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Kansas blows out Rutgers for second straight win

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

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 —

Cardinals get crushed by Dodgers 17-4

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Yasiel Puig homered three times and had a career-high seven RBIs, giving him five homers in two games, and the Los Angeles Dodgers routed St. Louis 17-4 Saturday to move ahead of the Cardinals into sole possession of the second National League wild card.

Puig hit a solo homer in the fourth off John Gant (7-6) and three-run drives in the fifth against Mike Mayers and in the seventh versus Luke Weaver for his first three-homer game of his major league career.

He raised his season total to 21 homers for the season and became the fourth Dodgers hitter since 2000 with consecutive multihomer games after Cody Bellinger, Adrian Beltre, and Shawn Green.

Bellinger hit a three-run homer in the ninth off Luke Weaver and had a career-high six RBI. The defending NL champions have won four consecutive games and nine of their last 14.

Rich Hill (9-5) allowed four runs, two hits and four walks in five innings, improving to 3-1 in seven starts against the Cardinals.

St. Louis has lost four straight games for the third time this season. Gant allowed three runs, six hits and four walks in 4 1/3 innings.

Manny Machado hit a two-run homer in the first inning, his 11th for Los Angeles and 35th this year overall. The Dodgers have homered in 23 consecutive games, the longest streak in the major leagues this season and one shy of the franchise record set in 1953.

Patrick Wisdom put St. Louis ahead 4-3 in the fourth with his first big league grand slam. Bellinger hit a two-run single off Tyler Webb in the fifth.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Dodgers: RHP John Axford (broken right fibula) allowed one run an one hit in two-thirds of an inning Friday for Class A Rancho Cucamonga, which completed a three-game sweep of Visalia to win the California League title. LHP Tony Cingrani (left shoulder strain) pitched a scoreless inning for the Quakes. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said both will be activated from the DL on Monday.

UP NEXT

RHP Adam Wainwright (1-3, 4.70) starts for St. Louis in the Sunday night finale of the four-game series, and RHP Ross Stripling (8-3, 2.61) opens for the Dodgers.

— Associated Press —

Missouri men’s basketball signs Cleveland prep guard Christian Guess

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 —

Area High School Football Scores – Friday, September 14

CITY
Central 41 (1-3, 1-2 Suburban Red)
@ Truman 13 (0-4, 0-4 Suburban Red)

Lafayette 28 (3-1, 1-1 MEC)
@ Savannah 65 (2-2, 2-0 MEC)

Bishop LeBlond 14 (0-4, 0-2 MEC)
@ Benton 39 (1-3, 1-1 MEC)

Stanberry 58 (4-0, 4-0 GRC)
@ St. Joseph Christian 8 (0-3, 0-3 GRC)

AREA
MEC
Maryville 56 (3-1, 2-0 MEC)
@ St. Piux X 0 (2-2, 1-1 MEC)

Cameron 8 (2-2, 0-2 MEC)
@ Chillicothe 34 (1-3, 1-1 MEC)

KCI
West Platte 20 (1-3, 0-2 KCI)
@ East Buchanan 48 (4-0, 2-0 KCI)

Mid-Buchanan 49 (3-1, 1-1 KCI)
@ North Platte 0 (1-3, 1-1 KCI)

Plattsburg 14 (1-3, 0-2 KCI)
@ Lawson 55 (4-0, 2-0 KCI)

Lathrop 78 (4-0, 2-0 KCI)
@ Hamilton 6 (2-2, 0-2 KCI)

GRC
Maysville 0 (0-4, 0-2 GRC)
@ Gallatin 42 (3-1, 2-0 GRC)

Polo 14 (0-4, 0-2 GRC)
@ South Harrison 52 (3-1, 2-0 GRC)

Putnam County 14 (1-3, 0-2 GRC)
@ Trenton 35 (1-3, 1-1 GRC)

Princeton 12 (2-2, 1-1 GRC)
@ Milan 28 (4-0, 2-0 GRC)

8-MAN
GRC
North Andrew 70 (2-2, 1-2 GRC)
@ Osceola 24 (1-3)

Worth County 50 (4-0, 2-0 GRC)
@ Albany 0 (1-3, 0-2 GRC)

Pattonsburg 76 (4-0, 4-0 GRC)
@ King City 30 (2-2, 1-2 GRC)

North Shelby 60 (3-1)
@ Braymer 6 (0-4, 0-3 GRC)

275
Mound City 64 (4-0, 3-0 275)
@ Southwest Livingston 14 (3-1, 3-1 275)

DeKalb 22 (1-3, 0-3 275)
@ East Atchison 50 (3-1, 3-1 275)

South Holt / Nodaway Holt 60 (1-3, 1-2 275)
@ Platte Valley 12 (1-3, 1-3 275)

North-West Nodaway 6 (0-4, 0-4 275)
@ Rock Port 56 (4-0, 4-0 275)

Griffon volleyball falls in five sets to No. 9 Central Missouri

ST. JOSEPH – The Missouri Western volleyball fell just a few points short of upsetting No. 9 ranked Central Missouri in their home opener on Friday. MWSU lost 15-13 in the fifth set, coming up just short of the upset.

The Griffons began their first set in the newly-renovated MWSU Fieldhouse with a 25-21 win. Central Missouri was held to its lowest hitting percentage of the match at .111. The Jennies turned around and won the second match 25-17 as the Griffons struggled offensively, hitting their worst percentage of the match in that set.

The third set was all Griffons as they dominated by a score of 25-9. Leading Missouri Western in that set and throughout the night was Shellby Taylor. Taylor put together one of her best statistical performances of the season as she tallied 15 kills and three blocks.

The Jennies took the fourth and fifth sets to escape out of St. Joseph with the win.

Stephanie Doak was the team leader with 18 kills for the Griffons. Ali Tauchen made big plays in key moments throughout the night. She finished the match with 14 kills and three digs. Lauren Murphy led all players with 49 assists and Audrey Keim led all players with 31 digs.

Again, Friday night’s match was Griffon fans’ first chance to see the new-look MWSU Fieldhouse. The renovated facility now features black and gold painted walls, new bleacher and chair-back seating, and a Missouri Western Athletics Hall of Fame wall. Friday night was also the unveiling of Missouri Western’s 2017 MIAA Championship and Regional Semifinalist banners. Missouri Western President Dr. Robert Vartabedian and Director of Athletics Josh Looney showcased the new banners for Griffon fans and players during the pregame ceremony.

The Griffons will look to rebound Saturday as they face Lindenwood at 2:00 p.m. inside the MWSU Fieldhouse.

— MWSU Athletics —

Bearcat volleyball sweeps Lindenwood Friday

MARYVILLE, Missouri – The Northwest Missouri State University volleyball team opened MIAA play with a 3-0 sweep of the Lindenwood at Bearcat Arena. Northwest won by set scores of 25-18, 25-18, 25-21.

Northwest (9-3 overall, 1-0 MIAA) had an attack bolstered by Maddy Bruders (16 kills, Sofia Schleppenbach (12 kills) and Hallie Sidney (9 kills). Olivia Nowakowski recorded a match-high 13 digs.

The Bearcats hit .328 in the match with 51 kills to go against only 13 attack errors. Northwest limited Lindenwood to .211 hitting percentage. Northwest posted five service aces to only one for Lindenwood.

Northwest took control early on by hitting .500 in the first set. Northwest had 16 kills and two errors in the opening 25-18 victory. Bruder and Sidney each posted five kills in the set.

Northwest will return to the court Saturday night when the Bearcats take on Central Missouri at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free to volleyball following the Northwest football game.

— Northwest Athletics —

Perez hits game-ending grand slam as Royals rally past Twins 8-4

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Salvador Perez capped Kansas City’s five-run ninth inning with a game-ending grand slam, lifting the Royals to an 8-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Friday night.

Rosell Herrera sparked the winning rally with a one-out double off Trevor Hildenberger (4-4), who took over as Minnesota’s closer after Fernando Rodney was traded to Oakland last month. Whit Merrifield followed with an RBI single and advanced to third on Adalberto Mondesi’s base hit.

Manager Paul Molitor then put in Logan Forsythe, giving the Twins five infielders, and Alex Gordon was intentionally walked to load the bases. But Perez thwarted the strategy with a drive to center for his 26th homer.

The Twins’ loss lowered Cleveland’s magic number for clinching the AL Central title to one.

Perez also had an RBI single in the first inning and Mondesi connected for his eighth homer in the seventh. Jason Hammel (3-13) pitched a scoreless inning for the win.

Robbie Grossman and Willians Astudillo each had three hits for Minnesota, which also dropped the opener of the four-game set on Thursday.

Joe Mauer had a run-scoring double in the Twins’ three-run fifth, and Astudillo made it 4-2 when he singled in Grossman in the seventh.

But Mondesi went deep in the bottom half of the inning and the Royals nearly tied it in the eighth. Ryan O’Hearn tried to score from first on Jorge Bonifacio’s two-out double, but Astudillo made a diving tag to get him at the plate.

Minnesota wasted a solid start by Jose Berrios, who struck out nine while pitching six innings of two-run ball.

Kansas City right-hander Jorge Lopez was charged with three runs and nine hits in 4 1/3 innings. He departed with a left rib contusion, but it’s unclear when the injury occurred.

WORTH NOTING

Mauer’s double was his 598th extra-base hit, breaking a tie with Tony Oliva for fourth place on the Twins’ career list. He trails only Harmon Killebrew (728), Kirby Puckett (687) and Kent Hrbek (623).

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: Lopez will be re-evaluated by the team training staff.

Twins: C Mitch Garver (head) remained sidelined for a second straight game while he awaits clearance from the training staff after taking a foul ball off the facemask, but he did hit in the cage before Friday’s game. “I think that’s another step forward today,” manager Paul Molitor said. … 3B Miguel Sano (lower left leg) was expected to work in the batting cage for a second consecutive day, but he remains out indefinitely.

UP NEXT

Royals RHP Ian Kennedy (1-8, 4.92 ERA) will make his second start since returning from the disabled list and second straight start against the Twins, who send RHP Chase De Jong (0-0, 0.00) to the mound for his second appearance since a July 30 trade with the Seattle Mariners.

— Associated Press —

MWSU soccer gets non-league win at Lindenwood

ST. CHARLES, Mo. – The Missouri Western soccer team (3-2) got on the plus side of .500 with a 3-1 non-conference win at Lindenwood (2-2-1) Friday night.

Ashley Mathis became the first Griffon to score more than one goal in the season before Cassidy Menke matched Mathis with her second goal of the season. In between Mathis’ and Menke’s goals, Claire Meyers became the fifth Griff to score this season. Mathis put MWSU up 1-0 in the 65th minute off a rebound. Meyers gave the Griffs a 2-0 lead off a long assist from Anika Nobs in the 74th minute. After Lindenwood pulled within one with a goal in the 86th minute, Menke quickly provided the insurance in the 87th minute off an assist from Alexis Mutzbauer.

All but one of Missouri Western’s 10 total shots were on goal. Anna Mayer needed just two saves to hold Lindenwood to a single goal and to earn her third win of the season. Menke had four of the Griffons’ shots on goal and for the first time this season, MWSU had multiple assists in a game.

The Griffons come back to the region for a trip to Maryville to face Northwest Missouri on Sunday afternoon. The Bearcats (1-3) lost 4-1 at No. 1 Central Missouri, Friday night.

— MWSU Athletics —

St. Louis blanked by LA as wild card race is now evened up

ST. LOUIS (AP) — In a pivotal series for the Dodgers, rookie Walker Buehler came through with a masterful performance.

Buehler allowed two hits in eight innings, Yasiel Puig homered twice and Los Angeles drew even with the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL wild-card race with a 3-0 victory on Friday night. The Dodgers also moved within one-half game of first-place Colorado in the NL West.

Buehler (7-5) pitched beyond the seventh inning for the first time and earned his first victory since Aug. 17. He retired the first 13 batters before Paul DeJong singled to left field. Harrison Bader singled later in the fifth for the Cardinals’ only other hit.

“This was probably the best pitching performance of the year,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Not only Walker but across the board. Against a very good club in St. Louis on the road and obviously what’s at stake right now for each game. He wanted this moment and just coming out firing. His command. Just domination. He kind of did what he wanted to do tonight.”

Buehler struck out nine and walked two. In two career starts against St. Louis, the right-hander has not allowed a run and has 18 strikeouts in 15 innings.

“He’s got some serious weapons,” Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said. “He’s throwing 97-98 (mph), with command. When you can locate your fastball, regardless of velocity, that’s a nice weapon. Then you do it with that velocity and then you do it with some cut. And his cutter, at least from the side, it looked like it had some depth. Then second time through the lineup, start mixing in a changeup and hitting with that, that’s a pretty potent weaponry right there.”

The Dodgers and Cardinals are tied for the second NL wild-card position, four games behind Milwaukee for the top spot. But Los Angeles has its sights on the division crown and moved closer when the Rockies lost to San Francisco.

“Sometimes there’s teams you match up well against,” Buehler said. “It’s hard to explain. It’s just the way the game works and luckily tonight that worked out.”

Puig homered in the second off Jack Flaherty (8-7) and connected again in the ninth off Tyler Webb. It was his second multi-homer game of the season.

“I was trying to do my best,” Puig said through a translator. “He threw a fastball there and I was able to connect with it. I can hit lefties sometimes and right there I was trying to find something up in the zone. I wasn’t expecting a home run but it happened.”

In the seventh, Cody Bellinger scored on a passed ball by Yadier Molina.

Kenley Jansen hit Yairo Munoz with a pitch to open the ninth but retired the next three batters to finish the two-hitter, earning his 35th save in 39 opportunities.

Flaherty worked six innings, allowing one run on four hits with two walks and eight strikeouts. He has 168 strikeouts this season, the fourth-best total for a rookie in franchise history.

“We want to win. I don’t care about my line. I don’t care about anything other than winning,” Flaherty said. “It doesn’t matter how I pitched, I didn’t pitch well enough. He pitched better than I did.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Dodgers: Relievers John Axford and Tony Cingrani were scheduled to pitch in the California Championship Series for Single-A Rancho Cucamonga on Friday night. “They’re stacking the deck, trying to help them make their playoff push,” Roberts joked. “They’re supposed to go an inning each. We’ll see how they come out of it. Our hope is to get these guys back.” Axford could return to the majors after one appearance, while Cingrani (shoulder) would likely need more rehab work.

Cardinals: IF Jedd Gyorko is likely to return to the starting lineup Saturday, manager Mike Shildt said. He drew a pinch-hit walk in the eighth inning and was replaced by pinch-runner Adolis Garcia.

UP NEXT

The Cardinals send right-hander John Gant (7-5, 3.16 ERA) to the mound Saturday afternoon to make his third career appearance and first start against Los Angeles. Veteran lefty Rich Hill (8-5, 3.88) starts for the Dodgers.

— Associated Press —

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