Category: Sports

No. 2 Clemson clobbers Pitt 42-10 for 4th straight ACC title

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Travis Etienne ran for 156 yards and two touchdowns, Trevor Lawrence threw two short scoring passes to Tee Higgins and No. 2 Clemson beat Pitt 42-10 on Saturday night to become the first team to win four straight Atlantic Coast Conference championships.

Clemson (13-0, CFP No. 2) is expected to face third-ranked Notre Dame, which was idle Saturday, in the College Football Playoffs on Dec. 29.

The Tigers ran for 301 yards and four touchdowns and averaged 9 yards per carry on a dreary, rain-soaked night in which Lawrence was limited to 118 yards passing.

Clemson forced three turnovers, including two in the first half that gave the offense the ball inside the Pitt 10 and led to 14 points. The Tigers limited Panthers quarterback Kenny Pickett to 8 yards passing and had nine tackles for a loss.

The Tigers joined the Steve Spurrier’s Florida Gators (1993-96) as the only Power Five teams to win four straight conference titles. The historic win comes exactly 10 years after Dabo Swinney was hired as Clemson head coach.

The Tigers entered the game as a 27 1/2-point favorite and Swinney’s team looked as if it would put Pitt away early after Etienne scored on his first two carries.

The ACC player of the year took a handoff on the first play from scrimmage, ran to the right, cutback and raced 75 yards for his 20th touchdown of the season — the quickest TD in the conference championship history. He added a second scoring run a few minutes later after Isaiah Simmons stripped Pickett of the ball and Christian Wilkins return it to the Pitt 3.

Etienne had 78 yards on his first two carries, equaling Clemson’s rushing total from last year’s ACC title game win over Miami.

Pitt (7-6) would show signs of life though, scoring 10 straight points behind a 1-yard TD run by Qadree Ollison to cut the lead to 14-10.

But the Panthers, which had a knack for upsetting No. 2-ranked teams under coach Pat Narduzzi — they upset Clemson in 2016 and Miami in the 2017 regular season finale — ran out of magic.

Lawrence found his fellow freshman Higgins on TD passes of 5 and 10 in the second quarter, the latter coming after a 38-yard interception return by A.J. Terrell, to take a 28-10 lead at halftime. Adam Choice and Lyn-J Dixon added fourth quarter touchdown runs for the Tigers.

THE TAKEAWAY

Pitt: The Panthers need some major upgrades in the passing game to take the next step in the ACC. The Tigers experienced and heralded defensive front of ends Clelin Ferrell and Austin Bryant and tackles Wilkins and Dexter Lawrence dominated the line of scrimmage. However, Pitt ran for nearly 200 yards on Clemson and Ollison and Darrin Hall became the first Panthers tandem to both surpass 1,000 yards rushing in a season,

Clemson: The Tigers won their 13th game for the third time in four seasons, continuing a remarkable run under Dabo Swinney. Their offense struggled at times and Lawrence wasn’t particularly sharp, which could be a concern moving forward against better competition.

UP NEXT

Pitt: The Panthers will wait to see where they are headed for a bowl game.

Clemson: The Tigers advanced to the College Football Playoff for the fourth straight season. They’re expected to play Notre Dame.

Aliquippa Defeats Sharon 41-7, Will Play At Hershey

For the first time since 2015, the Aliquippa Quips will be headed to the State Championships at Hersheypark Stadium. They’ll be playing for the 3A Title after their 41-7 semifinal victory over the Sharon Tigers at Slippery Rock University.

The Quip defense shut down Sharon after an opening-drive touchdown by the Tigers, and MJ Devonshire had four touchdowns for Aliquippa to earn CCBC Player of The Game honors (along with Sharon’s C.J. Parchman).

Aliquippa is now 13-1 and will play District 3 Champion Middletown at noon next Saturday at Hersheypark Stadium. Sharon’s season ends at 10-4.

Colorado overcome’s Crosby’s natural hat trick, beat Penguins 6-3


Avs overcome Crosby’s natural hat trick, beat Penguins 6-3
By MICHAEL KELLY, Associated Press
DENVER (AP) — Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon put on a show that made Cole Harbour proud, and it was MacKinnon who walked away with bragging rights for the Nova Scotia town.
MacKinnon had a goal and three assists, including one on Gabe Landeskog’s tiebreaking score midway through the third period, and the surging Colorado Avalanche overcame Crosby’s natural hat trick to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-3 on Wednesday night.
MacKinnon’s team won the matchup of hometown stars, but Crosby nearly stole it with his 11th career hat trick.
“It’s not easy when Sid gets going,” MacKinnon said. “He starts kind of galloping out there.”
Colorado won its sixth straight game and is 8-0-1 in its last nine.
MacKinnon, 23, and Crosby, 31, are both former No. 1 overall draft picks. They have become offseason training partners and have made TV commercials together. Those things are put aside when they face each other twice a season, but Wednesday’s game might get a second viewing when they get together.
“I’m sure this is a game we will talk about for a while,” MacKinnon said. “We don’t play each other much, so for a regular-season game this is one of the fun ones I’ve been a part of. By Sid getting a hat trick and obviously us getting a big one.”
MacKinnon had an empty-net goal with 29 seconds left, his 18th goal of the season. Samuel Girard, Erik Johnson, Colin Wilson and Carl Soderberg also scored for Colorado, and Mikko Rantanen had two assists.
The Avalanche’s top line of MacKinnon, Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen, who leads the NHL in scoring with 42 points, had eight points and continues to dominate. Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan didn’t hesitate when asked if the trio is the best he’s seen this season.
“Yes,” he said. “They’re not easy to contain. They’re three elite players that are all on the same line.”
Sullivan has a two-time Hart Trophy winner in Crosby, and he put on an MVP-worthy performance for the Penguins by erasing a 3-0 deficit by himself.
He struck twice in the final minute of the second period. His first goal came off his own rebound on a breakaway with 52 seconds to go, and he scored again with 10 seconds left with Colorado defenseman Patrik Nemeth off for holding. Crosby tied it at 4:43 of the third to complete his first hat trick of the season. He has 13 goals.
“Sid tried to will us a win with his effort,” Sullivan said. “I thought he was terrific. He was terrific all night long.”
Landeskog broke the tie with his 15th goal at 10:05. The Penguins pulled Tristan Jarry for an extra skater, but MacKinnon and Soderberg scored to seal it.
“We didn’t give up, so that’s a good thing,” Crosby said. “Still, when you put yourself in that position to get back in the game after coming back from three you want to at least get a point out of it.”
Girard gave Colorado a 1-0 lead with his second goal at 11:19 of the first period. Johnson scored at 5:13 of the second and Wilson made it 3-0 at 7:52.
The Penguins challenged Johnson’s goal for goaltender interference but it was upheld upon review.
NOTES: Colorado D Tyson Barrie missed his second straight game with a lower-body injury. … Pittsburgh D Kris Letang, who set a franchise record for games played in Winnipeg on Tuesday, had his four-game point streak snapped. … Colorado is 1-1-1 in the second game of back-to-back sets this season. It is 3-1-0 in the first game. … The first penalty wasn’t called until Crosby drew a holding-the-stick minor 49 seconds into the second period. Colorado’s Alexander Kerfoot got a high-sticking minor 19 seconds later.
UP NEXT
Penguins: Host Philadelphia on Saturday night.
Avalanche: Host St. Louis on Friday night.
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