Category: Saturday Sports Slam

Hines leads Duquesne to 31-10 win in FCS playoffs

Hines leads Duquesne to 31-10 win in FCS playoffs
TOWSON, Md. (AP) — A.J. Hines turned a screen pass into a 71-yard touchdown for the lead, rushed for 175 yards and another score and Duquesne defeated Towson 31-10 in a relentless downpour on Saturday to advance to the second round of the FCS playoffs.
The Dukes (9-3), who lost to William & Mary in 2015 in their only other FCS playoff appearance, will travel again next Saturday, taking on No. 5 seed South Dakota State (8-2).
In the first two quarters, Duquesne managed only a Mitch Maczura 32-yard field goal to end the second half, trailing 10-3.
But Daquan Worley scored up the middle on a 48-yard run early in the third quarter to tie the game before Hines took Daniel Parr’s pass to the end zone. Parr capped a 10-play drive with a 3-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter before Hines went in from 3 yards out for the final points.
The Tigers, making their first playoff appearance since 2013 and third overall, scored on Tom Flacco’s 34-yard pass to Jabari Allen in the first quarter and Aidan O’Neill’s field goal in the second quarter.
The passing games suffered in the harsh conditions with Flacco completing only 10 of 33 passes for 127 yards with Parr 6 of 19 for 144. Duquesne outrushed the Tigers 282-230.

Miami tops No. 24 Pitt 24-3

Miami wins regular-season finale, tops No. 24 Pitt 24-3
By TIM REYNOLDS, AP Sports Writer
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — The biggest contribution that a Miami player made on the Hurricanes’ regular-season finale against Pittsburgh apparently came a night before kickoff, when Jaquan Johnson addressed his teammates.
He likened adversity to quicksand, and talked about how to escape.
“It really hit us hard, in the heart,” running back Travis Homer said.
Homer was apparently listening, as were plenty of other Hurricanes. Homer needed only eight carries to rush for 168 yards, DeeJay Dallas ran back a punt for one of his two scores and Miami knocked off No. 24 Pittsburgh 24-3 on Saturday.
“I think our guys rose to the occasion,” Miami coach Mark Richt said. “It was very obvious that it was a dominating defensive performance, and I thought it was a dominating special-teams performance as well.”
The Hurricanes (7-5, 4-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) yielded only 200 yards, held Pitt to a 1-for-15 effort on third-down conversion tries and forced 12 punts in a game where they yielded only 11 first downs. Miami also had six sacks and 14 tackles for loss.
“We’re 7-5,” cornerback Michael Jackson Sr. said, “but we’re not a 7-5 defense.”
Dallas also had a rushing touchdown for the Hurricanes, saying afterward he’s gotten valuable help in recent days from a sports psychologist. And Homer is up to 969 yards this season, and would have a chance to become the 10th runner in Miami history with a 1,000-yard season if he gets 31 in the bowl game. His career rushing total is now 1,979 yards, which moved him four yards past Frank Gore for 12th on the Hurricanes’ list.
“Travis was the spark tonight,” Dallas said.
Kenny Pickett completed 14 of 22 passes for 130 yards for Pitt (7-5, 6-2), which had already locked up the ACC’s Coastal Division and a berth in next weekend’s conference title game against Clemson. It was a reversal of last season, when Miami had the Coastal clinched and lost to Pitt in the regular-season finale for both clubs.
“That’s the most talented defense we’ve faced by far,” Pickett said.
Homer’s 64-yard touchdown in the third quarter put Miami up 17-3, and matched the longest scoring run of his Miami career. It also continued his knack for breaking big plays for scores; he has 12 rushing TDs for the Hurricanes, the average length of them being 27 yards.
Dallas scored on a 65-yard punt return in the second quarter, giving Miami one of those for the second straight week. The one last week came from Jeff Thomas, who left the Hurricanes on Wednesday — team officials said he was dismissed, while Thomas claimed that his departure was by mutual decision.
Either way, it didn’t derail Miami on its Senior Day, even with the passing game struggling again. N’Kosi Perry completed only six of 24 passes for 52 yards, though was hurt by no fewer than seven dropped passes. It was the lowest passing total Miami posted in an ACC game, four yards shy of the 56 the Hurricanes managed against Georgia Tech in 2007.
Alex Kessman’s 40-yard field goal for Pitt late in the third quarter allowed the Panthers to avoid the shutout. This was the first ACC season since 2009 that there were no shutouts in conference games.
“Ran into a buzzsaw today,” Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said.
THE TAKEAWAY
Pittsburgh: The Panthers had won four straight before Saturday, averaging 40.8 points in those games. It was Pitt’s lowest point total since 2010 — a 31-3 loss to Miami.
Miami: The Hurricanes’ bowl game gives Richt a chance at winning at least eight games for the 17th time in his 18 seasons as a head coach. Miami still has not had a one-game streak of anything under Richt, whose Hurricane tenure has gone thusly — four wins, then four losses, then 15 wins, then four losses, then five wins, then four losses and, now, two wins.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
The Panthers will almost certainly fall out of the AP Top 25 after one week. The last time Pitt lasted more than two consecutive weeks in the poll was 2009. This current appearance was only the fifth for Pitt in the last 142 editions of the AP Top 25.
WILD COASTAL
The Coastal this year featured Pitt losing to North Carolina, North Carolina going 0-7 in all other ACC games, Miami rolling past Virginia Tech, Virginia Tech beating Virginia and Virginia beating Miami. In other words, the Coastal made minimal sense.
UP NEXT
Pittsburgh: Faces Clemson in ACC title game at Charlotte, North Carolina on Dec. 1.
Miami: Awaits bowl-destination announcement on Dec. 2.
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For more AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

McSorley helps No. 15 Penn State rout Maryland 38-3

McSorley helps No. 15 Penn State rout Maryland 38-3
By TRAVIS JOHNSON, The Associated Press
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Just before he ran out of the Beaver Stadium tunnel for the last time, Trace McSorley gathered his teammates and made a promise he probably didn’t have to make.
“I just said, ‘I promise you guys that I’m going to leave everything out there today,'” McSorley said following No. 15 Penn State’s 38-3 victory over Maryland on Saturday.
But they’ve already come to expect that from No. 9 — the program’s winningest quarterback.
McSorley completed 12 of 22 passes for 230 yards and had a hand in three touchdowns to power No. 15 Penn State (9-3, 6-3 Big Ten, No. 12 CFP) to its third straight win and help its chances at playing in a New Year’s Six bowl game.
The senior dual-threat added 64 rushing yards on 11 carries for the Nittany Lions and made good on his promise by doing literally everything he could to ensure a win.
He threw a 34-yard bullet through freezing rain to KJ Hamler on the game’s first play, sprinted downfield to throw a block that opened Miles Sanders up for a 35-yard run on the next, then skipped into the end zone from 3 yards out to cap the quick opening drive.
McSorley added another touchdown run two possessions later when he scrambled through a pair of defenders up the middle for 20 yards and a 14-3 lead. Later, his teammates jumped up and down on the sideline when the shifty running opted to bowl over Maryland safety Jordan Mosley, rather than juke around him in the open field, to pick up 17 on 3rd-and-15.
“With Trace, it’s not the sexy quote that you guys are looking for, but It’s consistency,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. “You love Trace as what you want in all your players because he’s the same guy every day. The guy hasn’t had a bad day in five years.”
Ricky Slade added 8- and 1-yard touchdown runs and tight end Pat Freiermuth caught a 5-yard touchdown pass from McSorley in the fourth quarter.
Sanders finished with 128 yards on 14 carries, Hamler caught three passes for 90 yards and Jake Pinegar added a 25-yard field goal for the Nittany Lions who won their third straight.
Tyrrell Pigrome completed 14 of 23 passes for 185 yards but was sacked five times for the Terrapins (5-7, 3-6). They will miss out on a bowl trip for the third time since joining the Big Ten.
Maryland kicker Joseph Petrino made a 26-yard field goal to break the shutout.
“We obviously left some plays out on the field today,” Maryland interim coach Matt Canada said. “I’m disappointed in that for our players. It’s hard to see that happen when you know how bad they wanted it.”
SHUTDOWN D
Since it was shredded by No. 4 Michigan on Nov. 3, Penn State’s defense has played near-flawless football.
The Nittany Lions notched five sacks and 15 tackles for loss on the afternoon. They finished the season with 33 stops behind the line of scrimmage over the final three weeks. Controlling the edges was a focus against the Terps who racked up 353 and 339 rushing yards in each of their last two games.
But Maryland speedster Anthony McFarland was held in check all afternoon. He finished with just 12 yards on six carries while Javon Leake led the Terps with 34 rushing yards on 11 touches.
“Guys wanted to have no regrets,” Penn State safety Nick Scott said. “Finishing it off the right way was something that was huge for us.”
THE TAKEAWAY
Maryland: A year that began with the death of offensive lineman Jordan McNair following a team workout in the spring ends on a 4-game losing streak for the Terrapins who’ll miss out on a bowl game for a second straight season. The program will have to make a call on Canada, but Maryland has a nice class of freshman to give whoever takes over a young core to build around.
Penn State: The Nittany Lions spent much of this season trying to iron wrinkles out on offense with a new coordinator and a few fresh skill players. Their defense, meanwhile, spent the last three weeks of the season blossoming. After giving up 42 points to No. 4 Michigan in Ann Arbor on Nov. 3, Penn State allowed just 10, seven and three over its last three games. Much of that success can be traced to a front seven that helped produce 43 sacks on the season.
UP NEXT:
Maryland: Season over.
Penn State: Await bowl destination.
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More AP college football: https://apnews.com/tag/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

Steel Valley Wins 2A Title, Ends South Side’s Season

Much like their species counterpart in Rochester, the Rams of South Side Beaver suffered a repeat occurrence at the worst time.

Much like in Week 9, the Rams could not stop the Ironmen from Munhall, as Steel Valley wins their second 2A football title in three years, defeating South Side 48-6 at Joe Walton Stadium on the campus of Robert Morris University. This is the Rams’ second defeat to Steel Valley, having lost 53-6 at the end of the regular season.

Steel Valley improves to 12-1 and advance to the PIAA semifinals. South Side Beaver’s season ends at 10-4.

Phil McCargo: From Beaver County Hardwood To International Hoops Success

He started out playing on Rec League teams at South Elementary School in Beaver Falls. Now he’s played basketball professionally in over a dozen countries.

Beaver Falls native Phil McCargo came on the Saturday Sports Slam on November 24, 2018 to talk about his rise from being a bench player on a pair of local high school teams to becoming one of the better players in the junior college game, and how he has taken that hard work (and hard lessons) with him to the playing of international basketball, and the development of younger players worldwide.

If you missed the interview or would like to hear it again, click on the players below!

Part 1

Part 2

Bruins beat Penguins 2-1 in OT

Nordstrom scores in OT, Bruins beat Penguins 2-1
By DOUG ALDEN, Associated Press
BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Bruins were able to celebrate after overtime for just the second time this season.
Joakim Nordstrom tipped in a pass from Torey Krug 1:57 into overtime and the Bruins beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 on Friday night.
Jake DeBrusk also scored and Jaroslav Halak made 36 saves for the Bruins, who were coming off an overtime loss in Detroit on Wednesday and went to OT for the third time in four games.
“We talked about it. We gave up some points in OT,” Halak said. “Going into OT tonight, we played hard and we played the right way.”
Evgeni Malkin scored the only goal for Pittsburgh, which was trying to win back-to-back games for the first time in nearly a month.
Tristan Jarry had 35 saves for the Penguins, getting his first start of the season one day after being recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL after the Penguins placed Matt Murray on injured reserve Thursday.
Jarry played well, but had no chance on the game-winner when Nordstrom tipped a pass from Krug into the net to end it.
“I didn’t have to do much more than keep my stick on the ice,” Nordstrom said.
David Pastrnak also had an assist on the overtime goal, getting to a loose puck after the Penguins got caught on an extended shift in the OT and feeding Krug with a cross-ice pass.
“We’ve given ourselves chances and lost a few games,” Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby said. “I felt like we could’ve come out of there we two points.
The Penguins lost in OT for the second time in three games and were more upset about the points they squandered than the points they picked up in three straight.
“I don’t really look at it. We’re looking for wins. We have higher expectations,” coach Mike Sullivan said.
Malkin put the Penguins up 1-0 on a power-play goal 6:09 into the second as Boston’s David Krejci sat out a tripping minor. Kris Letang and Phil Kessel assisted on the goal for Malkin, who has a point in six straight games.
DeBrusk tied it for Boston on a slap shot with 6:20 left in the second on a give-and-go with David Krejci. Kevan Miller also assisted.
The Bruins thought they had another goal with 2:35 left in the second, when David Backes raised his arms after trying to squeeze the puck between Jarry and the post, but the referee signaled no-goal. The call was upheld after a lengthy review, drawing the ire of Boston fans who booed the officials a second time when they skated out for the third period.
Pittsburgh got a late power play when Pastrnak was called for delay of game with 9:19 left in the third after flipping the puck over the glass in the Boston zone. Halak gloved a backhand by Crosby with 8:37 on Pittsburgh’s best chance before Pastrnak returned.
“There could have been easily five goals against us. Jaro was huge,” DeBrusk said.
NOTES: Kessel has a point in seven straight games. . Friday was the Penguins’ only visit to Boston this season. . The Bruins were without captain D Zdeno Chara (lower body) and alternate captain C Patrice Bergeron (rib). . The Penguins placed Murray on injured reserve Thursday with a lower-body injury. . The Penguins, who beat Dallas 5-1 on Wednesday, last won consecutive games during a four-game winning streak Oct. 18-27.
UP NEXT:
Penguins: Host Columbus on Saturday night.
Bruins: Visit the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night.
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More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/tag/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Crosby scores in return, Penguins pound Stars 5-1

Crosby scores in return, Penguins pound Stars 5-1
By WILL GRAVES, AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Sidney Crosby’s been around long enough to realize the issues currently plaguing the Pittsburgh Penguins can’t be solved in one shift, one period or even one game.
That sure didn’t stop the Pittsburgh captain from trying. Crosby scored a spectacular goal and set up two others during a 5-1 victory over Dallas on Wednesday night in his return to the lineup after missing three games with an upper-body injury.
“I think our team gets a foot taller when he’s in our lineup because of the inspiration that he is for our group,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said.
For a night, it looked like it.
The Penguins began the day at the bottom of the Eastern Conference thanks to a 1-7-2 slide, unfamiliar territory for a team less than 18 months removed from back to back championships. The defense has been shaky at best and the goaltending not much better. Sullivan preached patience and on Tuesday stressed the team had no plans to abandon the frenetic style of play that has become its trademark during his hugely successful three-year tenure.
It’s a style that hardly looks out of place when Crosby’s familiar No. 87 is on the ice.
Desperately needing a spark two days removed from a nightmarish loss to Buffalo in which the Penguins gave away a three-goal lead over the final 30 minutes, Crosby provided one. He set up Jake Guentzel for a goal less than 4 minutes into the game and provided a highlight-reel marker later in the opening period when he raced down the right side, held off Dallas defenseman Esa Lindell and flicked a rebound past Anton Khudobin to give Pittsburgh a 3-0 advantage just 10:04 into the game.
“I had some room to take it to the net,” Crosby said. “Sometimes they go in. Sometimes you get a save sometimes you draw a penalty. It was good to see it go in.”
Evgeni Malkin, Patric Hornqvist and Tanner Pearson also scored for the Penguins. Creating offense, however, is rarely an issue for Pittsburgh. The biggest development against Dallas may have been the play in front of Casey DeSmith. Pittsburgh surrendered three shots in the first period, a season-low 19 in all and didn’t get sloppy after staking him to a massive lead. DeSmith finished with 18 saves, his shutout attempt ending 7:55 into the third period when Mattias Janmark scored.
It was the lone highlight for the Stars. Khudobin, starting in place of injured Ben Bishop, stopped just 11 of 16 shots and was removed when Pearson beat him with a slap shot on a breakaway to make it 5-0. Rookie Landon Bow played well in his NHL debut, stopping all 14 shots he faced.
“Pretty embarrassing tonight,” Dallas forward Jamie Benn said. “I think we let our goalie down, and we let each other down. Tough night.”
It tends to happen when Crosby is at the top of his game. He slid a backhand pass across the ice to Guentzel for a one-timer that slipped between Khudobin’s pads to give the Penguins the lead 3:58 into the first period. Malkin’s wrist shot on the power play just over 2 minutes later doubled Pittsburgh’s advantage, the Russian star flexing as the red goal light came on.
Crosby’s ninth of the season wrapped a frantic three-goal first-period outburst by Pittsburgh against a team that had allowed just 10 goals in the first period all season.
“I don’t think I prepared our team well enough,” Dallas coach Jim Montgomery said. “We weren’t ready to dig in. We weren’t ready to win faceoffs. Ultimately that preparation falls on the head coach.”
It would get no better for Dallas in the second. DeSmith denied Tyler Seguin on a breakaway and moments later Hornqvist flipped in a rebound to push it to 4-0. The sequence repeated itself when DeSmith got a pad on a shot by Janmark, leading to a breakout that ended with Pearson — acquired in a trade with Los Angeles last week — ripping a slap shot for his second goal in as many games.
“It’s a heck of a shot, the goal he scores tonight,” Sullivan said. “My hope is he’s going to gain a whole lot of confidence from scoring a couple games in a row. That was our hope when we acquired him, that he could help us in that area.”
NOTES: The Penguins went 1 for 3 on the power play. The Stars were 0 for 2 with the man advantage. … Dallas scratched Bishop (lower-body injury), D Julius Honka and F Gemel Smith. … Pittsburgh scratched D Chad Ruhwedel and F Daniel Sprong. … Pittsburgh is 6-0-1 against the Western Conference.

Josh Getzoff has the recap on the Penguins Radio Network . Press the play button below…

UP NEXT
Stars: Host Ottawa on Friday night.
Penguins: Visit Boston on Friday night.
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More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Duquesne is NEC champion

Crawford pulls in winning TD pass, Duquesne is NEC champion
NEW BRITAIN, Conn. (AP) — Nehari Crawford pulled in a pass over the middle from Daniel Parr and took it 56 yards for the winning touchdown with less than a half-minute to play Saturday and Duquesne defeated Central Connecticut 38-31 to win its fifth Northeast Conference title and earn the automatic bid to the NCAA FCS playoffs.
The catch on the winning TD gave Crawford 10 receptions on the day for 124 yards and placed him as the all-time leader in career catches for the Dukes (8-3, 5-1).
CCSU (6-5, 4-2) knotted the score at 31 with 5:35 to play when Jacob Dolegala, who had already passed for three touchdowns, ran it in from the 5.
Parr completed 23 of 33 passes for 277 yards and two TDs, while A.J. Hines carried the ball 31 times for 125 yards and two touchdowns
Dolegala passed for 219 yards and three touchdowns for the Blue Devils. He connected with Tyshaun James for two scores and tossed one to Aaron Dawson.

Robert Morris beat Mississippi Valley State 68-59

Petteway, Robert Morris beat Mississippi Valley State 68-59
MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. (AP) — Malik Petteway scored a career-high 26 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to help Robert Morris beat Mississippi Valley State 68-59 on Saturday night.
Petteway, who made his first start of the season, shot 10 of 11 from the field and 6 of 6 from the free-throw line. Josh Williams added 13 points, including four 3-pointers, and Koby Thomas had 10 points for Robert Morris (2-2).
Williams hit a 3-pointer that sparked a 20-5 run over a nearly six-minute span that gave Robert Morris a 23-12 lead midway through the first half and the Colonials led the rest of the way. They made eight consecutive field-goal attempts and Petteway scored eight points during that stretch.
Lorenzo Hunt made two free throws and then a layup to pull MVSU (0-5) within six points with three minutes to play. but Williams answered with his final 3-pointer and the Delta Devils got no closer.
Dante Scott had 16 points for MVSU, which has lost seven in a row dating to last season.