State Athletics —

Western soccer loses at home to Emporia State Sunday 2-1

Posted on October 23, 2016

ST. JOSEPH – The Missouri Western soccer team followed a record breaking 10th win of the season on Friday with a disappointing 2-1 loss to Emporia State Sunday at Spratt Stadium.

The Griffons found themselves in a 2-0 hole in the 83rd minute when Cassidy Menke scored her seventh goal of the season to pull her team within one. The goal for Menke tied her for the most goals in a season ever by a Griffon. But it was too little too late as Missouri Western was not able to find the back of the net again, dropping to 10-6 overall and 5-4 in the MIAA. Emporia State improved to 5-4 in the league as well, 7-7-2 overall.

The loss left Missouri Western in a four-way tie for fifth place in the MIAA standings after wins by Washburn, Lindenwood and Emporia State on Sunday.

Statistically, the Griffons controlled the action, out-shooting the Hornets 15-5 overall and 9-3 on goal. The Griffons also earned eight corner kicks to one for Emporia State.

Missouri Western has two remaining regular season games beginning with the final home match of 2016, Friday Oct. 28 against Northwest Missouri State. It will be senior night at Spratt Stadium in addition to the inaugural Trick-or-Treat Movie Night at the stadium. Fans can bring a canned good to the game for entry to the movie shown after the game. Trick or treating and other games will be offered to youth during the soccer game.

— MWSU Athletics —

Northwest soccer falls on senior day to Washburn 2-0

Posted on October 23, 2016

The Northwest Missouri State soccer team falls to Washburn in Sunday’s Senior Day match, 2-0.

Northwest falls to 4-10-1 overall and 2-7 in MIAA play. The Ichabods improve to 9-6-1 and 5-4 in conference action.

The three Bearcat soccer seniors, Jessica Breyfogle, Ashley Cole and Cassie Phillips, were honored at halftime.

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

– Washburn had four shots on goal to the Bearcats’ 10.

– Northwest earned two corners on the afternoon to the Ichabods five.

– Washburn was called for two offsides. The Bearcats with just one offsides call.

– The Ichabods were whistled for 18 fouls with Northwest being called 16 times.

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

Key Northwest Sequence
– In the seventh minute, Rachel Roshek sent a cross to the far post. Jessica Breyfogle connected with the pass for a header that was saved by the diving Washburn goal keeper.

– In the 33rd minute, Ashley Cole flicked the ball past a defender to Danielle Wolfe who chipped the ball over the goal keeper but was saved off the line by a Washburn defender.

Up Next
– The Bearcats will hit the road for a 6 p.m. road match at Missouri Western on Friday, Oct. 29, in St. Joseph, Mo.

— Northwest Athletics —

Griffons come up short at Fort Hays State 35-27

Posted on October 22, 2016

HAYS, Kan. – The Missouri Western football team lost its second straight game, 35-27, Saturday afternoon at Fort Hays State.

The loss snapped an 11-game winning streak over Fort Hays State for the Griffons and dropped Missouri Western to 4-4 on the season. The Griffons’ four losses have come by a total of 30 points.

Saturday’s game was Missouri Western’s second lowest scoring total of the season, getting a touchdown off an 8-yard pass from Skyler Windmiller to Patrick Bolton with 43 seconds remaining to avoid the season’s lowest scoring output. Bolton’s touchdown catch gave the Griffons a chance, but just like the prior week, an onside kick attempt was recovered by the opposition.

The Griffons had their chances, gaining 497 yards of offense on 92 plays in the game compared to 463 on 67 plays for Fort Hays State. The Tigers took a 21-19 lead to halftime after Missouri Western missed two point after attempts and a field goal in the first 30 minutes. The teams went scoreless in the third quarter, but five second half sacks by Fort Hays State and three second half turnovers by the Griffons hurt the comeback effort.

Windmiller went over 2,000 passing yards on the season with an 18-30 performance for 231 yards and three touchdowns. The junior threw two interceptions and was sacked five times. Josh Caldwell had his seventh 100-yard game of the season, rushing 26 times for 147 yards and a touchdown. Dijuan Ussery caught four passes for 106 yards and a touchdown, a 70-yarder that put Missouri Western up 12-0 in the first quarter. Brock Broughton and Bolton caught the other TD passes.

Missouri Western travels to Washburn (5-3) next Saturday for a 1 p.m. kickoff.

— MWSU Athletics —

Missouri gets upset by Middle Tennessee State 51-45

Posted on October 22, 2016

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — The first time Missouri played Middle Tennessee State was Sept. 20, 2003, when the Tigers narrowly defeated the Blue Raiders 41-40 in overtime.

Missouri coach Barry Odom was a graduate assistant coach on that team, and earlier this week, fondly recalled a walk-off touchdown in the south end zone of Faurot Field.

After Saturday, new memories of Middle Tennessee State will likely occupy Odom’s thoughts.

The Blue Raiders spoiled Missouri’s 105th homecoming, defeating the Tigers 51-45 Saturday.

It’s the most points Missouri has ever scored in a loss.

“I’m frustrated that we didn’t win the football game,” Odom said. “We played very poorly in a lot of aspects.”

Brent Stockstill was 23 of 41 for 280 yards and four touchdowns, and added 70 yards rushing on seven carries as the Blue Raiders amassed 584 yards of offense, including 300 rushing yards.

“I definitely think that’s the biggest win I’ve ever been a part of,” Stockstill said. “It was huge for us. I think it starts with the no turnovers. I thought we were able to move it and protect it…overall we moved it all day and protected the ball and that’s what wins games.”

Middle Tennessee State coach Rick Stockstill described it as “a phenomenal win for us.”

“Our guys competed their tails off,” Brent Stockstill said. “They battled. They never flinched. They never relaxed. It was back and forth the whole game.”

I’Tavius Mathers rushed 28 times for 215 yards and a touchdown for Middle Tennessee, and also caught 8 passes for 48 yards and a touchdown. It’s the highest individual rushing total Missouri has surrendered since Auburn’s Tre Mason rushed for 180 yards in the 2013 Southeastern Conference championship.

Missouri (2-5) had 629 total yards on 104 plays, its highest play total of the season.

Running back Damarea Crockett had 29 carries for 156 yards and 4 touchdowns and Ish Witter added 19 carries for 121 yards. Crockett’s four scores are the most by a freshman running back in school history.

Missouri quarterback Drew Lock was 20 of 40 for 281 yards and two touchdowns and rushed 10 times for 63 yards.

“It’s hard to describe how it feels,” Lock said of the loss. “It’s dull. It’s not something that you want to repeat. I thought we did a good job during practice to get ready and make sure that this didn’t happen. Now that it did, we just have to practice even harder and make sure that we don’t get this feeling again.”

Middle Tennessee State (4-2) jumped out to a 10-0 lead before Crockett’s first touchdown made it a one-score game. The Blue Raiders held a 34-28 lead at halftime in a game that saw seven lead changes.

Missouri took its final lead of the game with 13:27 remaining in the third quarter when Crockett’s fourth touchdown put the Tigers up 35-34.

The Blue Raiders only targeted seven pass catchers, with Richie James leading the way with 5 catches for 129 yards and a touchdown. Dennis Andrews added 5 catches for 65 yards and two touchdowns, including a 5-yard score with 10:31 left, extending the Blue Raiders’ lead to 48-38.

Missouri tight end Kendall Blanton caught two passes for 37 yards and a touchdown and Ray Wingo caught his first pass since Sept. 10, a 17-yard touchdown.

INJURY REPORT

The Tigers lost four starters to injury, three of which occurred in the first half. Linebacker Michael Scherer and cornerback John Gibson both sustained knee injuries that sidelined them for the day. Tight end Jason Reese sustained an injury to his ribs, and defensive tackle Terry Beckner Jr. went down in the third quarter with a left knee injury and did not return.

THE TAKEAWAY

Missouri: The Tigers were flagged 13 times for 125 yards, allowing the Blue Raiders to extend multiple drives. In the second quarter, Missouri punter Corey Fatony booted a 57-yard punt that was called back because of an illegal motion penalty. On the ensuing re-kick, a high snap forced Fatony to dive on the ball at the Missouri 7-yard line, setting up a rushing touchdown by Richie James.

“We’ve got to look back and evaluate where they came from,” Odom said of the penalties. “Is it technique? Is it habits in practice? That will never win. Our margin for error is so low. That’s 100 hidden yards right there. Inexcusable.”

Middle Tennessee State: The Blue Raiders took care of the ball the entire game. They did not turn the ball over to a Missouri defense that has 14 takeaways on the season. Missouri had two turnovers and the Blue Raiders capitalized, converting them into 10 points.

UP NEXT:

Missouri: The Tigers host Kentucky next Saturday. The Wildcats defeated Missouri last year 21-13 in Lexington.

Middle Tennessee State: The Blue Raiders play at Florida International next Saturday. Middle Tennessee won the last meeting 42-34 Oct. 17, 2015 in Murfeesboro.

— Associated Press —

K-State holds on to beat Texas 24-21

Posted on October 22, 2016

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — The only thing consistent about Kansas State this season has been Bill Snyder’s postgame message.

One that laments the Wildcats’ inconsistency.

Their yin-and-yang was on display once more on Saturday in a 24-21 victory over Texas. Kansas State was dominant on both sides of the ball in the first half, then committed a series of mistakes in the second half that provided the Longhorns an opportunity to make it a game.

“We played fine in the first half,” Snyder said grimly, “and laid eggs in the second half.”

Indeed, the Wildcats (4-3, 2-2 Big 12) raced to a 21-7 lead at the break, and added a field goal in the third quarter to take control. But three turnovers, including one by Charles Jones at the goal line, allowed the Longhorns (3-4, 1-3) to get within 24-14 later in the quarter.

The Longhorns couldn’t overcome their own multitude of mistakes, though. Among them was a badly missed 35-yard field-goal attempt with just over four minutes remaining that would have made it 24-17.

The Longhorns eventually got the ball back, but then squandered precious time with running plays before Shane Buechele hit Dorian Leonard from 6 yards out with 46 seconds left. Then they knocked the ensuing onside kick out of bounds, preventing them from having a chance to kick a tying field goal.

“It’s tough when you lose a game and we had the opportunity to go win it,” said Texas coach Charlie Strong, whose hot seat only got hotter with his third loss in four games. “We needed big stops in the first half and we didn’t make them. We were able to bounce back there in the second half — it’s just that we’ve got to learn from it, got to move on. … We’ve just got to get ourselves back together.”

Jesse Ertz led the Wildcats with 171 yards passing and a touchdown and 78 yards rushing and two more scores. He also teamed with running backs Charles Jones, Justin Silmon and Alex Barnes to pile up 240 yards on the ground against a Texas defense that began loading up the box to stop them.

The result was the Wildcats’ fifth straight home win over Texas.

“I was kind of upset after last week,” Kansas State linebacker Elijah Lee said of a lopsided loss to Oklahoma. “That’s something you have to carry with you: The season isn’t over. You have to take it game by game.”

Buechele finished with 222 yards and two scores passing, but a big chunk of that came on an 80-yard pass to Devin Duvernay in the second quarter. Otherwise, Buechele was sacked twice and corralled most of the day.

D’Onta Foreman, the nation’s second-leading rusher, carried 24 times for 124 yards. But he was repeatedly stuffed in key situations, a big reason why Texas was 3 of 11 on third down and 0 for 2 on fourth.

“Beats the tar out of a loss,” Snyder said in summary, “but it’s not so much the win as how. If we play and prepare well start to finish, we’d be better. That’s why I’m not jumping up and down right now.”

THE TAKEAWAY

TEXAS: After eclipsing 500 yards total offense for the fourth time this season a week ago against Iowa State, the Longhorns struggled to move the ball. They managed a season-low 344 yards on Saturday.

KANSAS STATE: The fumble by Jones at the goal line summed up the Wildcats’ inconsistency issues. The senior running back otherwise had a solid day but, as Snyder pointed out, “We’re all taught when we’re 5 years old to put two hands on the football.”

PENALTY PROBLEMS

Texas was penalized 10 times for 72 yards, drawing four flags on the Wildcats’ scoring march to open the game. Kansas State countered with eight penalties for 75 yards. It made for a busy game for an officiating crew that also spent a whole lot of time reviewing plays.

SEEING RED

The Wildcats had scored on 56 straight trips inside the red zone before Jones fumbled in the third quarter. The last time they failed to score was Oct. 17, 2015, in a shutout loss to the Sooners.

UP NEXT

TEXAS: Ninth-ranked Baylor visits Austin on Saturday.

KANSAS STATE: A trip to Iowa State awaits Saturday.

— Associated Press —

Missouri Western volleyball sweeps Southwest Baptist

Posted on October 22, 2016October 23, 2016

ST. JOSEPH – Missouri Western Volleyball swept Southwest Baptist (25-16, 25-19, 25-19) Saturday inside the MWSU Fieldhouse.

The Griffons used an 8-0 run to cruise in the first set. With a 16-14 advantage, Missouri Western went on a 7-0 run to take the second set. MWSU would jump out to an early 4-0 lead and never looked back to win the set.

Rachel Friedrichs and Blair Russell finished with 11 kills each, with Friedrichs hitting .786 and Russell at .500. Shellby Taylor also added 10 kills for the Griffons. Lauren Murphy set up the MWSU attack with 34 assist and she also recorded three aces.

Missouri Western will hit the road next week as they head to Truman State in Kirksville, Missouri for a 7 p.m. non-conference match.

— MWSU Athletics —

No. 8 Huskers pull away in 2nd half to defeat Purdue

Posted on October 22, 2016

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s victory over Purdue won’t convince skeptics who’ve been saying the No. 8 Cornhuskers aren’t worthy of a top-10 ranking.

The wait to find out how good they really are is almost over.

In their final tuneup before their Big Ten West showdown at No. 10 Wisconsin, they came back from a four-point halftime deficit to beat the Boilermakers 27-14 Saturday.

Once again, and this time against a 24-point underdog, the Huskers (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) underperformed against a lesser opponent until pulling away in the second half. Still, they’ll take their best record since 2001 into the game in Madison.

“These games, they haven’t been pretty,” linebacker Josh Banderas said. “My heart’s been going in a lot of them. I’d like to have a couple where that’ s not the case. But we’re going to find that our will to win is up there with the best in the country. No matter what team is in front of us, we’re going to find a way to win somehow.”

Tommy Armstrong Jr. accounted for 303 yards of total offense and two touchdowns, and Purdue (3-4, 1-3) managed only 94 yards in the second half in interim coach Gerad Parker’s first game since taking over for the fired Darrell Hazell.

“What a great first half we played,” Parker said. “We battled through some tough things and had fun with it and smiled about it whether things worked or not. I thought we did the same thing with our effort the second half. It’s just one of those things where they made more plays than we did.”

The Huskers lost 55-45 at Purdue last year, and Memorial Stadium was in a stunned silence as the Boilermakers pulled out to a 14-10 lead on David Blough’s two touchdown passes to DeAngelo Yancey, the second one an 88-yard catch-and-run.

But the Huskers scored on three straight possessions after going three-and-out on their first series of the second half.

“This will sound like a little bit of a broken record, but we’re extremely happy to win the game,” coach Mike Riley said. “My feelings are Purdue came here and played hard and their intentions were to win. Their quarterback is a good player and made plays, and so did their team. We struggled in a lot of ways and just had to stay with it.”

Armstrong’s 40-yard pass to De’Mornay Pierson-El gave the Huskers the lead, and Alonzo Moore went 24 yards for a touchdown on a jet sweep and Drew Brown kicked a career-long 51-yard field goal for the game’s final points.

The Huskers, with a banged-up offensive line and facing a Purdue defense crowding the line of scrimmage, leaned on the pass far more than expected against the Big Ten’s worst rushing defense. Armstrong was hit-and-miss, and they went punt-punt-punt-interception on their last four series of the half.

Leading Nebraska on the road at half in his first game since replacing Hazell left Parker emotional for his halftime interview with an ABC sideline reporter.

“I’m almost in tears and got chills all over me,” he said.

THE TAKEAWAY

Purdue: Parker said the Boilermakers would play as if they had nothing to lose, and that’s what they did. They went for it on fourth down four times, converting twice and scoring a touchdown on one of them.

Nebraska: The Huskers continue to scuffle with lesser opponents. They could be in trouble if they don’t step up their game against the tougher opponents that are fast approaching.

KEY NUMBERS

Armstrong was 17 for 31 for 252 yards and ran 10 times for 51, and he set the school record with his 13th game with 300 yards or more of total offense. Terrell Newby had 82 yards on 22 carries for the Huskers.

Blough was 25 of 43 for 309 yards, the fifth 300-yard day of his career and his most in a road game. Yancey caught four balls for 100 yards.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Even though at least one team ahead of them in the poll will have lost, the Huskers don’t merit a promotion after an uninspired performance. They might even slip a spot or two.

UP NEXT:

Purdue: The Boilermakers host Penn State to begin a stretch of three home games in four weeks.

Nebraska: Their season-defining stretch starts at No. 10 Wisconsin next Saturday and continues the following week at No. 2 Ohio State.

— Associated Press —