We have a brand new updated website! Click here to check it out!

Category: College

Griffons win at Missouri Southern, 35-23

Posted on

Greg Zuerlein made his mark on the Western record books and the Griffons found success on the ground spoiling Missouri Southern’s homecoming with a 35-23 win at Fred G. Hughes Stadium. The win moved Western’s overall record to 3-2, 2-2 in the MIAA and avenged two consecutive losses to the Lions.

Zuerlein broke a Brad Beckwith record with a 57-yard field goal and tied another Beckwith record with five field goals in the game. The Griffons had their highest rushing total of the season with 263-yards against a Lions’ rush-defense that entered the game ranked No. 1 in the MIAA and 5th in the nation.

Michael Hill finished the game with 21 rushes for 125-yards and Travis Partridge had 17 carries for 96-yards and two touchdowns. The Lions struck first on a 1-yard touchdown run by Stephen Sumpter. The Griffons answered with a drive to the Southern 10-yard line but couldn’t punch it in. Zuerlein’s 27-yard field goal brought the score to 7-3, then Western scored 17 unanswered points to take a 16-7 lead.

Eric Murdock kicked a 48-yard field goal with 18 seconds remaining in the half and Western took a 16-10 lead into halftime. On Western’s first drive of the second half, Partridge took a fourth and one keeper 46-yards for a touchdown that put the Griffons up 22-10 after the two-point try failed.

Zuerlein pitched in two more field goals and Partridge sealed Western’s first win over Southern since 2008 with a 6-yard touchdown run.

Western finished with 383-yards of offense, with Partridge adding 120 through the air. Partridge was 15-30 with one touchdown and one interception. Adam Clausen led the Griffons with six receptions for 71-yards and a touchdown.

Defensively, Western was paced by Jeremy Weston’s seven solo tackles. Weston and David Bass each had 10 total stops. Bass added two tackles for loss and one sack and Weston had one of Western’s two interceptions. Shane Simpson added another pick to stop a Southern scoring threat late in the game.

Southern fell to 1-3 overall and in conference play. The Griffons will return home Oct. 8 to take on Lincoln in the annual Hall of Fame game. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Bearcats’ 49-game MIAA win streak ends with loss to Pitt State

Posted on

Chase McCoy nailed a 26-yard field goal as time expired ending Northwest Missouri State’s 49 game MIAA winning streak as Pittsburg State took an exciting 38-35 win over the Bearcats Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium.

The Bearcats (4-1, 3-1 MIAA) saw their record winning streak snapped as well as a seven game winning streak over the Gorillas. PSU (5-0, 4-0 MIAA) picked up only their third win over the Bearcats in the Fall Classic, but managed to stay undefeated on the season.

Northwest raced out to an early 21-0 lead silencing the PSU crowd; however, the Gorillas scored 28 unanswered point s including an interception return by Jason Peete and a 56-yard half back pass to take a 35-28 lead.

After fighting back to inside the red zone for the fourth time of the afternoon the Bearcats found themselves with a 4th and 11. Trevor Adams would find Jake Soy with man coverage for a 14-yard touchdown to tie the game with 3:16 left.

“It was a play we didn’t put in our game plan,” said head coach Adam Dorrel. “We want to look for Jake any chance we get, but we still feel good about him with single coverage and we made a good play.”

Pittsburg State would swing the momentum again as a Zac Dickey run put the Gorillas into Northwest territory.

A Northwest penalty would give PSU the needed five yards on 3rd and 1 to extend their drive setting up McCoy’s game winning field goal.

The Bearcats came out firing in the first quarter taking an early 21-0 lead. Scoring with ease Blake Christopher drove the Bearcats on each scoring drive showing the Fall Classic crowd the explosive offense displayed in the first four games of the season.

Christopher finished 21-of-29 for 287 yards and three touchdowns. However a pick six midway through the third quarter was another momentum swing back to the Gorilla sideline.

“We did a great job of executing in the first half and we got away from that a little bit,” Dorrel said. “That falls back on me, and is something I’ll learn from, but we should of stayed more aggressive into the second half.”

James Franklin rushed 10 times for 116 yards, but the ground show belonged to Dickey and PSU.

Leading the MIAA in rushing the Gorillas fell just short of 200 yards on the ground as Dickey raced for 102 of his own on 19 carries. Dickey also proved to be serviceable with his arm going 14-of-21 for 223 yards and one touchdown.

“We had a player assigned to the quarterback and he got to the outside a couple times and we can’t make that type of mistake,” said senior linebacker Chad Kilgore.

Kilgore finished with one of his better performances of his career with 17 tackles including five solo tackles.

Northwest returns to action next weekend in Warrensburg as the Bearcats will try to rebound against Central Missouri.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

K-State rallies to defeat No. 15 Baylor

Posted on

Robert Griffin III threw his first interception of the year at exactly the wrong moment.

Arthur Brown picked off Baylor’s star quarterback in the closing minutes Saturday, setting up a 31-yard field goal by Anthony Cantele that sent unbeaten Kansas State to a 36-35 upset over the No. 15 Bears.

Collin Klein threw for 146 yards and two touchdowns and added 113 yards and another score for the Wildcats (4-0), who won their third straight Big 12 opener — this one in dramatic fashion.

Kansas State trailed 35-26 midway through the fourth quarter when Klein engineered a 13-play, 70-yard drive that he capped with a short touchdown plunge.

Still, Baylor (3-1) took over needing only a couple first downs to wrap up its first 4-0 start since 1991. Instead, Griffin missed Brown sliding over across the middle and Kansas State’s defensive captain hauled in the throw after a slight, heart-stopping bobble.

It was the first interception thrown by Griffin all season.

Cantele, who missed earlier in the game from 42 yards, hit the go-ahead field goal with 3:10 left to set off a raucous celebration at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.

The Bears still had time, especially given their quick-strike ability. But Brown sacked Griffin on first down moments later, and after two plays covered just 11 yards, Griffin’s fourth-down pass intended for Kendall Wright fell incomplete.

The ending spoiled another virtuoso performance for Griffin, who has emerged as an early Heisman Trophy contender. He came into the game having thrown more touchdown passes than incompletions, and it remained that way until late in the fourth quarter.

Griffin finished 23 of 31 for 346 yards and five touchdowns — and one big interception.

Most of Griffin’s offense was directed at Wright, who caught nine passes for a school-record 201 yards and three TDs. Gerald McNeil had held the previous record since 1981.

None of the Bears’ five scoring drives took more than 2 minutes, 36 seconds, even though all of them covered at least 48 yards. That included a two-play, 75-yard drive that took all of 20 seconds late in the first half that gave them a 21-19 lead at the break.

Kansas State pulled ahead early in the third quarter, thanks to Klein’s 63-yard run and Angelo Pease’s 12-yard touchdown scamper, but the Bears quickly found an answer.

Griffin connected with Wright on fourth-and-5 on the Bears’ ensuing possession, with Wright laying out in the end zone to make a diving over-the-shoulder grab as he slid out of bounds for a 34-yard touchdown catch. Officials upheld the play and Baylor led 28-26.

The Wildcats put together another promising drive, but Klein was picked off by Baylor safety Sam Holl at the Bears’ 33. Griffin immediately hit Wright for 23 yards, and seven plays later, the pair connected again for a dazzling 35-yard touchdown reception. It capped an eight-play, 79-yard drive that took just 2:36 off the clock and pushed Baylor ahead 35-26.

Too much time was left, as it turned out.

Behind another gutsy performance by Klein, the Wildcats marched downfield for a touchdown to get within 35-33, and the defense — which stopped Miami four times at the goal line in a 28-24 win a week ago — once again made the biggest plays of the game when they mattered most.

— Associated Press —

MWSU volleyball finishes 3-1 at Denton

Posted on

The Missouri Western volleyball team wrapped up the 2011 Holiday Inn Express & Suites Classic with a 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-21) victory over Arkansas-Monticello. Western hit .198 in the match with 42 kills improving to 8-7 on the season. Western went 3-1 in the classic.

Western’s largest lead of the first set was four points until they won the final two points to get the six point (25-19) set one victory. The Griffons had 16 kills hitting .263 in the first set victory.

The two teams played the first 10 points of set two evenly. Western would dominate the rest of the match opening up a nine point lead at 18-9 after an attack error by Amy Kleypas. Western cruised the rest of the way winning 25-16 taking the 2-0 lead in the match.

Set three would be more competitive as the teams played to a 12 all tie. Western used three straight attack errors by the Lady Blossoms giving Western the 21-16 lead in the third set. The Griffons ended the match and set with Tahler Johnston smashing her 12th kill of the match.

Western had 43 kills and 38 set assists in the match. Stephanie Hattey had 35 set assists to go along with nine digs. Sarah Faubel had 10 digs for Western.

The Lady Blossoms fall to 2-15 hitting .065 with 28 kills. Amy Kleypas had nine kills for Monticello. Amy Bazemore had 26 of their 27 set assits while Kleypas had 10 digs.

The Griffons return to MIAA play on Tuesday, October 4 hosting the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats. Match time is set for 7:00 pm in the MWSU Fieldhouse.

— MWSU Sports Information —

KU blows 20-0 lead in loss to Texas Tech

Posted on

Seth Doege passed for 366 yards and three touchdowns and Eric Stephens rushed for 124 yards and scored twice, helping Texas Tech come roaring back from a 20-point deficit and beat Kansas 45-34 Saturday in both teams’ Big 12 opener.

Doege, who threw three touchdowns the week before against Nevada and set an NCAA record with a 90.9 completion percentage against New Mexico, was 29 for 46. The 6-foot-1 redshirt junior, playing his first full season since high school in 2005, was also intercepted for the first time this season but still turned in another virtuoso performance for the Red Raiders (4-0) to remain among the country’s top passers.

Kansas’ Jordan Webb, who also came into the game without an interception in his first three games, was picked off three times and each turnover led directly to a Texas Tech TD.

“They were fired up playing on homecoming with new uniforms and it seemed like we couldn’t stop them,” Texas Tech coach Tommy Tuberville said. “I thought our defensive coaches did a good job adjusting and we caused turnovers, which was a huge situation on the road. If you can stop the momentum with turnovers it is going to give you a big advantage.”

Doege connected with Eric Ward on a 40-yard scoring pass, found Jacoby Franks for a 13-yard TD toss and made it 45-27 late in the third quarter with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Ward, who had 71 yards on four catches.

Kansas paid homage to the 1961 team by wearing powder-blue throwback jerseys, but the magic from that season clearly didn’t rub off Saturday.

The 1961 Jayhawks only allowed 88 points in 11 games. This year’s squad has allowed 76 points in four third quarters.

The Jayhawks (2-2) parlayed a bevy of big plays into 191 yards and three touchdowns on their first 15 plays of the defensively challenged day.

But then Doege and the Red Raiders got hot, scoring 24 unanswered points before Kansas got a 19-yard touchdown pass from Webb to Rell Lewis to take a 27-24 lead after a first half that lasted just nine minutes short of 2 hours.

“The first quarter was probably as good a quarter as we’ve had, particularly for the receivers,” Kansas coach Turner Gill said. “It was good to see that.”

The Red Raiders, off to their first 4-0 start since beginning 10-0 in 2008, unleashed a 21-0 third-quarter blitz to salt away their 12th victory in 13 meetings with the Jayhawks.

“It’s not so much panic (of the 20-0 deficit) as it is a matter of getting enthusiastic, getting pumped up with each other offensively and defensively,” safety D.J. Johnson said. “We came out sluggish, not really excited. We were excited but we weren’t really showing it and it was just a matter of getting that going.”

Stephens tallied on runs of 8 and 1 yards before Ward’s final touchdown catch following Cqulin Hubert’s interception.

“We knew that the halftime score wasn’t going to be the end of it, but we knew we were going to have to score in the mid 40s, I thought it might even take the 50s,” Tuberville said.

D.J. Beshears got Kansas rolling with a 56-yard return of the opening kickoff. Four plays later, James Sims broke loose up the middle on an 11-yard TD run. Terrance Bullitt blocked the extra point, leaving it 6-0.

On the Jayhawks’ second possession, Brandon Bourbon broke into the Tech secondary on a counter play, slipped a tackle, and sped 51 yards into the end zone for Kansas’ longest run of the year. Bourbon had 101 yards on 10 carries and Webb was 16 for 22 for 239 yards and three touchdowns.

Doege, who had thrown 122 passes this season without an interception, was picked off by safety Keeston Terry on Texas Tech’s next possession and Kansas set up on its own 25. Beshears got 54 yards on a catch-and-run, then, from the 21, Webb connected with tight end Tim Biere.

He appeared to score, but fumbled at the goal line. Kale Pick recovered for Kansas in the end zone to make it three touchdowns on three possessions by the seven-point home underdogs.

DeAndre Washington got the Red Raiders’ comeback started with a 1-yard touchdown run, capping a 7-play, 52-yard drive.

Then Webb, who had not thrown an interception in 61 passes this year, was picked off by Johnson. A chop block penalty shoved Tech back 15 yards to the Kansas 40, but Ward took Doege’s pass at the 30 and weaved his way through a gauntlet of would-be tacklers for a second TD on the very next play.

Webb, who came into the game No. 2 on the Big 12’s pass efficiency chart, threw a second straight interception to Johnson on his next pass. The Red Raiders needed six plays to cover 45 yards, with Franks scoring on a 13-yard reception for a 21-20 Tech lead.

Donnie Carona’s 46-yard field goal put the Red Raiders ahead 24-20 with 7:54 left in a first half that saw the teams combine for 560 yards.

— Associated Press —

Griffon volleyball goes 2-0 on Day One at Denton

Posted on

Missouri Western won an exciting five set thriller in match two of the 2011 Holiday Inn Express & Suites Classic defeating Southeastern Oklahoma State 3-2 (25-21, 21-25, 16-25, 25-18, 15-13). Tahler Johnston had 20 kills and 11 digs in the match. Western improves to 7-6 on the season.

The Griffons battled back in set one outscoring the Savage Storm 14-6 closing out a 25-21 victory in set one. Alex Behnke’s kill from Sarah Faubel sealed set one for Western. The Storm evened things up at one leading the entire second set taking the 25-21 victory.

Set three also went Southeastern Oklahoma’s way taking the 25-16 victory and the 2-1 lead in the match. Western stayed composed using a 10-2 run in the fourth set to take a 17-8 lead after an attack error by Lunden Azuara. Western won the set pushing the match to a fifth and deciding set which is a race to 15 (win by two).

The two teams would be tied nine different times in the fifth and deciding set. Western hung in there using three attack errors by the Savage Storm in the final four points to claim the 15-13 victory in the set and take the match.

Western hit .181 with 63 kills and 58 set assists. Western had 92 digs in the match with Stephanie Hattey and Sarah Faubel each recording 20. Hattey also recorded a career best 52 set assists while Behnke finished with a career best 19 kills.

Azuara finished with 24 of the Storm’s 56 kills. They hit .165 in the match. The Storm had 81 digs with Azuara leading the charge with 22. The Storm fall to 7-10 with the loss.

The Griffons close out the classic with two matches tomorrow. Western will take on Arkansas-Fort Smith at 12:30 pm and close out the classic against Arkansas-Monticello at 12:30 pm.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Northwest volleyball splits two matches at Pitt State Challenge

Posted on

The Northwest Missouri State University volleyball team split a pair of games to kick-off weekend play at Pittsburg State’s Regional Challenge Friday falling 3-1 to Midwestern State but bouncing back to beat St. Mary’s 3-1 in their second game of the day.

The Bearcats are now 5-9, 1-2 MIAA on the season after losing a heartbreaker to Rockhurst University, 3-0, Tuesday night at Bearcat Arena.

Northwest bounced back after falling 18-25 in the first set against Midwestern State to take the second set 28-26 but Midwestern State would prove to be too much and the Bearcats would fall 15-25 and 20-25 in the last two sets.

The Bearcats played strong defensively in the match with a trio of players recording double figures in digs as they were led by Tori Beckman with 20.  Laira Akin and Bailey Vance recorded 13 and 12 digs respectively while Akin also contributed 32 assists in the match.

Abby Graves contributed 9 kills in the loss.

In their second match of the day the Bearcats jumped out to a 1-0 lead taking the first set 25-16 but allowed St. Mary’s to come back and take the second set at 18-25.  Northwest quickly rebounded and took the finally two sets at 25-13 and 25-22 for the 3-1 victory, ending their three-game losing streak.

Northwest’s offense was led by Whitney Mason and Abby Graves who each recorded double figures in kills as they were led by Mason with 12 with Graves contributing 11 respectively.  Akin added 36 assists in the match.

Vance was again outstanding defensively for the Bearcats.  Along with her 12 digs from Northwest’s first match of the day, she would add 11 in the win against St. Mary’s.

Northwest continues action on Saturday against Newman at 11 a.m. before closing out tournament action with St. Edward’s at 3 p.m.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Western soccer wins at Washburn, 2-1

Posted on

Missouri Western used two unanswered goals to defeat the Washburn Lady Blues in their final non-conference match of the season in Topeka, Kan. With the victory the Griffons have surpassed their win total from last season. The Griffons improve to 3-3 overall heading into MIAA play.

The first half did not start off like the Griffons would have liked as goal keeper Kelly Voigts received a yellow card in the eighth minute of play which allowed Washburn’s Leah Talley to record her third goal of the season on a penalty kick giving the Lady Blues the 1-0 lead.

Western played hard the rest of the half and with just under ten minutes to play in the first frame Ashley Juravich found Katie Kempf from 10 yards out tying the score at one in the 31st minute. For Kempf it marked her second goal of the season.

The two teams played even soccer until the 67:20 mark of the game when Ashlyn Castillo found Juravich from 15 yards out. Juravich put her second goal of the season in the lower right corner past Lady Blues goalie Mallorie Monhollon giving Western the 2-1 lead.

Washburn put pressure on down the stretch finishing the game with 12 shots, but just three finding the net. Western had six shot with four on goal. Both goal keepers had two saves in the match as Missouri Western had 13 fouls to the Lady Blues five. Washburn had six corner kicks to the Griffons one as the Lady Blues fall to 1-7-1 on the season.

Juravich had four of the Griffon six shots with two on goal. She finished with one goal and one assist. Voigts improves to 3-3 on the season. Washburn was led by Brianna Ament with two shots and one on goal.

Missouri Western returns home to open up MIAA play on Saturday, October 1st against 12th ranked Central Missouri. First kick is scheduled for 7:00 pm from Spratt Stadium.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Bearcat soccer team uses big second half to down Southern

Posted on

A flurry of second half goals helped propel Northwest Missouri State soccer to a, 4-1 victory over Missouri Southern in non-conference action at Bearcat Pitch Thursday afternoon.

The Bearcats (4-2-2) knocked off winless MSSU in a match that was noted as a non-conference game by league officials. Due to conference expansion each team will play only four home and four road games against conference foes that count toward determining the league champion.

Victoria Von Mende notched her sixth goal of the season just before the end of the first half in the 42nd minute giving the Bearcats an early 1-0 lead.

Both teams would keep consistent shooting number into the second half, as the Lions picked up a goal from Kelsey Haist. However, three goals in five minutes would give Northwest plenty of a cushion in a tough battle.

Fiona Moloney and Emilee Davison would pick up their first goals of the year after slipping in the top of the box giving the Bearcats a 3-1 advantage. Davison’s goal would come on an assist inside the right side of the box from Tammie Eiberger, slipping the ball past the Lion goal and the right corner post.

Northwest’s leading scorer Eiberger would add her eighth goal of the season after a Southern yellow card allowed for a Bearcat penalty kick. Eiberger would find the back of the net just after the 73rd minute for an eventual final score of 4-1.

The Bearcats enter the final two games of their five game home-stand on Tuesday hosting Emporia State in MIAA action. Kickoff from Bearcat Pitch is set for 4 p.m.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

KU’s Beshears & McDougald on Hornung Award fan ballot

Posted on

Fan voting to select the finalists for the 2011 Paul Hornung Award is now open on Facebook and being powered by Texas Roadhouse and the Louisville Sports Commission. Fans can vote as often as once a day by going to www.votepaulhornung.com.

The Paul Hornung Award, presented by Texas Roadhouse, is awarded annually to the most versatile player in major college football and Kansas juniors WR/KR D.J. Beshears and S Bradley McDougald are both on the ballot.

Beshears currently leads the Big 12 and ranks ninth in the NCAA in all-purpose yardage. The Denton, Texas, native has three rushes for 29 yards, 12 receptions for 135 yards and 18 kickoff returns for 387 yards. Beshears is averaging 183.7 all-purpose yards per game and has recorded two TDs, both on receptions.

Beshears was named Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week and to the Paul Hornung Award Weekly Honor Roll on Sept. 12 following his standout performance in leading KU to a 45-42 win over Northern Illinois. Beshears recorded 285 all-purpose yards and scored the game-winning touchdown in the final seconds as Kansas outlasted the Huskies. He set career highs in kick return yardage (197), receptions (seven), receiving yards (70) and touchdown receptions (two). His 51-yard kickoff return set up KU’s final scoring drive.

McDougald, who was named to the 2011 Watch List for the Paul Hornung Award, ranks fifth on the team with 15 tackles from his safety position. McDougald recorded his first career sack in KU’s last game at Georgia Tech and has two passes defensed on the season.

College football fans nationwide will have the opportunity to vote for players on the 2011 Watch List and any player that has been named to the Paul Hornung Award Weekly Honor Roll. Results of the fans’ selection on Facebook will count for one vote, adding to the votes cast by the 16-member Selection Committee. http://www.paulhornungaward.com/selection-process.

Fans will also have the chance to vote for the winner from among the finalists in a second round of voting starting December 9.

The Louisville Sports Commission successfully launched the Paul Hornung Award in 2010 to honor its namesake and native son and to promote outstanding performances by multi-talented college football players that often go unnoticed.

Owen Marecic of Stanford, a two-way starter and All Pac-10 performer at fullback and linebacker, won the inaugural Paul Hornung Award in 2010.

Beshears, McDougald and their Kansas teammates will host Texas Tech in their Big 12 Conference opener Saturday, Oct. 1. Game time is slated for 11 a.m., with a live broadcast on Fox Sports Net.

— KU Sports Information —

Copyright Eagle Radio | FCC Public Files | EEO Public File