Sports

B2 Centre Daily Times, Friday, September 11, 2015

Harry Groves Spiked

Shoe Invitational, 4 p.m.

Pitt, West Virginia

renewing rivalry

Womens volleyball

The Associated Press

Penn State
Cross country

vs. E. Kentucky, at South

Bend, Ind., 4:30 p.m.
Field Hockey

vs. California, 6 p.m.

Womens soccer

at Stanford, 11 p.m.
Scholastic Schedule, B5

ANNOUNCEMENTS
Softball tryouts

The Ultimate Edge at

GoodSports in Bellefonte will be holding
tryouts for a new girls
fastpitch softball program, to be held at the
Hess Field Complex in
Boalsburg. Tryouts will
be held Sept. 20. Tryouts
for the under-12 team
will be held at 11:30 a.m.,
under-14 at 1 p.m.,
under-16 at 2:30 p.m. and
under-18 at 4 p.m. Teams
will play in a league and
in tournaments. Direct
questions to Dave Breon
or Bill Masullo at
353-0503.
Baseball tryouts

Centre County Cutters

Travel team will hold
open tryouts for the 2016
season on Oct. 2 and 9 at
the State College Teener
Fields. Age groups are
8U, 9U, 10U, 11U and
12U. Cutoff for each age
bracket is on or after
May 1. All players must
bring their own equipment. Call Tony Schimony with questions at
215-820-4814 or email at
TSchimony@verizon.net.

ON TELEVISION
Auto Racing

10 a.m. Sprint Cup,

practice NBCSN
1 p.m. Sprint Cup,
practice NBCSN
3:30 p.m. Xfinity,
qualifying NBCSN
5:30 p.m. Sprint Cup,
qualifying NBCSN
7:30 p.m. Xfinity,
Virginia 529 College
Savings 250 NBCSN
College Football

8 p.m. Miami at Florida Atlantic FS1

9 p.m. Utah State at
Utah ESPN2
Golf

5 a.m. LPGA, Evian

Championship, second
round TGC
9:30 a.m. LPGA,
Evian Championship,
second round TGC
3 p.m. Web.com,
Hotel Fitness Championship, second round TGC
High School Football

7 p.m. Central at
Tyrone WHVL
7:30 p.m. North Penn
at West Catholic TCN
MLB

7 p.m. Milwaukee at
Pittsburgh ROOT
7 p.m. Chicago Cubs
at Philadelphia CSN
7 p.m. Toronto at N.Y.
Yankees or Kansas City
at Baltimore MLB
Mens College Soccer

7 p.m. Michigan at
Maryland BTN
Soccer

2:30 p.m. Bundesliga,

Hamburg vs. Borussia
Monchengladbach FS1
Tennis

3 p.m. U.S. Open

ESPN
7 p.m. U.S. Open
ESPN

ON RADIO
Sports Talk with Steve Jones

1:05 p.m. WQWK 1450

Sports Central with Cory
Giger 4 p.m.

WQWK 1450
PA Sports Friday with Jerry
Fisher 5 p.m.

WBLF 970
High School Preview Show

6 p.m. WQWK 1450

High School Football, State
College at Bishop McDevitt

PITTSBURGH The
Backyard Brawl is back on.
Pittsburgh and West Virginia agreed to renew one of the
oldest rivalries in college
football on Thursday, signing a four-game series beginning in 2022.
Pitt will host West Virginia
in 2022 and 2024, with the
Panthers traveling south in
2023 and 2025.
The former Big East
schools met 104 times between 1895 and 2011 before
Pitts move to the Atlantic
Coast Conference and West
Virginias switch to the Big
12. The Panthers lead the alltime series 61-40-3, including
a 13-9 upset in 2007 that ruined the Mountaineers shot at
playing in the BCS title
game. West Virginia edged
Pitt 21-20 in the last edition of
the Brawl in 2011.
Pitt and West Virginia
have a long and storied rivalry that dates back to the 19th
century, said new Pitt athletic director Scott Barnes.
Ive learned there is a lot of
passion surrounding this

COLLEGE
FOOTBALL
game and were pleased to
be able to rekindle that history.
West Virginia athletic director Shane Lyons called scheduling the series a priority.
We all know how conference realignment ended
some long-standing rivalries, which have made the
sport so special, Lyons said.
The
announcement
marked the return of a second longtime foe to Pitts
football schedule. The Panthers begin a four-game series with Penn State in 2016
when the Nittany Lions visit
Pittsburgh.
Barnes said the Panthers
have had productive conversations about extending
the series with Penn State
but pointed to a crowded
nonconference schedule for
the Nittany Lions in the early
2020s as a stumbling block,
though Barnes added he is
hopeful a solution will be
found.

Spread offenses
boost rushing stats
Offenses, continued from B1

up everywhere passing
yards, rushing yards.
As recently as 2006,
teams rushed for just 140.1
yards a game, the lowest average since 1939, and teams
ran just 35 times per contest, the lowest total since
the NCAA began keeping
track.
Times have changed
drastically. The teams that
played for the national title
last year Ohio State and
Oregon are spread
teams that lean heavily on
the run game out of the
spread.
Some coaches cite uptempo offenses and the
high number of plays for
the increase in rushing yardage, but efficiency is a bigger factor. Last seasons average of 4.46 yards per carry matched the previous
years total for the highest
in the NCAA record book,
which goes back to 1937.
Smaller schools are finding more running space out
of the spread, too. Louisiana-Lafayette, from the Sun
Belt Conference, averaged
226 yards and 5.4 yards per
carry last season. Arkansas
State, another Sun Belt
team, ran for 216 yards per
game and 4.9 yards a carry
last season. Both ranked
among the nations top 25
rushing teams.
The fear of the spread
passing game has opened
up the run.
You have to defend more
guys on the perimeter, Arkansas State coach Blake
Anderson said. The perimeter screen game is integrated in almost everybodys offenses. Youve got to
cover everybody now, you
cant just load up the box,
so the run looks are better.
The quarterback run
game plays a key role in the
increased rushing numbers. According to STATS,
quarterback rushing accounted for 25.7 yards per
game, per team, last season. Thats up from 12.5 in
2006. The past five Heisman Trophy winners
Cam Newton, Robert Griffin III, Johnny Manziel, Ja-

meis Winston and Marcus

Mariota have been dualthreat quarterbacks. The
threat of the quarterback
run eliminates the numbers
advantage defenses once
had because the quarterback must be accounted
for.
That element totally
changes everything, Oklahoma State defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer said.
All of a sudden, theres an
extra blocker, and you cant
outnumber them in the run
game. Sometimes, you
have to play base defense
and just hope somebody
can get off a block and
make a play. And then
sometimes, when you try to
outnumber them and have
the extra guy for the quarterback run game, now
youre manned up in other
places. So, its a cat-andmouse game.
Offensive coaches have
found that spreading the
field makes it difficult for
defenses to disguise their
plans. Adding up-tempo
and no-huddle elements to
the spread makes it difficult
for defensive players to get
into proper position. That
helps the run game as
much as the passing game.
When you run a lot of
plays at different speeds,
its tough on defenses to
make a lot of adjustments,
Oregon State offensive coordinator Mike Baldwin
said. They get into certain
calls and they get stuck in
those calls. We put the defenses at a disadvantage because they dont have the
multiple adjustments they
can do when youre in a
huddle.
As the spread has
evolved, teams have become more likely to check
into running plays at the
line of scrimmage.
The run-pass option
stuff has become more and
more prevalent throughout
the game, Anderson said.
You truly have multiple options every play. Thats
what Ive seen change
how versatile the spread
systems have become and
how multiple they have become.

7 p.m. WQWK 1450

Highl School Football, Philipsburg-Osceola at Bald
Eagle Area 7 p.m.

Golf at the NITTANY

WBLF 970
BTN Live 11 p.m.
WQWK 1450

2015 Fall Golf Pass

REACH US
The Centre Daily Times
sports department strives to
provide our readers with the
most comprehensive, accurate coverage of Centre
County sports.
To help us toward that
goal, submissions, suggestions and sports tips are welcome.
Contact us by phone after
2 p.m. or by email.
Phone: 231-4628
Out-of-area calls should
dial 800-327-5500 and use the
last four digits of the phone
number.
Email: cdtscores@centre
daily.com
Fax: 238-1811
Mail: Sports Department,
Centre Daily Times, P.O. Box
89, State College, PA 16804.

COUNTRY CLUB

Early Bird Golf

Membership Special!

(Get to know Nittany)

Effective Sept. 8, 2015 thru
Dec. 31, 2015
$150 for unlimited greens fees
Must use a golf cart:
$14/18 holes, $8/9 holes
No starting times, play includes
leagues
The $150 fee will be applied to
next years special membership
rate for those who join for 2016

16-month membership begins Sept. 8, 2015 thru Dec. 31, 2016

Full privileges of golf course, clubhouse & pool
Rates: First-Year Family Special $950
Young Adult Family Age 35 or under $900
Young Adult Individual Age 30 or under $700
$150 due with application, balance in two payments in April and July
Inquiries:
Call Scott Webster
814.359.7922
or the Pro Shop 814.383.2611

110 Country Club Dr.

Mingoville, PA
Visit our website at
www.nittanycc.net

AP photo/Kathy Willens

Richard Reidel walks on a tarp-covered court at Arthur Ashe Stadium as he tests the
sound system after the women's semifinal matches were postponed until Friday.

Mother Nature postpones

semifinal play at U.S. Open
By Howard Fendrich
The Associated Press

NEW YORK Serena

Williams will have to wait
before continuing her bid
for a calendar-year Grand
Slam: Her U.S. Open semifinal was postponed because of rain in the forecast.
The top-seeded Williams
was supposed to face
43rd-ranked Roberta Vinci
of Italy on Thursday night
at Flushing Meadows, but
nearly four hours before
that match would have
started, the U.S. Tennis Association citing a prediction of rain throughout the
evening pushed back
both womens semifinals
until Friday.
When the USTA announced the rescheduling,
there were doubles and juniors matches in progress.
But the rain did eventually
arrive, wiping out play, a little more than an hour before Williams and Vinci
were supposed to take the
court. It was drizzling at 7
p.m., when that match
would have started.
Williams is trying to become the first tennis player
since Steffi Graf in 1988 to
earn all four Grand Slam titles in a single season. She
won the Australian Open in
January, the French Open

in June and Wimbledon in

July.
Now the 33-year-old
American has won her first
five matches at the U.S.
Open, and needs two more
victories to add that championship to her 2015 collection.
The other womens semifinal moved to Friday from
Thursday is No. 2 Simona
Halep of Romania against
No. 26 Flavia Pennetta of
Italy.
It created a high-profile
and packed schedule for
Friday, when the mens
semifinals already were
slotted. In those matches,
No. 1 Novak Djokovic
meets defending champion
Marin Cilic, and No. 2 Roger Federer plays his Swiss
Olympic and Davis Cup
teammate, No. 5 Stan Wawrinka.
The U.S. Open has a long
history of scheduling problems because of weather, including five consecutive
mens finals postponed
from Sunday to Monday
from 2008-12.
As part of a broader, $500
million-plus renovation plan
for the tournament site, the
U.S. Tennis Association has
been constructing a retractable roof over the main
court, Arthur Ashe Stadi-

um, that is planned for next

years U.S. Open.
For now, a framework of
more than 6,500 tons of
steel sits atop that stadium,
but the work to install the
retractable panels will resume after this years tournament ends.
Williams vs. Vinci was
supposed to be the first
womens semifinal Thursday night, followed by the
other.
Now Halep-Pennetta will
begin at 11 a.m. Friday,
when the forecast is much
more promising. After that,
Williams will play Vinci,
against whom she is 4-0.
Williams also has enjoyed plenty of success
against the women she
could meet in the final,
should she beat Vinci: 6-1
against Halep, 7-0 against
Pennetta.
The mens semifinals will
be played afterward, beginning no sooner than 5 p.m.,
instead of the originally
scheduled 3 p.m. First will
be Djokovic-Cilic, then Federer-Wawrinka.
It all makes for a lineup
similar to the U.S. Opens
old Super Saturday schedule, when the mens semifinals and womens final were
all played on the next-to-last
day of the tournament.

Duo share Evian Championship lead

GOLF

By Samuel Petrequin
The Associated Press

EVIAN-LES-BAINS,
France Lexi Thompson
played a four-hole stretch
in 5 under and finished
with a 5-under 66 on Thursday in the Evian Championship for a share of the
lead with Mi Hyang Lee.
The 20-year-old Thompson began her run with a
birdie on the par-4 12th, hit
a 7-iron to 20 feet to set up
an eagle on the par-5 13th,
and added birdies on the
par-3 14th and par-5 15th.
She parred the final 12
holes in her bogey-free
morning round in the major championship.
It feels great to have a
stretch of holes like that,
Thompson said. But you
just have to take one shot
at a time and not get ahead
of yourself because, I
mean, shots can get away
from you out here. If you
hit it in the rough, the

CENTRE
CEN
ENT
NTRE DAILY
DAAIILLY TIMES
TIMES

SCHEDULE

roughs pretty thick.

Thompson won the Kraft
Nabisco last year for her
first major title, and took
the Meijer Classic in July
for her fifth career title.
She has three top-10 finishes in her last five starts,
and will play in the Solheim
Cup matches next week in
Germany against Europe.
Obviously,
Solheim
Cup was my No. 1 goal to
be on that team to represent my country, so Im very happy to be going to
Germany next week,
Thompson said. But you
have to focus on this week
being the last major here at
the Evian Championship.
Lee, from South Korea,
had seven birdies and two
bogeys at the picturesque
resort above Lake Geneva.
Gerina Piller, Thompsons U.S. Solheim Cup
teammate, was a stroke

Centre Countys Leading

Sou
Source
for Real Estate Listings

TE
REAL ESTAIDE
BUYERS GU

Stock Photo

back along with South Koreas Eun-Hee Ji and Thailands Pornanong Phatlum.
Piller had eight birdies
and four bogeys.
There are just some
spots on this course you
cannot get in, Piller said.
Karrie Webb had a 71,
and top-ranked Inbee Park
opened with a 72.
Webb is attempting to
win her sixth different major championship, and
Park is trying to join Webb
with a record five. Park has
two major victories this
year the KPMG Womens PGA Championship
and Ricoh Womens British
Open and four overall titles. Webb and Park won
the event before it became
a major, Webb in 2006 and
Park in 2012.
Second-ranked
Lydia
Ko, playing alongside Park
and No. 3 Stacy Lewis, had
a 69.

REAL ESTATE
BUYERS GUIDE

BER 2015
SEPTEMBER/OCTO
CENTRE DAILY TIMES

BULLETINBOARD

www.centredaily.com

Look for the latest local

listings from top brokers,
builders and agents.

de.
months gui
sale in this
homes for
See area

plete
Com
The Buying
e
Hom
e
d
i
Gu

VIEW GUID
ONLINE

es
tre Daily Tim
RS
with the Cen
tion of REALTO
In Cooperation
County Associa
and the Centre

A
Available
in this Sundays Issue
of the Centre Daily Times and
for pick up at grocery stores,
b
banks, convenience stores and
your local Realtors office all
month long.

COMING SEPTEMBER 13TH