Columbia- All it took was a lightning strike to charge up the defense.

For the first hour of Monday’s scrimmage,Manchester City shirt, the Missouri football team’s defense struggled to stop the offense. Chase Daniel and Chase Patton consistently marched their respective units up the field, and the defense made mistakes that resulted in big gains. In the first half-hour alone, wide receiver Danario Alexander had two catches that totaled 73 yards after poor coverage and missed tackles by the defense.

Scrimmage stats

PASSING

Chase Daniel: 9 comp., 12 att., 182 yds, 0 TDs, 0 int.
Chase Patton: 12-21-216-2-1
Dominic Grooms: 11-16-135-0-1
J.P. Tillman: 10-16-47-1-0

RUSHING

Marcus Woods: 4 att., 41 yds., 0 TDs
De’Vion Moore: 11-36-0
Jimmy Jackson: 12-30-1
Derrick Washington: 10-24-0
Earl Goldsmith: 8-22-0

RECEIVING

Danario Alexander: 3-79-0
Will Franklin: 4-78-0
Jeremy Maclin: 4-65-0
Chase Coffman: 4-23-0
Jared Perry: 3-43-1
Martin Rucker: 2-20-0
Greg Bracey: 1-75-1

When lightning was spotted north of the practice fields, however, the team moved inside Devine Pavilion. At that point, the offense was beating the defense 27-8. After the move, the intensity of the practice increased, and the defense forced the offense into mistakes. Only time restraints stopped the defense’s furious comeback, and practice ended around 10:30 with a 49-43 victory for the offense. The team used the same scoring system it has in previous scrimmages, where the defense earns points for stops, turnovers, blocks and the like.

While defensive players admitted that the move inside Devine Pavilion helped them regroup, it was the offense that helped them turn up the intensity.

“They fuel us,” defensive tackle Ziggy Hood said of the offense. “We know we have a high-powered offense, and we just try to compete against them.”

Hood said there is a certain clout that follows the offense wherever the team goes. With returning starters such as Daniel,Atletico Madrid shirt, Tony Temple, Will Franklin, Martin Rucker and Chase Coffman, Hood expects records to fall this year.

“We should have the best offense in the Big 12,” Hood said. “It’s hard to go against them every day, but it’s good for us. We won’t face an offense like them in the season, and when we do go against a high scoring team, we’ll be ready. It’ll be a better game, you know?”

Junior Brock Christopher, the middle linebacker and one of the unquestioned leaders of the defense, said the offense casts a shadow over the defense at times.

“We try to not pay attention to what people say about the offense, though,” Christopher said after the scrimmage. “We’re fortunate to be able to compete against them in practice. They’ve got a lot of great athletes,South Africa football shirt, but we’ve got great athletes on our side of the ball, too.”

Christopher said that even though the defense made mistakes that ended in big gains for the offense, he was happy with the level of competition.

“It gets pretty heated out there,” Christopher said, sweat still pouring down his face even though practice had been over for nearly half an hour.

“The offense has got a lot of swagger, confidence, and we try to stop that.”

That swagger is evident at any practice. From Daniel’s familiar strut on the sideline,Birmingham shirt, to Greg Bracey’s constant talking, the offensive unit clearly knows the talent it possesses.

“It gets intense, but it’s lots of fun,” Christopher added.

Coach Gary Pinkel said he was pleased with the defense’s showing in Monday’s scrimmage.

“They gave up some big plays early, but they responded to adversity well,” Pinkel said. “The defense has a lot of depth. We’ve got some real good athletes there.”

Patton lead the offense in passing, with 216 yards and two touchdowns while completing 12 of 21 attempts. Daniel went for 182 yards on 9 of 12 passing. Jimmy Jackson gained 30 yards and one touchdown on the ground on 12 carries, and Marcus Woods finished with 41 yards on four carries. Cornerback Paul Simpson had an interception for the defense.’

? Woods was carted off the field in the first hour of practice after being tackled awkwardly. Pinkel said the injury appears to be a high-ankle sprain. “If it is that, we’ll put a cast or a boot on his ankle,” Pinkel said. Pinkel also said that Temple, who has been out with a bruised knee, may return next week.

? Kicker Jeff Wolfert appears to be in the running for the kickoff job, as well as placekicking duties. Wolfert, a 2006 Lou Groza Award semifinalist, has been adding leg strength in the past months, Pinkel said. Last year, Adam Crossett handled kickoff duties.

? MU coaches had tentatively planned to release a spring depth chart Monday, but decided to spend the evening looking at film before finalizing it. Check ColumbiaMissourian.com for a depth chart later today.

? The Tigers will practice at 8:15 a.m. and 3:15 p.m. today.

The Daniel Boone Little League American All-Stars won their first game of the Midwest Regional Tournament on Saturday in Indianapolis. They defeated Riverton Area Little League, the Kansas state champions,Wales football shirt, 7-6.

Daniel Boone Little League trailed 6-1 going into the final inning of the six-inning game.

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“We were really tight early on,Valencia shirt, anxious to do well,” head coach Greg Kespohl said by phone. “They pressed a little and didn’t handle not being successful very well early on.”

But they didn’t give up, scoring six runs in the top of the sixth, capped off by a two-out, two-run triple by Adam Lafferty to put the team on top.

“They just wanted to win so bad,Birmingham shirt,” Kespohl said of his team’s ability to pull off the comeback. “They went from being disappointed to just being mad. They started taking each at-bat one pitch at a time,l.a.galaxy shirt, and every player was willing himself to get on base.”

Daniel Boone Little League continues play on Sunday with a game versus Canyon Lake Little League, from South Dakota, at 11 a.m.

The Hickman baseball team’s five graduating seniors took a knee in left field to listen to their coach after their 13-4 loss to Fort Zumwalt South in Class 4 sectionals Thursday at Hickman.

Casey McIntosh,Wales football shirt, Dillan Henke, Roderick Williams, Jeff Johanningmeier, and Jonathan Haas listened intently to coach Dave Wilson, only breaking eye contact to wipe their face of either sweat or tears.

“I just told them I cared about them,Birmingham shirt,” Wilson said. “They taught me a lot this year. Going into a season where their aren’t a lot of expectations they never quit. They supported the young guys. They got better as players. I learned to never give in no matter what because those guys are quality people.”

The coach stood and hugged each one like a father would hug a son. The underclassman followed in their coach’s footsteps as they said goodbye to their teammates.

Members of Hickman’s 2005 state championship team looked on from the bleachers.

“It feels like a family atmosphere,” said Wilson seeing his former players. “That’s the way it should be.”

This year’s Kewpies had lost 17 players from last year’s championship team. Hickman struggled early in the season but managed to win districts May 18 against Helias 10-2 in Jefferson City.

“The team has really matured,” former pitcher Zach Heath said. “We came out to support them.”

Hickman (13-11) gave McIntosh, the starting pitcher,Santos shirt, an early 1-0 lead, but a pair of failed pickoff moves and a fielding error by shortstop Colin Kemble allowed the Bulldogs (21-6) to move ahead 2-1 in the third inning.

McIntosh pitched five complete innings before moving to first. Jeff Johanningmeier replaced him and Greg Kanuckle finished the game.

The turning point came on a Bulldogs grand slam in the sixth to increase the lead to 11-4. The Kewpies allowed five runs in the inning.

Hickman was unable to answer.

Although the season may be over for Hickman and those five seniors, Wilson looks forward to seeing his graduating players again soon.

“We’ll see all these guys out here supporting our young men,” Wilson said. “That’s why Hickman’s a great school.”

CHARLOTTE, N.C. It took Roush Fenway Racing less than a month to put together a major portion of Carl Edwards’ sponsorship package.

Fastenal agreed Thursday to sponsor Edwards, a Columbia native, for 17 races in the Sprint Cup Series beginning next season. The deal came a little more than three weeks after Edwards ended his free agency by agreeing to a long-term deal with Roush.

The team had been unable to shop sponsorship until Edwards agreed to return to the organization.

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Fastenal has been associated with Edwards in some capacity since 1999 and has been the primary sponsor on his Nationwide Series car the last two seasons.

“I’ve appreciated the long relationship that I’ve had with Fastenal,” Edwards said. “I’m proud that they believe so strongly in our team and program that they are making the commitment to sponsor us in the Sprint Cup Series.”

Fastenal, a fastener distributor and supplier for the industrial and construction industry, also agreed to sponsor two additional Roush Fenway entries in a yet to be determined 2012 race. The deal would put three Fastenal-branded Fords on the track in a single event.

“It’s hard to imagine a better driver,Birmingham shirt, or a better spokesperson for our company, than Carl Edwards,” said Fastenal vice president Cory Jansen. “Because of the phenomenal season Carl is having, we’ve probably had more brand exposure this year than we’ve had in the previous five years combined.

“We’re looking forward to taking another huge step forward next season by presenting our brand to the tens of millions of fans who follow the Cup Series.”

Aflac is currently Edwards’ primary sponsor, but the insurance company has not said yet if it will return next season.

Edwards has won four Nationwide races this season and five overall in a Fastenal-sponsored car.

In the Sprint Cup Series, he’s ranked fourth in the standings and has already clinched a berth in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.

Columbia — It’s a cool fall morning, and senior Julia Hanson is stretching and preparing for an hour of cross country practice. A consistent jog begins what will be a lengthy day of class, practice and activities. Practice ends at 7:30 a.m., and she only has thirty minutes to get a shower in before her class at MU and the rest of her day begins. She has to hurry because, unlike all her other Stephens College classes, this one is off-campus.

Her MU class ends and the rush to class resumes as her next one is back at Stephens. Two hours of coursework later, Hanson takes a quick break for lunch and homework. Her schedule is just starting, though. There’s another class at 2:00 p.m., and an hour after that, she has to get to the writing lab where she volunteers as a tutor. The job is only supposed to be for two hours,Birmingham shirt, but she often finds herself leaving the lab at 6:00 p.m.. On Wednesdays and Thursdays, though, she has to leave at 5; she is a student-teacher at the Cedar Creek Therapeutic Riding Center, where she teaches disabled kids and adults how to ride horses — a rehabilitating activity emphasizing joint, muscle and balance therapy. Depending on the day, Hanson’s first semester schedule ends at either 6:00 p.m. or 7:00 p.m., and she spends the rest of the night doing homework and sleeping.

Next semester, her daily load will lighten a little, but only slightly. She replaces early morning cross country practice with mid-afternoon swimming practice, and her class schedule, currently 21 credit hours, drops marginally to 18.

“Yeah, I pretty much have class all day and do homework all night,” Hanson said.

Her schedule has never been empty, though. Hanson has been a part of at least one school athletic team every year since her freshman year of high school, and only while on soccer scholarship at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, did she play on only one.

Hanson started filling her plate with activities a half an hour away from Coe in Mt. Vernon,Sevilla shirt, Iowa where she grew up and attended high school. During her high school career,Werder Bremen shirt, she played four sports and dabbled in a few others.

“I did soccer, volleyball for a year, and then I did cross country. I kind of did track, but they wouldn’t let me do track and soccer,” Hanson said. “And then I did softball for one summer.”

Of those four sports, Hanson excelled at two — cross-country and soccer. However, after she tore right ACL as a sophomore during soccer season, she was forced to sit out cross-country the following year. Still a team captain and present at all the meets, Hanson watched from the sideline as her team competed. For the first time since junior high, Hanson had a substantial amount of time away from sports. Incapacitated because of the injury, she grew frustrated with her inactive state.

“It was tough. I still went to all the events, but to not compete was hard.”

After a year of rehabilitation, Hanson regained her spot on the soccer team, and her talents would soon garner attention at the next level. Coe College saw enough potential in Hanson to offer her an athletic scholarship, but before leaving for school, she underwent another surgery on her knee. As a result, Hanson played her freshman year at Coe with some noticeable distress.

“I still wasn’t fully recovered from my injury. I had to wear a knee brace, and I wasn’t 100 percent.”

A year later, Hanson, still recovering from her knee injury, decided to transfer from Coe, opting for Stephens College. The draw of Stephens, though, wasn’t its soccer or cross-country programs — both nonexistent at Stephens at the time of her enrollment — but its equestrian program, which addressed a passion of Hanson’s since childhood.

“I started riding when I was five, and I’ve owned horses since I was six,” Hanson said. “I’ve been taking lessons up until now.”

Hanson had been participating in horse shows consistently throughout her time in Mt. Vernon, so when she came to Stephens, a school known for its equestrian program, Hanson thrived in the atmosphere, participating regularly in horse shows at the Midway Expo Center.

And while riding horses became the latest addition to her schedule, she also caught up on one sport and started a new one after coming to Columbia. Hanson took up swimming and restarted her career in cross-country. Because of her athletic ability, Hanson excelled at both. She started as the No. 2 runner her junior year — the inaugural season of the Stephens cross country program — but quickly moved up to No. 1 her senior year.

“She did a tremendous amount of work over the summer and transformed herself into a very strong No. 1 for us this year and ran times that were three minutes faster than last year,” cross country coach Dane Pavlovich said.

Hanson saw the culmination of her running talent senior year at the University of Evansville Invitational in October when she became the first runner in the program’s brief history to medal at an event and set a school record with a time of 20 minutes, 34 seconds.

In January,Celtic shirt, Hanson will start her final semester in collegiate athletics when she begins swimming, a sport she hasn’t competed in since middle school.

“Swimming has always come easy to me, but I’m not exactly the fastest swimmer on the team, I found out.”

Still, swimming coach Laura Wacker is eager to regain Hanson for the second half of the season after she missed the first half running cross country.

“I think (her running ability) can only help her this year,” Wacker said. “I’m looking forward to see how she does.”

When swimming ends, Hanson will see her collegiate athletic career come to a close, and the only activities she plans on pursuing are riding and the occasional jog. Ideally, she sees herself continuing her work in therapeutic horse-riding and plans to still participate in horse shows.

It won’t be the same for Hanson, though. The consistent competition she faced weekly will be gone, and similar to the rehabilitation of her high school ACL injury, it will not be easy.

“Basically every year of my life I’ve done a competitive sport, and I’ll be done, so it’ll be tough.”

That is unless she finds a new sport.

“I won’t be running for any particular reason. I mean, unless I decide to run a marathon or something.”

COLUMBIA He stands on the sidelines, watching his first-string offense run against a scout team defense with his arms crossed over his chest. A white hooded sweatshirt the size of a parachute covers his upper body, draped over shoulders that resemble bowling balls. The hood is pulled low over his face, barely allowing his eyes to see out. He paces the sidelines of Rock Bridges practice field, each step calculated, his Nikes punishing the field turf.

A.J. Ofodiles offense methodically moves the ball down field with as much organization as a Navy SEAL unit. No movement is wasted. Assistants buzz around the field, pointing out minor but important adjustments between each snap. The ball rarely touches the ground, but when it does, its scooped up as quickly as open parking spaces at the mall on Black Friday.

This is how it works for Ofodile. He watches with Zen-like concentration and calm as his quarterback lofts a deep ball down the sideline. A dropped pass in the end zone merely elicits a raised brow.

“Come on now, lets focus,” he says, clapping his hands.

Ofodile is in his seventh year as the head football coach at Rock Bridge High School. During the school days, he works to update his strength and conditioning courses in the physical education department at the school where he cracks up coworkers at department meetings. As coach, he also hounds counselors and teachers on his players performance off the field.

After the final bell, Ofodile transforms and can be as intense as a wolf chasing his prey. Besides the Bruins’ next victory, the coach is passionate about producing quality human beings with strong work ethics. During his playing days (four years for Missouri and six years in the NFL), Ofodile says he learned about hard work, and dedication is what he tries to instill in his players. To explain its importance, he will tell you about a place 650 miles north of this field in Columbia at a hill in his hometown of Detroit.

For the last 50 years, Derby Hill has hosted the Detroit City Soap Box Derby. For a few years in the 90s, Derby Hill also hosted informal but intense summer workouts for a group of college football players. Ofodile and Missouri strength and conditioning coach Pat Ivey spent some of their breaks from the Tigers football team on this hill, about a mile from Iveys house. The two would jog there every day as a warmup and meet up with other players from the Detroit area that attended schools such as Western Michigan, Central Michigan and Michigan State for grueling sprint sessions up the hill.

“It was a crazy routine. It taught me the responsibility necessary to be successful,” Ofodile said. “It showed me that to gain ground on everybody else you could never rest. I probably never shouldve spent a minute in the NFL talent wise. But those workouts put me above the rest. Good players are good because they work. My whole playing career Ive been around people with a strong belief in working.”

With no coaches around, the intensity of the workouts was up to the player. Ivey and Ofodile, who suited up together for Cass Technical High School in Detroit and were roommates at MU, helped propel each other up the hill.

“We pushed each other. It made it easy to go to work when you had someone like that with you, in your ear the whole time,” Ivey said. “He (Ofodile) definitely knows talent as well. He has a good blend of knowing how to work and having talent.”

That blend has helped numerous Bruins earn Division I football scholarships. Georgia backup quarterback Logan Gray and Georgia starting tight end Aron White played for Ofodile. This year, the Bruins feature two Division I recruits in Trey Millard, who has choosen Oklahoma,Birmingham shirt, and Chase Rome, who had planned to attend Oklahoma State before changing his mind and choosing Nebraska. Without Ofodile, their football futures would be less defined.

“Hes tremendous. Hes really picky about details which can get kind of annoying, but its the reason where I am today,” said Rome, a 6-foot-3, 275-pound defensive end. “He holds me to a higher standard in academics and football. Some kids want to play football to wear the jersey and get the ladies,Lazio shirt, but its not about that. Coach Ofodile keeps the focus on what we need to do to win games.”

At Rock Bridge, Ofodile wraps up practice. Coming off an emotional victory over rival Hickman, he stresses the importance of focus, not riding too high on achievements and approaching every game like its the Providence Bowl regardless of opponent. Onlookers would think Ofodile was a hypnotist. He has his players complete attention, eyes locked on the coach as if they were seeing a Victorias Secret fashion show.

Aside from his extensive football experience, Ofodile strives to make an impression on his players that goes beyond the Xs and Os. While drills and sprints are stressed, his players appreciate the benefits that spill into other areas of their lives besides athletics.

“As far as football, the terminology and the way we run practice helps give me an idea what to expect next year,” Millard said. “Coach Ofodile has taught me to give 100 percent in everything I do, to not quit on something just because I dont enjoy it.”

This includes academics. To do this, Ofodile checks with his players guidance counselors often, making sure theyre making grades and setting examples for the rest of Rock Bridge. If problems arise, Ofodile is the first to respond. Not because people expect him to, but because he wants to. As a former football player, Ofodile understands that an entire school community looks up to football players, respects them and emulates their decisions.

Jennifer Mast, the athletic director at Rock Bridge,Atletico Madrid shirt, says she appreciates Ofodile’s well-rounded approach.

“He (Ofodile) is one of the best coaches weve ever had as far as staying on top of his kids and really knowing his kids,” Mast said. “Hes great with our teachers and counselors. The stereotype is that football coaches are only here for wins, but he never hesitates to help someone out whether theyre on the team or not.”

Ofodile does more than just pursue his coworkers for answers. One minute he may be grilling a teacher for a test score. The next, he will have that same teacher doubled over, shaking with laughter. Vicki Reimler,Napoli shirt, a coworker in the physical education department at Rock Bridge, witnesses Ofodiles humor on a first-hand basis. Beyond his serious demeanor lies a funny, witty side of Ofodile that keeps coworkers on their toes.

“A couple weeks ago at a department meeting, he was telling us some stories. I dont even remember what they were about because I was too busy laughing. By the time we left everyones sides and cheeks hurt because we were laughing so hard,” Reimler said. “Every now and then, hell throw a zinger and just crack you up.”

Relationships are the backbone of Ofodile’s program. While he wants his players to score touchdowns and grab interceptions, Ofodile also wants his players to have a scope on life beyond the Friday lights. Its a simple formula. If players feel like their coaches care about them, they will do anything for the man with the whistle. Those relationships mean stressing blitz packages as equally as world history. Those relationships represent the difference between wide receivers pulling up instead of laying out for an overthrown ball, running backs tiptoeing through a hole instead of driving through it like a truck.

“We want our kids to know there are things more important in life than wins and losses. We want to make sure things are still fun for them,” Ofodile said. “Players enthusiasm comes from these relationships.”

The Nebraska footballl team’s win on Saturday against Texas A&M clinched the Big 12 Conference North title for the Huskers. Missouri was frustrated when the team’s goal of winning the division title disappeared, but the Tigers are still playing for something this season.

“We have a goal for a championship (every season),” coach Gary Pinkel said. “These guys are very disappointed, and they should be. I’m still excited. Hopefully we can take care of our business.”

The bye week was a chance for players to rest up to finish the season, but players weren’t totally free. The players lifted weights in light workouts Monday,Napoli shirt, Wednesday and Friday. The team ran in different conditioning drills on Tuesday and Thursday, and they also had sessions early Saturday and late Sunday in preparation for the season’s last two games.

Contests at Iowa State this weekend and at home against Kansas after Thanksgiving, are important to the Tigers because of the bowl implications they could have. Kansas State’s recent winning stretch and the Aggies’ losses at home the past two weeks have muddied the water.

“Obviously it would’ve helped us if A&M won (against Nebraska),” quarterback Chase Daniel said. “But it could still help our bowl situation.”

Beyond playing for better bowl position, the Missouri players see the remaining games as a simple test of their character.

“The importance of these last two games is finishing strong and winning. Period,” middle linebacker Dedrick Harrington said. “It’s about pride. They’re very important to us.”

In a larger sense, the last two games can strongly influence how Missouri is perceived. Wins would give Missouri one of its best seasons in recent years, while losses would stamp the Tigers as perennial underachievers.

“It’s just a matter of the stability of our program,” receiver Brad Ekwerekwu said. “If we get down and lose, it eliminates what we’ve been able to build so far.”

I’LL BE BACK: On Monday,Birmingham shirt, junior tight end Martin Rucker said he is sure he will be back for the 2007 season.

Rucker said that because he wouldn’t be a first- or second-round pick in the NFL Draft, he wanted to come back to improve his skills and get his degree.

“For me, (a degree) is the most important thing,” Rucker said. “You might not need it right off, but down the road somewhere you will.”

Statistically, this season hasn’t gone as well for Rucker as he was hoping. He said the numbers he has been putting up need to be better for scouts to really be wowed.

“There are a lot of playmakers on this team,Paris Saint Germain shirt,” Rucker said. “It’s not about me going to the NFL. It’s about this team winning.”

Next season, Rucker will again team up with fellow tight end Chase Coffman to form one of the top tight end duos in the country.

INJURY UPDATE: Rucker should be back at practice this week after missing this past weekend’s practices with a sprain of his big toe. He will be back in time for Saturday’s 1 p.m. game against Iowa State.

Also expected back are safety William Moore,Wales football shirt, who has been out with a slight hamstring pull, and corner Domonique Johnson, who is back from a strained ACL.

Running back Earl Goldsmith is questionable because of a broken hand. If ready, he will continue to return kicks, but Tony Temple will start at running back regardless of Goldsmith’s injury.

COLUMBIA — “Don’t act like you’re not impressed.”

That was the slogan on the back of a shirt a Harrisburg High School fan was wearing during the boys’ basketball team’s Class 2 semifinal against Clever at Mizzou Arena on Friday night.

The team and the game lived up to that billing as the Bulldogs won 73-67 in a high-paced game that featured 26 lead changes.

Harrisburg coach Steve Combs said the teams were practically mirror images of each other. Both teams featured smaller players and relied on an up-tempo game.

“It was just two teams matched evenly,” Combs said in a press conference after the game.

One notable difference between the two teams is that the Blue Jays only have eight players on their roster and usually only play six while Harrisburg had a deeper bench and used an eight-man rotation.

“I thought we could wear them out,” Harrisburg senior guard Josh Taylor said. However, that wasn’t the case.

“It didn’t look like they would ever get tired,” Taylor said.

Combs wasn’t worried about his players getting tired saying his team plays that tempo everyday in practice.

Taylor led the Bulldogs with 21 points and 12 rebounds. However,Villareal shirt, that wasn’t the first thing he looked at when he saw the box score.

“Dang, I didn’t do good,” Taylor said when he saw the man he was guarding,Inter Milan shirt, Clever senior guard Josh Pope, scored 19 points. Taylor’s 12 rebounds were a big part of the 36-21 rebounding edge for the Bulldogs.

“Coach stresses ‘Rebound, rebound, rebound,’” Taylor said.

Harrisburg won the state title in 2006 and finished third last year. This is only the second trip to the finals in school history.

“I never thought we had a chance to be better than Fisher’s team,Birmingham shirt,” senior guard Taylor Perrigo said. Kyle Fisher was a guard on the 2006 championship team and is currently a sophomore on William Jewell’s basketball team.

Clever led by one point after each of the first three quarters, but a late 8-0 run by the Bulldogs put them in position where all they had to do was make free throws to clinch the game. The Bulldogs were up to the task as they made seven out of nine in the last 1:05 of the game.

Clever sophomore guard Jeremy Dresslaer had 11 points in the first quarter, but was held relatively in check after that. He finished with a team-high 21 points and fouled out with 1:05 left.

“We thought Taylor (Perrigo) was as athletic as him,Porto shirt,” Combs said of the matchup against Dresslaer.

Blue Jays senior forward Bryce Huddleston also had 21 points. Harrisburg junior forward Cory Via had 18 and Perrigo added 15.

Harrisburg will play South Iron of Annapolis for the state championship at 6:10 p.m. Saturday at Mizzou Arena. Clever will play for third against West Platte of Weston at 9:30 p.m.

ST. LOUIS — The dome was rocking with chants of “Let’s Go Bears,” and Chicago’s football team looked right at home in St. Louis.

Especially high-stepping rookie Devin Hester.

Hester set an NFL record with his fifth and sixth returns for touchdowns, a 94-yard kickoff runback in the second quarter and a 96-yarder in the final period Monday night. That sparked a 42-27 victory over the Rams.

The NFC North champions (11-2) clinched a first-round bye for the playoffs as beleaguered quarterback Rex Grossman had a solid effort and the running attack dominated the second half.

But it was Hester who made the thousands of Bears fans who traveled from Chicago rise from their seats.

A second-round draft pick, he also has three punt return touchdowns and ran back a missed field goal 108 yards against the Giants to tie the longest play in NFL history. But he had returned only six kickoffs all year before his historic romps.

He headed up the middle on the first,Napoli shirt, then swiftly cut to his left untouched and sped down the sideline, high-stepping like a drum major the last few yards while holding up the football for the raucous Bears fans.

Hester outdid himself in the fourth quarter when it appeared the Rams might try an onside kick. The only Bear standing deep, he went straight up the center of the field,Birmingham shirt, again untouched, and turned around at the Rams 20 looking for pursuers. No one was there.

Hester struggled to find a position in college at Miami, but he’s been a sensation with the ball in his hands on kick returns for the Bears.

Carrying a 14-13 lead into the second half, the Bears outgained the Rams (5-8) 191 yards to 31 in the third quarter. They scored on Thomas Jones’ 30-yard run and Muhsin Muhammad’s superb fingertip catch of a 14-yard pass from Grossman,Inter Milan shirt, who probably quieted calls for his benching — particularly from the thousands of fans who outshouted Rams fans much of the evening.

Missouri has reached an agreement with Learfield Communications to continue broadcasting Tiger games for the next 11 years.

The multimedia deal will provide the university with a minimum of $32.5 million, but could net the athletic department as much as $50 million.

Learfield controls the Tiger Radio Network, which provides the more than 50 radio affiliate feeds for football and basketball broadcasts. They also control the Mizzou Sports Network and the TV broadcasts of both the men’s and women’s basketball teams.

The new agreement begins July 1, 2005 and won’t expire until June 30, 2016.

Learfield operates out of Jefferson City, and has a 20-year relationship with the Tigers. The firm has held the rights to Missouri’s broadcasts since 1998.

COLUMBIA COLLEGE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL:

The 17th-ranked Cougars defeated Brescia University, an NAIA semifinal team last season, 70-51 Monday night in Owensboro, Ky.

Charliss Ridley scored 21 points to lead Columbia College. Also in double figures for the Cougars were Lisa Kowalewski with 15, and Laura Elliot with 10.

Columbia College (11-4) won despite shooting only 13 free throws compared with the 28 shot by the Bearcats. The Cougars capitalized by making all 13 of their attempts from the stripe,Glasgow Rangers shirt, nine of which came in the final minutes as Brescia attempted to comeback, said coach Mike Davis.

Columbia College is off until Jan. 3 for the holidays.

SHOW-ME SHAPE UP:

The Show-Me State Games is sponsoring a health and fitness program.

The competition features teams of 2-10 people divided into either a team weight loss category,Juventus shirt, or an accumulated activity category. Teams will track their weight loss, or collective miles of activity depending on which group they join.

The event is open to any team of family,Napoli shirt, friends or co-workers, and lasts from Jan. 10 to June 10. The Shape Up kick-off will be at the ARC at noon Jan. 10, 2005. Teams can sign up there, at www.smsg.org/showmeshapeup/index.asp, or by contacting coordinator Jean Hough at 884-4998.

MISSOURI ATHLETICS:

Swimmer Belinda Wood and wrestler Tyler McCormick were named the Lathrop and Gage student-athletes of the week.

Wood, a senior, is a South Africa native who competes in the butterfly and individual medley for the Tigers. She is a nutritional science major with a 3.77 GPA. McCormick, a redshirt freshman, competes at 133 pounds and is 11-6 on the season. He is a business major with a 3.88 GPA.

CARDS SPRING SET:

A World Series rematch with the Boston Red Sox will be among the highlights of the St. Louis Cardinals’ spring training schedule, released Monday. The NL champion Cardinals will play 30 exhibition games beginning March 2. The Red Sox will host the Cardinals on March 16 at Fort Myers, Fla.

The Cardinals will conclude the spring schedule April 2-3 with games in Springfield, Mo.,Birmingham shirt, against their new Double-A team, the Springfield Cardinals.

Pitchers and catchers report Feb. 18. The remainder of the team is due Feb. 22.