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Category: College

Griffon soccer blanks Northwest Missouri State 4-0

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MARYVILLE, Mo. – Three second half goals lifted the Missouri Western women’s soccer team to a 4-0 win at Northwest Missouri (1-3) Sunday afternoon.

The Griffons (4-2) had their first undefeated weekend of the season and picked up their third-straight win with a dominant offensive performance and the team’s first shutout of the year. Cassidy Menke put the Griffs up 1-0 in the 10th minute. The rivals went to the break with MWSU up 1-0. It was all Missouri Western in the second half. Menke assisted Claire Meyers’ second goal of the weekend in the 65th minute. Brooke Howe scored the first goal of her career with an assist to Kelsey Roe less than six minutes after Meyers’ goal. Jordan Jennings scored her first goal of the season in the 81st minute to give the Griffs a season high, four goals.

Anna Mayer earned her first career shutout and picked up her fourth win of the season. She had three saves in the first half and one more in the first 10 minutes of the second half before giving way to Ally Barb who didn’t have to save any shots to seal the shutout.

UP NEXT
Missouri Western plays its first home game of the year this Friday when the Griffs host No. 1 Central Missouri on Craig Field at Spratt Memorial Stadium at 6 p.m.

— MWSU Athletics —

Griffons get clobbered at No. 20 Central Missouri 51-14

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WARRENSBURG, Mo. – No. 20 Central Missouri (2-1) racked up 598 yards of total offense in a 51-14 win over the Missouri Western football team (1-2) on Saturday.

After UCM jumped out to a 24-0 lead early in the second quarter, Missouri Western chopped away and got within two scores after Dom Marino hit Derek Gray Jr. for a 5-yard touchdown pass with 9:08 left in the third. The Mules slammed the door with 24 unanswered points to hand the Griffons their second loss of the season.

UCM led 21-0 after one quarter of play and made it 24-0 with a field goal early in the second quarter. Marino put MWSU on the board two minutes later with a 33-yard touchdown run that capped a five-play, 74-yard Griffon drive. Central Missouri led 27-7 in the third quarter when the Mules fumbled a punt return on their own seven yard line. Marino hit Gray three plays later to get the Griffons within 13. It was all Central Missouri from that point on. The Mules scored on plays of 55, 64 and 40 yards in the game, passing for 435 yards and four touchdowns in the game.

Missouri Western totaled 205 yards of offense with 98 on the ground and 107 threw the air.

The Griffons return home for two-straight games on Craig Field at Spratt Memorial Stadium. It will be Military Appreciation Night on Saturday, Sept. 22 when the Griffons host Northeastern State for a 7 p.m. kickoff.

— MWSU Athletics —

No. 4 Bearcats dominate Missouri Southern 63-0

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MARYVILLE, Missouri – The Northwest Missouri State University football team rolled to a 63-0 victory over Missouri Southern State University in front of 8,550 fans for Family Weekend at Bearcat Stadium.

Northwest (3-0 overall) racked up 588 total yards and 31 first downs. The Bearcats posted 256 rushing yards and 332 passing yards. The Bearcat defense limited the Lions to 187 total yards and 11 first downs.

Northwest scored a touchdown on five of six possessions in the first half and led 35-0 at the break. Shawn Bane Jr posted 193 all-purpose yards in the first half that included a 75-yard touchdown reception and an 88-yard punt return for a score.

The Bearcats added to the lead in the third quarter by piling on 21 more points as a trio of Northwest running backs found the end zone. Isaiah Strayhorn scored from two yards out with 11:10 left in the third. Josh Caldwell scored his second rushing score of the game with 8:12 left in the third, and Brody McMahon tallied an eight-yard score with 4:48 remaining in the quarter.

Kier Brown scored his first collegiate touchdown on a one-yard plunge in the fourth to cap the scoring at 63-0. Altogether, Northwest rushed for six touchdowns on the day.

Northwest had 13 different receivers make a catch and the Bearcats had four different players complete passes, including wide receiver LaTroy Harper. Harper connected with quarterback Braden Wright on a 31-yard passing play.

For the second straight game, Northwest posted double-figure tackle-for-loss totals with 10. Northwest registered three quarterback sacks. Jerrell Green secured his first interception as a Bearcat for the only Lion turnover on the day.

The Bearcats will hit the road next Saturday for a 6 p.m. kick against Central Oklahoma in Edmond, Okla.

NOTES: Bane’s punt return for a touchdown was the first Bearcat punt return for a touchdown since Jordan Simmons returned a punt 46 yards for a score on Nov. 12, 2011 against Emporia State … Northwest has won 24 straight games in the series vs. Missouri Southern … Northwest moves to 3-0 for the sixth straight season and 13th time since 1996 … Northwest returned seven punts for 139 yards … quarterback Braden Wright passed for 267 yards and two scores … Wright rushed for 13 yards and caught a pass for 31 yards.

— Northwest Athletics —

McCann kicks FG as time expires; Missouri beats Purdue 40-37

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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Tucker McCann kicked the game-winning field goal as time expired to lift Missouri to a 40-37 victory over Purdue on Saturday night.

Missouri (3-0) is off to its best start since 2015 while Purdue (0-3) faces its worst beginning of the season since 1996 when they last opened with three losses.

The Tigers turned to often McCann often to help stay ahead of the Boilermakers. McCann was 4 of 5 on field goals, including the game-winner from 25 yards.

Drew Lock finished 26-of-43 passing for 375 yards with three touchdowns and an interception for Missouri. He ran for negative-10 yards and a TD.

David Blough was 39-of-55 passing and had a career-high and program record 572 yards passing for the Boilermakers. He threw three touchdown passes and an interception, and ran for 18 yards on six carries with a touchdown.

The Boilermakers also relied on their kicker. Spencer Evans was 3 of 4 on field goals, including a 26-yarder with 3:28 remaining to tie the game at 37.

That came at the end of a thrilling and chaotic finish after the Boilermakers came back from 17 points down in the first half. They tied it 27-27 with Evans’ 29-yard field goal early in the third quarter.

Missouri built a 27-10 lead after scoring twice in the second quarter, both on touchdown passes from Lock, including one from 59 yards to Jalen Knox, and a 2-yard pass to Albert Okwuegbunam with 7:10 remaining in the half.

Blough completed passes of 34 and 14 yards before scoring from a yard out to make it 27-17 with 2:42 left in the second quarter. Then Jacob Thieneman blocked Missouri’s 50-yard field-goal attempt and Blough threw a 3-yard TD pass to Brycen Hopkins to cut Missouri’s lead to 27-24 at halftime.

THE TAKEAWAY

Missouri: The Tigers’ offense continues to be dominant. They finished with 608 yards on offense and extend their regular-season winning streak to nine games in which they have scored 40 or more points.

Purdue: The Boilermakers saw another game slip away. They’ve now lost on a last-second field goal for the second time in three games.

UP NEXT

Missouri: The Tigers open SEC play against No. 3 Georgia on Saturday.

Purdue: The Boilermakers host Boston College on Saturday in the first meeting between the programs.

— Associated Press —

Missouri Western volleyball defeats Lindenwood for first MIAA win

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ST. JOSEPH – The Missouri Western volleyball team (8-5, 1-1 MIAA) picked up a four-set victory over Lindenwood (8-4, 0-2), Saturday afternoon in the MWSU Fieldhouse.

Missouri Western jumped out to an early 2-0 lead before Lindenwood took the third set, 25-18. The Griffons took set four, 25-21, to take the match 3-1 and earn their first MIAA win of the season. Down 11-8 early in the fourth set, the Griffons chipped away at the Lindenwood lead, taking 17-16 lead and never really looking back.

The Griffons had 13 blocks as a team. Stephanie Doak led the team again with 15 kills. Shellby Taylor added 13 kills and Ali Tauchen had 12. Audrey Keim led the team with 21 digs. Lauren Murphy had 43 assists. Taylor, Tauchen and Rachel Losch had four total blocks in the game.

Up next for the Griffons are four straight games on the road beginning Tuesday, Sept. 18 at Northwest Missouri (10-3).

— MWSU Athletics —

Thompson’s 3 TDs lift Kansas State to 41-17 win over UTSA

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MANHATTAN, Kansas (AP) — For the last eight to nine months, Skylar Thompson has had to hear about the ongoing debate about who will be the starting quarterback for Kansas State. It may have taken longer than he or any Kansas State supporters may have wanted but after Saturday, Kansas State has their guy.

Thompson threw for two scores and ran for another and Kansas State ran away from UTSA 41-17 on Saturday.

Thompson, who had been in a much-discussed quarterback battle with Alex Delton, stood out with some stellar play and might have sealed up the starting job. Thompson was tough to tame through the air and on the ground.

“I felt like we played well today,” Thompson said. “Coming into this game we really wanted to build momentum going into Big 12 play and really wanted to put emphasis on starting the game well. I just trust my coaching and teammates and they made a lot of good plays today.”

The Kansas State (2-1) signal caller threw for 213 yards on 13-of-18 passing and connected on long aerial bombs to Dalton Schoen and Isaiah Zuber. Thompson also was lethal on the ground with 66 yards rushing highlighted by a 27-yard scamper for a touchdown midway through the third quarter.

“I think Skylar did a nice job and Alex (Delton) only had one throw but it was extremely well,” Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder said following the victory. “He (Thompson) played well, I do not think the demeanor of his approach was different; he just played a little better than he has. He made good decisions for the most part.”

The Wildcat defense held the UTSA (0-3) offense at bay for most of the afternoon and limited quarterback Cordale Grundy to 108 yards passing.

“Unfortunately we did not always execute to the fullest,” said UTSA head coach Frank Wilson. “But I think take away a couple of big-play opportunities, they weren’t going methodically down the field and just shoving us around. We held them to some third-down opportunities, but we just couldn’t get them off the field.”

Backup quarterback D.J. Gillins helped make the score a little more respectable late with a 10-yard touchdown pass in mop-up duty.

TAKEAWAY:

UTSA: The loss drops UTSA to 0-3 on the season and yet another game where the defense surrendered huge chunks of yardage. This time, the Roadrunners gave up more than 400 yards to a Kansas State offense that entered the game struggling to gain offensive consistency.

Kansas State: Despite the 72-yard TD pass from Alex Delton in the second half, Skylar Thompson more than likely ended the much-debated topic of who will be the Jayhawks’ starting quarterback. From the first series of the game, the Wildcats were much more efficient and balanced than they had been in their first two matchups of the season.

UP NEXT:

UTSA: The Roadrunners face Texas State on September 22.

Kansas State: The Wildcats face West Virginia on September 22.

STAT OF THE DAY: It took the Wildcats three games, but they finally scored their first rushing touchdown of the season after running back Alex Barnes rushed in from 3-yards out to give Kansas State its first score.

— Associated Press —

Northwest Missouri State volleyball knocks off No. 9 Central Missouri

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MARYVILLE, Missouri – The Northwest Missouri State University volleyball team posted its second-ever 3-0 sweep of the University of Central Missouri Jennies Saturday night in Bearcat Arena. Northwest won by set scores of 25-11, 25-18, 25-21.

Northwest moved to 10-3 overall and 2-0 in MIAA play. UCM drops to 10-3 overall and 1-1 in MIAA action.

Bearcat senior Maddy Bruder came up big with 19 kills (.326) and 15 digs. Bruder posted 10 of her kills in the final set as the Bearcats rallied from a pair of deficit to close out the match in three sets.

Northwest jumped out to a 7-2 advantage in the opening set. The Bearcats then used a 9-2 spurt to take a 21-10 lead. Northwest hit .615 in the first set with 17 kills and only one attack error. Northwest captured the opening set, 25-11.

Northwest turned a 6-6 tie in the second set into a 14-6 lead with an 8-0 run. UCM would only get as close as four points the rest of the set as the Panthers took it, 25-18.

UCM gained the early edge in the third set with a 6-1 lead for the Jennies. However, it quickly evaporated as the Bearcats scored five in a row for a 6-6 tie. The Jennies took a 13-9 lead before Northwest head coach Amy Woerth took a timeout to settle the home squad. The Bearcats responded with a 6-0 run and a 15-13 lead. UCM rattled off three straight points only to see Northwest answer right back with a 4-0 spurt to take a 19-17 lead. The Bearcats would ride Bruder the rest of the way and take the set, 25-21.

Setter Maddy Ahrens tallied a match-high 43 assists. Sofia Schleppenbach was credited with a team-best five blocks.

Northwest will be back in action at home on Tuesday at 7 p.m. against Missouri Western.

NOTES: Bruder recorded her fifth double-double of the season and 47th of her Bearcat career … Northwest is 10-0 in three-set matches this season.

— Northwest Athletics —

Kansas blows out Rutgers for second straight win

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LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Six takeaways, including two pick-6s, and an explosive running game carried Kansas to a 55-14 blowout over Rutgers on Saturday, marking the Jayhawks’ first back-to-back wins over FBS opponents since 2009.

Bryce Torneden and Mike Lee each returned interceptions for touchdowns as the Scarlet Knights threw three picks and surrendered three fumbles. Couple that with the dominant performance on the ground, and you get a performance that surprised even coach David Beaty.

“I didn’t see this coming against these guys because they are a very talent-rich football team and I’ve said so many times how good of a coach Chris Ash is,” Beaty said. ” . It was our day. Sometimes, it becomes your day.”

Turnovers plagued the Scarlet Knights from the start, as Torneden jumped in front of a Sitkowski pass on just Rutgers’ second drive and returned it 39 yards for the game’s first touchdown. Torneden was there again the next time out, recovering a fumble by Jonathan Hilliman that set up a field goal.

Early in the second quarter, Lee picked off a Sitkowski pass on the sideline and scored to open a 24-7 lead, weaving his way laterally across the field 31 yards to the end zone in an effort that looked more reminiscent of a punt-return score.

“When the quarterback threw the ball, I felt like I had to make a play,” Lee said. “And that’s what I did.”

True freshman Pooka Williams was the star on offense, the leader of a group of several backs for Kansas that rushed for 400 yards and scored four times. Finishing with 158 yards — including a 52-yard touchdown run — Williams now has 283 yards and three touchdowns in his first two college games.

“It’s crazy,” teammate Dom Williams said of Pooka. “It’s incredible, especially just how fast he is.”

Both Miles Kendrick and Peyton Bender saw time at quarterback for Kansas, but Kendrick carved out a much larger role then in weeks prior thanks to some strong play. After seeing consistent work in the first half, Kendrick started the third quarter and never saw the bench again.

“It was just a matter of time as to when we were going to use those packages and see if they were creating some success for us,” Beaty said. “And he had a pretty good command of it from what we saw from the sidelines. So it really worked out that way.”

Kendrick was responsible for the Jayhawks’ lone score through the air, a goal-line fade to Jeremiah Booker, who lost his shoe while landing in the corner of the end zone. Kendrick also ran for an 8-yard score in the third.

Special teams was one of few bright spots for Rutgers, as Deonte Roberts blocked a Kansas field goal try in the first quarter and took it 64 yards for the touchdown. The Scarlet Knights blocked another field goal later in the quarter, but didn’t get any points out of it.

Sitkowski finished the game with just 47 yards and three interceptions before being replaced by Gio Rescigno in the third quarter. Raheem Blackshear led Rutgers in rushing with 102 yards, and Hilliman added a score on the ground as well.

QUARTERBACK QUANDARY

Sitkowski’s status for this weekend was in question all week after taking a vicious hit against Ohio State last week, but he started for Rutgers. His lackluster performance soon resulted in the call for Rescigno, though, and the senior captain responded, throwing for 30 more yards than Sitkowski on seven fewer attempts.

TURNOVER TURNAROUND

The Jayhawks finished with six takeaways, putting them at 13 on the year after forcing six last weekend against Central Michigan. They only had nine throughout the entire 2017 season.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I don’t really remember too clearly,” Torneden said of his pick-6. “It’s kind of surreal, honestly. Felt like I was playing Madden or something.”

RING OF HONOR

Former Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing was inducted into the Ring of Honor after the first quarter, his name placed between former teammates Aqib Talib and Chris Harris Jr.

In his four years in Lawrence, Reesing threw for over 11,000 yards and 90 touchdowns, and led the Jayhawks to wins in both the 2008 Orange Bowl and the 2009 Insight Bowl.

THE TAKEAWAY

Kansas: Is 2-1 for the first time since 2014. Optimism is running high among the Jayhawk faithful, as the team rolls into Big 12 play with a winning record.

Rutgers: Drops what many thought was a good chance to add a win before facing the throes of the Big 10 schedule. Ash has claimed making a bowl game is his goal in Year 3; games like these need to be won in order to achieve that.

UP NEXT

Kansas: Opens Big 12 play against Baylor on Saturday.

Rutgers: Hosts Buffalo on Saturday, its final nonconference game of the season.

— Associated Press —

Nebraska upset at home by Troy 24-19

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LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — B.J. Smith scored on a 26-yard run midway through the fourth quarter and Will Sunderland made an interception in the final 3 minutes, giving Troy the cushion it needed to beat Nebraska 24-19 on Saturday and denying new Cornhuskers coach Scott Frost his first win.

The Huskers (0-2) have lost their first two games for the first time since 1957, when they finished 1-9 under Bill Jennings. Nebraska also has dropped six straight home games since beating Rutgers on Sept. 23, 2017.

The Trojans (2-1), from the Sun Belt Conference, took down a Power 5 opponent for the second straight year, and pocketed a $1.15 million check from the Huskers for making the trip. Last year, Troy won at then-No. 25 LSU, earning $985,000 for beating the Tigers on their homecoming.

As he ran off the field at Memorial Stadium, a jubilant quarterback Kaleb Barker had a game ball tucked under his arm.

“They said, ‘It’s yours,'” Barker said. “I’ll take it.”

Actually, a host of Trojans could lay claim to that ball. Cedarius Rookard ran back a punt 58 yards for a touchdown, Smith scored two touchdowns and ran for a team-high 70 yards and linebacker Tron Folsom had 14 tackles, a sack and another tackle for loss.

“I thought we showed tremendous grit and determination,” Troy coach Neal Brown said. “We didn’t play great football as we went through the game. But I thought our kids played really at a high level special teams-wise. I thought our defense bent but they didn’t break. I thought we flew to the ball and tackled better than we have at any point this season. Offensively, we just found some ways to make some key plays.”

Sophomore walk-on Andrew Bunch, starting at quarterback for Nebraska in place of the injured Adrian Martinez, converted a fourth-and-8 while leading the Huskers on a 75-yard drive to pull Nebraska to 24-19 with 2:55 left.

But Sunderland stepped in front of Bunch’s pass along the sideline intended for JD Spielman, starting the celebration on the Troy bench.

“I think we’re a better team than what the results say we are, but that doesn’t matter,” Frost said. “I just got done telling the team that when things get tough like this, you got two choices: You fight back and work even harder or you give up. I told them if anybody doesn’t want to stay on for this ride, let me know and get off, because I know where this is going. We just haven’t had the results early that we need.”

Now the Huskers will play their Big Ten opener on the road against Michigan next Saturday.

“We have a tough game next week, so this could get worse before it gets better,” Frost said. “It’s always darkest before the dawn, and I know where this is going, so I want every guy in that locker room to be on board.”

Troy got out to a 17-0 lead and was up 17-7 at halftime. But the Trojans were teetering after Nebraska kicked field goals to cut it to 17-13 in the third quarter.

After the Trojans forced a punt early in the fourth, they went 62 yards in 10 plays to make it a two-score game. Barker converted two third-and-long situations, passing on one and running on the other, and Nebraska safety Aaron Williams was called for pass interference on a third-and-9 to keep the Trojans’ drive alive. Smith broke through the line untouched on his way to the end zone on his TD run.

“I want to say this to the Nebraska fans: You guys are going to be fine,” Brown said. “They’re going to get it done here. They’re going to win and they’re going to win big. But I don’t want the narrative to be about that.”

THE TAKEAWAY

Troy: This is mostly a new cast of Trojans, but once again they showed they aren’t intimidated playing a blue-blood opponent on the road. It’s the lift they needed after losing to Boise State in their opener and beating an FCS opponent last week.

Nebraska: The Huskers couldn’t get out of their own way. They had two turnovers and a missed field goal among their first five possessions, gave up the long punt return and had costly personal fouls on a Troy touchdown drive. Mohamed Barry was ejected for his head-on-head hit at the end of a run by backup quarterback Sawyer Smith. … As a comparison, Frost was 24-2 in two years as the starting quarterback for Nebraska. Now he’s 0-2 as a coach.

UP NEXT

Troy visits Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday.

Nebraska visits Michigan for its Big Ten opener Saturday.

— Associated Press —

Missouri men’s basketball signs Cleveland prep guard Christian Guess

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COLUMBIA, MO. – Mizzou Basketball has signed talented guard Christian Guess to its 2018 recruiting class, head coach Cuonzo Martin announced Saturday. Guess is a 6-foot-5 wing from Cleveland, Ohio, who attended Shaker Heights High School. He is immediately eligible to play in the upcoming 2018-19 campaign.

Guess chose Mizzou after drawing interest from West Virginia and DePaul, among others. The standout guard is a proven scorer, averaging 26.2 points per game during his senior campaign at Shaker Heights.

Guess poured in a school-record 57 points in an early-season matchup with Mentor despite checking out for the game’s final 3:56

“We’re very excited to have Christian join our Mizzou Basketball family,” Martin said. “He has tremendous athletic ability and a scorer’s mentality. Christian’s competitive drive and desire to get better will fit right in with our program. We’re looking forward to getting him to Mizzou.”

Guess finished his senior campaign with 496 total points and 21 double-figure scoring games, notching 20 or more points 14 times and 30 or more on four occasions. He led Shaker Heights to its first District Championship since 2015 before falling in the Regional Semifinals despite scoring 30 points.

Guess earned Second-Team All-Cleveland.com Fab 50 All-Star recognition and Second-Team All-Ohio Prep Sportswriters Association Second Team honors after his senior year. After transferring from Glenville High School, Guess appeared in nine games as a junior, scoring 23 points in the District Semifinals vs. Maple Heights.

At Glenville as a sophomore, he was a Second-Team Northeast Lakes All-District honoree after averaging 22.5 points. He played varsity basketball his freshman year at Glenville, chipping in 12 points per game.

— Mizzou Athletics —

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