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Ong one shot back, Missouri Western in seventh after round one at NSU

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Missouri Western women’s golf team sits in seventh place after the first day of the NSU Golf Classic in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Griffon junior Shi Qing Ong leads MWSU as is tied for second place and one shot back of first.

The Griffons finished the day with an overall score of 307 and just five shots away from the being in the top five. Missouri Western is competing against some familiar competition. There are 18 teams competing at the NSU Golf Classic, with 11 of those being MIAA institutions.

Shi Qing Ong finished the round 1-under to tie for second with four other student-athletes. Ong has the second-most birdies in the field with four. Chong Yong also put together a solid round for the Griffons, as she finished +4 and tied for 18th with three birdies.

The Griffons will tee off at 8:00 a.m. Tuesday morning for round two.

— MWSU Athletics —

Griffons’ Miles, Dandridge earn weekly MIAA football honors

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The MIAA announced Monday afternoon that Missouri Western’s Jabbar Miles and Brandin Dandridge were named MIAA Players of the Week following the Griffons win over No. 5-ranked Fort Hays. Miles earned Defensive Player of the Week while Dandridge was named Special Teams Player of the Week as a returner.

Miles finished Saturday’s game with two of the Griffons’ three interceptions. Miles halted the Tigers’ 64 yard drive with 3:08 left in the first quarter, picking off Fort Hays quarterback Jacob Mezera after his pass bounced off the hands of his intended receiver. Miles then broke the Tigers’ hearts again in the third quarter. The Tigers were putting together another promising drive before Miles intercepted Mezera’s pass for the end-zone, catching the pass at Missouri Western’s own one yard line before returning it out to the 16. Miles was also the second-leading tackler for the Griffons and added one pass breakup.

Dandridge helped the Griffons in their control of field position throughout the game. He finished the game with three punt returns for 86 total yards, averaging over 28 yards per return. His longest return of the night came early in the first quarter, as he raced down the Griffon sideline for 58 yards to the Fort Hays 19-yard line. His return set up the Griffon offense for its first score of the game. Dandrigde also played a key role for the Griffon defense. With six seconds remaining in the first half and the Griffons backed up to their own five-yard line, Dandridge intercepted another Fort Hays pass attempt for the end-zone.

— MWSU Athletics —

Northwest’s Wright named MIAA offensive player of the week

Northwest Missouri State redshirt freshman quarterback Braden Wright (Elkhorn, Neb.) has been named the MIAA offensive player of the week after leading the Bearcats to a 38-17 victory at Washburn.

Wright rushed for 118 yards and two touchdowns, while passing for 233 yards and another score against the Ichabods at Yager Stadium.

Wright scored on a 27-yard run with 7:11 left in the second quarter to knot the game at 14-14. Wright then put Northwest ahead for good in the third quarter when he scored again on the ground from 17 yards out. Wright was 23-of-35 passing, including a 14-yard scoring strike to Chase White in the fourth quarter.

Wright and the No. 4-ranked Bearcats (2-0 overall) will play host to Missouri Southern (0-2 overall) on Family Day Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at Bearcat Stadium.

— Northwest Athletics —

KU’s Joe Dineen Jr., Pooka Williams Jr. earn Big 12 weekly honors

IRVING, Texas – Kansas senior linebacker Joe Dineen Jr. was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week, while freshman running back Pooka Williams Jr. earned conference Newcomer of the Week honors, announced by the league offices on Tuesday.

Dineen Jr. earned the Defensive Player of the Week nod after leading the Kansas defense in a 31-7 road win over Central Michigan on Saturday. Totaling 14 tackles (8 solo), .5 tackles-for-loss and one quarterback hurry, Dineen Jr. also recorded his first-career interception in the third quarter of the game. His 14 stops marked the 17th time in his career the Lawrence, Kansas native notched double-digit tackles and was the second this season after posting 16 total takedowns in the season opener.

Williams Jr. made his Kansas debut against Central Michigan, where he totaled 125 rushing yards and two touchdowns, while adding eight receiving yards on one catch in the game. His 125 rushing yards came on 14 carries, giving him an average of 8.9 yards per rush. The Marrero, Louisiana product broke off a 20-yard run in the third quarter to score his first-career touchdown, then came back on his very next touch with a 41-yard scamper down the sideline for his second score of the game. His rushing efforts made him the first KU freshman to record 100-plus rushing yards in their career debut since James Sims ran for 101 yards against Georgia Tech in 2010.

The awards mark the first conference weekly honors for the Jayhawks this season and are the first since October 30 of last season when Steven Sims Jr. earned Co-Offensive Player of the Week Honors. Dineen Jr. was the last Jayhawk to earn a Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week nod, doing so last season. With Dineen Jr. and Williams Jr. picking up awards this week, it marks the third-straight season multiple Jayhawks have been recognized with weekly conference honors.

Dineen Jr.’s Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honor marks the 17th for the Kansas football program, while Williams Jr.’s Newcomer of the Week is the first for KU since the award’s inception in 2016.

The Jayhawks return to David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium on September 15 to host Big Ten foe Rutgers. The game is slated for an 11 a.m. kickoff.

— KU Athletics —

Griffon soccer bounces back to defeat Sioux Falls 2-1

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – For the second-straight week, the Missouri Western women’s soccer team (2-2) rebounded from a Friday loss with a Sunday win. This week it was a 2-1 victory at Sioux Falls (1-3).

Newcomer Lillian Davis scored her first goal as a Griffon just 38 seconds into Sunday’s game to give Missouri Western a 1-0 lead. Davis’ first career goal came from an assist by Megan Maenner. Madison Utley gave MWSU a 2-0 lead in the 57th minute with an unassisted goal. Less than two minutes later Sioux Falls’ McKayla Philippi snuck a header past Anna Meyer off a corner kick that pulled the Cougars within one. Fifteen second half shots by Missouri Western limited Sioux Falls to just five opportunities and helped the Griffons escape with the win. With Davis and Utley scoring, Sunday, four different Griffons have provided the team’s four goals this season.

UP NEXT
Missouri Western gets a first look at some conference opponents next week in non-conference games. The Griffons travel to Lindenwood (2-1-1) on Sept. 14 for a non-conference tilt.

— MWSU Athletics —

No. 25 Missouri Western splits two matches Saturday in Wichita

WICHITA, Kan. – The 25th ranked Missouri Western volleyball team (7-4) went 1-1 on the final day of the 2018 Jet Classic, hosted by Newman University.

The Griffons made quick work of the host-school before getting into a five-set barn burner with St. Edward’s (8-4).

MATCH 1: #25 MWSU 3, Newman 0 (25-20, 25-11, 25-18)
The Griffons tied a season-high with eight aces and put up eight blocks in a dominant sweep of the host, Newman (1-7). Missouri Western had 60 points in the match to Newman’s 31; 44 kills to Newman’s 26 and the Griffons didn’t allow a single Newman ace in the match. Ali Tauchen had 11 kills on a .563 hitting percentage, five total blocks and two aces. Stephanie Doak had 15 kills to lead the Griffons. Lauren Murphy had 38 assists to go with four total blocks, seven digs and two aces.

MATCH 2: St. Edward’s 3, #25 MWSU 2 (23-25, 28-26, 23-25, 25-18, 27-29)
St. Edward’s prevented the Griffons from coming home with a 4-0 record on the weekend in a wild final match of the day for Missouri Western. The teams traded close sets back and forth before the Griffons used a 13-2 run to end the fourth set, forcing the fifth. Missouri Western jumped ahead early in the fifth and had the game at match point, 14-11 in the fifth. From then on it turned into a back-and-forth set with the Griffons struggling to get ahead before St. Edward’s claimed the set, 29-27 and the match 3-2. Stephanie Doak had a career-high 26 kills in the match and was one of five Griffons with double-digit kills. Lauren Murphy had a double-double with 70 assists and 18 digs. Shellby Taylor had 18 kills. Rachel Losch hit .308 with 10 kills and six total blocks. Ali Tauchen had 16 kills and Sam Duncan had 14.

UP NEXT
The Griffons finally get to play in front of a home crowd, unveiling the newly remodeled MWSU Fieldhouse and two banners from the record breaking 2017 season on Sept. 14 against No. 10 Central Missouri (9-2).

— MWSU Athletics —

Mizzou rolls up over 600 yards of offense in win over Wyoming

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Missouri quarterback Drew Lock usually dissects defenses with his arm. Wyoming learned the hard way that his legs have a little juice, too. Lock threw four touchdown passes and ran for another TD as the Tigers won 40-13 on Saturday night.

The senior quarterback is known for his gaudy passing numbers, and he added to them against the Cowboys, completing 33 of 45 passes for 398 yards. He added a career-high 51 rushing yards, which was almost half of his total for all of last season.

“I’m glad I could put that on film to show people I am athletic, even though I knew I was athletic the whole time,” Lock said with a laugh.

In the second quarter, Lock showed nifty footwork dodging defenders on a 12-yard touchdown scramble. He bowled over cornerback Antonio Hull to convert a third-and-7 play on the ensuing drive. He finished that possession with a 19-yard touchdown pass to tight end Albert Okwuegbunam that gave the Tigers a 16-0 halftime lead.

Missouri (2-0) scored on its first four possession of the second half to put the game out of reach.

“We got whupped,” Wyoming coach Craig Bohl said.

After a fruitless first half full of misfired pass attempts and stuffed runs, Wyoming (1-2) looked better offensively in the second half. Jevon Bigelow scored on a 7-yard touchdown run, and Cooper Rothe connected on field goals of 51 and 36 yards. Tyler Vander Waal completed 13 of 28 passes for 160 yards.

THE TAKEAWAY

Wyoming: Senior running back Nico Evans, who had rushed for 279 yards in the first two games, didn’t make the trip to Missouri. Without Evans, who injured his ribs in the third quarter of Wyoming’s loss to Washington State on Sept. 1, the Cowboys rushed for 88 yards against the Tigers.

Missouri: Emanuel Hall didn’t even start the first four games of last season, but since then he has established himself as one of the nation’s most productive wide receivers. Hall caught 10 passes for 171 yards and a touchdown against Wyoming, giving him 14 catches for 342 yards in two games. “He’s matured as a competitor,” Missouri coach Barry Odom said. “He’s matured in his ability to prepare the right way during the week. He has grown up. He has the ability at times to take over a game.”

UP NEXT

Wyoming: The Cowboys will host FCS opponent Wofford on Saturday.

Missouri: The Tigers will try to avenge last year’s 35-3 loss to Purdue when they play the Boilermakers in West Lafayette, Ind.

— Associated Press —

Woerth earned 100th career win in Northwest’s victory over Newman

WICHITA, Kansas – Northwest Missouri State head volleyball coach Amy Woerth earned her 100th career coaching victory Saturday night as the Bearcats topped Newman University in a three-set sweep. Northwest won by set scores of 25-17, 25-21, 25-15.

Woerth becomes the fourth Northwest volleyball coach to reach the 100-win plateau. Sarah Pelster (199 from 1991-2002), Pam Stanek (176 from 1977-1981) and Susie Homan (105 from 1982-1984) were the previous three Bearcat mentors to win at least 100 matches.

Maddy Bruder secured her fifth double-double of the season with 15 kills (.419) and 13 digs.

Sofia Schleppenbach hit .500 with 10 kills and added a team-best five blocks. Bethany Elkins recorded nine kills (.412) and produced four blocks.

Northwest limited Newman to .019 hitting percentage as the Jets had 25 kills against 23 errors.

Northwest will return to the court Friday as the Bearcats embark on MIAA play against Lindenwood. First serve is set for 7 p.m. in Bearcat Arena.

NOTES: Bruder has recorded 47 career double-doubles … the Bearcats won all three matches at the Jet Classic in 3-0 sweeps … Northwest is 8-0 in three-set matches this season.

— Northwest Athletics —

Kansas State falls at home to No. 18 Mississippi State 31-10

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — There was so much attention being paid to Mississippi State quarterback Nick Fitzgerald’s return to the field Saturday that nobody paid much to running back Kylin Hill.

Certainly not the Kansas State defense. Not even himself, really.

After Hill ran for 211 yards and accounted for three scores, and after the No. 18 Bulldogs’ swarming defense shut down the Wildcats in a 31-10 rout, the sophomore running back acknowledged he wasn’t even sure how many yards he’d piled up during the game.

“I honestly don’t know,” Hill insisted. “Having Fitz back there helped because they were already watching him, so that opened up holes for me. He’s a great overall player — NFL-caliber.”

Yes, the senior quarterback had his share of highlights, too. He threw for 154 yards and two touchdowns, ran for another 159 yards , and paced an offense that piled up 538 yards total in giving the Bulldogs (2-0) their first Power Five road win since beating Baylor in September 1995.

Not bad considering it was also Fitzgerald’s first game since last November. He missed their bowl game after a serious foot injury against Ole Miss, and then was suspended for last week’s season opener.

“It’s always good to go out there and finally get to reap the rewards of all the hard work that you’ve put in with your teammates,” he said. “It was amazing to get out there.”

Pretty amazing watching his running back work, too.

“He works his butt off every day,” Fitzgerald said. “You knew he was going to have a big day. I never once thought he was going to get tackled behind the line of scrimmage, I think it happened once?”

Hill and Fitzgerald helped the Bulldogs to a 17-3 lead over the Wildcats (1-1), despite a sloppy, penalty-filled first half. But it was a 95-yard march in the third quarter that put the game away, when Hill ripped off a 52-yard run and Fitzgerald capped it with a touchdown toss.

Meanwhile, the Wildcats’ two-quarterback system of Skylar Thompson and Alex Delton struggled to get going. Thompson was 7 of 17 for 86 yards and a touchdown while running for 34 yards, and Delton was 2 of 4 for 14 yards with an interception that led to the Bulldogs’ TD late in the first half.

“Just disappointing,” Delton said. “We’re not where we should be when you look at our talent. We’ve scored what, two touchdowns in two games? That’s pitiful.”

The bright spot for Kansas State was bruising running back Alex Barnes, who finished with 75 yards rushing. But even he was held in check by a Mississippi State defense, led by tackle Jeffrey Simmons and end Montez Sweat, that had 17 tackles for loss in its opener.

In truth, they had their way with the Wildcats’ veteran offensive line, which coughed up four sacks and managed only 213 yards total offense. Kansas State’s only touchdown came in the third quarter, when Fitzgerald threw an interception that set up a short field.

“I wouldn’t take anything away from Mississippi State,” Wildcats coach Bill Snyder said, “but as I’ve said so many times it’s not about who you line up against. It’s about us. We just haven’t played as well as we’re capable of playing.”

THE TAKEWAY

Mississippi State: Fitzgerald and Hill made life miserable for the Wildcats’ with the read-option, essentially beating Kansas State at its own game. Fitzgerald was just 11 of 27 passing, though, which could be a byproduct of his rust. “He was a little amped up,” Mississippi State coach Joe Moorhead said. “He made some good throws. He did some great things by improvisation.”

Kansas State: Despite returning all five starters on the offensive line, Kansas State struggled up front against the Bulldogs. Thompson and Delton were under constant duress, and Barnes often had to avoid first contact in the backfield. It made for a stagnant offense all afternoon.

TOSSED FOR TARGETING

Bulldogs safety Johnathan Abram was ejected after getting called for targeting early in the fourth quarter. Abram launched himself into a helmet-to-helmet blow on kick returner Duke Shelley.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

The Bulldogs haven’t done anything to hurt their poll positioning, acing their biggest test until they face Florida on Sept. 29. They have Louisiana and a trip to Kentucky the next two weeks.

UP NEXT

Mississippi State: Louisiana heads to Starkville to face the Bulldogs next Saturday night.

Kansas State: Texas-San Antonio visits Manhattan for the Wildcats’ final nonconference game.

— Associated Press —

Kansas routs Central Michigan, snaps 46-game road skid

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. (AP) — Freshman Pooka Williams rushed for 125 yards and two touchdowns as Kansas snapped the second-longest road losing streak in college football history at 46 games, winning 31-7 at Central Michigan on Saturday.

Central Michigan quarterback Tony Poljan was intercepted four times by Kansas (1-1), which won on the road for the first time since Sept. 12, 2009. The Kansas streak was only topped by Idaho State, which lost 48 straight through 2014.

“For our program, for our fans, for our stakeholders, that was really important,” Kansas coach David Beaty said. “Our fans deserve it, and they deserve better.”

Williams was held out of the opener last week for the Jayhawks, a 26-23 overtime loss to Football Championship Subdivision Nicholls. Beaty declined to say why and said he found out late Friday night that Williams would be available on Saturday.

Central Michigan had one first down in the first half, compiling 60 yards on 20 snaps. The Chippewas (0-2) did not cross midfield until there was 7:54 remaining in the third quarter and turned the ball over six times.

“I felt like we left a lot out on the field,” Central Michigan coach John Bonamego said. “I still maintain that all of the mistakes we are making right now self-inflicted and if we can continue to improve and correct these mistakes that we will be a very good football team.”

Kansas quarterback Peyton Bender was 17-of-26 passing for 130 yards, connecting with wide receiver Kerr Johnson Jr. for a 31-yard touchdown to open the scoring.

After two Williams scores, Central Michigan cut the lead to 21-7 on a 31-yard reception by Jamil Sabbagh from Poljan in the third quarter.

But on the first play of the fourth quarter, Shakial Taylor of Kansas went up for an interception and returned it 55 yards for a touchdown and a 28-7 lead.

“We’re looking forward to starting a new beginning and starting a little win streak here,” Beaty said. “We think we’ve got a pretty good football team if we continue working and continue limiting the mistakes that we make.”

THE TAKEAWAY

Kansas: With the historic losing streak behind the Jayhawks in their best chance to snap it this season, Beaty’s team can go one week without its coach on the hot seat. Athletic director Jeff Long released a statement after last week’s loss to Nicholls, saying the evaluation of the program was “ongoing.”

Central Michigan: The Chippewas are 0-2 against Power 5 basketball powerhouse schools after losing 35-20 last week at Kentucky. At least the offense moved the chains a few times late for Central Michigan, which was scoreless in the second half last week and in the first half on Saturday.

UP NEXT

Kansas: Hosts Rutgers on Sept. 15 looking for Beaty’s second Power 5 win in his fourth season with the Jayhawks.

Central Michigan: Plays at Northern Illinois on Sept. 15 in the Mid-American Conference opener.

— Associated Press —

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