The Nebraska football team continued practice preparations for their January 2nd appearance in the Capital One Bowl in Orlando. The Huskers practiced indoors for two hours yesterday. Defensive line coach John Papuchis has been in the news lately as a potential, perhaps even likely, replacement for the departed Carl Pelini as the defensive coordinator for the Big Red. Speaking with the media yesterday, Papuchis deflected questions about the future of the team’s staff. Papuchis also said his focus is preparing his defense for the challenge of facing South Carolina’s fast, physical offense. The Huskers will practice again tomorrow before taking a break for Christmas.
Category: Sports
Storm Players Win Weekly Honors
Two Tri-City Storm players were given weekly honors by the United States Hockey League. Center Tim Bonner was named a co-recipient of the CCM Offensive Player of the Week, and goaltender Phoenix Copley was named the Reebok Goaltender of the Week. Bonner scored three goals and tallied two assists in two Storm victories last week. He shared the award with Youngstown’s Mike Ambrosia. Copley claimed his second Goaltender of the Week honor of the season by backstopping the Storm to both of their wins, turning aside 80 of 82 shots on the week. The Storm beat Sioux City at home last Tuesday and beat them again in Sioux City on Saturday. They’re on a three game winning streak heading into the league’s winter break and sit in seventh place in the USHL’s Western Conference.
Pelini Rumored To Be Looking At Iowa Assistant For Staff Vacancy
Husker head football coach Bo Pelini hasn’t yet named his new defensive coordinator, but a name has now been attached to the opening on the team’s coaching staff. Footballscoop.com reported over the weekend that Pelini has targeted Iowa defensive line coach Rich Kaczenski to fill the vacancy, while promoting current defensive line coach John Papuchis to the coordinator’s role. The 36 year-old Kaczenski has been on the Hawkeyes staff for the last seven seasons, five of them as the defensive line coach. He played his college ball at Notre Dame. He’s had a hand in tutoring All-Big Ten defensive lineman Adrian Clayborn and Mitch King while at Iowa. When Pelini addressed the media after practice on Friday, he said he’ll make an announcement on the future of his coaching staff “when the time is right.”
Woodhead TD Helps Patriots Expose Broncos
The Denver Broncos ran out of magic. Three turnovers dug too large a hole as the Broncos fell to the New England Patriots 41-23 in Denver yesterday. The Broncos fumbled three times in the second quarter, leading to 13 Patriots points and helping to turn a 16-7 lead into a 27-16 halftime deficit. North Platte’s Danny Woodhead scored on a 10-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter, part of a day that saw him gain 52 all-purpose yards. The Broncos did cut the Patriots lead to 11 points with eight and a half minutes left, but New England scored on their ensuing drive to put the game on ice. The Broncos drop to 8-6 on the season but remain alone in first place in the AFC West thanks to Oakland’s come-from-ahead home loss to Detroit. The Broncos travel to Buffalo to take on the Bills this Saturday.
Husker Women Move To 10-1 After Dominating Win Over Vermont
The 25th ranked Nebraska women’s basketball team cruised to a 94-41 victory over Vermont at the Devaney Center yesterday afternoon. Jordan Hooper posted her fourth double-double of the season, scoring 21 points and hauling in 14 rebounds to pace the Huskers past the overmatched Catamounts. The 14 rebounds is a new career-high for the sophomore forward. Hooper was joined in double figure scoring by four teammates. Freshmen Emily Cady and Rebecca Woodberry notched career-highs with 18 and 13 points, respectively. Lindsey Moore chipped in 14 points, and Kaitlyn Burke added 11 points. Nebraska shot 55 percent from the field and had 57 rebounds to Vermont’s 27. The Huskers move to 10-1 with the win. They finish non-conference play with a home game against South Dakota State on Wednesday.
Friday Night Prep Basketball Schedule (Bulldogs on ESPN Radio 1410)
Tonight on ESPN Radio 1410, it’s doubleheader action of North Platte Bulldog basketball. Last weekend was a rough one for the Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs, who both lost at Lincoln Southeast and at home against Millard West. Tonight they take the home floor to host McCook. The Bison and Lady Bison are both 3-1 to start their seasons. The Bulldog boys are 1-3 while the Lady Bulldogs are 2-2. Varsity action gets underway with the girls game at 6 PM, followed by the boys game at 7:45. ESPN Radio 1410’s coverage starts with pregame coverage at 5:45. In other local basketball action tonight, St. Pat’s hosts Valentine, Brady visits Hitchcock County, Gothenburg travels to take on Holdrege, Hershey heads to the Panhandle to battle Kimball, Sutherland hosts Hayes Center, and Maxwell welcomes Paxton.
Gothenburg Boys Move To 5-0; Lady Irish Beat Lady Swedes
The Gothenburg boys basketball team shocked St. Patrick’s 45-44 in Gothenburg last night. Logan Koehler’s three-point play with 4 seconds left lifted the Swedes to the final margin of victory. Koehler scored 16 points to lead Gothenburg in the win. Andrew Vinton’s 20 points led the Irish in defeat. The win is the Swedes’ fifth straight to start their season, matching their win total from all of last season. With the loss, the Irish boys fall to 2-2. In the girls contest, the seventh ranked Lady Irish cruised past the Lady Swedes 63-32. Mandy O’Malley scored 23 points, including five three pointers, for the Lady Irish. Jacey Wiggins’ 14 points were tops for the Lady Swedes. The Lady Irish improve to 3-1 on the year while Gothenburg’s girls drop to 1-4.
Injured Broncos Return To Practice
All hands appear to be on deck for the Denver Broncos two days away from what promises to be one of the most heavily hyped showdowns of the NFL regular season. Safeties Brian Dawkins and David Bruton and cornerback Andre Goodman returned to practice for the Broncos after sitting out Wednesday’s session. Bruton and Goodman are recovering from concussions, and Dawkins suffered a neck injury. The Broncos had all 53 players on their roster on the practice field yesterday as they continue to get ready to host the New England Patriots on Sunday. The Broncos put their six-game winning streak on the line against the second ranked offense in the league. You can hear the game Sunday afternoon on ESPN Radio 1410. Kickoff from Denver is set for 3:15.
The Dan Lucero Show’s Bowl Pick ‘Em Contest!
Hey folks, Dan Lucero here. I have a show, noon weekdays on ESPN Radio 1410. Perhaps you’ve heard it. Anyway, the college football season is coming to a close with 35 bowl games, some of which I didn’t even know existed. (The Belk Bowl? Really?) And since I know my audience loves college football and winning prizes, I decided to set up a College Bowl Pick ‘Em contest for all of you. It’s quite simple. Click this link right here. This takes you to ESPN.com’s College Bowl Mania page. From there, enter the following information as needed:
Group name: The Dan Lucero Show
Password: 1410espn
(You may have to register a username and password with ESPN.com if you don’t have one.)
Pick all 35 bowl games, and then rank them in terms of the confidence you have that you’ve picked the right winner. For example, if you’re the most confident that Nebraska will beat South Carolina in the Capital One Bowl, you would assign that game 35 points. But if you have no confidence in that pick at all, assign it one point.
Anyone can play – even I’m entered. The winner gets a little prize package – an ESPN T-shirt, some movie tickets, plus some other cool stuff we’re still digging up. And in the event that I end up being the winner – not terribly unlikely, I must say – we’ll give those prizes to the runner-up.
Make sure you enter before Saturday, December 17, when the first bowl game is played.
Good luck and happy bowling.
-Dan Lucero
ESPN Radio 1410, North Platte
Maxwell Wildcats Sports Update – December 15
The Maxwell basketball teams have started strong. Hear all the details right here.
