The Baltimore Sun from Baltimore, Maryland • B6

Carroll County Times COLLEGE FOOTBALL NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE 34, SHEPHERD 7 Northwest Missouri wins 5th Division II title B6 Sunday, December 20, 2015 By David Smale Associated Press KANSAS CITY, Kan. Northwest Missouri State overpowered Shepherd for its fifth NCAA Division II title. Brady Bolles completed 20 of 27 passes for 233 yards and a touchdown to lead Northwest Missouri State to a 34-7 victory Saturday at Sporting Park. The Bearcats (15-0) used two turnovers and a big play to open a 24-0 first-half lead, then coasted in the second half. Northwest Missouri State had 10 sacks and held Shepherd (13-1) to a championship-game record minus-39 yards rushing and only 97 yards of the total offense.

"I think we had a really good game plan," Bearcats coach Adam Dorrel said. "Shepherd's offense is really predicated on trying to run the football to set up their play-action. We knew it was going to be a challenge to stop their run, but the way we're built, systematically and athletically, our front seven does a great job of stopping the run." Northwest Missouri State also won tides in 1998, 1999, 2009 and 2013. A championship -game record of 16,181 watched the game at the home of Major League Soccer's Sporting Kansas City. The crowd was slanted heavily toward Northwest Missouri, 90 miles away in Maryville.

When Shepherd tried to pass, Northwest Missouri teed off against quarterback Jeff Ziemba. Defensive end Collin Bevins had four sacks to break the school season record withlS'A "I didn't have much time," Ziemba said. "They have four big guys and they're great at what they do. They did a great job of mixing up the defenses. That gave us a lot of trouble." That was business as usual for the Bearcats.

"We've done a pretty good job all year of putting pressure on the quarterback," Bevins said. "The four doesn't show how good of a day I had. It shows our defensive line and the linebackers, the pressure we're putting on the quarterback." The initial pressure came on the first play of the game. Shepherd won the toss and COLIN E. BRALEYAP Members of the Northwest Missouri State football team celebrate winning the NCAA Division II national championship against Shepherd on Saturday in Kansas City, Kan.

The team defeated Shepherd 34-7. chose to receive the opening kickoff. On the first play from scrimmage, Ziemba bobbled a shotgun snap, and it was recovered by defensive end Cass Weitl on the 5. Two plays later, Jordan Grove ran it in from the The touchdown, at the 14:13 mark, was the quickest non-ldck-return score in the championship game since 1974. "They didn't need any help, and we gave them some," Shepherd coach Monte Cater said.

"We couldn't have started any worse than we did. But Northwest Missouri is a heck of a football team. We never really could get into any rhythm, and they had a lot to do with that." After the opening score, the teams traded several opportunities before Northwest Missouri got a 74-yard pass from Brady Bolles to Grove to set up a first-and-goal from the 6. On third down, Bolles hit Shane Williams with a 1-yard pass for a 14-0 lead. A 30-yard field goal by Simon Mathiesen gave the Bearcats a 17-0 lead with 38 seconds left in the half.

The Bearcats iced it with cornerback Bryce Enyard's 59-yard interception return for a touchdown on Shepherd's next play from scrimmage. "That was huge," Bolles said. "Any time we can put points on the board without our offense being out there it's big." Shepherd got on the board with 9:49 left in the third after recovering a fumbled punt on the Bearcats 32. Two plays later, Ziemba hit receiver Billy Brown with a 21-yard touchdown pass. 7-6 teen focusing on health over hoops hips are slanted.

"The problem with his hips is normal for someone of his height," Comandini said. "He grew so rapidly that his hips don't correspond with the other bones yet" The hope is that once he stops growing and develops some muscles, Bobroczkyi will run normally. "The conclusion at the NIH was that there is nothing wrong and it's all genetics," Comandini said. That makes perfect sense considering that Bobroczkyi's father is 7-foot-l and played on Romania's national team with Gheorghe Muresan the 7-foot-7 giant who was the tallest NBA player in history. Bobroczkyi started playing basketball at the age of 5.

Asked where he would like to play in the future, Bobroczkyi responded "Euroleague." Players with 20 different nationalities and four different religions are represented at Stellazzurra "There are a lot of different cultures here," club president Fabio de Mita said. "That's the strength of this place. We're a family." Bobroczkyi agrees. "This is the best place for me to develop," he said. manager Giacomo Rossi said in a recent interview with The Associated Press.

'Tor someone with his physical stature, the usual practice sessions are just not enough. He needs individual attention." Having helped Stellazzurra to the under-15 national title in Italy last season, Bobroczkyi is sitting this season out and playing in only select tournaments. Bobroczkyi is living with a host family in Frosinone about an hour drive south of Rome near a fully equipped physical therapy and rehabilitation center. His nutritionist also works for the Frosinone soccer club in Italy's top division. "He eats seven times per day," said physiotherapist Daniele Comandini, who is looking after Bobroczkyi.

"He's not eating McDonald's or kebabs. That's banned." Since he arrived in Rome last year, Bobroczkyi has gained 30 pounds. And he is still getting taller. In August, Bobroczkyi visited with Child Health and Human Development specialist Lyssikatos Charalampos and other physicians at the NIH. "They performed every possible exam on him," Comandini said.

"He's in perfect health." Bobroczkyi runs awkwardly because his By Andrew Dampf AP Sports Writer ROME At 7-foot-6, 15-year-old Robert Bobroczkyi is already taller than New York Knicks sensation Kristaps Porzingis or any other current NBA player. He's got a nice shooting touch and solid passing skills, too. So it's no wonder that Bobroczkyi is generating buzz among youth league scouts in Europe. What the Romanian lacks, though, are any traces at all of muscle on his 184-pound frame. He runs awkwardly, and tires easily.

That's why the Rome academy where Bobroczkyi is based the same youth club that produced Brooklyn Nets player Andrea Bargnani has decided to dedicate this season exclusively to fitness and strength. This being Italy, the recipe is simple: pasta, pasta and more pasta Following an individual nutrition plan created for him by specialists at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, Bobroczkyi is eating more than 2 pounds of pasta per day. "We're not interested in basketball right now. The top priority is his health," Stellazzurra Basketball Academy general ANDREW MEDICHINIAP Standing 7-foot-6 at the age of 15, Robert Bobroczkyi is already taller than New York Knicks sensation Kristaps Porzingis, or any other current NBA player. NATIONALS Talks with Reds over Brandon Phillips trade at a standstill By Chelsea Janes The Washington Post Talks between the Washington Nationals and Cincinnati about a deal for Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips were at a standstill Friday because Phillips had not yet agreed to waive his no-trade clause.

The Nationals likely would send prospects to the Reds for Phillips, who would fill the Nationals' hole at second base and provide them with a top-of-the- order hitter. But because Phillips, a ft i three-time all-star who is i msmi due to maice million in great job." Team Washington didn't make it easy. North Point wide receiver Devonte Young caught a 23-yard touchdown pass from Northwest quarterback Mark Pierce late in the second quarter to send the game into halftime tied. Avalon wide receiver and running back Jaron Woodyard, who finished with 87 yards from scrimmage, scored twice in the second half, once to tie the game at 14 and later to bring Team Washington to within 24-2L After Rawlings hit Meade tight end Will Huff for a 6-yard touchdown pass to give Team Baltimore a 31-21 lead with 5:56 remaining, Riverdale Baptist cornerback Zecariah McPhearson, a Perm State commit, returned the ensuing ldckoff for a touchdown. Down by three, Team Washington got the ball back twice in the final two minutes but couldn't complete its comeback.

For Rawlings, the performance capped a season in which he threw 52 touchdown passes and led John Carroll to an undefeated record. He was able to do it Saturday alongside three of his teammates who were also selected to the Crab Bowl. He took note of the talent he was playing with, and against. So in the final game of his high school career, he made certain to let his teammates do what they do best. "These are the best athletes in the state from both D.C.

and Baltimore, so you've just got to get the ball in their hands and let them make plays," Rawlings said. "Steve Smothers made some great plays. Everybody was making some great plays out there. "Overall, it was a great game. It's fun being out here with everybody.

It was a good experience." daniel.gallencarrollcountytimes.com 410-8S7-789S twitter.comdanieljtgallen CRAB BOWL From page Bl Smothers scored the first points of the game late in the first quarter on a 27-yard pass from John Carroll quarterback Kurt Rawlings. And late in the third quarter, Smothers gave Team Baltimore the lead for good after getting behind defenders and catching a perfect rainbow from Rawlings for a 46-yard score. "A lot of all-star games, you don't always get timing and all that down," said Smothers, who earned All-Metro first-team honors for the third time this year. "He's a great quarterback. He's smart.

Pretty much second day, passes were on the money like he's been in my life for three years throwing me passes." With limited time for players to practice together, both teams had occasional trouble with communication. Team Baltimore was penalized nine times for 82 yards, including a few delay-of-game and false-start penalties, and Team Washington had five penalties for 43 yards. But behind Gilman running back Antonio Dupree, Smothers and Rawlings, Team Baltimore overcame any chemistry problems and fended off Team Washington. Dupree rushed for 123 yards on 13 carries, and his 6-yard touchdown run in the third quarter gave Team Baltimore a 14- 7 lead. Rawlings, the All-Metro Offensive Player of the Year, went 6-for-16 for 125 yards, three touchdowns and an interception.

He also had a 38-yard scramble and caught a 15- yard pass on a trick play early in the second half. "I think the coaches did a good job," Rawlings said. "They did a good job getting us experience with the new plays because that's a new playbook for me, a new playbook for everybody. They did a fsHK. 3Dlfi and $14 million in 2017, has played 10 years in the majors and five for the same team, he has the ability to void any trade.

The onus is on the Reds, not the Nationals, to seasons. What happens in these situations can be complex. It is the responsibility of the team that controls the player in this case, the Reds to make the new situation enticing. It can do that by offering more money to the existing years of the contract or even extending it. It is unlikely Phillips would just waive his no-trade clause and keep the current terms of his deal.

Phillips ignited speculation that an agreement was nearing completion Thursday night when he tweeted "513 to 202" the area codes for Cincinnati and Washington with an airplane emoji next to the numbers. Phillips has played in Cincinnati since 2006 and moved his family to the area year-round. Most players make their offseason homes elsewhere, but Phillips is entrenched in the Cincinnati community. Some thought the chance to play for a contender and reunite with former manager Dusty Baker may entice him to come to Washington. Though he would not provide the left-handed hitting the Nationals want to balance their lineup, Phillips does provide above-average speed and defense, assets Mike Rizzo, Washington's general manager, and Baker have said were keys for the team moving forward.

Phillips hit at least 17 home runs in every season from 2006 to 2013 and stole 20 bases in four of those seasons. A sprained thumb and other injuries troubled him in 2014, but he reemerged in 2015 when he stole 23 bases, his highest total since 2009, and hit .294 in 148 games, his highest average since 201L James Wagner and Barry Svrluga contributed to this report. Phillips persuade Phillips to consent to a deal, a person with direct knowledge of the negotiations said. As of late Friday, Phillips and the Reds had made no progress toward that agreement, according to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the negotiations. Phillips accepted deferred compensation from the Reds when he signed a six-year contract extension in 2012, presumably so as not to handcuff the Reds financially as they tried to build a roster around him.

That money is now an issue between Phillips and the Reds that must be resolved before Phillips would agree to a trade to Washington. Under his current deal, Phillips is owed $27 million over the next two.