Sports – Page 382 – North Platte Post Archive

Alex Smith leads Chiefs past Mike Vick, Jets 24-10

Posted on November 2, 2014

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Alex Smith threw for 199 yards and two touchdowns, Jamaal Charles ran for another score and the Kansas City Chiefs won 24-10 on Sunday, sending the New York Jets to their eighth straight loss.

Tight ends Travis Kelce and Anthony Fasano each caught touchdown passes, and the Chiefs (5-3) won their third straight and fifth in six games on the same day former running back Priest Holmes was inducted into their ring of honor.

Making his first start with the Jets (1-8), Michael Vick was 21 of 27 for 196 yards and a touchdown. He briefly left in the fourth quarter after taking a massive hit from the Chiefs’ Josh Mauga and walking unsteadily off the field, but eventually returned later in the quarter.

NPCC Lady Knights Basketball Splits Opening Weekend

Posted on November 2, 2014November 2, 2014

North Platte – The North Platte Community College Lady Knights (1-1) women’s basketball team earned a split during the opening weekend of the season as they hosted the Hampton Inn Classic. The Lady Knights started out their season with a victory over the Midland University JV by a score of 57-35 on Friday night. North Platte returned to action the following day to complete the Classic but were handed their first loss of the season to Fort Carson 60-64 after leading at the half by a score of 36-28.

Against the Midland JV, the Lady Knights used a strong defensive effort to emerge victorious. North Platte held the Midland JV to only 28.9% shooting from the field and 23.5% from the 3-point line while shooting 49.1% themselves from the field. Sophomore April Stull led the way for the Lady Knights as she scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Sophomore Aliyah Brown was the only other Lady Knights in double-figures as she finished with 10 points, six rebounds and had two assists. Freshman Sarah Mahr chipped in eight points and sophomore Ester Micheva had seven rebounds.

In the second game of the season, the Lady Knights were again led by Stull and Brown. The Lady Knights led Fort Carson at 26-28 but were outscored 36-24 in the second half. April Stull finished with her first double-double of the season as she scored 18 points and pulled down 14 rebounds. Aliyah Brown scored 13 points. Sophomore Alleyah Evans scored nine points and notched six rebounds. Three Lady Knights scored four points and four scored two points.

“We are still learning how to play together as a team,” said assistant coach Nolan Collins “and our freshman are still adjusting to college basketball. We are excited to return to action next weekend.”

The Lady Knights return to action next weekend as they travel to Norfolk for the Hawks Classic. On Friday, November 7 the Lady Knights face Des Moines Area Community College at 2 p.m. North Platte returns to action on Saturday, November 8 to face Iowa Lakes Community College at 12:00 p.m. The Lady Knights next home game is Wednesday, November 12 at 7 p.m. against the Hastings University JV.

Ahead of Showdown Saturday, Auburn to 3 in AP Poll, Nebraska 15th

Posted on November 2, 2014

Auburn moved up a spot to No. 3 in The Associated Press college football behind Mississippi State and Florida State ahead of a weekend stacked with Top 25 matchups.

The Tigers hopped past Alabama after a 35-31 victory at Mississippi on Saturday. Ole Miss dropped five spots to No. 12.

The Crimson Tide is fourth and heading to No. 14 LSU next Saturday, one of six games matching top 20 teams.

No. 5 Oregon visits No. 20 Utah. TCU jumped four spots to No. 6 after its last-second victory at West Virginia. The Horned Frogs host No. 9 Kansas State.

Michigan State is seventh ahead of its Big Ten showdown with No. 13 Ohio State.

No. 8 Notre Dame, which slipped two spots after a close call against Navy, next plays at No. 11 Arizona State.

No. 10 Baylor plays at No. 19 Oklahoma.

The Top 25 teams in The Associated Press college football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Nov. 1, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote, and previous ranking:

	Record	Pts	Pv
1. Mississippi St. (45)	8-0	1,484	1
2. Florida St. (15)	8-0	1,452	2
3. Auburn	7-1	1,345	4
4. Alabama	7-1	1,281	3
5. Oregon	8-1	1,275	5
6. TCU	7-1	1,148	10
7. Michigan St.	7-1	1,120	8
8. Notre Dame	7-1	1,096	6
9. Kansas St.	7-1	1,049	11
10. Baylor	7-1	961	12
11. Arizona St.	7-1	831	15
12. Mississippi	7-2	828	7
13. Ohio St.	7-1	780	13
14. LSU	7-2	717	16
15. Nebraska	8-1	680	17
16. Oklahoma	6-2	574	19
17. Georgia	6-2	465	9
18. UCLA	7-2	464	25
19. Clemson	6-2	341	22
20. Utah	6-2	327	18
21. Arizona	6-2	325	14
22. Duke	7-1	288	24
23. Marshall	8-0	238	23
24. West Virginia	6-3	159	20
25. Wisconsin	6-2	83	NR

Others receiving votes: Colorado St. 67, Southern Cal 48, Missouri 42, Georgia Tech 15, Louisville 7, N. Dakota St. 4, Stanford 4, Florida 1, Texas A&M 1.

NPCC Lady Knights End Season at Region IX Division II Tournament

Posted on November 2, 2014November 2, 2014

Columbus – The North Platte Community College Lady Knights (20-18) ended their season in the Region IX Division II Tournament Championship at the hands of the No. 2 Central Community College Lady Raiders (32-6). The Lady Knights opened up the Region IX Division II Tournament with a victory over Southeast Community College in three sets on Friday 25-17, 25-20, 25-17. North Platte then took on Central to complete the round-robin portion of the tournament. The Lady Raiders defeated the Lady Knights in straight sets 22-25, 13-25, 18-25. The two teams then faced off again Saturday morning with the Lady Knights needing to defeat the Lady Raiders twice to win the Region IX Division II Championship. Central picked up right where they left off and defeated North Platte in three sets 22-25, 11-25, 12-25.

The Lady Knights had several players honored at the completion of the Tournament. Samantha Kennedy, Joli Hopping and Erika Goodwin were named to the All-Region IX Division II Tournament Team. Kennedy, Hopping and Samantha Byrn were also named the the All-Region IX Division II Team. The North Platte Lady Knights also won the Sheila R. Worley Sportsmanship Award.

Against Southeast Community College, the Lady Knights were paced by Samantha Kennedy who finished with 15 kills and three blocks. Samantha Byrn chipped in seven kills and three blocks. Joli Hopping recorded 29 assists and 12 digs while Erika Goodwin led the way with 16 digs. Abigail Kurtzer also recorded 10 digs.

In the first meeting with Central Community College, Valerie Most led the way with nine kills and Samantha Kennedy chipped in seven kills, four blocks and 10 digs. Joli Hopping notched 23 assists and Erika Goodwin had 21 digs.

In the final game of the season, Valerie Most again led the way with 10 kills while Kennedy recorded five kills and 13 digs.. Joli Hopping had 22 assists and Erika Goodwin had 18 digs.

The Knights finished the year with a 20-18 recorded and in the Region IX Division II Championship for the second straight year. “The kids played hard,” said head coach Sally Thalken. “Central has a way of keeping teams out of their system. It was very difficult to do much offensively. We got beat by a very good team that should do well in post-season play. They played liked they are the No. 2 team in the nation in Division II.”

McCormick’s OT Goal Gives Caps Win Over Storm

Posted on November 2, 2014

MADISON, Wis. – An overtime-winning goal by forward Sam McCormick sent the Madison Capitols fans home happy on Saturday night with a 4-3 defeat of the Tri-City Storm (6-3-2) at the Alliant Energy Center.

Storm forward Mason Appleton, a Green Bay, Wis. native, scored twice for Tri-City in the loss, while forward Chris Wilkie added a power play goal. The Storm have now scored power play goals in seven consecutive games.

Tri-City earned just one point in the standings over the weekend, after falling to the Capitols 5-4 on Friday night in the teams’ first ever meeting.

After scoring a goal 11 seconds into Friday night’s game, Madison once again took the early lead on Saturday with a goal at the 2:11 mark of the opening period by forward Marco Richter.

Later in the period, off the opening face-off to the Storm’s first power play opportunity of the game, the Capitols forced the puck out of the zone and took control going the other way. A one-timer from Freddy Gerard to center Ryan Lohin gave the Capitols a short-handed goal and a 2-0 lead.

Lohin’s tally was his third of the weekend, and sent Madison into the first intermission with a two-goal advantage.

The Storm fought back in the second period, scoring the only goal of the frame when Appleton won an offensive zone faceoff to start possession in the Caps’ zone.

Forward Nolan Aibel had a great chance on the doorstep, and stuck with the play by getting the puck to Appleton. The center then found the net for his first goal of the night to make it 2-1.

Appleton then tied the game at 3:24 of the third, again finding a loose puck in front of the Madison net and finding a way to get it past Capitols’ netminder Garrett Metcalf.

Tri-City took their first lead of the weekend on Wilkie’s power play goal at 6:24 of the final period. Forward Jake Wahlin found the Omaha native for his seventh goal of the season and the Storm had a 3-2 edge.

But Madison’s Will Johnson evened things back up, scoring an even strength goal with just five minutes to go in the game that forced overtime.

In the extra session, a turnover in the Storm’s own zone allowed forward Mitch Hults to find McCormick wide open in front to beat Tri-City netminder Blake Weyrick for the game-winner.

Weyrick made his second start of the season in between the pipes for the Storm, making 23 saves in the loss.

Metcalf won his second decision of the weekend, making 34 saves for Madison. Tri-City outshot the Capitols 37-27 in the game.

The Storm will return home to take on the Muskegon Lumberjacks in a weekend series Nov. 7-8 at the Viaero Event Center in Kearney. Friday night’s game starts at 7:30 p.m., while Saturday’s puck drop is scheduled for 7:05.

Notes: The Storm scratched forwards Wade Allison, Chase Hatcher, and Aleksi Ainali along with defenseman Jason Krych.

SCORING SUMMARY

1st Period

Madison – Marco Richter (unassisted) 2:11
Madison – Ryan Lohin (short-handed) (Freddy Gerard) 17:55

2nd Period

Tri-City – Mason Appleton (Nolan Aibel) 9:27

3rd Period

Tri-City – Mason Appleton (unassisted) 3:24
Tri-City – Chris Wilkie (power play) (Jake Wahlin) 6:24
Madison – Will Johnson (unassisted) 15:00

Overtime
Madison – Sam McCormick (Mitch Hults) 1:33

PENALTIES

1st Period

Tri-City – Gordi Myer – (Tripping), 2 min, 5:16
Tri-City – Joel Herbert – (Elbowing), 2 min, 12:22
Madison – Mason Anderson – (Slashing), 2 min, 17:43

2nd Period

Madison – Chad Pietroniro – (Slashing), 2 min, 1:25
Tri-City – Mason Appleton – (Slashing), 2 min, 3:30
Madison – Alec Vanko – (Slashing), 2 min, 5:51
Tri-City – Mason Appleton – (Unsportsmanlike Conduct), 2 min, 5:51
Madison – Marco Richter – (Hooking), 2 min, 14:42

3rd Period

Tri-City – Kyle Eastman – (Head Contact), 2 min, 0:09
Tri-City – Nick Master – (Slashing), 2 min, 3:43
Madison – Sam McCormick – (Cross Checking), 2 min, 5:40
Tri-City – Mason Appleton – (Checking From Behind), 2 min, 7:53
Madison – Chad Pietroniro – (Slashing), 2 min, 15:26

Overtime
(no penalties)

Power Play

Tri-City – 1/5

Madison – 0/6

Shots

Tri-City: 9, 19, 9 = Total: 37
Madison: 11, 5, 10 = Total: 27

Saves

Tri-City – Blake Weyrick – 23/27
Madison – Garrett Metcalf – 34/37

Elliott, Tarasenko lead Blues past Avs 3-2 in SO

Posted on November 2, 2014

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Brian Elliott made 27 saves in his 100th game with St. Louis and stopped all three shootout attempts to lift the Blues over the Colorado Avalanche 3-2 Saturday night.

Vladimir Tarasenko scored twice for St. Louis. Tarasenko has six goals, including five in his last three games. He had his first career hat trick in the Blues’ 4-3 win over Dallas on Tuesday night.

Joakim Lindstrom scored in the shootout for St. Louis, which has won four straight.

Ryan O’Reilly and Nathan McKinnon each had a goal and an assist for the Avalanche, who have points in six straight games (2-0-4). Eric Johnson had two assists against his former team and Semyon Varlamov stopped 27 shots.

Short-Handed Thunder Beat Nuggets 102-91

Posted on November 2, 2014

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Perry Jones and Serge Ibaka each scored 23 points to help the short-handed Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Denver Nuggets 102-91 on Saturday night for their first victory of the season.

The Thunder, already without MVP Kevin Durant for at least a month with a broken right foot, announced that star point guard Russell Westbrook had successful surgery on his broken right hand Saturday morning and also will miss at least a month.

The Thunder led 29-17 at the end of the first quarter, earning a standing ovation, and held off a late rally.

Kendrick Perkins scored 17 points and Steven Adams added 13 for the Thunder.

Ty Lawson scored 20 of his 25 points in the second half for the Nuggets.

Green, Kokesh Win at NWCA All-Star Classic

Posted on November 2, 2014

Philadelphia, Pa. – All-Americans James Green (157) and Robert Kokesh (174) each opened their senior campaign with a victory at the NWCA All-Star Classic on Saturdaynight at The Palestra.

Kokesh, the second-ranked wrestler by InterMat, defeated NAIA No. 1 and three-time national champion Brock Gutches of Southern Oregon by an 8-2 decision at 174 pounds. After a Gutches takedown in the first period, the Husker senior controlled the rest of the match, earning an escape in the opening stanza before getting a takedown to build a 3-2 lead.

In the second period, Kokesh rode out Gutches from the top position to rack up nearly two minutes of riding time heading into the final period. Kokesh started the third period on bottom and earned an early escape before taking down Gutches and added a riding time point to secure a victory in his first match of the season.

Green, the No. 2 wrestler at 157 pounds, won by a 6-4 decision over No. 3 Ian Miller of Kent State. Miller struck first with a takedown in the opening period, but gave Green a free release. Green responded with a takedown of his own before rewarding Miller with a free release to make the score 2-2.

In the second period, Green started in the bottom position and earned an escape to take a 3-2 advantage. Miller took down Green, but the Husker senior escaped to tie the score 4-4 heading to the third period.

Miller started the final period in the down position and was called for stalling, which gave Green a 5-4 lead. Green added a point for riding time, which led to a 6-4 final. After the competition, Green was named Most Valuable Wrestler for the Red team.

The Huskers open their dual season on Friday at 4 p.m. (CT) against Wyoming in Laramie, Wyo. On Saturday, Nov. 8, NU will compete at the Cowboy Open, which starts at10 a.m. Nebraska’s first home dual is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 16 against Maryland at the NU Coliseum. The Huskers’ five remaining home duals will be contested at the Devaney Center.

Nebraska Results at the NWCA All-Star Classic
174: #2 Robert Kokesh (Nebraska) by dec. over Brock Gutches (Southern Oregon), 8-2
157: #2 James Green (Nebraska) by dec. over #3 Ian Miller (Kent State), 6-4

Huskers Complete Weekend Sweep at Maryland

Posted on November 2, 2014

College Park, Md. – The No. 14 Nebraska volleyball team finished off its second sweep of the weekend with a 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-16) victory over Maryland at XFINITY Center Pavilion Saturday night.

With the win, the Huskers improved their record to 14-7 overall and 8-4 in the Big Ten, marking the first back-to-back wins for the Huskers since sweeping Iowa in the first week of Big Ten play. Maryland dropped to 9-14 overall and 2-10 in the Big Ten.

Kadie Rolfzen led the Huskers for the second straight night with 11 kills. Kelsey Fien had nine while hitting .389, and Amber Rolfzen had seven kills and five blocks. Meghan Haggerty also had five blocks to go with four kills. Mary Pollmiller had 28 assists and five kills of her own. Justine Wong-Orantes had a team-high 13 digs.

Maryland got 12 kills from Ashleigh Crutcher, but the Huskers held her to a .033 hitting percentage. NU outhit the Terps .329 to .100 and held Maryland to -.032 in the second set and .032 in the third set. The Huskers outblocked the Terps 9-6 and outdug them 31-29.

The Huskers built an early 3-1 lead on kills by Kadie Rolfzen, Fien and Amber Rolfzen. Maryland responded and went up 13-10 after a kill by Ashlyn MacGregor. But the Huskers put together a 4-0 run to go up 14-13 with a kill by Kadie Rolfzen and two combined blocks with Haggerty involved in both. However, the Terrapins went up 20-18 with consecutive kills by Hailey Murray and Emily Fraik. The Terps committed a service error to let NU within 21-20, and Melanie Keil and Amber Rolfzen tied the set at 21-21 with a combined stuff. The Huskers gained a 23-22 advantage after consecutive Maryland attacking errors, and NU earned set point with an Amber Rolfzen kill. After Crutcher pulled Maryland within one and forced an NU timeout, Kadie Rolfzen terminated immediately out of the timeout for the 25-23 Husker win. The Huskers hit a blistering .542 in the set with 14 kills and just one attacking error, but Maryland hit .321 to keep the set neck and neck.

Maryland took a 5-1 lead in set two before the Huskers went on a 4-0 run to tie it, keyed by blocks by Amber and Kadie Rolfzen, as well as a kill from Keil. The Huskers took their first lead of game two at 9-8 on a bad set by Maryland, but the Terps responded to go up 12-10 before back-to-back kills by Fien tied it 12-12. Another Fien swing made it 14-13 Huskers before Kadie Rolfzen blasted a kill to make it 15-13 and force a Maryland timeout. After the timeout, Annika Albrecht served an ace and Kadie Rolfzen connected again for a 17-13 Husker lead. The Terrapins won four straight rallies, however, to tie it at 18-18, aided by two Husker attacking errors and a double-hit call. Kadie Rolfzen tacked on two more kills to put NU up 21-19, but the Terps came back and tied it 21-21. Fien hammered down an overpass for a 22-21 lead, but the Huskers’ seventh service error tied it 22-22 after a Maryland timeout. Pollmiller produced a key kill for a 23-22 lead before a Maryland hit into the net gave NU set point. Amber Rolfzen connected after a long rally to put the Huskers up 2-0 with a 25-22 victory.

The Huskers took control in set three early on, going up 5-2 on an Albrecht ace after a stuff by Kadie Rolfzen and Cecilia Hall. A Haggerty/Pollmiller block put the Huskers up 9-4, forcing a Maryland timeout. Four straight Maryland errors gave the Huskers an 19-10 advantage. After Maryland got within 22-16, Nebraska finished out the sweep with the final three points on kills by Pollmiller, Haggerty and Fien.

After completing a four-match road stretch with a 3-1 record, the Huskers now return home for four straight matches, beginning Wednesday, Nov. 5 against Purdue at 6:30 p.m. on BTN.

Nebraska’s Abdullah Leaves Game with Knee Injury

Posted on November 2, 2014

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Running back Ameer Abdullah left No. 17 Nebraska’s game against Purdue with a mild sprain and bruise to his left knee.

Abdullah was hurt as he recovered Tommy Armstrong Jr.’s fumbled snap at the Purdue 1-yard line on the Huskers’ second possession on Saturday. Abdullah returned two series later and lost 5 yards on his only carry.

Coach Bo Pelini said he was “optimistic” Abdullah would be able to play in the Cornhuskers’ Nov. 15 game at Wisconsin. The Huskers have an open date next week.

Abdullah has run for at least 200 yards in a nation-leading four games. He has 1,250 yards this season and is the only player in Nebraska history to rush for more than 1,000 yards in three straight years.