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Area college football: Drake pummels Tommies 52-21

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:12:10 GMT

The Drake University football team gave St. Thomas a glimpse of the other side on Saturday, throttling the Tommies 52-21 in a Pioneer Football League game in Des Moines, Iowa.The rout was the Bulldogs’ first victory over the Tommies in three meetings over the past three seasons. It ended St. Thomas’ 13-game win streak in the PFL and could cost the Tommies a shot at another conference championship.Drake improved to 3-3 overall, 3-0 in the PFL. St. Thomas fell to 4-3 and 3-1.The Bulldogs started strong on Saturday, with their very first offensive possession ending in a touchdown. And they finished even stronger, outscoring the Tommies 28-0 in the second half and 21-0 in the third quarter, erasing a 21-14 deficit late in the second quarter to lead 24-21 at the half.Drake dominated, rolling up 556 yards of total offense and 31 first downs to St. Thomas’ 183 total yards and 12 first downs.Bulldogs quarterback Luke Bailey passed for 449 yards and six touchdowns in the ro...

San Jose Sharks forced to look in mirror after recent injuries

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:12:10 GMT

SAN JOSE – The San Jose Sharks will be without Mikael Granlund for at least the rest of their challenging homestand and possibly longer, leaving the team without two of their top three centermen for an undetermined amount of time.The Sharks — already without Logan Couture, who is considered week-to-week — placed Granlund on injured reserve Friday, one day after he re-aggravated a lower-body ailment in San Jose’s season-opening game against the Vegas Golden Knights.Granlund, who dealt with the injury during training camp, will miss Saturday’s game with the Colorado Avalanche and remain inactive for upcoming games against the Carolina Hurricanes and Boston Bruins, and perhaps beyond.Most NHL teams, if not all, would be severely affected if they were to miss two top-nine centermen. But that’s especially true for the Sharks, who are still building up their depth at the position from top to bottom.“I think anytime you lose two players in one position, you kind of get a ...

Strong, Lester help Southern Illinois run away from Murray State for a 27-6 win

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:12:10 GMT

MURRAY, Ken. (AP) — Justin Strong broke loose on an 80-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage, Shaun Lester added a scoring run late and Southern Illinois beat Murray State 27-6 on Saturday. Strong carried 14 times for 128 yards. Lester’s 2-yard touchdown plunge ended a 10-play, 74-yard drive that capped the scoring with 4:25 remaining. Lester finished with 85 yards rushing on 14 carries. Vinson Davis III had a 9-yard TD run for Southern Illinois (5-1, 2-1 Missouri Valley Football Conference). Nic Baker added 137 yards on 14-of-23 passing. DJ Williams was 11-of-28 passing for 152 yards and threw two interceptions for Murray State (2-4, 1-2), which finished with just 185 yards of offense. Matt Maldonado made field goals from 44 and 29 yards. After Strong’s scoring run, Williams led the Racers on a 12-play, 67-yard drive to the Salkukis 8 but then threw an interception in the end zone. __AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://...

Tkachuk and Chychrun each score twice to lift Senators to 5-2 win over Flyers

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:12:10 GMT

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Brady Tkachuk and Jakob Chychrun each scored twice to lead the Ottawa Senators to a 5-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday.Anton Forsberg made 19 saves and Jake Sanderson also scored for Ottawa, who picked up their first win after dropping the season opener in Carolina 5-3.“It’s huge,” Tkachuk said of getting the first win. “Something to build on and we’re right back at it tomorrow, so you can’t really focus on (Saturday) much longer because we’ve got a wagon coming in tomorrow so you’ve got to be ready for that and that task. We just have to keep building on it.”Travis Konecny and Cam York scored and Carter Hart stopped 26 shots for the Flyers.Philadelphia opened the season with a 4-2 win over Columbus on Thursday night, but struggled to generate much against Ottawa.“We’re not going to panic, but our penalty kill, our power play, our offense, our defense, we were outplayed in all categories (Saturday),” Flyers coach John Tortorella said. “We’ll look...

Gronowski throws for 3 TDs South Dakota State wins 20th straight, 41-6 over Northern Iowa

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:12:10 GMT

BROOKINGS, S.D. (AP) — Mark Gronowski threw for three touchdowns and ran for another and South Dakota State rolled to its 20th-straight victory on Saturday, 41-9 over Northern Iowa.On the Jackrabbits’ 109th homecoming day, which the school dubs Hobo Day Game, the top-ranked FCS team quickly took care of business with Gronowski and Isaiah Davis scoring on short touchdown runs for a 14-0 lead after one quarter.South Dakota State (6-0, 3-0 Missouri Valley Football Conference) lost fumbles on consecutive possessions before scoring on five straight drives for a 41-3 lead.Three of the scores were Gronowski passes — the first a 16-yarder to Jadon Janke for a 24-0 lead — before the Panthers kicked a field goal on the final play of the half.In the third quarter, Zach Heins hauled in TD passes covering 6 and 23 yards.Gronowski was 21-of-36 passing for 291 yards and Davis carried 17 times for 103 yards.The game was far different than last year’s matchup when the Jackrabbits won 31-...

Penn powers through the rain to win its first Ivy game of the year against Columbia

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:12:10 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Graham Gotlieb kicked a 23-yard field goal with 3:04 remaining and Pennsylvania beat Columbia 20-17 on a rainy Saturday for its first road victory in Wien Stadium since Oct. 17, 2015.Penn (4-1, 1-1 Ivy League) avoided overtime for the first time in three games. The Quakers were coming off consecutive overtime games for the first time since 2006. Aidan Sayin was 27 of 39 for 271 yards passing with one touchdown and one interception for Penn.Sayin found Bisi Owens in the end zone for a 7-yard touchdown to tie it at 17 early in the fourth quarter. Owens also had caches of 12, 7 and 26 yards during the drive.Caden Bell completed 11 of 29 passes for 91 yards with an interception for Columbia (2-3, 0-2).Penn defensive back Shiloh Means made his third interception of the season on Columbia’s first possession of the second half.___AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-pollSource

Toledo becomes bowl eligible for the 14th consecutive season after win over Ball State

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:12:10 GMT

MUNCIE, Ind. (AP) — Peny Boone scored on a 3-yard run with 1:31 remaining for Toledo’s only touchdown in a 13-6 victory over Ball State on Saturday.Toledo (6-1, 3-0 Mid-American Conference) became bowl eligible for the 14th consecutive season — the eighth-longest streak in the FBS. It’s the second longest among Group of Five schools behind Boise State’s 25.Boone carried it 22 times for 148 yards and Dequan Finn was 15 of 27 passing for 166 yards for Toledo, which won its sixth straight game after a 30-28 loss to Illinois in an opener.Luke Pawlak made a 26-yard field goal to give Toledo a 3-0 lead and he made it 6-3 on a 27-yarder with 10:23 left in the fourth quarter. Jackson Courville’s 26-yard field goal tied it at 6-all with 4:56 left before Boone capped a six-play, 72-yard drive.Kiael Kelly completed just 4 of 16 passes for 38 yards with an interception for Ball State (1-6, 0-3). The Cardinals were held to just 205 total yards.___AP college football: http...

Annapolis High School teacher named Maryland Teacher of the Year

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:12:10 GMT

Mary Kay Connerton. (Courtesy Anne Arundel County Public Schools) Mary Kay Connerton. (Courtesy Anne Arundel County Public Schools) A physical education, health and wellness teacher from Annapolis High School was named the 2023-2024 Teacher of the Year by the Maryland State Department of Education.Mary Kay Connerton, who has taught at Annapolis High School for the last nine years, was named Anne Arundel County Public Schools Teacher of the Year back in April.“I am humbled and honored that I have the privilege to represent the great teachers across our state and I promise to continue this mission of mine,” Connerton said in a release after the award was announced. “I can confidently say that servi...

Italy puts scandal-ridden week behind it to beat Malta 4-0 in Euro 2024 qualifying

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:12:10 GMT

Italy put a scandal-ridden week behind it to beat Malta 4-0 in their European Championship qualifier on Saturday.Giacomo Bonaventura set Italy on its way with his first goal for the Azzurri and Domenico Berardi ended his goal drought in style with a goal in each half. Substitute Davide Frattesi netted in stoppage time to continue his scoring streak.Italy moved within three points of Group C leader England, which it plays on Tuesday at Wembley. Ukraine, which has played one more match, was level on points with Italy after beating North Macedonia 2-0.North Macedonia had been level on points with Ukraine heading into the match in Prague. Georgiy Sudakov opened the scoring in the 30th minute and Oleksandr Karavaiev sealed the match in stoppage time, shortly after coming off the bench.Italy’s preparations for the match in Bari had been interrupted midweek when police questioned Sandro Tonali and Nicolò Zaniolo at the national team’s Coverciano training center in a betting investigation. ...

Cravens unleashes fourth quarter air assault to lead Morehead State past Valparaiso

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:12:10 GMT

VALPARAISO, Ind. (AP) — Quarterback Carter Cravens accounted for 427 total yards and three touchdowns to help rally Morehead State to a 24-21 win over Valparaiso on Saturday.Cravens led a three-play, 76-yard scoring drive for Morehead State (3-3, 2-2 Pioneer Football League) that ended with Nathan Hazlett converting a 28-yard field goal as time expired. Hazlett missed a 39-yard attempt, but Valparaiso (1-5, 0-3) was penalized for roughing the kicker to set rp the shorter try.The game-winning kick was made possible after Cravens connected with Trevon Kleint for a 64-yard gain with 51 seconds remaining. The big play came on first-and-10 at the Eagles’ own 13-yard line.Valpo entered the fourth quarter with a 14-7 lead before Cravens went to work. He threw a 46-yard score to Ryan Upp to tie it with 6:03 left. The Beacons responded with a six-play, 65-yard drive that resulted in their final lead when Jeff Jackson threw a 6-yard score to Jake Vickers. Cravens needed one play to fire...