Sports – Page 685 – North Platte Post Archive

Statement from Tom Osborne, University of Nebraska Athletic Director Emeritus

Posted on September 18, 2013

“I was asked for comments concerning the recent incident involving Coach Pelini by members of the press and felt that it was inappropriate to respond until University officials had reviewed the situation.

“After the comments were made public on Monday, I informed the Chancellor and Director of Athletics that I had become aware of the tape involving Coach Pelini last fall, about a year after the Ohio State game in 2011 when the comments were recorded. After I had listened to the tape I visited with Coach Pelini about it and expressed my concerns. Bo had not heard the tape at that time. I visited with all my coaches regularly about their conduct and language throughout my tenure as Athletic Director.

“While the comments were certainly not good, I realized that Bo had gone through an emotional week and an emotional game and was in a setting where he thought his comments were entirely private. I visited with Bo on a weekly basis and did not find that his attitude toward the fans or the press as expressed by those comments were at all in keeping with what I knew his true attitude to be. He understands that the most important asset the Athletic Department has is the amazing fan support that we enjoy.

“Bo’s academic record with the football team has been the best in my recollection. The behavior of his players has been excellent for the most part, he has won three divisional championships and had one of the best win-loss records in college football for the past five years. I recognize that there have occasionally been controversies but I have seen a willingness to change, reflect and improve in Bo over the years. I am very hopeful that the players, coaches and fans will pull together as unity of purpose has been one of our major assets over the last 50 years.”

Statement from UNL Chancellor Perlman, Director of Athletics Eichorst

Posted on September 18, 2013September 18, 2013

Lincoln, Neb., Sept. 18, 2013 – University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chancellor Harvey Perlman and Director of Athletics Shawn Eichorst issued the following joint statement today:

“The comments made by Head Football Coach Bo Pelini in 2011, published Monday, are unfortunate and deeply concerning to us, as they would be to anyone who loves this university. Our coaches, staff and student-athletes must be held to a high standard and Coach Pelini’s remarks were unfair to the legions of Nebraska fans and not what we expect from a representative of this university. Former Director of Athletics Tom Osborne became aware of these comments and the existence of a recording more than a year ago, and addressed the matter with Coach Pelini. We have observed, and many others have commented, that Coach Pelini’s demeanor has significantly improved since the time of this incident. Coach Pelini has given us his assurance that he understands the seriousness and inappropriateness of his comments. We believe he is sincere in his apology and in his regret. We are prepared to put the matter to rest. Our football student-athletes, coaches and staff deserve all of our support and we know the Nebraska faithful will be there for them.”

Excitement Building for ‘2013 Railtown U.S.A. Collegiate Rodeo’

Posted on September 18, 2013

The excitement is building as the “2013 Railtown U.S.A. Collegiate Rodeo” presented by First National Bank draws near.

The rodeo will take place during Rail Fest, Sept. 20-21, at the Nebraskaland Days Wild West Arena in North Platte. It will begin at 7 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday nights. Between 250-300 college cowboys and cowgirls representing 13 colleges in the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association’s Great Plains Region are expected to compete.

“This is the first rodeo that Mid-Plains Community College has ever hosted and I’m expecting great things to be honest with you,” said MPCC Rodeo Club coach Dustin Elliott. “We’d like to show this region that we’re here.”

According to Elliott, Brookman & Hyland is the primary stock contractor for the rodeo.

“Brookman & Hyland are a PRCA (Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association) contractor and have provided stock to NFR (National Finals Rodeo) for years,” he said. “The horses and bulls we’re getting from them and from a few other subcontractors will help us put on a good show and offer quality stock to the competitors.”

Bullfighters Chad Connelly of Stapleton, Rowdy Moon of Sargent and Nick Tenbrick of Topeka, Kan., will be on hand to protect the cowboys and entertain the crowds. Professional Rodeo Announcer Jared Slagle of Farnam will bring an exciting and knowledgeable atmosphere to the arena.

“Rowdy was named the Nebraska State Rodeo Association’s (NSRA) 2013 Bullfighter of the Year and Jared was named the 2013 Announcer of the Year by both the NSRA and the Mid-States Rodeo Association, so we definitely have some top notch personnel on board,” noted Elliott.

General admission tickets for each night are $10 for adults and $7 for children. Tickets are available at the Nebraskaland Days office, 509 E. 4th St. in North Platte, or online at https://www.elevate.com/boxoffice/?cref=bd322850-b5ac-4bc3-b8cd-406ccad7fbac. They may also be purchased through the MPCC website at www.mpcc.edu.

AP Nebraska High School Football Rankings

Posted on September 18, 2013

Here are the Associated Press Nebraska high school football rankings in Classes A through D-2. Listings include name of school, season record, previous week’s ranking, previous opponent and result, and next opponent. (NR_Not ranked). The rankings are based on a formula that includes ratings from the Omaha World-Herald and Lincoln Journal Star plus experts for each class. Class A: Dale Miller, Grand Island Independent. Class B: Jeff Fielder, Scottsbluff Star-Herald. Class C1: Tom Behmer, Norfolk Daily News. Class C2: Brent Wasinius, Fremont Tribune. Class D1: Mark Obermeier, North Platte Telegraph. Class D2: Nick Blasnitz, Hastings Tribune.

CLASS A

1. Omaha Westside (3-0), 2, def. Grand Island 45-13, at Fremont.

2. Omaha North (3-0), 3, def. Omaha Bryan 55-7, Lincoln Southwest.

3. Creighton Preparatory School (2-1), 4, def. Millard North 21-13, Lincoln Southeast.

4. Lincoln Southeast (2-1), 5, def. Millard South 24-3, at Creighton Preparatory School.

5. Omaha Burke (2-1), 7, def. Millard West 23-21, at Lincoln Northeast.

6. Bellevue West (3-0), 6, def. Omaha Benson 47-22, at Papillion-La Vista South.

7. Millard West, (2-1), 1, lost to Omaha Burke 23-21, Millard South.

8. Omaha Central (1-2), NR, def. Papillion-La Vista South 20-14.

9. Lincoln Pius X (3-0), NR, def. Omaha Northwest 32-7, at Lincoln North Star.

10. Millard South (1-2), 8, lost to Lincoln Southeast 24-3, at Millard West.

Others receiving votes: Grand Island, Millard North, Norfolk, Papillion-La Vista, Papillion-La Vista South.

CLASS B

1. Gretna (3-0), 1, def. Norris 36-3, South Sioux City.

2. Aurora (3-0), 3, def. Seward 25-10, Sidney.

3. Elkhorn South (3-0), 6, def. Waverly 42-7, Omaha Roncalli Catholic.

4. Omaha Gross Catholic (2-1), 5, def. Schuyler 35-0, at Crete.

5. Omaha Skutt Catholic (2-1), 8, def. Elkhorn 23-7, at Mount Michael Benedictine.

6. Ralston (3-0), 7, def. Blair 26-7, at Nebraska City.

7. Elkhorn (2-1), 2, lost to Omaha Skutt Catholic 23-7, at Plattsmouth.

8. Crete (2-1), NR, def. Columbus 40-14, Omaha Gross Catholic.

9. Sidney (3-0), NR, def. Chase County 32-13, at Aurora.

10. Beatrice (2-1), NR, def. York 38-20, at Blair.

Others receiving votes: York.

CLASS C1

1. Boone Central/Newman Grove (3-0), 2, def. Norfolk Catholic. 28-22, bye.

2. Norfolk Catholic (2-1), 1, lost to Boone Central/Newman Grove 28-22, at Madison.

3. Wahoo (3-0), 3, def. Fort Calhoun 32-10, bye.

4. Lincoln Christian (3-0), 4, def. Arlington 32-26, bye.

5. Kearney Catholic (2-0) 5, def. St. Paul 46-0, at Ogallala.

6. Columbus Lakeview (2-1), 6, def. Sandy Creek 83-7, at Wayne.

7. Cozad (2-0), 7, def. Mitchell 53-7, Broken Bow.

8. Pierce (2-1), 8, def. Boys Town 48-12, at Logan View.

9. Adams Central (1-1), 9, def. Wilber-Clatonia 17-0, Fairbury.

10. Wayne (2-1), 10, lost to South Sioux City 15-14, Columbus Lakeview.

Others receiving votes: Ashland-Greenwood, Columbus Scotus, Syracuse.

CLASS C2

1. Doniphan-Trumbull (2-0), 2, def. Blue Hill 34-12, Wood River.

2. Sutton (3-0), 3, def. Centura 32-8, at Malcolm.

3. Lutheran High Northeast (2-0), 4, def. Wisner-Pilger 41-8, Laurel-Concord-Coleridge.

4. Archbishop Bergan (1-1), NR, def. Aquinas Catholic 20-14, Weeping Water.

5. Crofton (2-0), 5, def. Ponca 33-22, at Stanton.

6. Aquinas Catholic (1-1), 1, lost to Archbishop Bergan 20-14, Elmwood-Murdock.

7. North Platte St. Patrick’s (3-0), 6, def. Bayard 31-0, Ravenna.

8. Hartington Cedar Catholic (2-0), 7, def. Laurel-Concord-Coleridge 34-0, at Ponca.

9. Hastings St. Cecilia (2-0), 8, def. Ravenna 28-6, at Blue Hill.

10. West Holt (2-0), 9, def. Twin River 48-6, Wakefield.

Others receiving votes: Battle Creek, Elmwood-Murdock.

CLASS D1

1. Exeter-Milligan (2-0), 1, def. Cross County 66-0, at Shelby-Rising City.

2. Howells-Dodge (2-0), 2, def. Randolph 32-6, at High Plains Community.

3. Guardian Angels Central Catholic (2-0), 3, def. Neligh-Oakdale 64-18, at Cross County.

4. Creighton (2-0), 4, def. Emerson-Hubbard 66-0, at Pender.

5. High Plains Community (3-0), 5, def. Friend 56-24, Howells-Dodge.

6. Arapahoe (3-0), 7, def. Red Cloud 66-20, Sutherland.

7. Bruning-Davenport/Shickley (3-0), 9, def. Pawnee City 34-12, bye.

8. Elm Creek (2-0), 8, def. Maxwell 41-13, at South Loup.

9. Freeman (2-0), 10, def. East Butler 58-30, at Omaha Christian Academy.

10. Overton (3-0), NR, def. South Loup 50-6, bye.

Others receiving votes: Lourdes Central Catholic, Randolph.

CLASS D2

1. Falls City Sacred Heart (2-0), 1, def. St. Joseph (Mo.) Christian 60-6, at Axtell (Kan).

2. Fullerton (2-0), 2, bye, Shelton.

3. Wynot (2-0), 3, def. Hartington 50-8, at Bancroft-Rosalie.

4. Shelton (2-0), 4, def. Harvard 40-2, at Fullerton.

5. Giltner (1-1), 5, def. Hampton 50-6, at Kenesaw.

6. Bancroft-Rosalie (3-0), 6, def. Wausa 48-46, Wynot.

7. Sterling (1-1), 7, bye, at Parkview Christian.

8. Humphrey St. Francis (2-1), 8, def. Spalding/Spalding Academy 50-8, Cedar Valley.

9. Lyons-Decatur Northeast (3-0), 9, def. Winside 58-28, Osmond.

10. Parkview Christian (3-0), 10, def. Lewiston 24-22, Sterling.

Others receiving votes: Elwood, Kenesaw, Wallace.

North Platte Community College Lady Knights Volleyball to Host 38th Annual High School Volleyball Tournament

Posted on September 17, 2013

The North Platte Community Lady Knights Volleyball team will host the 38^th Annual High School Volleyball Tournament this Saturday, September 21. The teams participating are Paxton, Saint Patrick, SMC, Hershey, Eustis-Farnam, Maxwell and Sutherland.

Games will start at 10 a.m. in McDonald-Belton Gymnasium. First two rounds of games will start on time. All other games will start approximately 20 minutes after prior contest ends. No passes will be honored for the games. Games are as follows:

TIME	EAST COURT		WEST COURT
10:00 a.m.	St. Pat’s	Eustis-Farnam	Hershey	Sutherland
11:15 a.m.	Paxton	Maxwell
(12:30)	St. Pat’s	SMC	Eustis-Farnam	Hershey
(1:45)			Sutherland	Paxton
(3:00)	Maxwell	St. Pat’s	Eustis-Farnam	SMC
(4:15)	Hershey	Paxton	Sutherland	Maxwell

No. 11 NPCC Lady Knights Defeat Eastern Wyoming College

Posted on September 17, 2013

The North Platte Community College Lady Knights (11-4) volleyball team defeated the Eastern Wyoming College Lady Lancers on Tuesday night in four sets (25-11, 25-17, 17-25, 25-18).

In the opening set of the match, the Lady Knights came out strong and raced out to a 10-4 lead to force the Lady Lancers to take a timeout. The Lady Knights continued their strong play and increased their lead to 17-7 to force a second Lady Lancers timeout. The timeout didn’t have much effect as the Lady Knights scored the next five points before capturing a 25-11 first set win.

The second set was more of the same as the Lady Knights held on to the momentum as they cruised to a 25-17 victory. The third set saw the Lady Lancers battle back and not go quietly as they won the set 25-17 to wrest momentum from the Lady Knights.

The fourth set was back and forth as neither team could gain a commanding lead until late in the set as the Lady Knights finished the set and the match with a 25-18 set victory.

“I thought we played well,” said freshman Samantha Kennedy. “I thought we recovered well after the third set to win the fourth.”

The Lady Knights were lead in the match by Kennedy who recorded 14 kills. Joli Hopping paced the Knights with 18 assists and four “ace” serves. Laura Beckman chipped in 14 assists. Shannon Liewer led the Lady Knights with 13 digs with Samantha Byrn not far behind with 10 digs and 4 “ace” serves. Sandrina Hallahan led the Lady Knights with four blocks.

“We played very aggressive in the first and second set,” said head coach Sally Thalken. “Eastern Wyoming plays with a lot of pride and caught us on our heels in the third set. They blocked some balls and gave themselves some momentum which we struggled to recover from in the fourth.”

The Lady Knights host the No. 7 Central Community College Lady Raiders at McDonald-Belton Gymnasium at 6 p.m on Thursday. The Lady Raiders are a Region IX Division II opponent as well as a fellow Nebraska Community College Athletic Association (NCCAC) member. Last year the Lady Raiders defeated the Lady Knights in five sets to win the Region IX Division II Tournament. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN Radio 1410 and can also be listened to online by clicking here.

The Lady Knights take the weekend off before hosting Hastings College JV next Tuesday, Sept. 24 at 7 p.m. The Lady Knights then travel to Region IX Division II and NCCAC foe Southeast Community College on Thursday, Sept. 26. for a game at 4 p.m.

Huskers Focused on QB Position, Jackrabbits

Posted on September 17, 2013September 17, 2013

Lincoln, Neb. – The Nebraska football team continued its week of preparation for Saturday’s nonconference game with South Dakota State Tuesday afternoon. The team practiced in full pads for just over two hours inside the Hawks Center and outside at the Ed and Joyanne Gass Practice Fields.

Head Coach Bo Pelini addressed the media after practice, beginning with how he thinks his team has handled some of the distractions of the past week.

“The last 48 hours haven’t affected our team at all,” Pelini said. “I thought we had a great session yesterday. We got a lot of things accomplished and had a good meeting. We talked through a lot of things, and I saw those effects today. They came out and had a great practice. They were focused, and I think their mindset is the right way right now.”

Coach Pelini then addressed the issue of quarterback, specifically the health status of senior starter Taylor Martinez.

“Taylor (Martinez) did not practice today,” Pelini said. “He was in a boot, and he has some turf toe that’s bothering him. We’re going to keep him in a boot for a couple days, at least yesterday and today, and see how it goes.”

Since starting his first game as a true freshman in 2010, Martinez has started 42 of Nebraska’s 44 games at quarterback, including 32 straight contests. The last game that another quarterback started under center for the Huskers was the 2010 matchup with Colorado. However, Pelini has to have a backup plan in case Martinez is sidelined, and he mentioned it on Tuesday afternoon.

“Ron (Kellogg III) and Tommy (Armstrong Jr.) split the reps today,” Pelini said. “Who can execute the offense, lead it and execute the game plan will determine who would start if Taylor can’t go. We don’t have to change the game plan much between those two guys. We limited things a little bit, but I feel that those guys can both handle the full game and what we’re trying to do.”

Kellogg III, a fifth-year senior, has seen action in five career games, including the win over Southern Miss on Sept. 7. In that game, Kellogg completed four of five passes for 24 yards and rushed once for nine yards.

On Tuesday, Pelini noted the confidence he has in his veteran quarterback.

“Ron is obviously an experienced guy with a tremendous amount of confidence who can really throw it around,” Pelini said. “Ron’s a smart football player that we can also use in the run game some.”

Nebraska’s other option at quarterback is redshirt freshman Tommy Armstrong Jr., who also saw action against Southern Mississippi in week two. Armstrong gained 23 yards on four rushing attempts in his Husker debut.

Although he is known for his ability to make plays with his legs, Armstrong was praised by Coach Pelini on Tuesdayfor his intangibles and passing game.

“Tommy’s a real dual-threat guy and a great leader, I feel,” Pelini said. “He has a great command presence about him, and he can do a lot of different things. Obviously, he’s a big strong guy who can run, but he’s a very capable thrower and I like what he brings to the table for us.”

Nebraska will hit the practice field again on Wednesday as the team moves closer to its fourth game of the season. NU will face the South Dakota State Jackrabbits on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast regionally on BTN and available online at BTN2Go.com. Check back here at Huskers.com for updates.

Huskers’ Martinez Misses Practice with a Turf Toe

Posted on September 17, 2013September 17, 2013

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez missed practice Tuesday, putting his availability for Saturday’s game against South Dakota State in question.

Coach Bo Pelini said Martinez was wearing a walking boot on his left foot the last two days because of turf toe.

Senior Ron Kellogg III or redshirt freshman Tommy Armstrong Jr. would start against the Jackrabbits if Martinez can’t play.

Pelini said Martinez will play if he’s healthy but “we’re going to make sure he’s 100 percent and feeling good.”

Broncos become Top Team in AP Pro32 Poll

Posted on September 17, 2013September 17, 2013

Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos dismantled the defending Super Bowl champion Ravens in the season opener.

Then they delivered a convincing victory on the road against the quarterback’s younger brother and the rest of the Giants.

The Broncos held off the Seattle Seahawks for the top spot in this week’s AP Pro32 power rankings, released Tuesday. The Broncos had eight first-place votes from the panel in the latest poll, moving up one slot.

After their commanding win over San Francisco, the Seahawks swooped in to take the other four first-place votes and settle in at No. 2. The 49ers, after tallying seven first-place votes last week, fell two spots to third.

Seattle, which was fifth last week, beat the 49ers 29-3.

Texas Football Player, 12, Dies after Ant Bites

Posted on September 17, 2013September 17, 2013

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) — A 12-year-old Texas boy has died after apparently suffering a severe allergic reaction to ant bites while warming up for the second half of a middle school football game.

Officials confirmed Tuesday that Cameron Espinosa died days after being bitten multiple times by fire ants. Corpus Christi school district spokeswoman Lorette Williams says the boy used a water bottle to try and remove the ants, but he eventually fell unconscious last Wednesday. He was taken to a hospital and was hospitalized in critical condition. The eighth-grader died Monday.

The game resumed after Cameron was transported to the hospital, but it was later halted when the severity of his condition became apparent.

Williams says the boy didn’t know he was allergic to ants. The district had no record of allergies.