New England’s fall into a wild-card game for the NFL playoffs has landed the defending champions in prime time. The Patriots will host the Tennessee Titans next Saturday night on CBS in the second of the four weekend games. New England lost at home to Miami on Sunday and, combined with Kansas City’s victory over the Chargers, slipped to the third AFC seed.
If you predicted when December began that the Patriots would be playing in the wild-card round, take a bow. If you said back then the Eagles would win the NFC East, particularly after a loss at Miami and a string of injuries that would send most teams spiraling to the bottom of the league, raise your hand.
Six teams are still fighting for three important spots to ease their path to the Super Bowl. While 10 teams have clinched playoff spots entering Week 17, only the Baltimore Ravens (13-2) have earned a first-round bye. The Ravens secured the AFC’s No. 1 seed for the first time in franchise history.
Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow is a hero on LSU’s Baton Rouge campus, but he hasn’t seen much of it because he took graduate courses online. Justin Fields rarely has to step inside an Ohio State classroom building because he also does most of his school work online to accommodate his grueling football schedule.
The Lowry High School girls basketball team extended its win streak to three games last week, defeating Truckee and North Valleys on the road. The Lady Bucks improved to 3-1 in the Northern 3A 4-3 overall. In the win over Truckee on Thursday, Dec. 19, Lowry picked up scoring from eight different players and controlled the game from the start. The Lady Bucks held a six-point advantage after eight minutes of play at 19-13 and increased the margin to 36-25 at halftime. The difference in the contest was the third quarter, where Lowry came out of the break with a 19-4 run to push the lead to 55-29. The Lady Bucks saw just about all of that run erased in the fourth quarter, as the Wolverines closed out the game on an 18-4 run. However, it was not enough to complete the comeback.
The McDermitt High School boys basketball team wrapped up its preseason tournament schedule this past weekend with three games at the Red Lion Christmas Tournament at Lassen High School in Susanville, Calif. McDermitt took on the Lassen JV on Friday, Dec. 20, and suffered a 45-27 loss. McDermitt held a two-point lead at 12-10 after eight minutes of play, but scored just 15 points in the last three quarters combined.
The Lowry High School boys basketball team ran its winning to five games after a pair of Northern 3A victories last week on the road. The Buckaroos traveled to Truckee on Thursday, Dec. 19, and picked up a 70-44 win.
With a relatively young squad, the Lowry High School wrestling team continues to improve on the season, winning its second consecutive tournament. The Buckaroos were at home this past weekend and won the Cody Louk Invitational with five individual champions. Lowry was on top with 239 points and Fernley was second at 211. Reed (297), Reno (161) and Douglas (98) rounded out the top five. Even though the Buckaroos have won back-to-back tournaments, head coach John Brooks noted its gets much tougher from here on out to the end of the season.
The McDermitt High School girls basketball team continued its undefeated run in the early part of the season in its home debut last Thursday with a 66-35 win over Pyramid Lake. The Lady Bulldogs improved to 5-0 on the year.
Lindsey Drew and Jalen Harris each scored 18 points and lead five players into double-figure scoring as Nevada rolled past Texas Southern, 91-73 on Wednesday night.
The McDermitt High School boys basketball team picked up its first win of the season this past weekend, with a 74-66 victory over host Virginia City at the Comstock Classic. The Bulldogs went 1-3 at the tournament and are 1-6 on the early part of the season. McDermitt began the tournament on Thursday, Dec. 12, with a 71-43 loss to Coleville, Calif.
The McDermitt High School girls basketball team waited a week longer to gets its season underway officially, but the extra practice time paid off. The Lady Bulldogs went a perfect 4-0 at the Comstock Classic last weekend in Virginia City. “We jumped off to a great start this past weekend,” said first-year head coach April Wilson. McDermitt opened with a 57-49 win over Coleville, Calif., on Thursday, Dec. 12. The Lady Bulldogs shook off a slow start to score 37 points in the second half to secure the eight-point victory.
The San Francisco 49ers didn’t have much time to dwell on a lackluster loss to Atlanta with an abbreviated week ahead. So when the 49ers (11-3) returned to begin preparations for Saturday night’s home game against the Los Angeles Rams, coach Kyle Shanahan delivered the message that despite that loss to the Falcons, the Niners are in complete control in the ultra-tight NFC playoff race.
The Lowry High School wrestling team split its team up at the Mustang Invitational last Saturday in Lovelock, with the Lowry Gold finishing seventh with 83 points. Felix Munoz at 110 pounds and Damon Fetty (145B) won individual titles for the Buckaroos. Munoz won all three of his matches by pin, beginning against Fernley’s George Rosenlund in the quarterfinals, in an 82 seconds. Munoz reached the final by beating Dayton’s Jay Parsons in 70 second and he needed just 45 seconds to pin Douglas’ Victor Valdez for the title. Fetty did the same at in 145B-pound weight class, winning all three bouts by pin.
After beginning the season at the opposite end of the state, the Lowry High School wrestling team had a much shorter trip last Saturday to the Mustang Invitational in Lovelock. The Buckaroos ran away with the team title, scoring 202.50 points, as Battle Mountain placed second at 152.5. Fernley was third with 135 points and Reno (104) and Reed (102) rounded out the top five. Lowry had five individual champions on the day, including Wade Mori at 120 pounds, Taylor Corak (138), Cade Bell (152), Anthony Peterson (182) and Kole Mattson (285).