December 8, 2021 3:54 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Steelers are relying on a sea of new faces to help bolster their sagging defense. Defensive tackle Montravius Adams made an impact in a win over Baltimore despite being signed just days before the game. With Adams manning the middle of the defensive line, the Steelers held the Ravens to 107 yards rushing. That’s well below the 180-yard average Pittsburgh had allowed in its previous four games. Linebackers Taco Charlton and Derrek Tuszka have also chipped in after being signed off the street in September. The Steelers travel to Minnesota for a Thursday night game this week.
December 7, 2021 3:47 am
SEATTLE (AP) – Sidney Crosby and Danton Heinen scored 25 seconds apart early in the first period, Jake Guentzel extended his point streak to 13 games with two goals and an assist, and the Pittsburgh Penguins routed the Seattle Kraken 6-1. Jeff Carter scored 1:47 into the game, Crosby followed with his fourth goal at 4:42 and Heinen scored on a wrist shot moments later to leave the expansion Kraken stunned at the early onslaught. Guentzel scored his 14th of the season late in the second period and added his 15th midway through the third. He has five goals in the past two games. Jordan Eberle scored for Seattle.
December 7, 2021 3:53 am
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) – The Patriots have sole possession of first place in the AFC East following a 14-10 win over the second-place Bills. Damien Harris scored on a 64-yard run in blustery conditions in which Mac Jones attempted just three passes. The Pats outgained the Bills 222 to 99 in yards rushing, with Harris delivering a season-high 111. Defensive back Miles Bryant sealed the victory by batting down Josh Allen’s pass at the goal line with Buffalo facing fourth-and-14 at New England’s 18 with 1:55 remaining. Bills QB Josh Allen was 15 of 30 for 145 yards and a TD. New England is 9-4 following its seventh win in a row. Buffalo is 7-5.
December 7, 2021 3:49 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt is proving to be worth every penny of the mega-contract extension he signed on the eve of the regular season. Watt has 16 sacks through 12 games for Pittsburgh. That includes 3 1/2 in a 20-19 victory over Baltimore that snapped a three-game winless streak. Watt’s presence has been invaluable to the Steelers this season. Pittsburgh is 6-2 when Watt plays a full game and 0-3-1 when he is limited by injury or out of the lineup entirely. The Steelers travel to Minnesota on Thursday night.
December 7, 2021 3:50 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Alabama quarterback Bryce Young and Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson are among the four finalists for the Heisman Trophy, which will be presented on Saturday. Young and Hutchinson just led their teams to conference titles and berths in the CFP semifinals. Young broke the SEC championship game record with 421 yards passing in a victory against Georgia’s vaunted defense on Saturday. The sophomore has thrown for 4,322 yards, 43 touchdowns and just four interceptions this season. Hutchinson has 14 sacks and helped the Wolverines end an eight-game losing streak to rival Ohio State. Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett and Ohio State signal-caller C.J. Stroud are the other finalists. Pickett passed for 4,319 yards with 42 touchdowns this year to eclipse school marks. Stroud has completed 71% of his passes for 3,862 yards, 38 touchdowns and five interceptions in his first year as a starter.
December 6, 2021 3:53 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Steelers edged the Baltimore Ravens 20-19 after turning aside a 2-point try by Baltimore in the final seconds. The Ravens pulled within one with 12 seconds to go and opted for a 2-point conversion instead of forcing overtime with an extra point. Lamar Jackson’s flip to tight end Mark Andrews fell incomplete and the Steelers survived. Ben Roethlisberger passed for 236 yards and two second-half touchdowns to Diontae Johnson as the Steelers halted a three-game winless streak. Pittsburgh improved to 6-5-1 with the win. The Ravens fell to 8-4.
December 6, 2021 3:56 am
ATLANTA (AP) – A milestone season for Pittsburgh and quarterback Kenny Pickett is continuing with a Peach Bowl matchup against Michigan State. No. 13 Pitt’s reward for its first Atlantic Coast Conference championship is the Panthers’ first New Year’s Six bowl since 2004 in the Dec. 30 game in Atlanta against No. 11 Michigan State. Pitt moved up four spots in The AP Top 25 following its 45-21 win over Wake Forest in the ACC championship game on Saturday night. Pickett threw for two touchdowns but his highlight was a 58-yard scoring run that included a fake slide.
December 6, 2021 4:01 am
IRVING, Texas (AP) – The College Football Playoff is set: Cincinnati will play Alabama in the Cotton Bowl and Michigan will face Georgia in the Orange Bowl on New Year’s Eve. Fourth-seeded Cincinnati becomes the first team to break through the CFP’s glass ceiling and make college football’s final four from a non-Power Five conference. The Bearcats won the American Athletic Conference and head into the postseason as the only unbeaten team in the country. Their reward will be a matchup with the defending national champions. The Crimson Tide is in the playoff for the seventh time in its eight-year history.
December 6, 2021 3:58 am
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) – The Vancouver Canucks cleaned house late Sunday night, dumping three executives and head coach Travis Green and replacing him with veteran Bruce Boudreau. The Canucks, in a statement, said general manager Jim Benning was fired, and assistant manager Jim Weisbrod, Green and assistant coach Nolan Baumgartner were also relieved of their duties. The Canucks say the search for new hockey operations leadership “has begun.”
December 5, 2021 1:55 am
Mt. Lebanon scored on its first seven possessions and triggered the PIAA mercy rule for the third straight playoff game as the Blue Devils downed State College, 49-28, in the 6A semifinal. Mt. Lebanon advances to its first-ever PIAA Football Final next Saturday night against the St. Joseph’s Prep, winner of four of the past five 6A titles. PIAA Brackets
Joey Daniels completed 11-of-14 first-half passes for 244 yards and five touchdowns. And the senior completed his only pass after intermission for another 48 yards and another touchdown. Eli Heidenreich was on the backend of nine of those passes for 278 yards and five scores. Alex Tecza ran 16 times for 109 yards and a touchdown. The senior runningback also caught a TD pass in the first half.
Four of the other five WPIAL champions, crowned last weekend at Heinz Field, won their semifinals Friday and clinched championship game berths.
Friday PIAA Football scores
1A Redbank Valley 23, Bishop Canevin 14
2A Serra Catholic 27, Farrell 18
3A Central Valley 35, Central (Martinsburg) 21
4A Aliquippa 41, Jersey Shore 16
5A Penn-Trafford 49, Exeter Township 14
Saturday PIAA Football schedule
6A Mt. Lebanon 49, State College 28
