December 11, 2022 7:56 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Navy’s Anton Hall Jr. fumbled at the goal line in the second overtime and that helped set up Quinn Maretzki’s 39-yard winning field goal as Army beat The Midshipmen 20-17 in the first OT game in 123 games of the rivalry series. There wasn’t much offense throughout the game until the waning moments of regulation when Maretzki kicked a 37-yarder with 1:53 left to tie the game at 10-all. Navy leads the series against Army 62-54-7. The Black Knights have won five of the last seven meetings.
December 11, 2022 7:54 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Nelly Cummings scored a season-high 24 points, Federiko Federiko and Blake Hinson had double-doubles and Pittsburgh pulled away in the second half to beat Sacred Heart 91-66. Cummings buried 6 of 12 shots from 3-point range and added six rebounds, five assists and four steals for the Panthers (7-4). Hinson finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds and has scored in double figures in every game for Pitt this season. Federiko, a sophomore, pitched in with 17 points and 14 rebounds — both career highs — for his first double-double. Greg Elliott hit three 3-pointers and scored 18. Cummings had 10 points in the first half and the Panthers’ starters accounted for all but two points in taking a 41-36 lead at halftime. Raheem Solomon totaled 18 points and six rebounds for Sacred Heart (5-6).
December 11, 2022 7:53 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Sidney Crosby scored two goals, defenseman Kris Letang returned 12 days after the second stroke of his career and the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Buffalo Sabres 3-1. Rickard Rakell also scored to help the Penguins win their fifth straight and improve to 12-2-2 in their last 16 games. Casey DeSmith, making his first start in six games, stopped 37 shots as Pittsburgh completed a sweep of the home-and-home series after also winning 4-3 in overtime at Buffalo on Friday night. Peyton Krebs scored for the Sabres, who lost for the third time in five games. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen finished with 28 saves.
December 10, 2022 4:12 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt’s aching ribs could force him to miss Sunday’s game against Baltimore. The team listed the reigning AP Defensive Player of the Year as questionable after he was limited in practice on Wednesday and Friday and sat out on Thursday. Wide receiver Diontae Johnson is also questionable with a hip injury that curtailed his practice time this week. Watt has already missed seven games this year with a pectoral injury suffered in the opener. He’s been quiet since his return, with one-half sack in four games. Watt matched the NFL record last season with 22 1/2 sacks.
December 10, 2022 4:11 am
CARY, N.C. (AP) — Ryan Wittenbrink and Tommy Mihalic scored in the first half and No. 13 Indiana beat Pittsburgh 2-0 to advance to its 17th NCAA College Cup championship game. Indiana became the first Division I men’s soccer program to reach 100 NCAA Tournament victories — in its 22nd semifinal. The Hoosiers advance to play No. 3 Syracuse on Monday. Wittenbrink’s penalty kick in the 14th minute was blocked by Pitt goalkeeper Joe van der Sar, but the Indiana forward was first to the rebound for an empty-netter. Mihalic scored his seventh goal of the season with 17 seconds left before halftime when he raced to a deflected shot and scored from a difficult angle. Goalkeeper JT Harms made three saves to extend Indiana’s streak of shutouts to four — all in the tournament.
December 10, 2022 4:10 am
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Jeff Carter scored a power-play goal 1:36 into overtime and the Pittsburgh Penguins took advantage of a match penalty to Buffalo’s Jeff Skinner to beat the Sabres 4-3 on Friday night. Skinner was ejected for cross-checking Jake Guentzel across the face with 22 seconds remaining in the opener of the two-game set. Skinner went after Guentzel at the boards in coming to the defense of goalie Craig Anderson, who was slashed by Guentzel after smothering the puck. The teams will meet again Saturday night in Pittsburgh. Guentzel, Rickard Rackell and Brock McGinn also scored for the Penguins.
December 11, 2022 12:01 am
Belle Vernon stopped Neumann-Goretti three times inside the two-yard-line in the final 90 seconds to win its first-ever PIAA football championship. The BVA defense held Saints to just 130 yards total offense, but had to turn back the District 12 champions with time running out. From a first-and-goal from the two, N-G picked up just one yard on the first two plays. Quarterback Mehki Wharton tried to sneak in on third down and got spun around with the his back to the goal. The 6-6 junior tried to stick the ball out to break the plane when the Leopards knocked it loose, ultimately recovered by BVA’s Aiden Johnson. Following penalties on both teams, the Leopards were able to kneel it down and run out the clock.
Belle Vernon took a 3-0 lead on Willie Schwerha’s 25-yard field goal in the first four minutes of the game. Two minutes later, the Saints’s Samuel Hobbs recovered a loose ball in the BVA endzone, the result of errant snap as the Leopards were punting. Hobbs then ran in the two-point play, putting N-G up 8-6. The score stayed that way until late in the third quarter, Braden Laux capping a 10-play drive with a 16-yard toss to Quinton Martin. BVA ran 19 plays in the third while the Saints had just four snaps.
The fourth quarter was all Nuemann-Goretti, including five fourth-down conversions over two possessions. But the Belle Vernon didn’t finally got off the field, thanks to the stops and Johnson’s fumble recovery. Belle Vernon picked off three passes in the first half but couldn’t get points off any of them. N-G’s final chance was set up by Belle Vernon’s only turnover, an interception by Yasir Williams coming on a pass off the hands of Colton Lee.
PIAA Championships at Cumberland Valley
3A Belle Vernon 9, Neumann-Goretti 8
1A Steelton-Highspire 22, Union 8
2A Southern Columbia 37, Westinghouse 22
4A Bishop McDevitt 41, Aliquippa 18
5A Pine-Richland 28, Imhotep Charter 14
6A St. Joseph’s Prep 42, Harrisburg 7
December 9, 2022 3:59 am
DOHA, Qatar (AP) – Cristiano Ronaldo and his Portugal team will look to end Morocco’s surprising World Cup run that has brought joy to African soccer and the Arab world. Whether Ronaldo starts Saturday’s quarterfinal match remains in doubt after he was dropped for Portugal’s round-of-16 win over Switzerland. Morocco has secured a spot in the quarterfinals for the first time in a great way to the mark the first World Cup to take place in the Middle East. Morocco is looking to become the first African country to reach the semifinals at soccer’s biggest tournament and is the only team from outside Europe or South America to advance to the last eight in Qatar.
December 9, 2022 3:57 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Southern California quarterback Caleb Williams is The Associated Press college football player of the year. The sophomore Heisman Trophy favorite is the school’s first winner of the award since 2005 with his stellar debut season for the Trojans. Williams received 32 of the 46 first-place votes and 117 total points from AP Top 25 poll voters. TCU quarterback Max Duggan came in second with six first-place votes and 64 points. Williams has passed for 4,075 yards with an FBS-leading 37 touchdowns and just four interceptions this season.
December 9, 2022 3:56 am
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) – Baker Mayfield threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Van Jefferson with 10 seconds to play to cap a 98-yard drive, and the Los Angeles Rams’ brand-new quarterback led two TD drives late in the fourth quarter of a shocking 17-16 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders. Just two days after the Rams claimed Mayfield off waivers from Carolina, the former No. 1 pick went 22 of 35 for 230 yards and snapped the defending Super Bowl champions’ six-game losing streak in dramatic fashion. Josh Jacobs rushed for 99 yards and the only touchdown for the Raiders, whose three-game winning streak ended in humiliating fashion.
