Even though Missouri State probably had never experienced a win as big as the 66-64 victory over No. 7 Wisconsin, the Bears acted like they’d been there before. There was no wild celebration or pompous reaction.

“That’s because we expected to win this game,” said coach Barry Hinson after the game.

Sure, it’s easy to say that after the fact. But the way Hinson has preached the validity of the Missouri Valley Conference over the years; perhaps they did expect to win.

In the 23 years Missouri State has been a Division I team, they have never beaten a team ranked as high as seven. Blake Ahearn led the way for the Bears with 25 points. Deven Mitchell recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. The Bears play Oklahoma State today in the championship game of the South Padre Island Invitational.

Ahearn scored 19 of his 25 in the first half as the Bears built a 45-32 lead at halftime. The Badgers battled back and had a chance to win it, but Alando Tucker’s 3-point attempt missed as time expired. Tucker led all scorers with 26.

It didn’t take long to find out who the dominant team was in the high school football Class 6 state championship game. Blue Springs South finished their unbeaten season 13-0 with a more than convincing 41-7 win over Christian Brothers at the Edward Jones Dome.

It was merely an expected finish considering who the Jaguars beat to get to “The Dome.” The Jags beat Liberty, who was once ranked No. 2 in the state. South beat Raymore-Peculiar, who is in the Class 5 title game tonight. BSS defeated Rockhurst, and Blue Springs twice. Blue Springs was the only team to beat then top-ranked Rock Bridge.

Jags quarterback Blaine Dalton threw a Class 6 champion record three touchdowns in the first half. Dante Strickland caught the first score, Shane Simpson caught the second, and Jeremy Mack – who is headed to Kansas State next year – caught the third. BSS led 28-0 at halftime.

The dominant effort spurred South fans to chant “How’d You Get Here?”

Well, CBC didn’t exactly skate to the championship game. They did defeat Hazelwood Central 49-21. That Hazelwood Central team does feature quarterback Marvin McNutt who is headed to Iowa next season. CBC lost their season opener but managed to go on and win 11 straight. So they did deserve to be in the championship game. Blue Springs South was just far superior.

OTHER SCORES:

CLASS 4: Webb City def. Hannibal 26-0

CLASS 2: Blair Oaks def. Hogan Prep 32-24

Related web sites:
MSHSAA Championship Scores

The Blues finished their five-game road trip with consecutive shootout victories. Martin Rucinsky and Doug Weight scored in the shootout giving St. Louis a 3-2 win over Detroit Friday night.

Blues goalie Manny Legace did his part in the extra action stopping Jason Williams. Pavel Datsyuk was able to avoid Legace, but his shot hit the goal post.

Petr Cajanek finished one goal shy of the hat trick in regulation. Dallas Drake recorded two assists, and the Blues beat the Red Wings for just the third time in their last 16 tries. Legace, who played in Detroit for seven seasons, stopped 41 shots in his first trip back.

The Blues return home tonight against Phoenix.

A lot more than pride and bragging rights is riding on the 115th edition of the Border War. The annual football game between Kansas and Missouri usually means nothing more than just an over-hyped season finale. But this year, things are significantly different.

For Missouri, their bowl picture might be hanging in the wind with this game. After starting the season with six consecutive wins, the Tigers have won just one in the last five games. A loss to Kansas would give Mizzou a losing record in the Big 12, a win brings them to .500. Losses to Oklahoma – who could win the South if Texas loses – and North champion Nebraska are not what stand out. It is the losses to Texas A&M and Iowa State that says the Tigers are not ready for the big time. If Missouri is going to see a major Bowl, they undoubtedly need to snap their three-game losing streak.

Getting over last week’s loss to the Cyclones seems hard because of the nature of the defeat. Quarterback Chase Daniel appeared to score the game-winning touchdown, but it was called back because of a holding penalty. Daniel was sacked on the next play and Mizzou’s chances were gone. Monday following the game, Big 12 Head of Officials Walt Anderson admitted to Missouri head coach Gary Pinkel that a mistake was made and the holding penalty should not have been called.

Kansas heads into Faurot Field with its head held high. They have already beaten in-state rival Kansas State 39-20 last week. It was the Jayhawks third win in a row. KU leads the series against Missouri 53-52-9 including the last three meetings.

Top-seeded Northwest Missouri State begins their quest of returning to the Division II National Championship Game. The Bearcats lost to Grand Valley State in last year’s title game and have huge hopes of getting back. Northwest finished the regular season unbeaten at 11-0. They will host Midwestern State, who beat MIAA Missouri Western in the first round.

The Bearcats should enter this afternoon’s game in good health. They earned a first-round bye which should have been enough time for RB Xavier Omon to recover from a rib injury. Freshman RB Sheldon Cook recorded his second consecutive 100-yard game in the regular season finale against Southwest Baptist.

The Mustangs advanced to the second round with a come from behind 28-26 win over Western at home. Midwestern, like many of its Lone Star Conference members, is built around speed.