Video One: It's hard not to smile after the week the Utica Comets just had. The home town team swept their three game stint, and are currently in the middle of a five game win streak. This current run has the team back in the fourth spot in the North Division, and a magic number of just 34.

Video Two: Comets forward Joe LaBate dropped his gloves, and his afternoon plans to come by the studio. While you might want to call him an enforcer, the 24 year old forward doesn't see himself that way.

Video Three: We jumped into the time machine to relive what draft night was like for Joe LaBate. Plus, we looked back at his four year college career, including his major of choice during his four years at Wisconsin.

Video Four: It's a look at the Comets' upcoming schedule. Blue and green have another three games in three days. They first host Bridgeport (Fri - 03/10), then head out to Lehigh Valley (Sat - 03/11), and finally return home to take on Binghamton (Sun - 03/12). Finally, it's nice to see Utica back in the playoff picture.

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Comets Faceoff - Joe LaBate - WUTR WFXV CNYhomepage

Ben Birnell

Borna Rendulic has had some recent success.

And the forward is among the reasons the Utica Comets have gotten hot as they battle for a North Division playoff spot. The success has come at a perfect time, he said.

All year, I was cold and I was like, When am I going to gethot? I have to get hot at some point, Rendulic said. It just happened. I scored a couple goals and I got so much confidence. Every time Im on the ice I feel like I can make a difference.

Utica has won five consecutive games and is 6-0-1-0 in the last seven, which is the second-best streak in the American Hockey League. The Comets are 26-23-7-2 (61 points) as they head into another three-game weekend that begins Friday with a second matchup in less than a week against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers at the Utica Memorial Auditorium. The Comets play Saturday at Lehigh Valley before hosting Binghamton on Sunday.

We just stuck with our system and knew we would turn it around, Rendulic said Thursday. Were doing it right now. Its going good.

Comets coach Travis Green said the teams recent success is a positive.

I think confidence is one thing that goes a long way when you win a couple games, Green said.

Rendulic has contributed, totaling six goals and adding two assists in his last 11 games. Included was a one-timer from the slot that served as a sort of exclamation point in a 3-0 win over Albany last Saturday. That total comes after Rendulic totaled eight points in his first 43 games this season.

Hes played with a few different linemates this season, including veteran Pascal Pelletier, Mike Zalewski and rookie Michael Carcone. Rendulic, who was born in Croatia, has good size at 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds, speed and a big shot. His recent success helped him earn a short call up to the Vancouver Canucks.

I feel good on the ice, said Rendulic, who had 16 goals and 22 assists in 68 games with Colorado's affiliate, San Antonio, last season.

Green said he thinks Rendulic who he refers to as a power forward is playing better than he was at the beginning of the season. He said Rendulic was trying to too cute in certain aspects of his game.

I think the details of his game have gotten a lot better, Green said. Now, hes starting to get pucks to the net and hes starting to get rewarded for it.

With 18 regular-season games remaining, the weekend could have a big impact on the North Division standings. Utica trails St. Johns by a point in the standings, but has a better points percentage (.526 to .517) with help from two games in hand. The top five teams are separated by nine points with Syracuse (70 points), Albany (66) and Toronto (65) in the top three spots. The top four teams qualify for the playoffs. Depending on what happens, the gap between the teams could tighten up.

Every game matters, Rendulic said. You have to keep winning because if you lose a couple games, you could be out of the playoffs.

Clark ready to help

Emerson Clark, who the Comets obtained as added forward depth before Wednesdays AHL trade deadline, joined the team ahead of the weekend.

It was nice to get back into it, said Clark, who will wear No. 13.

The 24-year-old Clark said he arrived in Utica late Wednesday after a 12-hour drive from Chicago. Clark, who is 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds, said he heard good things about Utica from former Comets player Alex Friesen. He knows about the teams hardworking style and is excited.

I just want to help the team and bring good energy, said Clark, who also played on the same junior team as Comets forward Cole Cassels.

He described his playing style as gritty, high-energy and physical. He said can mix it up, if it comes to it. This season, he has one AHL fight and seven in the ECHL.

Clark has a pair of goals and assists in 10 games with Chicago this season. In 38 games with ECHL Tulsa, he totaled 15 goals and 158 penalty minutes.

Green said they will try to get a look at him over the weekend.

Im hoping he fits into the style of hockey we play, Green said. Ive heard a lot of good things from our scouts about him. Well see where it goes.

Injury updates

The Comets will be without assistant captain Wacey Hamilton, who Green said is week-to-week. Hamilton, one of the teams best players on the penalty kill, was injured in the second period Sunday.

Jordan Subban, who missed the last two games with an upper-body injury, practiced Thursday without restriction. The Comets top-scoring defenseman (a career-best 14 goals and 30 points) said he feels good. John Negrin, who has missed the last 25 games with an upper-body injury, also skated Thursday and is available, Green said. Those additions give the Comets nine healthy defensemen.

Derek Hulak remains out. Hulak has missed 38 consecutive games with an upper-body injury and is not close to returning.

I hope that he gets back and plays at some point whether it is this year or next year, Green said.

In total, 14 players have combined to miss 187 games this season.

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Rendulic, Comets on a hot streak - Uticaod - Utica Observer Dispatch

The Halifax County High School girls tennis team produced a sweep of their two pre-season scrimmages this week, topping GW 9-0 Monday and edging Jefferson Forest High School 5-4 Wednesday in a match that was decided in the last doubles contest of the night.

Wednesdays scrimmage was a big confidence booster for the Comets as the Comets lost to Jefferson Forest 9-0 in last years scrimmage.

We are so very proud of the job this team did tonight, said Comets Head Coach Donna Hudson in the wake of her teams win over Jefferson Forest High School.

We won games on all courts, a tremendous improvement over our performance against this group last year. Our top two girls, Alyssa Conde and Savannah Reaves, played respectably against superb players, and learned a thing or two in the process. They faced two of the strongest players we will see all year in JFs Madison Hansen and Lauren Pascadlo.At that level, as well as further down the courts, we took note of some techniques we can work on and will do so in the coming week.

Conde lost her first set to Hansen 6-0 and was rallying in the second set with a 2-1 lead when Hansen was forced to stop the match due to an injury, giving Conde a forfeit win.

Reaves lost 6-1, 6-2 in straight sets, but played well against a tough opponent, making some strong returns and getting good ball placement with her shots.

Kassidy Irby, playing the number three singles, faced JFs Abbie Edmonds, who had beaten her last season, and came up with a win in straight sets by scores of 6-2 and 7-5.

The Comets RaeAnn Winegar, playing the number four singles match, dropped her first set to JFs Kelsey Shotwell 7-5 on a tiebreaker after having played the first set to a 6-6 tie. Hampered by a knee injury, she lost the second set 6-3.

Halifax County High Schools Amber Roane lost to JFs Jamie Smoot in straight sets by scores of 6-3, 6-2 in the number five singles match. Yasmine Ferrell picked up a win for the Comets in the number six singles contest, topping her opponent in straight sets by scores of 6-2, 6-4 to deadlock the match after the singles round.

Former Halifax County High School Coach Brady Taylor made some lineup adjustments for the doubles round due to Hansens injury. Hudson adjusted the Comets lineup as well, bringing a couple of fresh players into the mix.

The Comets number three doubles team of Ashley Day and Ashley Collins were the first doubles team to start and the first to finish. The duo won their match 8-4, giving the Comets a 4-3 lead in the overall match.

Taylor used his number eight player to partner with his number two player, Pascadlo, and the JF duo won the close number one doubles match 8-6 to deadlock the overall match at 4-4.

Hudson paired Irby, the number three Comets player, with number seven player Kendall Foushee, for the number two doubles contest. It proved to be a winning combination as they came up with a series of well-played shots in clutch situations to score a 9-7 win and give the Comets the overall 5-4 match win.

We are very lucky this year to have a really deep team, Hudson pointed out.

From position six down, our girls play at almost the exact same level, and that level is just a bit away from that of the top five. That depth allows us to put fresh players in at doubles without any risk, and that is a great strength we plan to take advantage of as we move into our regular season.

The Comets had a pretty easy time of things in Mondays match against GW, scoring 8-0 wins in every match.

Conde, Reaves, Irby, Winegar, Roane and Ferrell all posted wins in the singles matches.

Hudson went with positions seven through 12 on the teams ladder for the doubles matches, with Foushee and Dejah Britton playing the number one doubles match, Day and Collins playing the number two doubles contest and Summer Martin and Elizabeth Janicijevic competing for the Comets in the number three doubles match.

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Comets girls netters top JF, GW | Prep Sports | yourgv.com - YourGV.com

Owen McAbee won at the No. 4 singles spot, and Brent Edwards-Jacob Wenzel and Gordon Taylor-McAbee won doubles matches, but the Comets fell 6-3 at Jefferson Forest High School in a scrimmage played on Wednesday.

Edwards, Wenzel, Taylor, Gabe Outlaw and Ben Irby all lost singles matches for the Comets, Taylors loss coming in a tie-breaker.

Outlaw also played a close match before falling.

You always hate to come out of any situation with a loss, but considering this was a scrimmage this was good for us, said Comets Head Coach David Riddle.

Jefferson Forest has a solid group of players, and that will certainly help us in the long run.

This is a young team that does not have a ton of experience in matches at the top of the ladder.

We saw some nerves out there today, and also quite a few unforced errors, but there were a bunch of good moments as well.

The Comets rallied from behind to get two of their three wins, Riddle noted.

They all fought hard, and several of the losses also came down to the last few points, noted Riddle.

This group is working hard everyday to get better, and we will take what we saw today and prepare for the start of the regular season next week.

Jacob Hannell (JF) d. Brent Edwards (HC) 8-1

Trent Johnson (JF) d. Jacob Wenzel (HC) 8-4

Robbie Hall (JF) d. Gordon Taylor (HC) 9-8 (7-0)

Owen McAbee (HC) d. Jeff Scott (JF) 8-2

Daniel Burger (JF) d. Gabe Outlaw (HC) 9-7

Will Haslet (JF) d. Ben Irby (HC) 8-1

Taylor-McAbee won 9-8 (8-6)

Jefferson Forest d. Outlaw/Irby 8-2

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Comets drop scrimmage at Jefferson Forest HS - YourGV.com

Thirty years after the last Catonsville High girls basketball team played in the state championship game, the Comets aregoing back.

After defeating North Point, 64-40, in the Class 4A state semifinals at Towson Universitys SECU Arena on Thursday, Catonsville (25-2) advances to play Walt Whitman in the finals at the same venueon Saturday, March 11 at 3 p.m.

Catonsville, making its eighth trip to the state tournament, has never won a girls basketball state title.

Junior Jamelia Barrett (26 points), sophomore Gabby Douglas (18) and junior Jasmine Dickey (14) led the scoring for the Comets.

Necole Hope (13 points) and Aliyah Bullock (12) led North Point (23-4).

Barrett was 10 of 15 from the field and 6 of 6 from the foul line.

Barrett scored most of her points on layups off fast-breaks.

The game plan every night is really to push the ball, make good passes and get it up the court and I think Gabby did a really good job of pushing it, so that was really good and I think my teammates were really good at facilitating tonight, Barrett said.

The Comets outscored the Eagles 34-15 in the second half when Barrett scored 18 points.

We said at halftime, guys dont stop running. We can get the easy buckets. Weve just got to be smart with it, Catonsville coach Mike Mohler said.

Douglas scored 11 points in the second half, including makingthe Comets only two three-pointers of the game.

Her first three-pointer came just before the third-quarter buzzer and she admitted it was surprising.

I knew we didnt have a lot of time and I carried the ball a little bit and it didnt get called, so I just kind of threw it up there, but I got lucky, said Douglas, who was 5 of 6 from the field and 6 of 6 from the foul line.

That buzzer-beating heave gave the Comets a 49-34 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

That was a huge momentum boost, Mohler said.

The Comets got a more subtle momentum boost in the first quarter, after Dickey and Jen Gast both were on the bench with two fouls and reserves Amber Lally and Maddie McLean came in and gave quality minutes.

Dickey departed with 5:33 left in the second quarter and Gast was benched with 3:59 remaining and the Comets leading, 5-4.

We are pretty resilient. I had my two leading scorers on the bench with two fouls in the first quarter and we had a long way to go to try and get out of it, Mohler said. I thought the girls that came in off of the bench actually get most of the credit for hanging us in there and keeping us close until we could get them back in and then they played the rest of the first half without getting their third foul.

The Comets also switched from a man-to-man to a 2-1-2 zone after Dickey and Gast left.

At that point, we had to buy time and the only way were going to do it was be in the zone, Mohler said.

Hopes three-pointer with one second left in the first quarter gave the Eagles a 12-8 lead at the break.

Dickey, who averages 23.8 points and 9.7 rebounds per game, and Gast returned 20 seconds into the second quarter.

After Stashia Daniels canned a free throw, Dickey scored on a putback and the Comets led 12-11.

A basket by Camille Robinson and two buckets from Bullock keyed a 6-2 run for the Eagles and they led, 18-13, with 5:42 left in the half.

Catonsville answered with eight straight points in 85 seconds and took a 21-18 lead.

Gasts layup started the scoring and Dickeys chippie made it 18-17.

Two free throws by Dickey put the Comets ahead, 19-18, and Daniels blocked a shot that started a breakaway that ended with Dickey feeding Barrett on a long bounce pass for a 21-18 lead with 4:18 left in the half.

Synia Johnson made a basket with 4:03 left and the lead was one, 21-20, but the Comets scored nine of the next 10 points.

Dickey had four points and Douglas made a conventional three-point play with 1:36 left in the half and the Comets led, 30-21.

Baskets by North Points Bullock and Hope cut the deficit to 30-25 at intermission.

In the third quarter, Hopes layup with 4:57 left cut the deficit to three, 34-31, but Dickey answered with a layup, followed by a block, rebound and assist to Barrett for a fast-break layup and the lead was up to 38-31.

Catonsville outscored North Point 26-6 the rest of the way and shot 46.9 percent overall (23-for-49) from the field.

North Point shot 25.4 percent (16-for 63).

We knew they were going to be tough so hats off to them, they came out and they played ball and they took care of business, North Point coach Michael Serpone said. There is nothing you can do when there is a lid on the rim and today was one of those days.

Catonsvilles defense, that included three blocked shots from Dickey and two each from Daniels and Douglas, was also relentless.

We came out from the jump with the idea of we are going to run this team, we are going to get up and down the court and we are going to make good passes, hustle and thats what I tried to do for the team and I was very successful at that and everybody was successful at that, Dickey said.

Mohler also praised the all-around play of junior Daniels, who led the Comets with eight rebounds.

That was, in all honesty, the best she has played in three years, Mohler said. That just shows what kind of player she can be. She really went after it.

Gast, who will play at UMBC next season and is the lone senor starter, wasnt ready for the season to end.

Its really exciting. I cant even put it into words, honestly. This has been our goal all year and Im just excited that we are finally here, Gast said.

Mohler also knows the climb to the top is not finished.

What I told the kids is you dont climb Mount Everest and stop 200 feet short of the summit, lets finish the job. We know Saturday we are going to play a quality opponent. We just hope we are ready to get to the summit.

Scoring

Catonsville 64

Jameila Barrett 26, Gabby Douglas 18, Jasmine Dickey 14, Jen Gast 4, Stashia Daniels 1, Amber Lally 1.

North Point 40

Necole Hope 13, Aliyah Bullock 12, Latavia Jackson 8, Synia Johnson 3, Kennedy Davis 2, Camille Robinson 2.

Halftime: Catonsville 30, North Point 25.

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Catonsville girls basketball advances to state championship game - Baltimore Sun

Stew-Stras 8th grade volleyball were underdogs, but on Tuesday, the Comets claimed the Stew-Stras 1A Regional crown. They beat Sigel St. Michael's, 25-27, 25-18, 26-24

Stew-Stras came into the regional as the 5th seed out of six teams. They knocked off the #1 seed Martinsville on Saturday in a marathon, 25-23, 10-25, 25-22. On Tuesday, the Comets had another barn-burner, beating the #2 seed in a nip ' tuck 3-set match.

The Comets seemed to be the sharper squad from the outset. They received, passed, and set for the attack like a machine, while Sigel looked more improvisational in their way to stay competitive.

Sigel served and drew first blood, but the Comets ran their offense. Chloe Dasenbrock dished a clean assists and Hannah Hayes delivered from the 2nd row, 1-1. Dasenbrock served and ace and Hayes swung for the kill form the 2nd row again, 3-1.

The refs then called Stew-Stras on a double-hit on a pass. It wasn't obvious. The refs didn't make that call again, until they called it on Sigel for the final point of the match, giving the Comets the title.

Despite at tie at 3-3 and 4-4, Stew-Stras continued to lead in the first game. Hope Bueker was the Sigel heavy-hitter, almost unstoppable when she got a good set.

Grace Vonderheide dug a ball, it cleared the net and scored, 5-4. Mariah Hoene then killed off a block attempt, 6-4. Grace Rincker served and Hayes swung again with a kill down the line, 8-5.

At 9-7, Hoene killed off the tip, then Sigel hit into the net, 10-7. Stew-Stras had a good dig, but it gave Sigel a free ball. However, they missed. Hoene then served an ace, 12-8. Hayes then finished off a good offensive play with another kill from the 2nd row for a 5-point lead, 13-8.

At 14-12, Maggie Kelly killed off the block. Heidi Caudill served and Sigel was called for a lift. Caudill served a short ace and Sigel had to call time-out, down 17-12.

The time-out didn't seem to help, thanks to great net defense from the Comets. Sigel missed into the net, then Bueker missed a shot, 19-13. Mikala Nichols then stuffed a ball at the net causing a Sigel lift, 20-13.

After alternating misses, the Comets were on the the verge of a rout, 21-13. After a Sigel time-out, the Sharpshooters went on an unbelievable 10-1 run to claim the lead down the stretch.

It started with Bueker smaching a kill into a block attempt. The Comets missed a kill, then the Comets collided on a ball near the net and there was a foot fault. Sigel served an ace and the 4-0 run made the score, 21-17.

Stew-Stras swung for a kill, Sigel returned it, but Hayes 2-handed it back for the score, 22-17. But here came another Sigel run.

A missed Comet kill, then Sigel had a fortunate carom kill off the net. Sigel was good at tipping and they scored again. Sigel scored on a kill off the block to make it a 1-point game, 22-21.

Stew-Stras called time. Out of the time, Sigel scored a kill for the tie, 22-22. The Comets overhead shot, missed and was down 23-22. Stew-Stras called time again.

Bueker swung after the pause into the net and it was another tie, 23-23. Hayes served, but Sigel tipped over the front line. They served game point. on the return Sigel hit out, 24-24.

The battle for game 1 was key. Hoene served and ace and Stew-Stras was up, 25-24. They served game point, but missed, 25-25. Sigel served an ace, 26-25. They served game point and the deep serve couldn't be handled. After six ties and three serves for game point, Sigel won game 1, 27-25.

In game 2, the Comets got a lead and Sigel never caught them. Down 1-0, Dasenbrock tipped for a point, 1-1. Caudill served an ace, 2-1. Mikala Nichols served after a bad pass from Sigel, 3-2. Hayes was set and killed. Bueker missed a kill, 6-2.

Sigel missed again, but then Bueker got a good set and delivered, 7-3. A bad pass and it was a 2-point game, 7-5. A side-out gave Rincker then serve, and she delivered an ace.

Sigel answered with an ace, but a bad pass brought a side-out. Hayes went to serve and she smoked an ace. Kelly scored on a free ball tip. Hoene defended the net and scored, 13-7. Sigel missed into net for a 7-point lead.

Stew-Stras then hit a bump. They missed a kill, missed at the net and bumped the ball into the net, 14-10.

Hoene had an answer, a free ball stuff. However, bad sets and service error made play inconsistent. Sigel missed a free ball into the net and the Comets got lucky and the serve, 17-13.

Caudill had a short service run. On the serve, Sigel hit it back to the net and the Comets stuffed it, 19-13. Bueker hit long and Stew-Stras had the serve and a 20-14 lead.

Hayes swung for the kill, but the ref called someone in the net. The other ref conferred and they couldn't confirm which team hit the net. So it was declared no point, serve again. Sigel missed, 21-14.

A long Sigel bump landed on the line for a point at 21-16. Sigel then served on the line deep, but it was called out, fortunate for the Comets, 22-16. Hayes swung for the kill and the Sigel overhead was short, bringing a Sigel time-out, 23-16.

A Comet tip went deep and bad set made it 23-18. Sigel swung wide and Hayes served game-point. Hayes' ace brought on game 3, 25-18.

Game 3 would have 13 ties and 9 lead changes before the outcome was decided.

Sigel scored first on a tip, but Nichols' overhead tied it, 1-1. Sigel tipped again, 2-1. A bad pass tied it, 2-2. Bueker was in the net on a shot, but Sigel blocked a 2-hand shot, 3-3. Sigel served an ace to lead, 5-3 and Stew-Stras called time.

Hayes answered with a kill. Sigel hit long, 6-5, and Rincker served and ace for the tie, 6-6. Sigel hit wide for the Comet lead. A miss tied it and another Comet missed gave Sigel the lead, 8-7. A bad Sigel pass tied the game, 8-8, but a Comet service error gave the ball right back, 9-8.

Stew-Stras missed twice and Sigel served an ace for a, 12-8, lead and a Comet time-out. Dasenbrock had a good save and Sigel missed the ensuing kill attempt. Hayes had a good dig and Stew-Stras scored off the net, trailing 13-10.

Down 14-10, the Comets started a comeback, culminating with a 7-0 run with Caudill serving. Hayes swung for the kill to get the side-out. Sigel had a bad pass and hit into the net. Bueker had a massive block of a strong Comet kill shot. But the block caromed out of bounds. Caudill then served an ace for the tie, 14-14.

Sigel missed a tip and Dasenbrock digged a ball over the net to the open floor for a point. Sigel missed a tip again and Stew-Stras was up 17-14.

Bueker responded with a kill and the Comets missed a shot, 17-16. Hayes tipped for a point to keep the lead, 18-16. However, Bueker swung for a kill. The Comets killed long and had a bad serve receive for a 19-18 Sigel lead change.

Hayes tipped for a point and Sigel hit long for a Comet lead change, 20-19. A Comet was in the net and then bumped out for a Sigel lead change, 21-20.

Dasenbrock tipped at the net and the dig return went out, 21-21. Sigel tipped for the lead, 22-21 and the Comets missed a free tip. Stew-Stras hit an overhead and Sigel mis-handled it.

Hoene got the serve down 23-22. Hoene delivered an ace for the tie. Sigel called time-out. After the pause, Stew-Stras tipped over the Sigel front line to bring game point, 24-23.

Sigel called time-out. Out of the time, Sigel swung for the kill, 24-24. On the next point, Hayes had a great save, then swung for the kill, 25-24. Dasenbrock served match-point. Sigel was called for a double-hit on the set and it was game over.

Stew-Stras 8th will advance to the Sigel St. Michael 1A Sectional on Monday night at 6:30 p.m. They will play Grayville (19-0) for the right to advance to 1A State. Grayville 8th took 3rd in the state last year as 7th graders (22-1).

Tuesday

Stew-Stras 8-1A Regional Final

Stew-Stras def. Sigel St. Michael, 25-27, 25-18, 26-24

Stew stats: Hannah Hayes *3 aces, *13 kills, *17 digs; Chloe Dasenbrock 1 ace, 1 kill, *14 assists, 13 digs; Mikala Nichols 2 kills, 2 assists, 10 digs; Mariah Hoene 1 ace, 3 kills, *4 blocks; Grace Rincker 2 aces, 1 assist, 6 digs; Heidi Caudill *3 aces, 5 digs; Grace Vonderheide 4 digs.

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Comets claim Regional crown | Local Sports | shelbyvilledailyunion ... - Shelbyville Daily Union

HOT SPRINGS -- Before Khalil Garland and Darious Hall head to the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, they'll have one more high school game to play in the Spa City.

That's the Class 5A boys state championship game at Bank of the Ozarks Arena.

Class 5A boys championship

MILLS VS. LR PARKVIEW

WHEN 5:15 p.m. today

WHERE Bank of the Ozarks Arena, Hot Springs

TICKETS $8 (free for children 5 and under)

RECORDS Mills 30-2, No. 2 seed from 5A-Central; Parkview 28-5, No. 1 seed from 5A-Central

COACHES Mills Raymond Cooper; Parkview Al Flanigan

STATE TOURNAMENT RESULTS

Mills def. Magnolia 69-39, def. Maumelle 75-59, def. Hot Springs 52-47; Parkview def. Watson Chapel 75-41, def. Harrison 67-50, def. Sylvan Hills 74-51

Garland's Little Rock Parkview Patriots and Hall's Mills Comets square off at 5:15 p.m. today in a rematch of last month's 5A-Central Conference championship game won by the Patriots in overtime.

"Everybody in the state wanted to see us again," said Parkview Coach Al Flanigan of the Patriots and Comets. "It was a heck of a game the first meeting. I think it will be the same way in the second one."

Mills (30-2) and Parkview (28-5) have been ranked in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette's Top 10 throughout the season. The Comets have defeated Class 7A Bentonville, Class 6A El Dorado twice and 5A-West champion Maumelle. The Patriots' most impressive victories have come against Class 7A Little Rock Central, Maumelle and 5A-West runner-up Harrison.

Hall is averaging 15.3 points through three games in the Class 5A state tournament, including a 22-point effort in a 75-59 victory over Maumelle in Friday's quarterfinals. In three games, Garland has averaged 14.0 points, finishing with 18 points in the Patriots' 74-51 rout of Sylvan Hills in Saturday's semifinals.

Both Hall and Garland are part of the Razorbacks' Class of 2017 that also includes El Dorado forward Daniel Gafford, who plays in Friday's Class 6A state championship game against Jonesboro.

"These are the classic Arkansas-type of players," Mills Coach Raymond Cooper said. "They get up and down the floor. They're exciting to watch. They're both explosive athletes. It's going to be a good matchup."

Flanigan, though, is focused on the matchup of the two teams, not just Hall and Garland.

"We're just going to go out there and play," said Flanigan, who has won six state championships at Parkview.

In the teams' first meeting, Mills led Parkview 33-28 at halftime in the 5A-Central title game Feb. 24 in Maumelle, but the Patriots forced overtime as freshman guard Moses Moody hit a three-pointer with less than a minute remaining in regulation. Moody then hit two free throws with 4.8 seconds to play in overtime and the Patriots handed the Comets their second loss of the season.

Two games at Bank of the Ozarks Arena (seating capacity 6,000) have sold out -- the 2015 Class 7A boys final between Bentonville and North Little Rock and the 2016 Class 7A boys final between Bentonville and Cabot, the latter drawing more than 6,500. Both games featured Malik Monk, who starred for Bentonville before heading to the University of Kentucky. Monk's Bentonville teams lost to North Little Rock, with eventual Florida guard KeVaughn Allen, and then to Cabot.

Lance Taylor, the Arkansas Activities Association's executive director, said Hot Springs fire marshal Ed Davis along with Hot Springs police and Bank of the Ozarks Arena staff recommended to him to have games such as Mills-Parkview be played earlier in the day.

"It's easier to get the big crowds in early. It filters back out," Taylor said. "It was their recommendation for us to do that. That way, everybody can get in for every game. Fans can watch their own schools play. We're going to make sure that everybody's able to get into the game they want to see."

Flanigan wasn't concerned with the game time his school received.

"We'll take whatever they give us," Flanigan said. "We'll make the best of it."

The first Mills-Parkview game drew more than 2,200 fans to Maumelle High School's gymnasium. Today, a capacity crowd of 6,000 is expected at Bank of the Ozarks Arena. The Patriots look to win their second consecutive state championship, but first in Class 5A. However, the Comets are attempting to win their second title and first since 2004.

"When you get to the tournament, you're battle-tested," Cooper said. "They've seen everything. Now it's just a matter of going out and play the way you've been playing all year."

Sports on 03/09/2017

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Patriots-Comets rematch for all the Class 5A marbles - WholeHogSports

Kris Henry Mail Tribune @Kris_Henry

Crater head coach David Heard knew his team needed to be clicking on all cylinders to take down a formidable foe in Corvallis during Wednesdays Class 5A girls basketball state quarterfinals at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis.

Unfortunately for the seventh-seeded Comets, it just wasnt to be against the second-seeded Spartans.

Crater remained in striking distance early on in the matchup but an ice-cold outing from the field ultimately proved to be the Comets undoing as Corvallis steadily pulled away for a 45-25 triumph.

It was my worry that we werent going to be able to score enough and thats what it came down to, said Heard.

Crater (21-5) finished 8-for-43 from the field (18.6 percent) and was 2-for-17 from 3-point range (11.8 percent) to dampen any hopes of an upset over Corvallis (22-3).

Part of that reason is because Corvallis defends you so well, said Heard. Theyre big and theyre long and theyre strong. The game was very physical, as it is sometimes up here, but we just struggled making baskets.

It was frustrating that we were 2-for-17 from the 3-point line because about six or seven of those shots were in and then out, added the coach, whose team averages about 20 shots beyond the arc per game. It can change a lot if those go in, but the bottom line is theyre just better than us and we did what we could do against them.

With the loss, the Comets face an elimination game at 10:45 a.m. today against Hillsboro (16-10), which lost 51-27 to Silverton on Wednesday. A win in that game would secure a third state trophy in seven years for Crater, which placed third in 2010 and 15.

If we can figure out a way to win tomorrow were going to be bringing home a trophy and thats exciting for this team, said Heard. I think for this team, that would be a great accomplishment.

In Wednesdays other quarterfinals, No. 1 seed La Salle Prep dominated Putnam for a 62-25 win, while fifth-seeded Bend upended No. 4 Marist 46-36.

Crater senior Mallory Heard finished with five points to tie junior Alexus Woodard for team-high scoring honors, while Woodard and senior Evie Kent each pulled in six rebounds.

Heard, however, was harassed into finishing only 2-for-12 from the field with five turnovers while Woodward was 2-for-8 from the field and no other Comet made more than one field goal as the team uncharacteristically had only two assists for the game.

Corvallis senior post Grace Corbin totaled 16 points and eight rebounds and the Spartans got a big boost off the bench from Maddie Garretson, who opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer and scored all seven of her points in that frame.

Woodard splashed in a rare 3-pointer for Crater in the third quarter to cut the deficit to 25-16 but the Comets couldnt get a defensive stop to mount a comeback. Corbin followed with a pair of free throws and, after a Crater turnover, Taylor Hurley splashed in one of Corvallis three 3-pointers to push the Spartans cushion back up to 30-16.

At halftime we talked about trying to get it (our deficit) to five or six by the end of third to at least make them think about it a little, said Heard. Instead of going from nine to then possibly hitting a shot to get to six, it goes the other way there and thats a big difference between six and 14.

Crater also tried to switch things up defensively, getting a little more aggressive with its trapping defense and full-court attack in hopes of creating turnovers, added Heard, but Corvallis thwarted that hope with solid passing throughout its lineup to make a relatively close game a runaway in the final 12 minutes.

CRATER (21-5)

Alexus Woodard 2-8 0-0 5, Mallory Heard 2-12 1-2 5, Sydney Gray 0-3 4-6 4, Evelyn Kent 1-5 1-2 3, Rane Jansen 1-2 0-0 3, Mackenzie Ryerson 1-7 0-0 2, Nehkyah Ellis 1-1 0-0 2, Maya Van Hook 0-2 1-2 1, Jamie Harris 0-1 0-0 0, Kelsey Lane 0-0 0-0 0, Eliza Idiart 0-3 0-0 0, Aleesa Yother 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 8-44 7-12 25.

CORVALLIS (22-3)

Grace Corbin 6-11 4-4 16, Maddie Garretson 3-5 0-3 7, Taylor Hurley 2-4 0-0 6, A. Vallency-Martinso 1-5 3-4 5, Ellie Harding 2-5 0-0 4, Krysta Wilson 1-7 1-2 3, Jordan Taylor 1-3 0-0 2, Maggie Beck 1-2 0-0 2, Maranda Tucker 0-0 0-0 0, Becca Garretson 0-0 0-0 0, Lizzy Garretson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 17-42 8-13 45.

Crater;4;7;9;5;;25

Corvallis;10;11;15;9;;45

3-point goalsCrater 2-17 (Alexus Woodard 1-3, Rane Jansen 1-2, Mackenzie Ryerson 0-4, Eliza Idiart 0-3, Mallory Heard 0-5), Corvallis 3-15 (Taylor Hurley 2-3, Maddie Garretson 1-2, Ellie Harding 0-2, Krysta Wilson 0-5, Jordan Taylor 0-1, Maggie Beck 0-1, Grace Corbin 0-1). ReboundsCrater 31 (Evelyn Kent 6, Alexus Woodard 6), Corvallis 34 (Grace Corbin 8). AssistsCrater 2 (Alexus Woodard 1, Mackenzie Ryerson 1), Corvallis 16 (A. Vallency-Martinso 6). Total foulsCrater 13, Corvallis 11.

Reach reporter Kris Henry at 541-776-4488, khenry@mailtribune.com, http://www.facebook.com/krishenryMT or http://www.twitter.com/Kris_Henry

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Cold-shooting Comets fall in 5A quarters - Mail Tribune

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Abinbton Heights center Alessia Brunori. Jake Danna Stevens / Staff Photographer

Feature photo of Abinbton Heights center Alessia Brunori. Jake Danna Stevens / Staff Photographer

Before the season started, Abington Heights senior Alessia Brunori knew she would be shouldering more responsibility.

The MRI results told her that.

First, the Lady Comets found out that senior guard Nicole Getz suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Two weeks later, Brunoris partner in the low post and leading scorer Cassie Ksiazek suffered the same injury.

It kind of hurt everyone, said Brunori, who is coming off a fourth quarter to remember in the District 2 Class 5A championship game win over Wyoming Valley West. We all took a

step back and said, Whats my role going to be now? Two major people with injuries. It

was sad they were hurt, and disappointing, too.

As summer league play and eventually the season wore on, Brunori worked harder on her offensive game, knowing it would be needed.

Lessi is the one who really took over the responsibility inside, head coach Deanna Klingman said. Not only rebounding last year she was our best rebounder but also to score. A lot of games she had some double-doubles, and Liv (Baker) and her have played together a long time, so they worked really well in the high-low situation.

That played out Saturday, as Brunori hit a pair of mid-range jumpers when the team desperately needed a bucket in the final 2 minutes.

I wanted my role to change this year, Brunori said. I worked really hard in the summer to improve my offensive game. Now, with Cassie out, I needed to pick up the slack, defensively, offensively.

I worked hard over the summer to get those moves down, and get that jumper down. I really worked hard to nail that.

Then she blocked the potential game-winning shot with just a few seconds left.

I was thinking about that after and said, I cant believe that happened, Brunori said. I was watching the videos that were posted and I still couldnt believe that actually happened. It was crazy, crazy.

But not unexpected.

We had some good practice with some penetrating guards this season, and we didnt want to let them get to the rim, Klingman said. She was our person who we said had to step up and deter the guards.

She did that against Valley West, too. She also defended their big exactly as we wanted her to.

Since going to a 2-3 and matchup zone defenses, Brunori has been studious in her defensive responsibilities and what expectations were.

Lessi has worked really hard to understand it and to be in the right position, Klingman said. Every day we work it, and she wants to know exactly where she needs to be, and she will do her best job to be there.

We know were going to get her rebounding every night. Shes very aggressive going to the ball and now she is adding the scoring dimension and that is really going to help the team.

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mmyers@timesshamrock.com @mmyersTT on Twitter

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GIRLS BASKETBALL: Brunori develops into force for Lady Comets - Scranton Times-Tribune

The Halifax County High School varsity boys soccer team broke a 2-2 halftime deadlock and edged Heritage High School 4-3 in a pre-season scrimmage Monday night in Lynchburg.

We played well as a team and possessed the ball very well for the first game of the season, said Comets Head Coach Brian Hall.

We had great composure. I didnt feel a lot of pressure. I moved the guys around a lot and subbed quite often trying to figure out our starting lineup. These guys played hard and are practicing with a purpose. Im proud of them, and I know well continue to improve.

The Comets got two goals from Ford Morrison in the first half, both coming with assists from Nick Rosche, as the two teams finished the first half in a 2-2 deadlock.

In the second half, the Comets got a goal from Rosche to put the Comets up 3-2. Heritage High School scored a goal to tie the game, and the Comets got a goal on a free kick by Tristin Yesalavich for the game-winner.

The Comets open regular-season play Friday, March 17 with a home contest against Appomattox. Game time will be 7 p.m., with the game following the junior varsity contest, which will start at 5:30 p.m.

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Comets soccer team tops Heritage HS - YourGV.com

After picking up victories over a pair of North Division rivals the previous two days, the Comets put together another solid effort against the Atlantic Divisions Bridgeport Sound Tigers to extend their winning streak.

UTICA It was a big weekend for the Utica Comets.

After picking up victories over a pair of North Division rivals the previous two days, the surging Comets put together another solid effort against the Atlantic Divisions Bridgeport Sound Tigers to extend their winning streak to five games and earn all six possible points during the weekend.

On Sunday, Joseph LaBates wrister from the slot with 40.1 seconds remaining in the second period helped the Comets edge the Sound Tigers for a gritty 2-1 victory in front of an announced sellout crowd of 3,870 at the Utica Memorial Auditorium. The teams play again Friday in Utica.

"To get all three (wins during the weekend) is obviously phenomenal," said Comets coach Travis Green, whose team is 6-0-1-0 in the last seven games. "(Sunday) was just a complete game."

The victory was important for the Comets (26-23-7-2, 61 points), who are in the thick of the North Division playoff race. Utica is battling for fourth place with St. Johns, which picked up a 3-0 victory over Toronto on Sunday. Utica, which has 18 games remaining, is one point back of St. John's with a game in hand. The top four teams in each division make the playoffs.

"Obviously, thats our goal: To keep climbing toward the playoffs," said LaBate, who added an assist. "This weekend was a great start. We just need to keep it going."

Carter Bancks also scored in the first period in support of rookie Thatcher Demko, who totaled 24 saves for his fifth consecutive victory. Demko, who was coming off his first professional shutout Saturday and has allowed two or fewer goals in each of the five starts, improved his record to 14-11-4 this season. Utica has won four consecutive home contests and are 13-12-4-1 at the Aud this season.

Jaroslav Halak, the National Hockey League veteran, made 27 saves for the Sound Tigers (35-19-2-1). Halak is 14-3-3-2 this season, with two losses in regulation coming against the Comets.

First period

Utica controlled much of the opening frame, totaling 12 shots and limiting the Sound Tigers without one for the first 10 minutes.

For the third consecutive game, Utica got the games first goal.

On the play, Bancks took a short pass from LaBate and fired from the right circle through traffic in front, hitting the right post and in for his eighth of the season with 8:19 remaining. Wacey Hamilton also assisted.

"I tried to set up a screen. I was yelling at him to shoot it," LaBate said with a laugh. "He had a great shot. I dont think there was much to shoot at."

Second period

The teams traded even-strength goals, with the Comets getting one late in a back-and-forth period.

The Sound Tigers rallied to tie the game with about 10 minutes left. After Bridgeport won a faceoff in the Comets zone, Ryan Pulock fired from the blue line on the right side past Demko to make it 1-1. The goal ended Demkos shutout streak of 97:33.

Utica answered with less than a minute left. Cole Cassels sent a pass to LaBate, who broke in the zone, cut around one defender and put shot past Halak's glove for his fourth the season.

"I got my feet moving and saw there was a lane, and I just tried to get it on net," LaBate said.

Third period

Both teams had some good chances throughout the period, but both teams made key big stops to keep the game close.

Tom Nilsson made a good defensive play with about seven minutes left, breaking up a good short breakaway opportunity by Tom Rowe to keep the Comets ahead.

"He hasnt played in awhile and steps in and makes a big play at the end of the game. At this time of the year, thats what its all about," Green said.

The Sound Tigers continued to pressure and pulled Halak late, but Demko and the Comets remained tough to preserve the victory.

NOTES: Sundays game was the Comets 85th consecutive sellout, though there were some unfilled seats throughout the Aud. Hamilton did not play in the third period. After the game, Green said Hamilton was injured. Jordan Subban (second consecutive game; upper-body injury), Pascal Pelletier, Andrey Pedan, Derek Hulak (38 consecutive games) and John Negrin (25 consecutive games) were not in the lineup.

COMETS 2, SOUND TIGERS 1

Bridgeport 0 1 0 1

Utica 1 1 0 2

1st Period-1, Utica, Bancks 8 (LaBate, Hamilton), 11:41. Penalties-Kearns Bri (boarding), 1:35; Rowe Bri (slashing), 8:28; LaBate Uti (tripping), 14:42. 2nd Period-2, Bridgeport, Pulock 12 (Toews, Winquist), 9:34. 3, Utica, LaBate 4 (Cassels, Robak), 19:19. Penalties-Archibald Uti (boarding), 5:09; Hamilton Uti (boarding), 9:44; J. Holmstrom Bri (cross-checking), 12:50. 3rd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-No Penalties Shots on Goal-Bridgeport 5-8-12-25. Utica 12-6-10-28. Power Play Opportunities-Bridgeport 0 / 3; Utica 0 / 3. Goalies-Bridgeport, Halak 14-3-3 (28 shots-26 saves). Utica, Demko 14-11-4 (25 shots-24 saves). A-3,870 Referees-Jeremy Tufts (78), Andrew Wilk (57). Linesmen-Francois Dussureault (60), Jason Brown (44).

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Utica Comets extend winning streak to 5 - Utica Observer Dispatch

Dennis Garcia

ASHEBORO Starting the season with three nonleague wins is nice. Starting the league season with a win is even better. After the Asheboro High School varsity baseball team spotted Central Davidson three runs in the top of the first inning, the Blue Comets came storming back to record an 11-4 victory in the Mid-Piedmont Conference opener for both teams Tuesday afternoon at McCrary Park. The win lifts AHS to 4-0 on the season heading into Friday afternoons MPC game at Southern Guilford. Our goal was to be 1-0, AHS first-year head coach Brett Hoogkamp said. We struggled early. We hadnt been in that situation before, so it was good for our guys to see that they could come back. We had some guys step up who have been struggling at the plate. The Blue Comets, who registered just three hits in a win over Ragsdale Saturday, recorded 12 hits in the game. Garrett Foland, Levi Kinney, Tristan Marsh, Trevor Marsh and Parker Clayton had two hits each with Kinney and Foland recording three RBIs. Trevor Marsh knocked in a pair. Tristan really didnt have his best stuff, but he battled and gave us four innings, Hookgamp said of Tristan Marsh, the Blue Comets starting hurler. Marsh worked four innings for the win, giving up three runs in the top of the first inning and then working out of trouble in the third and fourth innings. Clayton Parker worked 1 1/3 innings, while Trevor Marsh pitched 2/3 of an inning and Nick Bailes hurled the seventh.

The Spartans took a quick lead in the first inning as a double and two walks loaded the bases with two away. Lucas Thompson drove a shot to center that turned into a three-run double as the Spartans grabbed the early advantage. Asheboro fought back with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first as Austin Curry walked, Clayton doubled and Curry scored on a wild pitch. A single by Tristan Marsh plated Clayton and made it 3-2, but three straight batters fanned to end the inning. A two-run double by Foland plated Trevor Marsh and Kinney in the third and RBI triples from Clayton and Trevor Marsh made it 6-3 after four innings. Central Davidson certainly had its chances, but Tristan Marsh stranded one runner in the second, two in the third and two in the fourth, while Clayton stranded the bases loaded in the fifth. Central Davidson also stranded two in the sixth and two in the seventh for 13 in the contest. Our defense played pretty well behind our pitchers, Hoogkamp said. AHS broke it open in the bottom of the sixth as Trevor Marsh knocked in one with a shot, Kinney drove in three with a double and Foland added a RBI double. AHS had seven extra-base hits.

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Blue Comets baseball team bests Spartans - Asheboro Courier Tribune

Makenna Drabick scores 22 points, grabs 12 rebounds and Maddie Blyer adds 16 points, but Solon makes free throws, big plays at crunch time for 66-60 victory

CANTON Hoover's heart was every bit as huge as the body of Solon's 6-2 Valencia Myers. The smaller Vikings wore their hearts on their sleeves, outplaying the longer Comets on the glass to the tune that they had more offensive rebounds than Solon had total boards.

But the basketball bounces cruelly, and it went the Comets' way when it mattered most.

Reserve forward Rian Dortch scored 10 points, four on offensive putbacks including the backbreaker with 25 seconds left, and Solon went 6 of 7 at the foul line in the final 2:09 to end Hoover's season with a 66-60 victory.

Dee Bekelja scored 10 of her game-high 29 points in the fourth quarter to send Solon into Friday's final against McKinley. The Comets know they were lucky to get there.

Makenna Drabick scored 22 points, 20 in the second half, and grabbed a dozen rebounds to power the smaller Vikings. She was joined on the boards by Annie Roshak and Alexis Green with six apiece, and guard Maddie Blyer grabbed five despite playing on an injured ankle the final 11 minutes of her career.

Hoover outrebounded Solon 33-17, with 18 of them of the offensive variety. That kept the Vikings in the game, and Solon coach Trish Kruse frantically pacing the sidelines. Drabick's huge 13-point third quarter included four of her eight offensive rebounds in the game.

"Drabick was killing us on the boards, so was No. 44 (Roshak)," said Kruse. "Hoover just works so hard on the offensive end of the floor crashing the boards, so we had to rebound.

"They just work extremely hard. We didn't match that the first half, they were definitely the more physical team."

It was easy to see it was a game that was going down to the wire. Hoover steadied itself after falling behind 6-0 and ran off 12 points to shock the Comets. They weren't going away either, and that's why the game had 16 lead changes and was tied 46-46 going to the fourth quarter.

The Vikings just couldn't make enough plays in the last quarter. Their only lead came on two Blyer free throws to start the fourth quarter. After that Hoover went 3 for 7 at the line and made two critical turnovers in the final 4:06.

Yet the Vikings were right there until the end.

Drabick's final putback cut Solon's lead to 58-56 with 2:36 to play. Comets guard Mariah Madkins then stuck a knife into Hoover's hopes by swishing four straight free throws despite not attempting a shot previous to that.

"She's a great foul shooter," Kruse said. "She's just so confident."

But Myers had fouled out with eight points and six rebounds with 1:56 to play. Madkins' last two freebies made it 62-57 but Blyer answered just like she did against GlenOak, firing in a 3-pointer from the wing to make it 62-60 with a minute to play.

Then came Dortch. When Bejelka missed the front of a 1-and-1, Alexis Stover went over the top of Hoover's girls and tapped it to Dortch, who laid it in to all but end the game.

"She went 0-for-5 last week (against Twinsburg) on her offensive putbacks," Kruse said of Dortch, "but tonight she had four of five huge putbacks for us."

And that's the way the ball bounces, said Hoover head coach Abbey Allerding.

"I could not have asked for anything from our kids," she said after Hoover finished 21-5. "They just battle with such heart. I'm just so proud of the way they went at it.

"It was a valiant effort by Makenna, and our whole team."

Hoover was hurt by turning the ball over 22 times. Those turnovers, some missed easy shots and a rebound that got away will not ruin what this team did, Allerdering said.

"I just feel so blessed to be a part of this," she said. "I feel like there was no quit in them. God had His hand on this team this year. To see them do what they did is incredible. I'm just so thankful I got to be a part of it."

Reach Jim at 330-580-8336 or

jim.thomas@cantonrep.com

On Twitter: jthomasREP

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Hoover puts forth valiant effort, but Solon's final push nets Comets a 66-60 win - Canton Repository

MOREHEAD Mickey Grills doesn't how many West Carter boys basketball games he's seen, except that it's a lot.

Baxter Stevens won't let any injury keep him from watching his beloved Comets. His cousin Zach Stevens is alongside.

And Chris Perry did what he usually does just about everything short of washing the uniforms or selling sodas.

Grills, the Stevenses and Perry were among the loud crowd at Tuesday's 16th Region championship game against Elliott County West Carter's first since 1985 where they've nearly always been for decades.

You want a really, really devoted fan? Grills is your man he's missed just one West Carter basketball game since 1982 he was absent when his mother, Edith Grills, passed away in February 1995 and he's seen 310 straight football games since 1987 and counting.

Is Grills, 64, a jump-to-the-ceiling excitable fan?

Not as much as I used to be, he says. You get a little older.

Grills is part of Olive Hill High School's last class in 1971, and he saw numerous contests in the 1960s. He has no particular favorite memory.

I've just always been a Comet, Grills said. Win or lose, they're all good.

Stevens completed his 34th year compiling basketball statistics (he does the same thing for the Comets football team). He watched his uncle, the late Delmane Barker, who played basketball for Olive Hill's 1959 team.

Ask why he started crunching numbers for West Carter. He says it was a simple motive at least if you're in high school.

When I was in school, I was bored and too ugly to do anything, Stevens said. Girls wouldn't go out with me. I needed acceptance.

If there was an Ironman Award at West Carter, Bax seems a cinch winner because nothing keeps him from John Hop Brown Court or any other gym where the Comets are playing.

Not complications from diabetes, which cost him his left foot last year. Not from injuring his right foot about a month ago in the Kings Daughters Medical Center parking lot.

Tuesday, Baxter wore a large gray boot covering his right foot. As is his nature, he downplays what happened he said his big toe remained in place, while the other four moved right and were fractured.

I stepped over a speed bump and rolled my ankle, Stevens said.

By day, Baxter Stevens is a high school teacher's aide, where he works with students who have behavioral issues. He's also as large a fountain of wisdom and dispenser of advice as you'll find anywhere in Carter County.

I joke all the time, Baxter says. I tell 'em, if I knew I was gonna live this long, I would've taken better care of myself. Life's lesson's, I guess you could call it.

A minuscule controversy: are Zach and Baxter Stevens first or second cousins? Neither was completely sure, though they eventually settled on the latter.

All the kids think he's my dad, says Zach, Baxter's spotter and sometime computer operator, so we'll go with that.

Perry, the manager at Carter Caves State Resort Park, drives the bus, gives one-on-one advice, provides breakfast and whatever else needs doing. He couldn't be happier or more grateful.

West Carter's head coach Jeremy Webb, with Chris Perry, and Baxter Stevens on the Comets bench before their 16th Region Championship game in Morehead, Tuesday. KEVIN GOLDY | THE DAILY INDEPENDENT

It's not often that you find a place that will allow somebody to just come in and do what I do and not say a word to me and know that I've got the best interest of the kids at heart in everything I do, Perry said.

The Stevenses sat next to West Carter's bench on press row Tuesday. Grills was in the stands, and Perry was at the far end of the bench next to the water cooler. They watched Elliott County take a 22-11 lead after one quarter and saw the Comets pull to 34-29 at halftime.

Zach Stevens thought West Carter was in good shape because it was a two-possession contest. Baxter wasn't nervous either he kept things in perspective.

This ain't life and death, Baxter said. It's a basketball game. Elliott's one of the best team's in the state, and we're with them.

West Carter Comet's super fan Mickey Grills claps for his team during their 16th Region Championship agaisnt Elliott County. KEVIN GOLDY | THE INDEPENDENT

One of the youngest Comet fans, meanwhile, was anxious. Decked out in her maroon and white cheerleading outfit, 7-year-old Camryn Varney reached for her mom's, Sarah Varney, right arm.

I'm scared we're not gonna win, Camryn said.

It would be wrong to forget one of West Carter's most fervent fans Mayor Kenny Fankell, 57, who passed away Feb. 22.

Oh, my gosh, West Carter cheerleading coach Jeff Huffman said. He was such a huge Comet fan. He would've been here clapping his hands for both our community and our school. He knew it would be a great thing for both.

Neither of the Stevenses nor Perry showed any emotion during the game, but West Carter trainer Meredith Calhoun did late in the fourth quarter. First, she shook Baxter's wheelchair, then leaped to her feet, put her hands behind her head and threw up her hands in celebration when the Comets took a 61-60 lead.

While the trophies were being handed out after Elliott County's 77-71 overtime win, Baxter Stevens packed up his computer, cords and printer. He couldn't and didn't fault West Carter's effort.

Neither did Grills.

Life goes on, he said. They had a good season. I'll watch some baseball and wait on football.

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Comet diehards take it in stride: 'This ain't life and death' | News ... - The Independent

The Earth has been the blue planet for as many as 3.8 billion years. Ancient sedimentary rock deposits and lava that cooled into characteristic pillow shapes provide irrefutable evidence that liquid water has existed at the Earths surface for at least this long. But given how many barren rocks there are in the galaxy, Earths abundant oceans raise the question of where all that water came from.

Geoscientists continue to debate two competing theories. One suggests that Earths water might have been captured from asteroids and comets that collided with the planet. But recent research has strengthened the case for the other theory that water was always present in the rocks of the Earths mantle and was gradually released to the surface through volcanoes. Working out which mechanism was more important would not only give us a better understanding of the Earths history but also help us in the search for other planets that could support life.

In 1974, scientists discovered that the Earths mantle contained more precious metals such as platinum than you would expect. These elements are naturally attracted to iron and so the vast majority of them were pulled into the planets iron core early in its history.

This led to the idea that asteroids striking the Earth soon after its tumultuous infancy delivered an extra layer of material. This late veneer may have included not just precious metals but also volatile substances, such as carbon and water, which are known to exist on a type of asteroid called carbonaceous chondrite.

But recent research has made this captured water theory seem much less likely. In January 2017, a study showed that the type of ruthenium (one of those iron-loving metals) in the Earths mantle has a different atomic signature to that found in common asteroids from the outer solar system. That suggests the late veneer came from the inner solar system, where volatile substances are rare and that these asteroids therefore werent the main source of water on Earth.

This adds to other research that suggests water was abundant on Earth before the late veneer is thought to have arrived. For example, there is various evidence that the oldest terrestrial minerals (zircon) crystallised from magma sources interacting with liquid water. These minerals are between 4.1bn and 4.3bn years old, but the final late veneer is most commonly thought to have been delivered around 3.9bn years ago.

Whats more, just because an asteroid carries water doesnt mean it can successfully deliver this cargo to Earth. In fact, scientists now believe that the Earth may have lost mass rather than gained it during early violent asteroid impacts, a process known as collisional or impact erosion. This is still an unproven theory but a recent study of the Sudbury impact crater in Canada revealed evidence that collision had vaporised most of the volatile metal lead. This implies that the more volatile species such as water would also have been lost to space in the impact.

A final clue that the planets oceans may have formed very early on is that there is more chlorine on Earth than you would expect. The early presence of liquid water on the planet would have given the chlorine something to dissolve into and so help prevent it from being lost to space. Finally, unlike planetary scientists, geochemists have long argued that the Earths oceans dont come from captured icy comets because they contain different amounts of heavy hydrogen.

All this evidence suggests that the Earths surface water or liquid hydrosphere actually accumulated by degassing from within the planet. Water is stored in the Earths mantle in the form of hydroxyl groups (one hydrogen and one oxygen atom) trapped within minerals such as ringwoodite.

When the mantle rocks melt, the water dissolves into the magma. As the magma rises towards the surface and cools, pressure is reduced, crystals form and the water is released and emitted as vapour through volcanoes. With this mechanism, water from great depth can be degassed to the surface.

Pioneering experimental work showed that minerals at depths of 150km to 200km could contain water but, more recently, experiments, modelling and seismic data suggested that water might also be found as deep as 400km to 660km below the surface. Recent data from scientists studying how diamond crystals form deep underground suggests that water might be stored even further down. This new evidence from actual deep mantle minerals certainly makes the idea that the Earths surface water came from depth seem more likely.

But it is important to understand that water can also be recycled back into the mantle. This means there is a balance between the water in the oceans and that stored up in the mantle. We can only speculate how much water might still be locked up at these great depths.

What we do know is that the average level of the sea surface relative to the continental land has remained relatively constant across nearly four billion years. This suggests a constant cycle of water emerging from and being absorbed back into the mantle has significantly helped life to continue throughout its history on this planet.

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Comets or volcanoes? Scientists are changing their minds about ... - The Conversation UK

Matthew Lounsberry mlounsberry@hillsdale.net mlounsberryHDN

JONESVILLE Quincy and Jonesville met in the opening game of District 67 on Monday night, and both teams point guards put on an absolute show.

Comet senior Jake Wilson finished with 33 points, seven rebounds and four steals, while Oriole senior Nathan Karney scored 35 points to lead Quincy to a 64-53 win.

Our kids didnt fold. We battled and battled and battled. Everything we could do, said Jonesville coach Kirk Wright.

The Comets got off to a quick 8-2 start, and closed the opening quarter with a 18-12 lead. Wilson scored 10 in the frame.

First quarter, we came out and executed our gameplan to perfection, Wright said. [Quincy] runs through [freshman William] Dunn a lot, so we thought we matched up. Hes taller than us, but were more physical. I thought we could match up with that and take it away.

With Jonesvilles defensive focus on Dunn, the 67 freshman center for Quincy, Karney took matters into his own hands in the for the Orioles. The senior scored 22 points in the second quarter alone, giving him 27 by halftime.

Quincy led 38-27 at the break, after scoring the Comets 26-9 in the frame.

Karneys the best player in the league for a reason. He literally took the game over, Wright said.

In the second half, Jonesville made an adjustment defensively, having Wilson guard Karney. In addition to that responsibility, Wilson added to his 17 halftime points with 10 more in the third quarter.

Refuses to lose. He does not want to get beat in anything he does, Wright said. He carried us, especially in the second half. He was just going to out-duel Karney. Jakes an unbelievable kid, unbelievable athlete. He doesnt want to lose.

With Wilsons effort, and a big steal and layup from fellow senior Adam Swope, Jonesville cut their deficit to 43-40 with 1:53 left in the third.

It was huge. I told the kids, Lets win the quarter. We were down 11 at half, we had to win the quarter, cut it down to six or seven. We did that, Wright said.

Trailing 49-43 entering the fourth quarter, the Comets got as close as four points early in the frame, but the Orioles went on an 8-2 run to stretch their lead back to 10.

Jonesville couldnt recover, and when Wilson fouled out with under two minutes remaining, any chance of a miracle comeback went out the window.

We kept punching. Give Quincy credit though, they hit the shots when they had to, Wright said.

In addition to Wilson and Swope, the Comets will lose Matt Wieringa, Mitchell Beatty, Dalton Reister and Zach Welton to graduation.

All six seniors meant so much to this team, Wright said. They come in, we changed everything this year, and they bought in to me. Were going to miss them. Theyre a huge part of our rotation.

Swope finished with six points and two steals. Welton added two points, four rebounds and three assists.

Wright finishes his first season at the helm of the Comet program with an 11-10 record.

I loved it. Ive never done a varsity gig. The time-commitment is unbelievable, but the kids make it fun everyday. I hate going out this way, but we improved throughout the year, he said.

All year long, our team just gelled. They bought in. I had the best 12 kids there are.

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Wilson shines but Comets fall short against Quincy - The Hillsdale Daily News

After a lackluster loss Saturday, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers at least had a better effort Sunday in Utica, N.Y.

The result wasnt as good. The Comets Joseph LaBate scored with 40.1 seconds left in the second period, lifting Utica to a 2-1 win at the Aud.

We played hard, Bridgeport coach Brent Thompson said. We competed. The execution was a lot better in the second and third.

In the first, we were on our heels. We were a little slow.

That let the Comets get out to a 1-0 lead on Carter Bancks goal off LaBates setup.

Ryan Pulock answered in the second period, extending his scoring streak to seven games. Thats tied for second-longest in team history by a defenseman, one behind Chris Armstrong (2001-02).

But that was the only Sound Tigers shot of 25 to beat Thatcher Demko. The rookie goalie started for the third consecutive day and won all three, including his first professional shutout on Saturday against Albany.

Thompson wouldve liked to see his team test him more Sunday. The coach juggled both lines and defense pairings in the second half of the game, looking for a spark.

Its just a matter of shooting more and getting to the hard areas more, Thompson said. The games are going to get tighter and tighter as we get toward the playoffs.

Bridgeport has 19 games remaining, and after a comeback win Sunday over Springfield, Hershey matched Sound Tigers 73 points. Theyre tied for fourth in the Atlantic Division, though Bridgeport has two games in hand. The top four teams make the playoffs.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is in first place, eight points ahead of Bridgeport. Providence beat Lehigh Valley on Sunday to break a tie for second; the Bruins are four points ahead of the Sound Tigers, and the Phantoms are two points up.

After winning 15 out of 16, the Sound Tigers are 2-3-1-0 in the past six. They lost 4-3 in overtime at Rochester on Saturday after they won by the same score in overtime Thursday at Toronto to open the road trip.

mfornabaio@ctpost.com; http://twitter.com/fornabaioctp; http://blog.ctnews.com/fornabaio

COMETS 2, SOUND TIGERS 1

Bridgeport0 1 01

Utica1 1 02

First Period 1, Utica, Bancks 8 (LaBate, Hamilton), 11:41. Penalties Kearns, Bpt (boarding), 1:35; Rowe, Bpt (slashing), 8:28; LaBate, Uti (tripping), 14:42.

Second Period 2, Bridgeport, Pulock 12 (Toews, Winquist), 9:34. 3, Utica, LaBate 4 (Cassels, Robak), 19:19. Penalties Archibald, Uti (boarding), 5:09; Hamilton, Uti (boarding), 9:44; J.Holmstrom, Bpt (cross-checking), 12:50.

Third Period No scoring. Penalties None.

Shots on goal Bridgeport 5-8-1225. Utica 12-6-1028.

Power play opportunities Bridgeport 0 of 3, Utica 0 of 3.

Goaltenders Bridgeport, Halak 14-3-3 (28 shots-26 saves). Utica, Demko 14-11-4 (25-24).

Attendance 3,870. Referees Wilk, Tufts. Linesmen Dussureault, J.Brown.

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Comets deal Sound Tigers second straight loss - Connecticut Post - CT Post

8:12 p.m. ET March 4, 2017

Genoa 48, Woodmore 38

Jacob Plantz had 12 points and Sam Sutter 11 as Genoa won the Division III sectional final at Oak Harbor.

The Comets (20-3) play Cardinal Stritch at 8 p.m. Thursday at Central Catholic.

Genoa scored eight straight points in the opening quarter but Woodmores Derek Wank hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer for a 12-10 deficit. Wank had 15 points for the Wildcats (9-15).

The Comets led 22-19 at the half and later scored seven straight for a 29-21 lead. A 12-2 run led to a 34-23 advantage after three quarters.

Genoa allowed nine buckets inside the arc.

Toledo St. Johns 48, Fremont Ross 40

Brandon Trolio had 11 points in his final game and Ross led entering the fourth quarter in the Division I sectional final at Central Catholic.

The Little Giants (7-17) lost to the fifth-ranked Titans twice by an average of 29 points in the regular season.

Taylor Druckenmiller and Alec Snodgrass are also seniors.

"Those three players are tremendous," Gedeon said. "They deserve to wear the Fremont Ross uniform and they wear it with pride.

Seeing these kids grow up, I told them in the locker room it is tough to say good-bye to quality seniors. And that is what they are."

Margaretta 60, Crestview 45

The Polar Bears sprinted to a 10-point first quarter lead and made it stand in Fridays tournament game.

Margaretta plays Edison at 6:15 p.m. Thursday at Norwalk.

The Cougars cut the deficit to seven at the half at 31-24, but the second half belonged to Margaretta.

Nick Leibacher led the way for the Bears with 18 points while Angelo Frias and Bailey Kimberlin added 15 and 10 respectively.

Sandusky 65, Bellevue 53

Bellevue put a scare into Sandusky early in this game before falling in tournament action at Willard.

The Redmen (10-14) led 12-11 after the first quarter but were not able to keep the advantage and found themselves down 28-22 as the teams went to the locker rooms. The second half was all Sandusky (19-4) as they added to their lead.

Owen Hartley led Bellevue with 17 points and Cody Snyder added 10 more.

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Boys Basketball: Comets and Polar Bears both win - Fremont News Messenger

MAGNOLIA -- Mills Coach Raymond Cooper wanted to see more from junior guard Grehlon Easter.

Easter delivered for his coach.

Easter scored 25 points as the Comets defeated Maumelle 75-59 on Friday night in the Class 5A boys state tournament quarterfinals at Panther Arena.

"I challenged him before this tournament," Cooper said. "I told him, 'I've got to have you play big for us. You've got to stay aggressive.' He's been aggressive the first two games. He's stepped up."

Easter also had 25 points in the Comets' victory Thursday over Magnolia.

"We're feeling pretty good," Easter said. "Maumelle is a great team. It will give us more confidence going into the next game."

Mills (29-2) will play Hot Springs at 7:30 p.m. today, with the winner going to the state championships in Hot Springs to play Little Rock Parkview or Sylvan Hills.

Maumelle (27-5) won the 5A-West Conference championship, while Mills earned the No. 2 seed from the 5A-Central Conference.

Cooper was proud of his team's victory, but he didn't want to leave too much time for reflection.

"We're going to go in there [the locker room] and celebrate this one for 25 minutes. Then we've got to move on," Cooper said.

Darious Hall, a University of Arkansas, Fayetteville signee, had 22 points. Quawn Marshall added 11 for the Comets.

After a 5-4 third quarter that saw Mills keep the lead at 46-41 going into the fourth quarter, the Comets stretched their advantage to 60-47 with 5:13 remaining.

Maumelle trimmed the lead to 65-54 on John Word's basket. Mills responded, as Easter converted a three-point play to extend the Comets' advantage to 68-54 with 1:57 to play.

Quan Richardson, who led the Hornets with 19 points, hit a three-pointer to pull his team to within 68-57, but that was as close as Maumelle would get.

Coach Michael Shook said that it was too little, too late for the Hornets.

"They converted. They executed. They outplayed us," Shook said. "They're a really good team. We knew that coming in. We're a good team.

"They made more shots. We didn't."

Tremont Robinson and Rico Lindsey each added 10 points for the Hornets.

HOT SPRINGS 70,

NETTLETON 58

Hot Springs was in control of its Class 5A boys state quarterfinal tournament game Friday night from start to finish.

Exavian Christon, a Louisiana Tech signee, scored 18 points and the Trojans defeated 5A-East Conference champion Nettleton.

Trayvun Gordon had a team-high 21 points for the Trojans, while Paris Harris added 10.

Malik Anderson led the Raiders (21-11) with 19 points. Kevin Fulton had 17 points.

SYLVAN HILLS 52, MORRILTON 43

Taleh Wade hit a go-ahead three-pointer with 3:20 to play in the game and Sylvan Hills (18-13) defeated Morrilton (20-10).

Sylvan Hills will play Little Rock Parkview in the semifinals at 1:30 p.m. today. Parkview defeated Sylvan Hills twice during Class 6A/5A-4 Conference play, 62-37 on Jan. 13 at Parkview and 76-65 at Sylvan Hills.

The Bears trailed 14-7 at the end of the first quarter, 26-19 at halftime and 37-33 at the end of the third quarter. But they outscored the Devil Dogs 19-6 in the fourth quarter.

J.D. Smith, who led Sylvan Hills with 16 points, made a three-pointer with 2:31 left to make it 44-40.

Jacobe Davis had 14 points for the Bears, while Jordan Washington added eight points.

Morrilton was led by Donald Jones and Juwan Moore, who both had 11 points.

Sports on 03/04/2017

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CLASS 5A: Easter responds, shoots Comets by Hornets - Arkansas Online

Ben Birnell

UTICA The Utica Comets seem to be finding their stride.

For the third time in nine games, the Comets totaled 40 or more shots. Unlike the previous two opponents, the Comets offensive pressure was enough to come out ahead against their North Division rival, the Binghamton Senators on Friday.

The Comets struck for four quick first-period goals en route to a 5-2 victory over the Senators before another announced capacity crowd of 3,870 fans Friday at the Utica Memorial Auditorium. It was the third consecutive victory for the Comets.

Darren Archibald, Alex Grenier and Joseph LaBate had a goal and assist, Curtis Valk added two assists, Jordan Subban increased his point-streak to five games and Pascal Pelletier also scored in support of rookie Thatcher Demko, who totaled 28 saves for his third victory in as many consecutive starts.

"I think the guys played well," said defenseman Chad Billins, who assisted on LaBates goal. "We didnt really let them back into it. I thought that was important."

It was a strong offensive output for the Comets (24-23-7-2, 57 points), who earned a win over Binghamton last Saturday and are 4-0-1-0 in the last five contests.

"We didnt really want to look past (Friday)," said Comets coach Travis Green, whose team also plays Saturday and Sunday afternoon. "We knew we had a big weekend here and had to get off on the right foot."

The Comets win over Binghamton (23-31-2-1, six consecutive losses) was important with 20 regular-season games remaining. Combined with St. Johns win over Rochester on Friday, the Comets remain three points back of fourth place in the division with a game in hand. The top four teams in each division make the playoffs. "I think we knew what was on the line (Friday)," Billins said. "It is playoff hockey now. Were striving for a playoff sport. Every game matters. Every point matters."

First period

Offense was on display in the opening 20 minutes with the Comets -- who had 18 shots on goal -- striking a four times. The teams combined for five goals in a span of 3:05.

Archibald got it starteda few minutes after Valk came up empty on a penalty shot attempt.With 10:32 remaining, Archibaldscored histeam-best 18th goal on a nice shot from the right circle. The Comets added two goals from LaBate (his third of the season) and Subban his team-best ninth power-play goal seconds into the advantage -- in a matter of 1:54.

The teams traded goals less than a minute apart soon after. Binghamtons Nick Paul redirected in a Ben Harpur shot with 8:19 remaining before Pelletier took a short pass from Borna Renudlic in the slot and scored with 7:27 to return Utica to a three-goal cushion.

That would be all the Comets needed as the last tally chased starter Matt OConnor (10 saves) in favor of Chris Driedger.

"It was a real good start to the game, for sure," Green said.

Second period

The score remained the same through 40 minutes after the teams played a tighter game. The Comets continued to pressure, outshooting the Senators 14-5.

The Comets put some good shots on Driedger, including a solid chance from Cole Cassels in front near the end of the period.

Third period

The game remained unchanged until later in the third when the Senators struck to close the gap.

With LaBate off for tripping, Jason Akeson buried a rebound from the left side with 7:59 left. It was the second power-play goal the Comets allowed in the last five games.

The Senators continued to pressure and Driedger was pulled late, but Demko and the Comets were up to the task. Grenier added an empty-netter with 18.5 seconds left.

"Its uncharted waters for our team to be up (4-1)," Green said. "Were used to playing in tight games. I like how we kept our edge."

Up next

The Comets continue a three-game-in-three-days weekend Saturday at home when they take on the Albany Devils. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. The Comets earned a 3-2 victory Feb. 20 in Albany.

NOTES:Fridays game was the 83rd consecutive sellout for the Comets, though there were a few unfilled seats throughout the Aud. Evan McEneny had a five-game point streak end. Jake Virtanen did not play in third period. He was not feeling well, according to Green. He's considered day-to-day. Derek Hulak (36 consecutive games) and John Negrin (23 consecutive games) were not in the lineup due to injuries. ... A check from the Save of the Day Foundation Night earlier this season was presented to Thea Bowman House representatives before the game. The check was for $55,652. The Vancouver Canucks announced Friday they signed 20-year-old Zack MacEwen to a three-year entry-level contract. MacEwen, who is a six-foot-four, 212-pound forward totaled 27 goals and 62 points in 59 games with the Gatineau Olympiques this season in juniors.

Comets 5, Senators 2

Binghamton 1 0 1 2

Utica 4 0 1 5

1st Period-1, Utica, Archibald 18 (Valk, Grenier), 9:28. 2, Utica, LaBate 3 (Billins, Hamilton), 10:38. 3, Utica, Subban 14 (Kunyk, Archibald), 11:22 (PP). 4, Binghamton, Paul 10 (Harpur, Akeson), 11:41. 5, Utica, Pelletier 7 (Rendulic), 12:33. Penalties-Krushelnyski Bng (holding), 11:18; Flanagan Bng (high-sticking), 15:58; Pelletier Uti (tripping), 17:49. 2nd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-LaBate Uti (tripping), 3:45; McCormick Bng (high-sticking), 9:03; Rodewald Bng (roughing), 11:50. 3rd Period-6, Binghamton, Akeson 10 (Paul, C. Bailey), 12:01 (PP). 7, Utica, Grenier 16 (Valk, LaBate), 19:41 (EN). Penalties-LaBate Uti (tripping), 11:34. Shots on Goal-Binghamton 13-5-12-30. Utica 18-14-9-41. Power Play Opportunities-Binghamton 1 / 3; Utica 1 / 4. Goalies-Binghamton, O'Connor 11-14-1 (14 shots-10 saves); Driedger 10-13-2 (26 shots-26 saves). Utica, Demko 12-11-4 (30 shots-28 saves). A-3,870 Referees-Guillaume Labonte (35), Furman South (44). Linesmen-Matt Brady (86), Mike Emanatian (69).

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Big first period sends Comets to victory - Sports - Uticaod - Utica, NY - Utica Observer Dispatch