the Boston Red Sox to a 7-1

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Villanova, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - They have the same Sam Houston State players who opened the season by losing three of their first four games. But realistically, this is a much different team. The Bearkats are headed back to the FCS semifinals for the third time in four seasons after beating sixth-seeded Villanova, 34-31, in the quarterfinals Saturday while the Wildcats played without star quarterback John Robertson because of symptoms from a concussion. Unseeded Sam Houston State (11-4), which has won three playoff games, will play at second-seeded North Dakota State (13-1) in the semifinals next weekend. The Bearkats lost to the Bison in both the 2011 and 12 national championship games. Sam Houston has few key players from those recent powers and even has a first- year coach in K.C. Keeler, who coached against Villanova for 11 seasons in CAA Football while at Delaware from 2002-12. The Bearkats had prepared to face Robertson in the teams first-ever meeting, but that changed Saturday after he awoke with a headache from the concussion he suffered in last weekends playoff win over Liberty. Robertson, a redshirt junior who was the CAA Football offensive player of the year, went through concussion protocols during the week and was cleared to play against Sam Houston State, but he was scratched by the teams medical staff following an examination Saturday morning. Jalen Overstreets 1-yard touchdown run with 4:03 left to play gave Sam Houston its 34-31 lead. Villanova (11-3), behind Robertsons replacement, senior Chris Polony, moved the ball down to the Bearkats 29, but drew an ill-timed delay- of-game penalty while setting up for a potential, game-tying 46-yard field goal attempt. That made it a 51-yard attempt for Chris Gough and he missed wide to the left with 32 seconds left. Polony played well in relief of Robertson. He completed 13-of-24 pass attempts for 228 yards and one touchdown, and carried the 13 times for 87 yards and two touchdown. Very Robertson-esque, in fact. Sam Houston seems so different because it has jelled with a team that has eight FBS transfers and 18 starters who didnt start in Keelers first spring game. New quarterback Jared Johnson, last years backup behind four-year starter Brian Bell, was 22-for-27 for 303 yards and three touchdowns in the win. Leading 17-16 at halftime, Sam Houston scored on the first play of the third quarter when Johnson threw a 66-yard bomb to LaDarius Brown for their second touchdown connection. But Villanova tailback Kevin Monangai scored on a 58-yard run with 9:36 left in the third quarter and Kevin Gulyas caught the two-point conversation from Polony to tie the game 24-24. Luc Swimberghes 30-yard field goal with 10:54 left in the fourth quarter put Sam Houston back in front, 27-24. But Villanova answered with a nine-play, 67-yard drive, which was capped by Polony rolling out from a shotgun for a 1-yard touchdown run to make it 31-27 Wildcats with 7:15 left. Sam Houston had an answer as well, moving 75 yards in 10 plays and going ahead 34-31 on Overstreets 1-yrd run up the middle at the 4:03 mark. Polony had originally beaten out Robertson for the No. 1 job in 2012, but Robertson had made 35 straight starts for the Wildcats before Saturdays game. Polony accounted for two touchdowns in the first quarter. He connected with wide receiver Poppy Livers for a 54-yard touchdown pass to pull Villanova within 7-6 before the extra point was missed. He later scored on a 36-yard keeper to give the Wildcats a 13-7 lead. But Sam Houston answered that score with a 12-play, 80-yard drive, moving back ahead 14-13 after Johnsons second touchdown pass, a 4-yarder to Gerald Thomas with 9:54 remaining in the second quarter. Swimberghe extended Sam Houstons lead with a 32-yard field goal, but Gough, who missed the earlier extra point, closed the half with a 46-yard field goal to pull the Wildcats within 17-16. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- No. 1 seed North Dakota State (13-1) 39, No. 7 seed Coastal Carolina (12-2) 32 Fargo, ND - North Dakota State trailing in the fourth quarter has been a rarity during its three-year reign as the FCS champion, but the Bison have come from behind to win two consecutive playoff games in eight days. Indeed, they continue to have the collective heart of a champion even as teams get closer in the rear-view mirror. Running back John Crockett rushed for 227 yards and two touchdowns and became the Bisons new single-season rushing leader while second-seeded North Dakota State held off seventh-seeded Coastal Carolina, 39-32, Saturday for the second consecutive year in the national quarterfinals. The game was far different from North Dakota States 48-14 playoff rout of Coastal last season, but the Bison (13-1) will host unseeded Sam Houston State (11-4) in the national semifinals next weekend. The Bison defeated Sam Houston in both the 2011 and 12 FCS championship games. A week ago, the Bison rallied past Missouri Valley Conference rival South Dakota State in the final minute of their second-round game. On Saturday, they fell behind for the first time, 32-31, on Coastal running back DeAngelo Hendersons 2-yard touchdown run to open the fourth quarter. The Chanticleers, however, failed on a two-point attempt after a second straight score, keeping their lead at one point. North Dakota State then retook the lead two possessions later when Crockett found running room along the Coastal sideline and scored on a 45-yard dash with 9:28 remaining to play. Quarterback Carson Wentz ran up the middle to score a two-point conversion and lift the Bison advantage to 39-32. On Coastals next drive, the Chanticleers converted a fake punt just inside their territory, but didnt gain another first down on the drive. After NDSUs Adam Keller missed a 49-yard field goal that could have put the win away, Bison safety Colten Heagle stymied the Chants final drive with an interception of Alex Ross just inside Bison territory with 53 seconds remaining. Crockett, whos gained three 1,000-yard seasons, has 1,754 this season on a school-record 320 carries, including 26 on Saturday. Hes scored 17 of his 18 touchdowns on the ground. Wentz accounted for three touchdowns (two passing, one rushing) in the win. But Big South co-champion Coastal Coastal Carolina (12-2) was nearly up to the challenge as Henderson had 143 rushing yards and the touchdown, and Ross rushed for two touchdowns. It was the most points scored against NDSU during the playoff win streak. North Dakota State, which had won 22 straight home games and 14 consecutive playoff games, had hoped to assert itself in the second half after clinging to a 24-20 halftime advantage. After Coastals offense went three-and-out to begin the third quarter, the Bison completed a nine-play, 69-yard drive with Wentzs 2-yard scoring run around right end providing a 31-20 lead. But Ross capped the Chanticleers following possession by diving into the North Dakota State for a 4-yard touchdown and they pulled within 31-26 at the 3:29 mark. Hendersons go-ahead touchdown capped a quick-strike, four-play drive which went 95 yards when Ross had a 48-yard pass to John Israel, Henderson a 32-yard run and Ross a 13-yard pass to Osharmar Abercrombie. The first half featured offensive firepower as North Dakota State took a 24-20 lead at halftime. Crockett opened the scoring with a 70-yard touchdown and Wentz fired touchdowns to Kevin Vaadeland and Luke Albers. But Coastal moved the chains and Devin Brown returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown midway through the second quarter, tying the game at 17-17. Alex Catrons 25-yard field goal on the final play of the half pulled Coastal within 24-20. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Saturday, Dec. 13 FCS Playoff Quarterfinals No. 5 seed Illinois State (11-1) at No. 4 seed Eastern Washington (11-2) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Friday, Dec. 12 No. 1 seed New Hampshire (12-1) 35, No. 8 seed Chattanooga (10-4) 30 Durham, NH - All-American wide receiver R.J. Harris is noted as being New Hampshires hardest worker. No doubt hes the Wildcats best player. Harris caught two touchdowns, including on a 61-yard screen pass in the fourth quarter that helped put away top-seeded New Hampshires 35-30 victory over eighth-seeded Chattanooga in the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs Friday night. The win gives the Wildcats (12-1) a semifinal-round date at home next weekend against either fourth-seeded Eastern Washington or fifth-seeded Illinois State, who face each other in another quarterfinal on Saturday. New Hampshire, making its 11th straight playoff appearance under coach Sean McDonnell, has captured 12 straight wins and 14 straight home games, both program records. Harris decisive second touchdown was electrifying. New Hampshire clung to a 28-24 lead in a back-and-forth game when it took possession of the ball at its 39 following a Chattanooga punt early in the fourth quarter. On first down, Harris went in motion and took a handoff from quarterback Sean Goldrich. Harris lateralled the ball to fellow wide receiver Jimmy Giansante, who then flipped it back to Goldrich. The senior signal caller lofted a screen pass to Harris in the backfield at the 30, who immediately picked up blocks and blew past Chattanooga defenders along the sideline to give the Wildcats the games first double-digit lead, 35-24, with 11:04 remaining to play. Nick Cefalo then intercepted Chattanooga quarterback Jacob Huesman on the Mocs ensuing drive and New Hampshire begin milking game clock from there. Huesman had dominated the first half before the Wildcats had defensive answers after halftime. But on Chattanoogas next possession, running back Derraine Craine scored on an 8-yard pass from Huesman with 1:32 left to pull the Mocs with 35-30. With no remaining timeouts, the Mocs needed to recover the ensuing onside kick, but New Hampshires Keith Parkinson did. The Wildcats ran out the clock from there and advanced to the national semifinals for the second consecutive season. Last year, they were eliminated at eventual national champion North Dakota State one step shy of the national championship game. Harris finished with seven receptions for 172 yards. Until his second touchdown, the first-ever meeting between the two conference champions - New Hampshire in CAA Football and Chattanooga in the Southern Conference - was extremely tight. Huesman had 428 total yards and accounted for three touchdowns in Chattanoogas loss, which ended a seven-game losing streak. Goldrich threw for 228 yards and three touchdowns and ran for a score for New Hampshire. The Wildcats went ahead for good 28-24 on Nico Steritis 6-yard draw with 13:23 left in the fourth quarter. But the play nearly didnt happen. Chattanooga defensive back Trevor Knight intercepted Goldrich in the Mocs end zone. But video replay confirmed Knight didnt re-establish himself in the end zone before catching the ball. On the next play, Steriti scored his second touchdown of the game to erase a 24-22 New Hampshire deficit. An attempt for a two-point conversion failed, however. Trailing 22-21 after three quarters, Chattanooga (10-4) went ahead when Henrique Ribeiro kicked a 27-yard field goal on the second play of the fourth quarter. The kick stopped a string of four straight missed field goal attempts by Ribeiro during the playoffs. New Hampshire had kept seven of its previous opponents to under 20 points, but Chattanooga took a 21-15 lead into halftime after Huesman scored from 1 yard out with 21 seconds remaining in the second quarter. It completed a huge first half in which he was 15-for-17 for 167 yards and rushed for another 64 yards and two touchdowns. His second touchdown erased a 15-14 Mocs deficit. Goldrich threw a 49-yard scoring pass to Harris with 4:47 left and then holder Andy Vailas ran in a faked extra point for the two-point conversion. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . Six years of waiting are finally over for the Dallas defenceman. Daley had a goal and an assist, Kari Lehtonen recorded his fifth shutout of the season, and the Stars clinched their first playoff berth since 2008 with a 3-0 victory against the St. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! .com) - Robert Martin and Josh Hicks combined for more than 300 yards rushing and three touchdowns, as Rutgers rolled past North Carolina, 40-21, in the Quick Lane Bowl. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку!. Pedroia reached the milestone with a little panache, hitting a grand slam in the sixth inning and propelling the Boston Red Sox to a 7-1 win over the Oakland Athletics on Friday night. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . First, Ivan Nova decided to have season-ending Tommy John elbow surgery. Then Michael Pineda was suspended for 10 games for using pine tar. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . Off-season additions Jermain Defoe and Michael Bradley did not train with the club today, prompting Nelsen to declare its too early to tell if either will be ready for Saturday.Calgary, AB (SportsNetwork.com) - Patrick Marleau scored the game-winning goal midway through the third period as the San Jose Sharks extended their winning streak to four games with a 3-2 victory over the Calgary Flames on Saturday. Logan Couture and Justin Braun each had a goal and an assist and Tommy Wingels supplied two helpers for San Jose, which received 33 saves from Antti Niemi. Were finding a way to win and thats great to see, said Marleau. Mark Giordano and Johnny Gaudreau each scored for the Flames, who had their four-game winning streak halted. Karri Ramo stopped 27-of-30 shots in defeat. The Sharks went ahead with 9:18 remaining as Coutures pass attempt from behind the net was deflected by the stick of a Flames defender and landed in the crease, where Marleau whacked it home for a 3-2 lead. Calgary went on the power play with 1:19 to go and pulled Ramo for a 6-on-4 advantage. The Flames got shots on net, but Niemi stood tall as San Jose held on for the win. Giordano stepped into David Jones pass from the left circle and blasted a shot from the point past a screened Niemi for tthe games opening marker with 2:28 to play in the first period.dddddddddddd Braun pounced on a loose puck at the right circle and tied the game with a backhander 33 seconds into the middle stanza. San Jose took a 2-1 lead after Couture gathered the puck and moved it from his forehand to backhand before snapping a shot past Ramo. They pressured us and got us with two quick goals, Calgary head coach Bob Hartley said. Once again we never stop. Thats one credit that our players deserve. Niemi extended his pad to deny Gaudreau of a tip-in, but the electrifying rookie took the loose puck in the crease and tapped it into the net for a tied game with 2:11 to play in the second. Game Notes Couture now has 19 points in 17 career games against the Flames ... Wingels and Marleau have both registered a point in four straight games ... San Jose is now 6-0-0 with forward Mike Brown in the lineup ... Sharks forward Tyler Kennedy left with an injury early in the first period ... The Flames entered the game with three straight wins against the Sharks. ' ' '