Contributed
(August 30, 2010)

The Southern League announced Monday that Biscuits lefty Alex Torres has been named the league’s Pitcher of the Week for his efforts from Aug. 23-29.

Torres made two starts last week, tossing six shutout innings in Huntsville on Tuesday, striking out seven to grab his first victory in over a month. He followed it with seven dazzling innings on Sunday against West Tennessee, striking out a season-high ten while limiting the league’s second-ranked offense to a run on four hits in another win.

With Sunday’s 10 punch-outs, Torres now sits second in Biscuits history for a single season with a league-leading 144. With one start remaining, he’ll need nine Ks to tie Andy Sonnanstine’s 2006 total of 153 for the most ever in one season by a Biscuit.

Acquired by the Rays from the Angels in the Scott Kazmir deal, Torres made his Biscuits debut late in 2009. The 22-year-old out of Valencia, Venezuela, took the ball for the Biscuits on opening night and has cruised to a team-best 11 victories while enjoying mid-season All-Star honors and an appearance for the World Squad in the All-Star Future’s Game played an Angels Stadium in Anaheim during MLB’s All-Star Break.

Torres is the second Biscuit to have taken home Southern League Pitcher of the Week honors this season, with Jake McGee winning the title at the end of May. It’s the 14th time in Biscuits history a pitcher has won the award. Past Biscuits honorees include Big-Leaguers David Price, Jeff Niemann, Jamie Shields, and Sonnanstine.

The Biscuits currently sit 3.0 games out in the South Division wild card hunt with seven remaining. They begin the final home series of the season on Tuesday at 7:05 against the Huntsville Stars, with the home schedule concluding on Fan Appreciation Night, Thursday at 7:05.

Stanhope’s Dalton VanCor boots the winning field goal in the Mustangs’ overtime win on Friday. (Photo by Brian Finley. For more photos, click here.)

By Brian Finley
RRS Correspondent
(August 30, 2010)

ALABASTER - A defensive struggled ended in a 10-7 victory for the Stanhope Elmore Mustangs thanks to an overtime field goal from kicker Dalton VanCor.

The Mustangs overcame four turnovers to win its season opener.

“I really do think everything happens for a reason and I’m thankful we were tested like this. I told the guys were going to have to build off of this for next week. We have a lot of adjustments to make during the week but I know we’re capable,” Stanhope coach Jeff Foshee said.

The first half didn’t go as smoothly as hoped for the Mustangs. After the defense forced a punt, the first drive of the year resulted in two fumbles, the second recovered by the Warriors.

After two squashed run plays, the Mustangs recover a fumble on third down taking over from their own 36-yard line. The Mustangs avoid a turnover and go three-and-out before a 9 play, 46-yard drive from the Warriors comes to a halt on the 22-yard line. The joy of the defensive stand was soon forgotten as a once 15-yard run turned into another turnover for the Mustangs.

 The defense forced a punt once again giving a first down the Mustangs on their 30 yard line. The Mustangs played only two snaps before their fourth fumble in two quarters of play.

“I don’t think it was the wet ball as much as it was the first-game jitters,” said Foshee “We got it out of our system and came out in the second half fighting.”

Fortunately, turnovers seem to fuel the fire of the Mustang defense. After another lengthy Warrior drive, Thompson’s scoring hopes dwindle away at the 6-yard line. After a lightning delay the Mustangs put together a promising drive before heading to the locker rooms in a 0-0 defensive stalemate.

In the opening drive of the second half, the Mustangs looked like a completely different team, not only bypassing fumbles, but riding the legs of running back Fred Harris for 84 yards and a touchdown. Harris started the drive with a 24-yard kick return to the 40-yard line. Austin Sanderson followed with a 19-yard gain before Harris knocked out the last 35 yards in just two plays for the first score of the game. Dalton VanCor’s extra point gave the Mustangs a 7-0 lead.

Keebo Lewis and the Mustangs defense continued to hold the Warriors in check throughout the third and fourth quarters. With just over 3 minutes to play, the Warriors took over on their own 35-yard line and began to drive. It took Thompson 17 plays to march down the field, capping off the scoring drive with an extra point to tie the game at 7 with only 28 seconds left to play. Foshee elected to down the ball and play for overtime.

Stanhope won the toss and elected to start on defense. Overtime starts from the 10-yard line, so the Mustangs were hoping to hold the opposition to a field goal. Defensive back, Ryan Callicot had other plans in mind. On second and 10 Callicot picked off the Warrior pass just before reaching the end zone.

The Mustangs ran the ball three times before attempting the field goal. The ball was spotted on the right hash mark, not exactly the ideal position for a 21-yard attempt. It was no problem for VanCor however, and he split the uprights to give the Mustangs the win.

 The Mustangs will take on Prattville next week at Foshee-Henderson Stadium in Millbrook.

Contributed
(August 30, 2010)

The Biscuits (69-62) raced out to an early lead and never looked back, completing the first home series-sweep since 2008 with a 10-1 smashing of the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx (67-65) on Sunday afternoon at Riverwalk.
 
A Drew Anderson three-run homer followed a John Matulia RBI-double in the first inning against Jaxx starter Steve Bray to make it 4-0 Biscuits. They’d put up another four-spot against Bray in the third, again getting RBI hits from Matulia and Anderson, and also sac-flies off the bats of Matt Fields and Matt Spring to chase Bray from the game.
 
Matulia and Anderson each brought home another run in the fourth to set the Biscuits on top at 10-0.
 
The lone Jaxx run came from Carlos Peguero in the seventh on a solo-homer against Biscuits starter Alex Torres.
 
Torres (11-6) struck out a season-high ten over his seven innings, allowing one run on four hits and two walks. Bray suffered the loss, giving up eight runs over three innings to see his ERA grow by nearly a half point.
 
Anderson became the third Biscuits player this season to drive home five in game, going 2-3. Matulia went 3-4, and Emeel Salem broke an 0-25 stretch to go 3-5.
 
The Biscuits now sit three games behind Mobile in the South Division wild card standings, with the BayBears playing a twinbill against Huntsville on Sunday night.
 
The Biscuits will welcome the Stars in for the final home stand of the season beginning Tuesday at 7:05. RHP Alex Cobb will toss for the Biscuits against fellow RHP Amaury Rivas..

Contributed
(August 30, 2010)

Senior Stefan Arnarson came off the bench to score two goals and help the No. 17-ranked Auburn University at Montgomery men’s soccer team salvage a 3-3 double-overtime tie against Graceland University in the finale of the AUM Fall Kickoff Classic on Sunday at the AUM Soccer Complex.
 
Arnarson, along with several other regular starters for the Senators (1-1-1), came off the bench in Sunday’s contest, as six freshman and just two regulars started the match.
 
The Senators fell behind early in the match after the Yellowjackets’ Killon Foster intercepted a pass by AUM’s defense and quickly passed to Kasy Kiarash for a goal just 9:18 into the contest.
 
“We wanted to send a message that we were not satisfied with the performance on Friday,” head coach Wulf-Dieter Koch said. “I thought the six freshmen we put out there did a good job, but one of their mistakes led to the first goal we allowed. We still have a lot of growing to do as a unit.”
 
The goal concluded the scoring in the first half, as Graceland (0-1-1) took a 1-0 advantage to the intermission.
 
In the second period, Arnarson tied the score in the 57th minute on a penalty kick, but Orin Branker put the Yellowjackets back on top, 2-1, in the 73rd minute.
 
Arnarson had another opportunity to tie the score with a penalty kick in the 78th minute, but his shot was saved by Graceland keeper, Gage Tubbs. However, just seconds later, sophomore newcomers Tornubari Nyonebue scored off of a deflected corner kick to again tie the score and give him his first goal with the Senators. Senior Gunnar Kristinsson and junior Chris Ross each assisted on the goal.
 
Late in the contest, AUM took its lone lead of the match, when Arnarson blasted a pass from freshman Goffin Boyoko for a goal with less than four minutes left in regulation. The goal gave the Senators a 3-2 lead, which lasted less than 10 seconds, as the Yellowjackets took the possession following the goal and worked directly through the center of the AUM defense. Kiarash scored for the second time in the match three seconds following Arnarson’s goal to force overtime.
 
“The season is still very young, but today’s match was a microcosm of our frustration to this point,” Koch continued. “Through just three games, it has been a rollercoaster ride. Right now, we need to get healthy and get back to the basics of playing fundamental soccer.
 
Following two 10-minute overtime periods, the match was called a draw.
 
AUM finished the match with 21 shots, nine more than the Yellowjackets. Arnarson and Nyonebue led the Senators with 11 combined shots, while junior Steve Keller finished with four saves in goal.
 
“Once we get a little more comfortable with each other, I think we will be alright,” Koch added. “We are playing a tough schedule early in an effort to prepare us for the challenges of conference play, and I think that is what we are really all working toward.”
 
The Senators will return to action on Friday, September 3, when they hosts Milligan College in the AUM Capital City Classic. The match is scheduled to being at 4 p.m. at the AUM Soccer Complex.

Contributed
(August 29, 2010)

The Biscuits (67-64), needing to be near perfect to track down a wild card berth, got their sixth win in their last seven, pounding the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx (67-64), 6-3, on Saturday at Riverwalk.

The deficit in the wild card is now down to 3.5 games with eight left to play.

The Biscuits were one out away from getting their 16th shutout, but the Jaxx scored three against Sergio Espinosa and brought the tying run to the plate in the form of the league-leader in homers, Carlos Peguero. Heath Rollins got him to ground out to second to end the scare.

Jose Ruiz paced the offense with a 2-4 night, getting the Biscuits on the board in the first with a two-run homer. He is now 9-13 in the series.

The Biscuits added much needed insurance in the seventh inning, getting a solo-homer from Matt Fields, a bounceout from Henry Wrigley, and two unearned runs against reliever Robert Rohrbaugh.

Jaxx starter Luis Munoz (6-6) was tagged with the loss, allowing a pair of runs on four hits over six innings. Jeremy Hall (6-8) worked six scoreless innings for the Biscuits to get the victory.

Alex Torres will toss for the Biscuits as they search for the series-sweep on Sunday at 2:05 against West Tenn Steve Bray..

Contributed
(August 29, 2010)

BARBOURVILLE, Ky. - After knocking off the host team yesterday in the third annual Bulldog soccer tournament at Union College, Faulkner’s men’s soccer team faced Cumberland in the tournament championship this evening and clinched the 2-1 victory.

“It was another solid game,” said head coach Brett Mitchell. “It’s nice to bring home some hardware, the guys really deserve it.”

Rodrigo Pontes scored on a one on one with the keeper in the first half and Marco Mata added the team’s remaining goal in the second period.

Goalkeeper Kevin Saxby was on point for the Eagles claiming six saves and allowing only his first goal of the season.

“Saxby was huge, especially in the second half,” said Mitchell. “They pulled everyone at the end of the game and really came after us and he did and outstanding job.”

Faulkner (3-0-1) will take on conference rival Southern Wesleyan in a non-division match next Saturday in Central, S.C. at 4 p.m.

Volleyball team lose twice in tourney

LEBANON, Tenn. - After igniting the season with a 3-0 start the Faulkner volleyball team looked to continue their success on day two of the Cumberland University tournament. The Lady Eagles were rattled by extensive errors against Reinhardt in the opener and fell in four sets 26-24, 15-25, 15-25, 15-25. Faulkner followed with a 3-0 decision to Cumberland 24-26, 15-25, 12-25.

“We had a tremendous amount of errors against Reinhardt,” said head coach Tori Bartels. “There were just too many mental mistakes and that makes it hard to be competitive. We actually played outstanding defense for the most part against Cumberland, but we kept coming out of system and our hitters had a hard time adjusting.”

Faulkner had a staggering six players with a negative hitting percentage against Reinhardt. Shelby Woods had the top offensive performance at the net with five kills hitting .250. Maddie Brinkely was again solid in the back row with 16 digs, while Neysa Hernandez added 12 more.

Hernandez came to life against Cumberland however, rocking 10 kills hitting .269. Kelsey Bell followed with six kills and three total blocks and Woods posted five more kills hitting .400 against the Bulldogs. Setter Lerin Hoback had 43 assists, 11 digs and three aces on the day.

“I’m not disappointed to be honest with you,” Bartels added. “We definitely have some things to work on, but the girls are hungry for the next win and this is the type of team you wanna coach. A team that will learn from its mistakes and do what it takes to win.”

Faulkner (3-2) will enter the Millsaps College tournament on Friday, Sept. 3. The Lady Eagles will take on Le Tourneau University at 3 p.m.

Contributed
(August 29, 2010)

Junior Jana Yates scored with just over 20 minutes remaining in the match to give the No. 13 Lady Senators a physical 2-1 victory over Shorter on day two of the AUM Kickoff Classic on Saturday.

AUM led at the half, 1-0, thanks to the first goal of the season from senior Amber Elam in the 16th minute of the match. However, the Lady Hawks (0-1) rallied early in the second half to tie the score on a goal from freshman Kelli Davis and set the stage for Yates’ game-winner.

In the 69th minute, Yates took a pass from junior Heather Welch and lined a strike from 20-yards out to beat Shorter’s keeper Taylor Hays. As a result of the score, the Lady Senators improved to 2-0 on the season.

“I’m thankful we got the victory,” said head coach Jamey Newsome. “We certainly rallied behind one another to hang in there. It wasn’t our best soccer today, but sometimes you have to win ugly, and we were able to do that. I feel lucky that we did.”

The physical contest featured 12 fouls, including nine on the Lady Senators and one red card. Despite the rough play, AUM posted 10 more shots in the contest, connecting on 18 total shots compared to just eight for the Lady Hawks.

Senior Daisy Burnfield had five saves in goal, giving up just the goal to Davis on a deflected ball.

Elam and Yates combined for 10 of the 18 shots for the Lady Senators, while Welch and senior Christine DeVito each added two. Junior Kristen Mitchell added her first assist of the season.

“Shorter played a great game today with good coaching, and they deserve the victory today,” Newsome continued.

Next up for the Lady Senators is a contest against Embry-Riddle on Friday to kick off the AUM Capital City Classic. The match is slated to begin at 2 p.m. at the AUM Soccer Complex.

Lee’s Mantez Holmes battles Pleasant Grove’s Chris Caldwell for a high pass during the Spartans’ 10-0 win over the Generals on Friday.
(Photo by Chris Dunn. For more photos of this and other games, click here).)

Combined Reports
(August 28, 2010)

After building confidence in last week’s preseason jamboree, the Robert E. Lee Generals took a step backwards in Friday’s season opener.

The Generals struggled offensively in a 10-0 loss to Class 5A Pleasant Grove at Cramton Bowl.

“We didn’t play well,” Lee coach Larry Ware said. “I’m not down on this team but we have to realize what we need to do to get better. We didn’t do the things we need to do. It was there for us. We just didn’t execute.”

Lee had just one serious scoring threat in the second half, but on third down, Todderick Nickerson’s pass went through his receiver’s hands in the end zone. The score would have given Lee the lead.

“We are still trying to develop some players,” Ware said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do on the offensive line.”

Lee had less than 100 yards in offense and three turnovers. The Generals were penalized nine times for 134 yards.

Pleasant Grove quarterback Ben Wheeler had one touchdown pass but four interceptions, all in the first half.  Anthony White had two of the interceptions for Lee.

The Generals enter region play on Friday at Wetumpka.

Carver handles Opelika behind Pitts, Johnson

OPELIKA - Sophomore quarterback Jeremy Johnson passed for 242 yards  on 11-of-18 passing and threw four touchdown passes in G.W. Carver’s 55-34 win over Opelika in the season opener for both teams on Friday.

It was the first win for Carver over Opelika since 1982.

I’m happy for our kids and the Carver program,” Carver coach Al Pogue said. “We had some mistakes that we need to iron out but I’ll take an ugly win over a pretty loss any day.”

The game was tied at 7-7 in the first quarter before Carver pulled away and led 35-14 at the half. The Wolverines added to its lead early in the second half and cruised from there.

“I like the way we played and we had a lot of big plays,” Pogue said. “We didn’t have a perfect night but this was an important win for us.”

Antonio Pitts caught three touchdown passes while Stanley Robinson had 123 yards on 16 carries and two scores. Meryles Gilbert added a 95-yard interception return for a touchdown.

Carver opens its home schedule next Friday against city rival Jeff Davis.

Enterprise opens new stadium with win over Lanier

ENTERPRISE – Playing for the first time in the new Wildcat Stadium, Enterprise defeated Sidney Lanier,  49-21, Friday in the season opener for both teams.

Lanier trailed 14-0 late in the first quarter when Roderick Taylor got the Poets on the board with a fumble recovery and return of 68 yards for the score.

The Poets trailed by seven at halftime but Enterprise pulled away for a three-touchdown lead in the third quarter. Lanier scored consecutive touchdowns on runs by KeDarius Humphries (8 yards) and Camdon Foster (92 yards) to pull within a touchdown before the Wildcats pulled away scoring 14 unanswered points.

Lanier opens region play Thursday against Benjamin Russell at Cramton Bowl.

Stanhope wins in OT over Thompson

ALABASTER – Ryan Marusich’s interception preserved a 10-7 lead in overtime to lift Stanhope Elmore to a win over Thompson on Friday.

Arie Anderson kicked the game winner from 21 yards out.

Fred Harris had the Mustangs’ lone touchdown on a 7-yard run.

The Mustangs play host to Prattville on Friday.

Catholic beats St. Jude in OT

Jake Clark scored the winning touchdown and Kenny Davison’s interception of a pass in the end zone preserved Montgomery Catholic’s 21-14 overtime win over St. Jude in the season opener.

The Knights overcame three first-half turnovers and led 14-6 in the fourth when Byran Bower scored and Chris Payton added the two-point conversion to tie the game.

Thomas Wujcik scored the Knights’ other touchdown on a 1-yard run.

Catholic plays Montgomery Academy while St. Jude faces Talladega County Central next Friday.

MA loses late to Houston Academy

DOTHAN – Michael Bemis’ 45-yard field goal fell short as time expired in Montgomery Academy’s 27-24 loss to Houston Academy.

The Raiders scored the winning touchdown with just over a minute left in the game in what was a see-saw battle.

The Eagles face Catholic next Friday.

Edgewood QB Matt Moore scrambles out of the pocket to avoid a loss in the first quarter against Evangel Christian. Moore threw a pair of touchdown passes and kicked a field goal to lead the Wildcats to their second consecutive victory.
(Photo by Art Parker)

By Art Parker
RRS Correspondent
(August 28, 2010)

ELMORE - It was nothing more than a workout, a scrimmage with a few hard hits and that’s all.

Edgewood Academy (AISA Class AA) drilled region foe Evangel Christian Academy, 59-0, Friday night. The win improved the Wildcats to 2-0 and 1-0 in the region. The win gave Edgewood a combined advantage of 102-7 in its first two games.

But Edgewood coach Bobby Carr said he isn’t clear on where his team stands.

“It was like last week. We came out and got a big lead and it was over quickly. They never attempted a punt all night and we always got the ball in great field position,” Carr explained. “I can’t judge how my offense is doing when they were never really forced to work for what they got.”

 Carr said he is trying to not run up the score on his opponents. He has a limited number of players to substitute. Edgewood started the season with 29 in uniform and they dressed less than that against Evangel Christian.

“I don’t have a big team and that is a concern. I have five junior high players on my varsity roster. The good news for us is everybody we have can play. It’s a compliment to our coaching staff and our feeder program,” Carr said.

The longest and most difficult drive of the night for Edgewood was its opening possession. The Wildcats traveled 82 yards on 10 plays and consumed close to four minutes on the clock. Matt Ford ran the ball from the Evangel 32-yard line to the 15 and then carried the pigskin into the end zone on the next play. A little trickery made it an easy 2-point conversion and the Wildcats were up 8-0.

 A 28 yard Matt Moore field goal and a Rod Boykin run from 6 yards out gave the Wildcats a quick 18-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. Ford scored again in the second quarter and Sam Coleman intercepted a pass and returned it 38 yards for a touchdown.  Edgewood enjoyed a 32-0 lead at the half.

 For a brief moment Evangel Christian looked to make a comeback with a long touchdown run early in the third quarter. But the play was called back for holding and the Lions never growled after that. Moore hit Collier McConnell and Rod Boykin with beautifully executed pass plays to give Edgewood a 46-0 lead at the end of the third period.

 Cam Elliott scored early in the final quarter and Coleman added to the tally with a 55 yard from scrimmage while playing in the back-up QB role.

Next week, the Wildcats travel north to play Flint Hill, which is fielding an 11-man football program for the first time. Carr’s great coaching challenge in 2010 will be preparing the Wildcats for a tough battle when they do face a tough adversary.

“The schedule is going to get real tough in a couple of weeks. We face Morgan Academy and Pickens Academy in back to back weeks. We have work to do because it’s not going to be this easy all season,” Carr said.

Contributed
(August 28, 2010)
The Alabama State University football team only has a week to go before its season-opener with Mississippi Valley State University.  The offense and defense have been implemented and now the main concern is to get the team into better shape.

“We have improved our conditioning,” head coach Reggie Barlow said.  “But I don’t think we are where we need to be with the first game a week away.  I have seen the improvement, but our main concern continues to be our offensive linemen.  I have told them this is where we will win the games.”

ASU will go through a one-hour workout Saturday beginning at 2 p.m. 

Fan Day set for Saturday

Hornet Stadium will be buzzing with the sounds of excited fans this weekend as the Alabama State University Athletics Department hosts Fan/Media Day for the fall sports programs.

The event starts at 5 p.m. on Saturday, August 28.  Coaches and players from the cross country, bowling, soccer, golf and football teams will be on hand to meet with the media, greet fans and sign autographs.  Football schedule posters will be provided for the first 400 fans who want autographs from Coach Reggie Barlow and his Hornet swarm.

Everyone will enjoy free food and games, including an inflatable playground for the kids.

All of the day’s events are free and open to the public.  If it rains, the event will move to Lockhart Gymnasium.