2/13/23 Hometown Broadcasting Sports Monday
13 February 2023 Sports
Monday Sports
From Wayne Mausser
Patrick Mahomes was magical when the Kansas City Chiefs desperately needed him to pull off another Super Bowl comeback. Playing on an injured ankle, Mahomes threw two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter and scrambled 26 yards on the go-ahead drive before Harrison Butker kicked a 27-yard field goal with 8 seconds left to give the Chiefs a 38-35 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night.
The Chiefs won their second NFL title in four years and two-time NFL MVP Mahomes earned his second Super Bowl MVP award.
Mahomes and Jalen Hurts excelled in the first Super Bowl matchup featuring two Black starting QBs. But Mahomes turned it up in the second half after reaggravating a sprained right ankle.
Coach Andy Reid, who couldn’t win the big game in Philadelphia, beat his former team to earn his second ring with Mahomes and the Chiefs.
With the score tied at 35-35, the Eagles tried to let the Chiefs score a touchdown with under two minutes left so they could get the ball back after a defensive holding call on cornerback James Bradberry on third-and-8 gave Kansas City a first down. But Jerick McKinnon slid at the 2, forcing the Eagles to use their last timeout.
After Mahomes took a knee twice, Butker nailed his kick, sending thousands of red-clad Chiefs fans into a frenzy.
The Chiefs won their second Super Bowl following the 2019 season, 50 years after the first one. Mahomes led them back from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter against San Francisco in that one. It took just three years to get another Lombardi.
Down 24-14 with a limping Mahomes, the Chiefs (17-3) followed up Rihanna’s electrifying halftime performance with a sensational offensive outburst.
Mahomes, who suffered a high ankle sprain in the divisional round, hurt it again on a 3-yard scramble late in the second quarter. He limped off the field but showed no ill effects on Kansas City’s next possession.
Mahomes then tossed a 5-yard TD pass to a wide-open Kadarius Toney to give Kansas City its first lead, 28-27, early in the fourth quarter.
After the Chiefs tightened up their defense, forcing Philly to punt, Toney returned a line-drive kick 65 yards to the Eagles 5 for the longest punt return in Super Bowl history.
On third down from the 4, Mahomes connected with Skyy Moore to extend their lead to 35-27. Moore also was wide open on the play.
But the Eagles wouldn’t go away. Hurts hit DeVonta Smith for a 45-yard gain to the Chiefs 2 and ran in for his third score of the game. He also ran in for the 2-point conversion to tie it at 35-35 with 5:15 to go.
Just five years after winning the first Super Bowl in franchise history, the Eagles (16-4) came close with a different coach and new quarterback. Nick Sirianni replaced Doug Pederson in 2021 and Hurts took over for Carson Wentz in late 2020.
Hurts set a Super Bowl record with 70 yards rushing and tied a record with three rushing scores. He also threw for 304 yards and one TD. Hurts, who missed two games late in the season with a shoulder injury, had TD runs of 1 and 4 yards in the first half along with a 45-yard TD pass to A.J. Brown.
But Hurts also made a rare mistake when he fumbled without being hit while scrambling away from pressure. Nick Bolton picked it up and raced 36 yards for a score that made it 14-14. Hurts had just eight turnovers this season, six picks and two fumbles.
Mahomes finished 21 of 27 for 182 yards with three TDs and no turnovers. He ran for 44 yards.
Mahomes connected with Kelce on an 18-yard TD pass in the right corner to tie it at 7-7 in the first quarter. The Chiefs’ All-Pro tight end and Eagles All-Pro center Jason Kelce became the first set of brothers to play against each other in the Super Bowl.
The New York Jets are interested in Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
His tweet reads: “The New York Jets have inquired about Aaron Rodgers’ availability with the Green Bay Packers, per sources. A move that was expected as New York explores veteran options.”
It is now day 35 of “Rodgers Watch”, and the football world waits on whether the four-time NFL MVP will stay in Green Bay, retire or request a trade. According to NFL Network, Rodgers will begin a four-day darkness isolation retreat on Monday. Rodgers said last week on the Pat McAfee Show that he’s hoping to use that time to think through his options.
Meanwhile, Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport reported that the Packers respect Rodgers’ need for time. The report says, “if Rodgers comes to the team with a request to play elsewhere, sources say Green Bay is open to working with the four-time NFL MVP on a trade.”
Keisei Tominaga poured in 22 points and keyed a Nebraska comeback that erased a 17-point second-half deficit and a 12-0 run in overtime to carry the Cornhuskers past Wisconsin, 73-63 on Saturday. It was the largest Nebraska comeback win since 2013.
Nebraska trailed by 17 points with 16 minutes to play, but Tominaga dropped four 3-pointers to put the Cornhuskers in front, 48-47 with 11:14 to play. Nebraska hit seven 3-pointers in the second half, including Jamarques Lawrence’s 3 with just under four minutes left to take a 61-59 lead. Chucky Hepburn hit a fade-away jumper to tie the game at 61-61 with 2:44 left and neither team scored again, and the game went to overtime.
Tyler Wahl put Wisconsin on top with a jumper to open the extra period, but the Cornhuskers closed the game out with a 12-0 run and going 6-for-6 shooting from the line.
Tominaga hit 5 of 11 from behind the arc for the game and was 4 of 7 in the second half. Derrick Walker put Nebraska (12-14, 5-10 Big 10) on his back in overtime, powering inside for two layups, then forcing Wahl to foul out and burying both free throws to put the Cornhuskers up, 69-63.
Walker was 8 of 13 from the floor and finished with 18 points and eight rebounds. Sam Griesel had 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists and Lawrence added 11 points. Blaise Keita grabbed 11 rebounds, made two steals and played an integral role in the comeback by diving for loose balls.
Hepburn had 19 points to lead Wisconsin (14-10, 6-8). Connor Essegian added 13 points and Max Klesmit had 12. Wisconsin plays host to Michigan Tuesday. Nebraska travels to face No. 24 Rutgers Tuesday.
Marquette needed to avoid a letdown in between Top 25 Big East matchups.Coach Shaka Smart’s team delivered with unselfish play from start to finish. Kam Jones, Oso Ighodaro and Tyler Kolek each scored 14 points to lead a balanced scoring attack and No. 10 Marquette beat Georgetown 89-75 Saturday. Olivier-Maxence Prosper had 11 points and Chase Ross added 10 as Marquette (20-6, 12-3 Big East) moved into first place in the conference. The Golden Eagles are a half-game ahead of No. 13 Xavier, which lost at Butler on Friday.
Marquette hosts Xavier on Wednesday.
After having their five-game winning streak snapped at No. 21 UConn on Tuesday, the Golden Eagles shared the ball and shared the credit.
Jay Heath scored 18 points to lead last-place Georgetown (6-20, 1-14), which has lost five straight after ending their league record 29-game conference losing streak on Jan. 24. Bryson Mozone had 11 points and Akok Akok had 10 for Georgetown, which has lost 12 straight games against Top 25 teams since winning the 2021 Big East Tournament.
Marquette took a 45-33 lead into the halftime break on Ighodaro’s layup at the buzzer and stayed comfortably ahead the rest of the way.
High School Basketball (Mon.0
(Boys)
Ripon at Lomira
Princeton/Green Lake at Cambria-Friesland
(Girls)
Plymouth at Ripon
Berlin at Pardeeville
Men’s College Basketball
Ripon College split a pair of games over the weekend. Beating Cornell College 74-64 Friday and losing to Monmouth College 82-72 Saturday. Ripon is 12-11 on the season and 8-6 in conference play.
UW-Oshkosh 91, UW-Lacrosse 88-Oshkosh improves to 19-5 overall and 12-1 in the conference.
(Women)
The Ripon College women’s basketball team won a pair of games over the weekend, beating Cornell College 69-38 on Friday and Monmouth College 69-49 on Saturday. Ripon improves to 17-6 overall and 12-1 in the conference.
UW-Lacrosse 56, UW-Oshkosh 52
In golf, Scottie Scheffler repeated as the winner of the Waste Management golf tournament in Scottsdale. Scheffler won by two strokes over Nick Taylor.
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