Sports
Saints win in a Brees, 31-17
MIAMI — Leave it to Purdue and Indiana to keep the Indianapolis Colts from bringing back a second Super Bowl trophy to Lucas Oil Stadium. With the Colts unable to provide enough of a pass rush, former Purdue quarterback Drew Brees completed 32 of 39 passes for 288 yards and fired two touchdowns to earn game Most Valuable Player honors as the New Orleans Saints posted a 31-17 Super Bowl XLIV win Sunday night at Sun Life Stadium. Throw in a 74-yard return of an intercepted pass by ex-Indiana University cornerback Tracy Porter for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter and it’s easy to understand how New Orleans was able to register the upset win over the favored Colts. “We played for so much more than our city. We played for the whole Gulf Coast region. We played for the whole ‘Who Dat’ nation,” Brees said afterward. “We knew that we were going to have to be able to move the ball. We knew that we were going to have to be patient. Four years ago [after Hurricane Katrina] who would have ever thought that this would be happening. “Not only did the [Saints] organization come back, but the whole city came back. And this is the whole culmination of that belief. There’s nobody that I wanted to win this championship more for than Sean Payton. Just what he instills in all of his players. He makes us all better players, but he also makes us better men.” With defensive end Dwight Freeney gamely trying to play on a gimpy right ankle, the Colts simply could not generate enough pressure to slow down Brees. Freeney had one sack on the night, but it was far from enough as Indianapolis finishes the season with a 16-3 record. Peyton Manning did his part for the Colts, hitting on 31-of-45 passes for 333 yards and one touchdown. But Manning wasn’t able to come up with enough big plays down the stretch as he tried to lead Indianapolis to an eighth fourth quarter comeback victory this season. A pair of fourth quarter touchdowns proved to be the difference for New Orleans, a two-yard touchdown pass from Brees to tight end Jeremy Shockey and Porter’s theft of a Manning pass. A two-point conversion pass to wide receiver Lance Moore after Shockey’s touchdown catch gave the Saints a seven-point lead with 5:42 remaining in the game and forced the Colts to play catch-up. Perhaps the biggest play of the game, though, was the decision by the New Orleans coaching staff to attempt an on-sides kick to begin the second half. Colts wide receiver Hank Baskett had the ball briefly but lost it. Saints backup safety Chris Reis eventually came up with the football, setting the stage for Brees’ 16-yard touchdown pass to running back Pierre Thomas. “That was something that we worked on in practice the last two weeks. We just were trying to come up with the right time to do it,” Brees said. Joseph Addai had a game-high 77 yards rushing and a four-yard touchdown run in the third quarter that gave Indianapolis its last lead of the game. “Porter made a good play on the ball,” Manning said afterward of his game-changing interception. “He made a heck of a cut on the ball. We made some plays (on offense). But we didn’t make enough plays to win. We are disappointed. “Every possession felt precious out there. We had a third down drop that would stop another drive. The (interception) was disappointing and the turnover on downs at the end of the game was certainly disappointing.” The Colts jumped to a relatively quick 10-0 first quarter lead, thanks to scoring drives of 53 and 96 yards. Matt Stover’s 38-yard field goal with 7:29 left gave Indianapolis a 3-0 lead. With the kick, he became the oldest player to score in a Super Bowl game. Caldwell’s team followed that up with an 11-play drive that began at the Colts’ 4-yard line. Manning’s 19-yard scoring pass to wide receiver Pierre Garcon with 0:36 left in the quarter pushed the Indianapolis margin to 10-0. Addai had three carries for 53 yards rushing on the drive, including a season-best 26-yard effort. He had 60 yards total at halftime. The 96-yard drive tied a Super Bowl record, which was set by the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XX. New Orleans countered with two-second quarter field goals by Garrett Hartley, who hit from 46 and 44 yards out. The Saints’ first drive was slowed when Freeney, who started the game despite missing the last two weeks of practice with a third-degree right ankle sprain, dropped Brees for a seven-yard loss. A chance by New Orleans to tie the score at 10-10 in the final minutes of the quarter was stopped after the Saints had a first-and-goal at the Indianapolis three-yard line. An incomplete pass, a false start penalty and a seven-yard run by Thomas gave New Orleans a third-and-goal at the Colts’ one-yard line. A run wide by Bell was stacked up for no gain by cornerback Kelvin Hayden. Instead of attempting a field goal, a fourth-and-one run by Thomas was stopped for no gain by middle linebacker Gary Brackett, weak side linebacker Clint Session and defensive tackle Eric Foster. Indianapolis couldn’t get move the ball on its final possession of the first half and was forced to punt. The Saints then moved the football from their own 48-yard line down to the Colts’ 26, where Hartley hit his second field goal of the game as time expired.
- Sports
-
-
Lady Huskies take city title
The Edmond Santa Fe girl’s soccer team did their best to keep the city title away from rival North on Tuesday night, but the No. 3-ranked Lady Huskies were just too strong. North found a few kinks in the Santa Fe defense and sewed up the city crown with a 3-0 win at home.
“The girls came out in the second half and played much better, we created a lot of opportunities, but just didn’t put them away,” North trainer Austin Risenhoover said. “You have to give Santa Fe credit. They had a game plan did a very good job with it.”
-
No. 3 Wolves rout Putnam City 10-2
The No. 3-ranked Edmond Santa Fe baseball team had a streak broken but still walked away with a 10-2 win over Putnam City Original on Tuesday night on the road.
In it’s first three games the Wolves out-scored its opponents 37-0 — 13-0 win over McAlester, 13-0 win over Bonham, Texas, and a 11-0 win over Durant — but an unearned run and a earned run against Putnam City ended the streak. -
Huskies rally past Wolves
An early deficit wasn’t enough to trip up the Edmond North boy’s soccer team on Tuesday night. The No. 7-ranked Huskies trailed 1-0 early in the first half, but reeled off a three straight scores for a 3-1 Edlam win over defending state champion Santa Fe at home.
“That kind of lit the guys’ fire a bit and realized we had to get in this game and put three in the back of the net quickly,” North coach Chris Waugh said. “Sometimes these guys just need something to ignite them.” -
Geter leads Bronchos to sweep of Northeastern
Brittany Geter led off the top of the seventh inning with her first career home run to lift Central Oklahoma to a 2-1 second-game victory over Northeastern State and give the Bronchos a Lone Star Conference North Division doubleheader sweep here Tuesday.
Molly Shivers pitched a six-hit shutout in a 3-0 first-game triumph before Geter came through in the nightcap as UCO improved to 11-5 on the year in the opener of league play. The two teams meet again Saturday for a 1 p.m. twinbill in Edmond. -
Jags down 'Dogs 7-2
The No. 5-ranked Edmond Memorial baseball team suffered its first setback of the season on Tuesday night, falling 7-2 to Westmoore at home.
Memorial (3-1) got in a 2-0 hole in the first inning and trailed 3-0 going into the bottom of the third before getting back into the game. -
Antlers sweep Jets
No. 2-ranked Deer Creek wasted little time with Western Heights on Tuesday, sweeping the Jets in a double-header.
The Antlers took the first game 17-2 in four innings, then the following game 11-3.
Deer Creek (5-1) scored eight runs in the first inning of the opener to set the tone, stringing together six straight hits, which included five RBI. -
Bulldogs stay perfect with win over Yukon
The No. 4-ranked Edmond Memorial boys keep their perfect record intact Tuesday night with a 2-1 win over Yukon at home.
“It was a nice win, but we didn’t play like we should have,” Memorial coach Brent Young said. “We couldn’t connect on some passes and it wasn’t one of our strongest defensive games either. But we have some time to work on some things.” -
Memorial shuts out Yukon
The Edmond Memorial girls had no trouble rebounding from last week’s loss to North as they blanked Yukon 2-0 Tuesday night at home.
“We played phenomenally tonight, we were 10 times better than Friday night,” Memorial coach Diana Judd said. “Our girls were able to work the ball and settled down and played their type of ball.”
Judd was also pleased the play of freshman goal keeper Courtney Schultz and the Memorial defense which surrender six goals against North. -
Fourth quarter surge sends Wolves to state tournament
The top-ranked Edmond Santa Fe boys let a trip to state slip away in the Area Championship on Friday, but they weren’t about to let it happen again on Saturday night. After getting off to a sluggish start, the Wolves got back on track in the second half as they punched their ticket to the state tournament with a 60-50 win over a relentless Mustang squad at Choctaw High School.
“I know we’ve beaten them twice earlier, but that definitely wasn’t the same team we played earlier in the year,” Santa Fe senior Drew Hall said. “They just played hard, they played aggressive, hit big shots and we got lucky to come out with a win. We hung around and finally started playing well and got a good win against an underrated team.” -
Bulldogs rout Enid to advance to state tourney
The Edmond Memorial boys used a dominating defensive performance Saturday night to earn a trip to the state tournament. The No. 7-ranked Bulldogs held Enid standout Chris Fitzpatrick to just 12 points as they crushed the Plainsmen 66-38 in the Area Consolation Finals in Sapulpa.
“It’s a pretty amazing feat for these young men,” Memorial coach Shane Cowherd said. “Not a lot of people expected much from them coming into the season, but they believed in themselves and one another. And now they get chance to show that on the state’s biggest stage.” - More Sports Headlines
-
