Pac-12 Weekend Football Scores and My Power Rankings

Pac-12 Weekend Football Scores:

Friday:

Washington State 40, Washington 13

Utah 28, Colorado 13

Saturday:

Oregon 38, Oregon State 29

Arizona State 38, Arizona 15

UCLA 42, California 14

BYU 35, USC 31

Notre Dame 45, Stanford 14

Friday:

Pac-12 Football Championship Game:

Utah vs. Oregon at Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas

Saturday:

USC at California

Now, at long last, my Pac-12 Football Power Rankings. Feel free to discuss!

1) Utah

2) Oregon

3) Washington State

4) Oregon State

5) Arizona State

6) UCLA

7) USC

8) Washington

9) California

10) Stanford

11) Colorado

12) Arizona

Best of luck to Oregon and Utah this Friday night in the Pac-12 Football Championship Game at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

I Know It Has Been Awhile

It has been a long time since I posted anything to Craw's Corner, so I figured that it was very much overdue.

During the summer, I covered Eugene's premier American Legion baseball team, the Eugene Overhead Door Challengers. The Challengers finished its season with an overall record of 50 wins and 14 losses, a second place finish in its league (Area 4) and an Oregon American Legion baseball state championship. The team also did extremely well at the Northwest Regionals in Gillette WY, but were eliminated on the next to last day of the tournament by the team from Idaho Falls ID, who ended its season winning its second straight American Legion World Series title.

Lately, I've been involved in covering high school football in the Eugene and Klamath Falls areas. This past season, I was a Public Address Announcer for the Marshfield High School football program during its game at Sheldon High School with Prairie High School of Vancouver WA and with Rainier High School at Cottage Grove High School. 

I was also a sideline reporter for two games for Mazama High School audio and video broadcasts on Wynne Broadcasting's 1240 AM and 106.5 FM The Winner (KRJW) and Medford-based Table Rock Sports and filled in for two radio broadcasts of Crescent Valley Raiders football in the Corvallis-Albany area on 720 AM KFIR.

An apology is also in order as I didn't have any 2021 Pac-12 Football Power Rankings posted this season. I should have, so I'll have the final regular season Pac-12 Football Power Rankings (my own) posted after this weekend's games.

Yours truly, Bill Crawford (no relation to Greg), will get back on the ball, so to speak, and post power rankings for Pac-12 Men's and Women's Basketball soon. 

In the meantime, please...be nice to one another, pray for our leaders (no matter how good or bad you may think they are)...and have a wonderful and Happy Thanksgiving!

<Merry Christmas, too!>

What The World Needs Now........

 

     "Tell the truth of the pain of exile and displacement and grief in the world, of the whole history of refugees and displaced persons who ache for not belonging. And then give a hint that even we are among those displaced people in our ache."     -Walter Brueggemann

hcummins@aol.com

Lions Inside, Outside Punch Flattens Boxers

 

By Harry Cummins

     Playing their second game in two nights against the Pacific University Boxers, and without their starting center, the Multnomah University Lions parlayed the outside shooting heroics of Taylor Peppinger and Zach Richardson along with the strong inside game (13 points, 11 rebounds) of freshman Terin Johnson to square this 2-game weekend set with a wild 86-83 home win Saturday night in Portland.

     The often error-filled but hard-fought contest saw the Lions (4-2) stave off the late charging Boxers down the stretch thanks to Peppinger and Richardson, who both hit late shots from 3 point range to preserve the win.  A desperate full-court heave by Pacific fell short at the buzzer.

     Richardson, the nation's leading returning scorer, opened the game with a trio of corner 3's as the Lions jumped out to a 21-16 lead and the junior guard would finish the game with 18 points on 5 treys. Peppinger connected on 5 3-pointers as well, most of them late in the game with the outcome very much in doubt, and finished with 17 points.

      Along with his double-double night, MU freshman post Terin Johnson continues to impress with his aggressive play around the basket, as he blocked two more shots to give him eight in the last two nights. Multnomah starting center Tyrese Taylor (15.7 ppg) sat out the contest after slipping on a wet floor last night against the Boxers in Forest Grove. He is listed as day-to-day.

     Neyland Block continues to showcase a nuanced game for the Lions, narrowly missing a double-double with 9 points and 9 rebounds while leading the victors with 5 assists. He also turned the ball over six times as the Lions continue to have trouble protecting the basketball, ranking 183rd nationally in turnovers.

      In defeat, the Boxers evened their season record at 2-2 and were led by the 16 points and 11 rebounds of Ethan Chung.  Mario Mora and Jacob Bolger had 13 points apiece. 

     Multnomah now travels to the College of Idaho tournament next weekend where they will face a pair of formidable foes in Simpson University of California and Western Montana. The Lions of the NAIA's Cascade Collegiate Conference, continue to be a work in progress.

     The emphasis, however, remains centered on progress.

hcummins@aol.com

Multnomah Soars Past Century Mark Once Again - Tops NAIA in Scoring

By Harry Cummins

     Zach Richardson and Taylor Peppinger scored 21 points each and Forrest Smith had 16 rebounds and 15 points as the resurgent Multnomah Lions (3-1) reached triple digit scoring for the third time in four games this season, easily dispatching West Coast Baptist Thursday night by a 122-89 score and regaining the NAIA national scoring lead in the process.

     For the second time this season, Multnomah scored 120 or more points in a game and now leads the nation in scoring at 110.3 points per game. Amande Uchime contributed 15 points,6 rebounds and 3 steals to the lopsided win. Teammate Kell Estep connected for 4 3-pointers and 12 points in just 18 minutes for the Lions.

      Multnomah post player Tyrese Taylor sat out the game, while fellow big man Terin Johnson played only briefly as coach Curt Bickley has elected to use these early season contests to sort out the team's wealth of rotational talent prior to the start of Cascade Collegiate Conference play.

     Such experimentation may be short-lived as the Lions play back-to-back contests the next two nights against NCAA opponent Pacific University.

hcummins@aol.com

hcummins@aol.com

     

Lions Rest Top 3 Scorers, Still Romp 111-64

Jaeden Ingram, fighting for playing time and rebounds in a loaded lineup

 By Harry Cummins

     Jaeden Ingram enjoyed a double-double night with 13 points and 11 rebounds while teammates Kell Estep and Taylor Peppinger combined to score 43 points as Multnomah University continued their high scoring ways in toying with Portland Bible College 111-64 Tuesday night in Portland, Oregon.

     The Lions (2-1) chose to rest their top three scorers for the contest but still had plenty of offensive punch as they moved into fourth place in current NAIA stats with an impressive 106.3 points per game scoring average.  Estep hit 9 of his 12 shots for 22 points while Peppinger shot 6 of 13 from 3-point range to register 21 points to go with 5 steals and 6 rebounds. The Lions continue to impress on the glass, now averaging 51 rebounds per game, tied with fellow Cascade Collegiate Conference member Lewis-Clark State for sixth in the country.

     Amande Uchime chipped in with 9 points and 7 rebounds for the victors, while touted freshman Derrien Carter-Hollinger, getting his first significant minutes of the season, responded with 13 points on 6 of 10 shooting.

     Lions coach Curt Bickley elected to rest his top 3 scorers on the night, as Zach Richardson, Tyrese Taylor and Neyland Block did not play. Multnomah senior Wallace Ungwiluk led all players in assists with 10.

     Multnomah continues to shoot over 50% (52.6%) from the field for the season.

Lions Suffer Tough Overtime Loss At Puget Sound

 

   

By Harry Cummins

     Unable to find a defensive answer for Puget Sound guard Paul Johnson, the Multnomah University Lions dropped a winnable game in overtime to the Loggers 97-86 Friday night at Memorial Fieldhouse in Tacoma.

     With the contest knotted at 80, the Lions turned the ball over with .05 seconds left in regulation to send the game to an extra session, where Johnson proceeded to score 10 of his game and career- high 32 points to seal the win for the NCAA D-3 school.

     Tyrese Taylor led the Lions with 25 points and 9 rebounds, including back-to-back put backs that allowed the NAIA club to claw back from an 11 point halftime deficit and take an 80-77 lead with 2:30 remaining in the contest. Taylor had scored the game's first 9 points in handing Multnomah a quick lead from the opening tip, vitalizing the upset aspirations of the visitors.

     Freshman Will Pohland scored 21 points for the winners, including a pair of 3 pointers in overtime, while Jaeden Ingram had 17 and Zach Richardson 16 points in defeat. Neyland Block of the Lions narrowly missed a double-double night with 8 points and 8 rebounds while teammate Terin Johnson added 9 points on 3 of 5 shooting.  Puget Sound's Mussie Teclemarian led all rebounders in the game with 15 as the Loggers won the battle of the boards 53-43.

     The loss was Multnomah's first of the season, following a resounding 122-60 win at home to open the year. The 122 points were the most tallied in a single game by any team in the NAIA this season.

     Multnomah returns home for a pair of non-conference games next week, before meeting another NCAA foe in Pacific University for back-to-back contests on Nov 12-13.  In 2018, these same two teams hooked up to produce one of the great games in small college basketball history as they combined for a record 271 points, including an NAIA record 38 made 3's by Multnomah.

hcummins@aol.com

Multnomah Opens Season with 122-60 Rout - Six in Double-Figures

 

By Harry Cummins

     The NAIA's leading returning scorer, Zach Richardson, led 6 players in double figures while sophomore teammates Tyrese Taylor and Neyland Block swept the boards for a combined 22 rebounds in spearheading the Multnomah University Lions to a lopsided 122-60 win Wednesday night over neighboring Portland Bible College in a season-opening contest for both teams.

     The Lions, a member of the Cascade Collegiate Conference, connected on 20 of 43 shots (46.5%) from beyond the arc, continuing their historic reliance on the 3 point shot. Multnomah holds the all-time NAIA record for 3 pt baskets in a game with 38, set 3 years ago against Pacific University.

     Kell Estep made 4 of his 5 attempts from three, while Grant Dunn was 4 of 6 from distance, and Forrest Smith was a perfect 3 for 3 from long-range.  Freshman Terin Johnson converted all 4 of his 2 point field goals and finished with 10 points.  The Lions concluded the night shooting 57.7% and amassed 66 points in the second half while shooting 60% for the stanza.

     Taylor (14 pts) and Richardson (15 pts) were both 6 for 11 from the field to pace the Lions.  14 Multnomah players hit the scoresheet and they enjoyed a hefty 61-38 edge on the boards. Jaeden Ingram and Amande Uchima had 7 rebounds each, while Taylor had 12 and Block added 10.

     Multnomah (1-0) seeks to erase memories of a 1-24 season last year, as they now travel to NCAA  University of Puget Sound on Friday.  Armed with a deep and athletic bench, Coach Curt Bickley will be challenged to find the right combinations to put on the floor.

     A nice problem to have.

hcummins@aol.com