The Ithaca Journal from Ithaca, New York • 15

Chris Feaver Sports Editor 274-9214 cfeaver ithaca.gannett.com 5B The Ithaca Journal Monday, October 25, 2004 www.theithacajournal.com Sports "Bostoni Ikallfway to title NFL Week 7 Sunday's Scores Miami 31, St. Louis 14 Detroit 28, N.Y. Giants 13 Baltimore 20, Buffalo 6 Kansas City 56, Atlanta 10 Jacksonville 27, Indianapolis 24 Tampa Bay 19, Chicago 7 San Diego 17, Carolina 6 Philadelphia 34, Cleveland 31 OT Minnesota 20, Tennesse 3 New England 13, N.Y. Jets 7 Green Bay 41, Dallas 20 Arizona 25, Seattle 17 New Orleans 31, Oakland 26 Open: Pittsburgh, Washington, San Francisco, Houston Today's game: Denver at Cincinnati, 9 p.m., ABC Roundup, 7B World Series (best-of-7) Boston vs. St Louis Sunday's game Boston 6, St Louis 2 (Boston leads series 2-0) Tuesday's game Boston (Martinez 16-9) at St Louis (Suppan 16-9), 8:30 p.m., FOX By BEN WALKER The Associated Press BOSTON The bloody sock is now the very symbol of these Red Sox, a rallying cry in the shape of a stitched-up right ankle.

Pitching again through so much pain it put his start in doubt, Curt Schilling helped Boston move halfway to snaring its most elusive prize: a first World Series championship since 1918. Backed by another big hit from surprising Mark Bellhorn and unfazed by a defense that still had trouble getting a grip, the Red Sox beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-2 Sunday night to take a commanding 2-0 lead. "I'm a little sore, but it don't matter right now," Schilling said. "Hopefully, I won't have to pitch again, but I guarantee you that team believes in themselves as much as we believe in ourselves." Jason Varitek's rare triple, Orlando Cabrera's single off the Green Monster and a road," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said.

"We love playing at home. We're disappointed we didn't get a game here." Getting stronger with each pitch, Schilling held St. Louis to four hits and an unearned run for six innings. Doctors once again used sutures to keep a tendon in place, as they did before he won Game 6 of the AL championship series at Yankee Stadium, and he looked even better this time. That stained sock has become so much a symbol and target for TV cameras that Schilling turned it into a billboard of sorts by writing ALS" on his right shoe shorthand for "Strike out Lou Gehrig's disease." "I just wish everybody on this planet could experience the day I just experienced," he said.

When he woke up, Schilling wasn't sure he could pitch. "I couldn't walk, I couldn't move. I don't know what had See SERIES, 8B The Hot Hendrick plane crashes en route to NASCAR race The Associated Press Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling pumps his fist to end the the sixth inning during Game 2 of the World Series in Boston, Sunday. Boston won, 6-2. COLLEG FOOTBALL Bombers ran past Pioneers TV fWp i' 1 '--fi i 2 a-- 9r Iff i booming double by Game 1 star Bellhorn drove in all of Boston's runs with two outs enough to offset four errors, including a Series record-tying three by third baseman Bill Mueller.

Pedro Martinez will try to make it a 3-0 lead on Tuesday night when he faces Jeff Suppan in Game 3 at St. Louis. The Cardinals are a perfect 6-0 at Busch Stadium in this postseason, and Suppan outpitched Roger Clemens there in Game 7 of the NLCS. "We like playing on the against Utica. The Butterfield Stadium.

and returned it 78 yards for a touchdown. "The lane opened up. I just caught it and ran down the field," Tosh said. "The guys did a great job (blocking)." Tosh's second punt return for a touchdown of his career gave Ithaca a 7-0 lead with 5:36 remaining in the first quarter. Ithaca increased the lead three plays later when Utica quarterback Nick Martin's pass was tipped by cornerback Joe Napoleone and intercept- Bombers MARTINSVILLE, Va.

I AP) A plane owned by the Hendrick Motorsports organisation crashed Sunday on its way to a NASCAR race, killing all 10 people aboard, federal officials said. Eight passengers and two pilots died in the crash, a spokesman with the National Transportation Safety Board said. A spokesman for a funeral home where the bodies were being taken said the dead included the son, brother and two nieces of Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports, one of the most successful teams in NASCAR history. The Beech 200 took off from Concord, N.C., and crashed in the Bull Mountain area about seven.miles west of the Martinsville airport about 12:30 p.m., said Arlene Murray, spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration. Virginia State Police Sgt.

Michael Bailey said crews could not immediately reach the crash site because of the rough terrain. NTSB spokesman Keith Holloway said investigators were on their way to the crash site but could not begin their examination until today. Hendrick owns the teams of Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Terry Labonte and Brian Vickers, who competed in Sunday's Subway 500 in the Nextel Cup Series at Martinsville Speedway. World Series opens NEW YORK (AP) Boston's 11-9 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday night got the highest TV rating for the first game of the World Series since 1999.

5 Fox Sports' prime-time coverage of the game got a 13.7 fast national rating, up 26 percent from Game 1 between the Florida Marlins and New York Yankees last year. An average of 23.1 million viewers watched the Red Sox win, making it the most-viewed Game 1 since the opening game of the 1996 World Series between the Atlanta Braves and the New York Yankees was watched by Buffalo Bills quarterback Drew Bledsoe walks off the field after throwing his fourth interception of the game against the Baltimore Ravens, in Baltimore. The Ravens won, 20-3. Corner NASCAR had spoken with Rick Hendrick, NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter said. "We're just saying extra prayers right now," Hunter said.

Harry Litten, manager Moody Funeral Service in Stuart, said the state police had given him this list of those on the plane: Ricky Hendrick, Rick Hendrick's son and a retired NASCAR driver; John Hendrick, Rick Hendrick's brother and president of the organization; Kimberly and Jennifer Hendrick, John Hendrick's twin daughters; Joe Jackson; Jeff Turner; Randy team's chief engine builder; Scott Latham, a pilot for NASCAR driver Tony Stewart; and pilots Dick Tracy and Liz Morrison. NASCAR learned of the plane's disappearance during the race and withheld the information from the Hendrick drivers until afterward, Hunter said. All the Hendrick drivers were summoned to the NASCAR hauler immediately after the race and Johnson, who won the race, was excused from Victory Lane. Hendrick had been on a season-long celebration of its 20th anniversary in NASCAR's top series. The organization has won five of the series' top titles, three truck series titles, and one Busch series crown.

with high ratings an average of nearly 23.7 million people. It was 46 percent higher than the first game in 2002, up 32 percent from 2001 's Game 1 and 19 percent better than Game 1 in 2000. Game 1 of the Braves-Yankees World Series in 1999 got a rating of 14.2 on NBC. It was the highest-rated Game 1 on Fox, which is broadcasting the World Series for the fourth straight year, and easily the highest-rated network program on Saturday night. In fact, it was the highest-rated Saturday night program on a broadcast network since January.

just like last week, and 1,567 points. No. 3 Auburn again received the other two first-place votes. No. 4 Miami, which won at North Carolina State 45-31, was second in last week's initial Bowl Championship Series standings, just slightly ahead of Oklahoma.

The BCS standings will be released today, and much like the polls, not much change is expected in Week 2. No. 5 Florida State, which needed a late field goal to edge Wake Forest on Saturday, has only a one-point lead in The AP poll over No. 6 Wisconsin (8-0). The unbeaten Badgers got another solid defensive effort to beat Northwestern 24-12 and gained 25 points in the rankings, which could help them close the gap over the Seminoles in the BCS By LaMOND POPE Journal Staff ITHACA Jamie Donovan began the season as the third option in the Ithaca College football team's three-back rotation.

But for the second consecutive week, Donovan's play was second to none. The sophomore rushed for 170 yards and scored three touchdowns to lead the Bombers to a 52-14 victory over Utica in front of 1,294 fans on a cool Saturday at Butterfield Stadium. The Bombers relied on Donovan's running and big plays on special teams and defense to improve to 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the Empire 8. With the win, the Bombers moved into a three-way tie for first in the conference standings after St. John Fisher defeated Springfield 45-24.

"Jamie is very tough. You can see that he is a very good runner. He did a lot of good things," Ithaca coach Mike Welch said. "Our special teams picked up and defensively we are playing well." Donovan became the first Bomber to rush for at least 150 yards in back-to-back games since Jeff Wittman in 1990. With fellow running backs James Davis and Alex Baez out due to injuries, Donovan made the first start of his career last week against Brockport.

All he did was gain 218 yards, the ninth-most yards ever gained by a Bomber in a game. He followed that performance by gaining 107 yards in the first half Saturday. "(The last two weeks) have been great. I've really enjoyed myself, I've enjoyed practice," Donovan said. "We have a big KATE SCHLEEJoumal Staff beat Utica, 52-14, at Ithaca senior Matt Tosh returns a punt 78 yards for a touchdown during the first quarter of Saturday's game USC, Oklahoma remain in 1 st two spots Patriots hold off Jets Brown rallies to defeat Cornell ed by Charlie Stephens.

The free safety raced down the right sideline 27 yards for a touchdown, giving the Bombers a 14-0 lead with 3:57 left in the quarter. "That was a gift," Stephens said. "Joe had a great break on the ball, it popped up and went right in my hands." Ithaca made it 17-0 when a botched snap on a Utica punt gave the Bombers good field position, which led to a 25-yard field goal by Brett See IC, 6B Cornell Football Saturday's jrTi Game: Brown rs 21, Cornell 17 Record: 1-5, 1-2 Ivy League p.m. Next Game: Saturday, home vs. Princeton, noon gerous running back, holding 2003 first-team All-Ivy running back Nick Hartigan to 88 yards on 24 carries (3.8 average).

But Cornell was hurt by penalties. The Big Red had 10 penalties called against it for 98 yards as it lost its fourth straight. All five of Cornell's losses have been by 10-points or less. The Big Red also went just l-for-3 in the red zone while Brown capitalized, going 3-for-3 in red zone opportunities. A.J.

Weitsman gave the Big Red a 3-0 lead with a 40-yard field goal, the longest of his career, at 3:21 of the first quarter. See CORNELL, 9B offensive line, its quick, and (with) the fullback, all I have to do is run and there is a hole for me. A lot of these plays I haven't been getting touched. They are doing all the work and I'm just following." Ithaca needed Donovan's running to offset four turnovers. The Bombers have turned the ball over 11 times in the last three games.

Despite the turnovers Saturday, Ithaca received an early lead thanks to its special teams and defense. New England Pattiots' David touclulown pass as New York in the second quarter, Sunday Bills, Giants fall, 7B 1 in games decided by seven points or less. For that reason, there was no panic when the Jets started driving down the field. The matchup was the first pitting two undefeated teams with five or more wins since the Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Rams were both 6-0 going into a game Oct 28, 1973. The game lived up to the hype, and turned into a defensive struggle in the second hiilf.

New England led 13-7 at the break and could not muster IC Football Saturday's game: Ithaca 52, Utica 14 Record: 5-2, 3-1 E8 Next game: Saturday home vs. Springfield, 1 p.m. Matt Tosh, playing in his first home game since he tore his left meniscus in the season opener against Buffalo State, fielded a punt at his own 22 The Associated Press Patten comes down with the Jets' Terrell Buckley defends in Foxboro, Mass. much on offense in the second half. Neither could the Jets until late in the fourth quarter.

Facing fourth-and-1 from their own 23, coach Herman Edwards decided to go for it. Pennington made the first down on a 2-yard sneak. The Jets then marched to the Patriots 27. Richard Seymour and Willie McGinest made a crucial play on third-and-5, forcing Curtis Martin to lose 3 yards on a run. On fourth dcrwn, Pennington tried to throw to Chrebet, but Harrison was there to make the play.

No. 1 Southern California and No. 2 Oklahoma have been the top two teams in The Associated Press Top 25 since the preseason, a nine-poll run that is the longest to start a season in nine years. There were few changes in the media poll Sunday with no movement among the first 11 teams. The Trojans and Sooners both improved on Saturday to 7-0 with blowout victories.

The last time the preseason top two went deeper into a season unchanged was 1995, when Florida State was No. 1 and Nebraska was No. 2 for the first 10 polls. Not only did USC and Oklahoma's places in the poll stay the same, but this week, so did their points. The Trojans maintained their 43-point lead over the Sooners, getting 1,610 points and 50 first-place votes.

Oklahoma got 13 first-place, By ANDREA ADELSON Die Associated Press FOXBORO, Mass. With a little over two minutes to play and the New York Jets driving for a go-ahead score, the Patriots defense huddled on the sideline. It was fourth-and-8 from the New England 30, and the Patriots clung to a six-point lead. They stayed calm, drawing on their varied experiences in close games, and knew they had to get after Chad Pennington to have any chance at saving the game. When the ball was finally snapped, Pennington hurried his throw to Wayne Chrebet, and Rodney Harrison broke up the pass with 2:14 remaining.

The Patriots had come through as they always did, and extended their NFL victory streak to 21 games in a 13-7 win over the Jets on Sunday. The Patriots also set the regular-season mark of 18 straight wins, surpassing the 17 won by the 1933-34 Chicago Bears. They also moved to 6-0 for the first time in franchise history while handing the Jets (5-1) their first loss this season. "Chrebet went up the seam, and I saw the ball. I saw Pennington looking at him and I just broke on the ball and tried to touch it," Harrison said.

"We were successful at it" Since 2003, the Patriots are 9- From Journal Staff Reports PROVIDENCE, R.I. The Cornell football team suffered another close loss as Brown scored twice in the fourth quarter to rally and beat the Big Red, 21-17, Saturday in front of 9,310 at Brown Stadium. Anthony Vita passed for 219 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Bears. Vita, a sophomore making his first varsity start, completed 15-of-30 passes and threw two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter as Brown (4-2, 1-2 Ivy) overcame a 17-7 deficit. Junior quarterback Ryan Kuhn ran for two touchdowns and passed for 121 yards for Cornell (1-5, 1-2).

It was his first career start for the Big Red. Junior running back Joshua Johnston rushed for 76 yards for Cornell. The Big Red rushed for 159 yards in the game. Kuhn's top target was Brian Romney, who caught five passes for 71 yards. Cornell's defense again had success slowing down a dan- Top TV Football Denver at Cincinnati, 9 p.m., ABC More television, 6B 1 From staff and wire reports..