LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A former high school administrator in Papillion has been named executive director of the Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame Foundation.
Chuck Johnston succeeds Larry Munksgaard, who resigned last month to spend more time with his family.
Foundation board president Dick Beechner made the announcement Sunday at the organization’s hall-of-fame induction ceremony in Lincoln.
Ten former Nebraska high school athletes and four coaches were inducted into the hall of fame.
DENVER (AP) — Peyton Manning joined Brett Favre in the NFL’s most exclusive of clubs with his 500th touchdown pass Sunday when the Denver Broncos handed the Arizona Cardinals their first loss, 41-20.
Manning finished with four TD throws, moving him within five of Favre’s record 508.
Manning found tight end Julius Thomas twice in the end zone, including the touchstone touchdown, a 7-yard dart in the first quarter.
Yet, it was wide receiver Demaryius Thomas who had the biggest day for the Broncos (3-1) with eight catches for a team-record 226 yards and two TDs. That beat Shannon Sharpe’s mark of 214 yards set against Kansas City in 2002.
Arizona (3-1) lost for the first time and saw quarterback Drew Stanton leave with a possible concussion.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Colin Kaepernick threw for 201 yards and a touchdown, Frank Gore ran for 107 yards and the San Francisco 49ers converted a fake punt to beat the Kansas City Chiefs 22-17 on Sunday.
The 49ers (3-2) turned to a trick play on fourth-and-1 from their own 29 early in the fourth quarter, giving a direct snap to Craig Dahl for a 3-yard run up the middle. Kaepernick directed the offense down field, and Phil Dawson kicked a 27-yard field goal with 8:42 to play for the go-ahead score.
Dawson also connected from 55, 52, 35 and 30 yards.
The 49ers held off former franchise quarterback Alex Smith and the Chiefs (2-3) twice in the closing moments. Smith threw for 175 yards and two touchdowns, but Perrish Cox intercepted his overthrown pass to end any chance Kansas City had to rally.
DENVER (AP) — Peyton Manning has thrown his 500th career touchdown pass, joining Brett Favre as the only members of the exclusive club.
Manning threw a 7-yard dart to tight end Julius Thomas to give Denver a 7-3 lead over Arizona in the first quarter Sunday. Thomas has caught six of Manning’s nine TD throws this season.
Manning reached the mark in his 244th career regular season game, 49 fewer games than it took Favre.
It was Manning’s 101st TD pass since coming to Denver in 2012 following his tearful goodbye in Indianapolis, where he played his first 13 NFL seasons before sitting out all of 2011 following neck fusion surgery.
Manning figures to surpass Favre’s record of 508 TD throws later this month.
With a bye this week, Nebraska will have some extra time to ponder what could have been and what could be.
A fourth-quarter rally that came up short in a 27-22 loss at No. 8 Michigan State on Saturday night left coach Bo Pelini rejecting the notion of a moral victory and his players hankering for another crack at the Spartans in the Big Ten championship game Dec. 6.
“Definitely, if we take care of our business, I don’t see why we can’t get there,” cornerback Josh Mitchell said. “They’re a good team, so I see them getting there, too, so it would be a nice little rematch.”
The Cornhuskers (5-1, 1-1) play at resurgent Northwestern in two weeks, and there are big West Division road games at Wisconsin and Iowa in November. Michigan State (4-1, 1-0) has a manageable schedule until it hosts Ohio State on Nov. 8 in a game that could decide the East Division.
Meanwhile, the Huskers will address areas that were exposed by their toughest opponent to date.
The offensive line will get a long look after allowing five sacks and failing to create running room for Ameer Abdullah.
Left tackle Alex Lewis had a couple penalties, left guard Jake Cotton fell over backward in a failed attempt to avoid a false start, and center Mark Pelini twice snapped the ball before quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. was ready.
“It was pretty obvious,” Bo Pelini said of the line’s struggle. “It surprised me. We didn’t play well enough the whole game. We didn’t play well enough in the second half, either. Give Michigan State credit. They took it to us up front. It wasn’t blitzing or scheme. They outplayed us.”
Abdullah netted 45 yards on 24 carries, a 1.9-yard average, and the Huskers totaled only 47 yards on the ground. That was the fewest since Southern California held them to 31 rushing yards in 2007.
“I put the lack of running game on myself. I didn’t hit the creases where I needed to, and that’s on me,” said Abdullah, whose Heisman Trophy campaign was on its biggest stage of the season.
Nebraska converted 3 of 15 third downs, and Armstrong was 20 of 43 for 273 yards with two interceptions.
Still, the Huskers nearly pulled off what would have been their greatest comeback after entering the fourth quarter down 24 points.
Nebraska’s defense allowed 257 yards in the first half and 165 in the second, forcing five punts and three three-and-outs after half. Better than half the Spartans’ second-half yards came on one drive that resulted in a touchdown.
“Defensively, we played well enough to win this football game,” Bo Pelini said.
It was a five-point game after freshman Demornay Pierson-El went 62 yards for his second punt return for a touchdown this season. The Huskers got the ball back with 1:07 left and drove to the MSU 37 but couldn’t score the go-ahead touchdown before Marcus Rush intercepted Armstrong.
“We lost the football game. I don’t care whether it was by 30 or whatever it was,” Bo Pelini said. “I’m not into moral victories.”
Neither is Armstrong, who already is planning on another game against Michigan State when the stakes are higher.
“Honestly, it’s not the last time they’re going to see us, I can promise you that,” Armstrong said. “We plan on going 11-1 and making the Big Ten championship. We plan on seeing MSU again.”
East Lansing, Mich. – Despite outshooting Michigan State, 18-13, the Nebraska soccer team suffered its second loss of the weekend by a 3-1 margin on Sunday afternoon at DeMartin Soccer Complex.
Sophomore forward Jaycie Johnson notched her eighth goal of the season in the 83rd minute, as she scored off a penalty kick. The Lake Winnebago, Mo., native took two shots in the game, both of which were on goal.
Nebraska controlled on offense to start the game, taking 11 shots in the first half. Senior Mayme Conroy took five shots, four of which were on goal, while three of Caroline Gray’s six shots were on goal. Katie Kraeutner added three shots, two of which were on goal. Similar to the first half, NU outshot the Spartans in the second half, 7-4.
The Spartans opened their scoring in the 29th minute when Mary Kathryn Fiebernitz scored off a penalty kick. She assisted in Michigan State’s next goal, as Megan Marsack scored in the 36th minute. Michigan State added its third goal in the 60th minute, as Jamie Cheslik scored off an assist from Paige Wester.
Nebraska goalkeeper Kelly Schatz earned two saves for the game.
NU falls to 5-6-2 on the season and holds a 1-4-2 record in the Big Ten. The Huskers head to Minneapolis, Minn., next week for a Thursday night match against Minnesota at 7 p.m. (CT).
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi and Mississippi State are tied for third in The Associated Press college football poll after a wild day of unexpected results brought major changes to the Top 25.
Just about the only thing that didn’t change this week was No. 1: Florida State is still top-ranked, with 35 first-place votes.
Auburn, the only other team in the top six to win, moved up three spots to No. 2 and received 23 first-place votes. Then comes Ole Miss and Mississippi State, in the top five together for the first time after the Rebels beat Alabama and the Bulldogs beat Texas A&M on Saturday.
The Bulldogs received two first-place votes.
The Rebels haven’t been ranked this high since 1970, when they were also No. 3. The Bulldogs have their best ranking ever. Their previous best was No. 7 in 1981.
Baylor rounds out the top five and Notre Dame is No. 6.
The Top 25 teams in The Associated Press college football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Oct. 4, 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. Florida St. (35) | 5-0 | 1,461 | 1 |
| 2. Auburn (23) | 5-0 | 1,459 | 5 |
| 3. Mississippi | 5-0 | 1,320 | 11 |
| 3. Mississippi St. (2) | 5-0 | 1,320 | 12 |
| 5. Baylor | 5-0 | 1,258 | 7 |
| 6. Notre Dame | 5-0 | 1,186 | 9 |
| 7. Alabama | 4-1 | 1,060 | 3 |
| 8. Michigan St. | 4-1 | 981 | 10 |
| 9. TCU | 4-0 | 979 | 25 |
| 10. Arizona | 5-0 | 951 | NR |
| 11. Oklahoma | 4-1 | 904 | 4 |
| 12. Oregon | 4-1 | 888 | 2 |
| 13. Georgia | 4-1 | 854 | 13 |
| 14. Texas A&M | 5-1 | 731 | 6 |
| 15. Ohio St. | 4-1 | 534 | 20 |
| 16. Oklahoma St. | 4-1 | 527 | 21 |
| 17. Kansas St. | 4-1 | 486 | 23 |
| 18. UCLA | 4-1 | 460 | 8 |
| 19. East Carolina | 4-1 | 344 | 22 |
| 20. Arizona St. | 4-1 | 325 | NR |
| 21. Nebraska | 5-1 | 283 | 19 |
| 22. Georgia Tech | 5-0 | 235 | NR |
| 23. Missouri | 4-1 | 212 | 24 |
| 24. Utah | 4-1 | 206 | NR |
| 25. Stanford | 3-2 | 143 | 14 |
Others receiving votes: Clemson 92, Marshall 78, Southern Cal 61, Louisville 36, LSU 35, BYU 26, West Virginia 18, Arkansas 14, Wisconsin 7, California 6, Penn St. 5, Kentucky 4, Rutgers 4, N. Dakota St. 3, Minnesota 2, South Carolina 1, Virginia 1.
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Trae Waynes intercepted Tommy Armstrong’s pass with 30 seconds remaining, and No. 10 Michigan State held off a furious Nebraska rally, beating the No. 19 Cornhuskers 27-22 on Saturday night.
The Spartans (4-1, 1-0 Big Ten) led 27-3 heading into the fourth quarter before three Nebraska touchdowns set up a tense finish. A 43-yard pass to Alonzo Moore gave the Huskers the ball at the Michigan State 37 with just under a minute to play.
But on a day when several other top teams lost in wild upsets, Nebraska (5-1, 1-1) couldn’t finish this comeback. Armstrong’s pass to the end zone fell incomplete, and Waynes then came up with his second interception of the game.
DES MOINES, Ia. – Behind a 34-save night from goaltender Alec Dillon, the Tri-City Storm (2-1-0) held off the Des Moines Buccaneers (2-0-1) 2-1 in a shootout at Buccaneer Arena on Saturday night.
Nick Master got his first goal in a Tri-City sweater during the first period, while forward Chris Wilkie and defenseman Bobby Nardella both scored in the shootout to finish the win.
Master’s power play tally at 14:19 of the first period held up all the way until the final minutes, when the Buccaneers found an equalizer from forward Georgy Gorodetsky.
Storm forwards Garrett Gamez and Jake Wahlin notched assists on Master’s first of the year.
Des Moines outshot Tri-City 35-22 during the 65 minutes of play, including overtime.
Dillon’s counterpart, Ryland Pashovitz, stopped 21 shots in the loss for the Buccaneers.
In the skills competition, Des Moines forward Patrick Grasso scored on the team’s first attempt to put his team ahead 1-0. But Dillon stopped forwards Joe Widmar and Tanner Karty, while Wilkie and Nardella converted their chances.
Tri-City is back at the Viaero Event Center for a weekend series with the Chicago Steel on Oct. 10 and 11.
Notes: The Storm scratched forwards Nolan Aibel, Aleksi Ainali and Wade Allison. Defenseman Jalen Schulz was also scratched, serving a three-game suspension…
SCORING SUMMARY
1st Period
Tri-City – Nick Master (power play) (Garrett Gamez, Jake Wahlin) 14:19
2nd Period
(no scoring)
3rd Period
Des Moines – Georgy Gorodetsky (power play) (Tanner Karty, Corey Schueneman) 17:21
PENALTIES
1st Period
Des Moines – Miha Zajc – (Tripping), 2 min, 9:22
Tri-City – Mattias Goransson – (Boarding), 2 min, 11:34
Des Moines – Chandler Lindstrand – (Boarding), 2 min, 14:07
Tri-City – Chase Hatcher – (Holding), 2 min, 17:45
2nd Period
Tri-City – Tory Dello – (Slashing), 2 min, 5:30
3rd Period
Des Moines – Chris Allemon – (Head Contact), 2 min, 1:50
Tri-City – Kevin Kerr – (Cross Checking), 2 min, 9:15
Tri-City – Matthew Freytag – (Interference), 2 min, 16:11
Overtime
Des Moines – Brennan Sanford – (Head Contact), 2 min, 4:59
Power Play
Tri-City –1/4
Des Moines – 1/5
Shots
Tri-City: 10, 4, 5, 3 = Total: 23
Des Moines: 12, 9, 12, 2 = Total: 35
Saves
Tri-City – Alec Dillon – 34/35
Des Moines – Ryland Pashovitz – 21/22
Lincoln – Ohio State rallied from down 14-11 in the fifth set by scoring five points in a row to upset the No. 8 Nebraska volleyball team 3-2 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Saturday night.
The Huskers dropped to 9-4 overall and 3-1 in Big Ten play, while Ohio State moved to 11-5 and 2-2 in Big Ten action with its second straight win.
Kadie Rolfzen led Nebraska with 20 kills and added eight digs. Kelsey Fien had nine kills off the bench, while Cecilia Hall had eight kills and a season-high nine blocks. Mary Pollmiller had a season-high six kills with 40 assists and nine digs. Amber Rolfzen also had six kills and a season-best six blocks. Annika Albrecht and Justine Wong-Orantes led NU in digs with 18 apiece.
Ohio State had three players with 19 or more kills, led by Elizabeth Campbell’s 23, the most by a Husker opponent this season. Campbell also had a match-high 20 digs. Erin Sekinger added 20 kills, and Katie Mitchell had 19 kills. Taylor Sherwin had 59 assists and 19 digs, and Valeria Leon had 10 assists and 22 digs.
Nebraska hit just .197 on the night, while Ohio State hit .232. The Huskers made up for it with a season-high 18 blocks. Ohio State outdug NU 84-70 and had a 74-54 advantage in set assists.
The Huskers opened up a 12-7 lead in set one, keyed by two kills and two service aces from Kadie Rolfzen. But Ohio State responded with a 5-0 run to tie the set at 12-12. NU reclaimed a 13-12 lead on an Alicia Ostrander kill, and the teams traded points until Ohio State’s Mitchell killed off a block for a 17-16 Buckeye lead. But Pollmiller posted a kill, followed by two from Meghan Haggerty for a 19-17 Husker lead. Ohio State rallied with a 4-0 run to go up 21-19. Ostrander ended it with a swing from the left side, and then Ohio State committed a net violation and a back row block error to give NU a 22-21 lead. But the Buckeyes reeled off three straight points to earn set point at 24-22. Pollmiller snuck a dump kill and then Hall won a battle at the net to level the score again. Tied at 25-25, Albrecht’s kill gave NU set point and a double-stuff block from Kadie Rolfzen and Hall ended the set at 27-25.
The Huskers trailed 4-3 in set two before a 7-0 run put them up 10-4 with Wong-Orantes on the service line. Pollmiller won a tussle at the net to give the Huskers a 14-7 lead, but Ohio State closed the gap with an 8-2 run to get within 17-16. But the Huskers maintained the lead and Hall and Fien’s combined block gave the Huskers set point at 24-22. However, this time it was Ohio State that would rally from a 24-22 deficit to win 27-25, just as the Huskers had done in the first set. Taylor Sandbothe’s kill and a Sekinger/Sandbothe block tied it at 24-24. After Amber Rolfzen’s kill gave the Huskers set point again, Ohio State scored three straight to even the match, culminating with a kill by Mitchell.
The Huskers went up 2-1 in set three on a Kadie Rolfzen kill, and the teams went back-and-forth with the Huskers never able to gain more than a two-point edge early on. Ohio State reclaimed the lead at 18-17 on a kill by Campbell and again at 19-18 on a Sekinger kill, but the Huskers tied it immediately each time on kills by Hall and Kadie Rolfzen, respectively. Pollmiller’s timely dump kill restored a 20-19 Nebraska lead. Another successful attack by Pollmiller made it 22-21 Huskers before Ohio State hit long, giving NU a 23-21 lead. Haggerty’s first service ace of the season gave NU set point at 24-21. After Ohio State cut it to 24-23, the Buckeyes served wide, ending the set.
The Big Red fell behind 7-4 in set four and weren’t able to recover, as the Buckeyes extended the lead to 13-8 on a Sekinger kill and then 19-12 on a Husker attacking error. Ohio State took the 25-17 win, hitting .343 in the set, while the Huskers hit just .179.
In the decisive fifth set, Ohio State grabbed an early 4-0 lead. Fien’s kill finally got the Huskers on the scoreboard, and a block from Hall and Amber Rolfzen cut it to 4-2. Ohio State then hit wide twice, tying the set at 4-4. After an OSU timeout, Amber Rolfzen’s tip kill gave NU a 5-4 lead, but a two-hit call on Pollmiller tied it at 5-5. Kadie Rolfzen slammed one down and then softly touched one over Ohio State’s back row to make it 7-5. Haggerty and Kadie Rolfzen then stuffed Campbell to put NU up 8-5 at the midway point. Kadie Rolfzen hammered down again off a back-row set from Wong-Orantes to make it 9-6 and terminated again for her fourth kill of the set and a 10-6 lead. OSU cut the deficit to 10-9 with two kills by Sandbothe, but Haggerty hit just inside the line, making it 11-9. Later, Haggerty won a net battle for a 13-10 lead. NU grabbed set point at 14-11 but Ohio State answered with three straight to tie it at 14-14. A service ace by Mitchell gave OSU set point at 15-14 and the Buckeyes won the match on Sekinger’s 20th kill of the match.
The Huskers head to Michigan next week to face Michigan State on Friday at 7 p.m. and Michigan on Sunday at Noon.
