Colin Simmons tied the program record with five sacks as top-ranked Texas held off No. 14 Tennessee 20-17 Saturday with President Donald Trump on hand in the Longhorns’ first visit to Neyland Stadium.
Raleek Brown ran for 67 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and his four-yarder with 5:41 left gave the Longhorns the winning margin in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams. Giannis Spetic had a pair of field goals.
It was a defensive day with Texas (4-0) dominating with 10 sacks. Simmons’ big day will be remembered for his vulgar celebration after one sack. He was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct with the referee saying Simmons was “simulating” using the restroom.
“We took him out, we addressed it and put him back in,” Sarkisian said of Simmons. “At that point, I’m not going to give the guy a death penalty over an unsportsmanlike conduct. We got to fix it though. That can’t continue.”
Quarterback Brandon Faizon of Tennessee (3-1) made it interesting late, capping an 80-yard drive with a 30-yard touchdown pass to Mike Matthews with 1:22 left. Linebacker Arion Carter recovered the onside kick, and Jelani McDonald batted away Brandon’s pass to Travis Smith Jr. on the final play in the end zone.
Texas’ Arch Manning threw for 201 yards while being sacked six times. He also was intercepted once with the Longhorns needing the smothering defensive performance to help on a day with too many penalties, including two illegal forward passes by Manning.
at No. 2 Georgia 41, Oklahoma 13: Chris Cole scored on a 85-yard fumble return as the Bulldogs (4-0) took advantage of three first-half turnovers by John Mateer and overwhelmed the struggling Sooners in the SEC opener for both schools.
Mateer lost two fumbles, each recovered by Cole, and and had a pass instercepted as Oklahoma, which finished with four turnovers, fell behind 28-0. K.J. Bolden picked off a pass from Mateer in the second quarter.
Gunner Stockton was almost perfect in the first half for Georgia. Stockton completed his first nine passes, including a 35-yard touchdown throw to Talyn Taylor.
No. 3 Notre Dame 49, at Purdue 10: CJ Carr threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score and linebacker Drayk Bowen scored his first career touchdown on a 15-yard fumble return for the Fighting Irish.
Carr was 14-of-22 passing for 237 yards with his first interception of the season.Aneyas Williams carried 14 times for 80 yards with one TD as Notre Dame (4-0) produced a season-high 177 yards rushing. Notre Dame has won 14 straight and will start October with a perfect record for the first time since 2021.
at No. 7 Ohio State 42, Illinois 19: Jeremiah Smith tied an Ohio State record with four touchdown catches and also had career highs with 12 receptions and 217 yards in the rout of the Illini.
According to Sportradar, it is the 23rd time since 2000 an FBS player has had double-digit catches for at least 200 yards and four scores in a game. The last to do it was Western Michigan’s Sky Moore against Northern Illinois in 2021.
It is the fifth time an Ohio State receiver has had four touchdowns. The last time it happened before Saturday was Noah Brown at Oklahoma in 2016.
at No. 11 Texas Tech 49, Sam Houston 14: Red Raiders linebacker Austin Romaine returned two interceptions for touchdowns on consecutive passes thrown by different Sam Houston quarterbacks in the first half of what became a rout.
Texas Tech led only 7-0 before fellow linebacker Brock Gowlas leaped to deflect a pass thrown by Brett Holloway. Romaine, who had also jumped, then grabbed the ball out of the air and ran 15 yards for a touchdown with 14:54 left in the first half. On the first play after the ensuing kickoff, Bearcats starting quarterback Landyn Locke was back in the game, and his pass on first down was picked off by Romaine. That 31-yard return made it 21-0.
Wake Forest 30 at No. 16 Louisville 27: Connor Calvert kicked three field goals, including a 32-yarder with 6:20 remaining, to lift the Decons (3-1, 1-1 ACC) to the upset.
Gio Lopez threw for 225 yards and a touchdown. on 12 of 19 passing for the Demon Deacons (3-1, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) against Louisville (2-2, 1-1). Carlos Hernandez caught nine of those for 194 yards, just three yards off the career best he set last season against Delaware. Ty Clark III carried the ball 21 times for 91 yards and two touchdowns.
No. 17 Iowa 20, at No. 18 Michigan 19: Hank Brown threw a game-ending, 16-yard touchdown pass to Reece Vander Zee to lift the Hawkeyes to the win in the Big Ten opener for both teams.
Iowa (4-0) went 91 yards on the final drive — boosted by an unnecessary roughness penalty against Michigan on a third down at midfield. Brown’s 29-yard pass to Addison Ostrenga set up the final play with two seconds on the clock.
Bryce Underwood threw a 49-yard touchdown pass to JJ Buchanan early in the fourth quarter — their second scoring connection of the game — but the Wolverines (3-1) could not make enough plays on both sides of the ball to hold on for the win.
Etc.
Wayshawn Parker broke a 54-yard run on the game’s opening play from scrimmage for the first of his three touchdowns and No. 15 Utah (4-0) held off host Iowa State (2-2) in the second half for a 31-17 win on Saturday in a Big 12 opener for both teams. … Conner Weigman threw four touchdown passes and ran for two scores, leading No. 25 Houston (3-1) to a 42-28 win over visiting Georgia Southern.
Lee Beebe Jr. rushed for 203 yards, including a 70-yard burst that set up Josh Hoover’s game-sealing one-yard touchdown run with 1:56 to play, and No. 5 Indiana (4-0) held on for a 29-23 over surprising Northwestern (2-1) in the Big Ten opener for both schools on Friday night. …
Mason Heintschel passed for 403 yards and six touchdowns, and host Pittsburgh (4-0) remained perfect by rolling past Bucknell 59-0 on Saturday. … Jeffrey Overton Jr. ran for a 76-yard, go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter as Virginia Tech (4-0) rallied for a 21-14 victory at Boston College (2-2) in an ACC opener for both teams that was played in a nor’easter. …
The dominant rushing attack that earned them four lopsided wins to start the season was more methodical than punishing, but Cleveland High still ground out a 24-18 nonleague victory Friday over host Crenshaw.
The Cavaliers improved to 5-0 with the win, while the Cougars fell to 4-2.
Cleveland, which entered the game averaging 258 yards rushing per game, were held to barely more than 200 on Friday, most of them scored by senior running back Moyosoreoluwa Odebunmi, who rushed for two scores.
The loss spoiled the season debut of Crenshaw’s Ethan Grant. The transfer from Los Angeles High threw two touchdowns in his first game for the Cougars, but a fumble in the end zone erased one potential score, and three consecutive dropped passes on Crenshaw’s final drive of the game prevented a comeback.
Crenshaw dominated early, Caden Baker stripping the ball from Odebunmi near midfield on Cleveland’s first possession and scoring on the 50-yard fumble return. On the Cougars’ next possession, Grant threaded a pass through two Cavalier defenders, finding Kyion Rattler for an apparent 55-yard score. But Rattler fumbled right before crossing the goal line, turning the ball over That’s when Odebunmi reeled off his best run of the night, a 58-yarder down the right sideline, to tie the score 6-6.
After Grant’s 60-yard score to Rattler put the Cougars up 12-6, Cleveland drove 80 yards in 12 plays, keyed by three completions by quarterback Domenik Fuentes and punctuated by Joseph Hurtado’s one-yard touchdown run. After the two-point conversion, Cleveland led 14-12.
Three plays later, Crenshaw took the lead again on a 21-yard strike from Grant to Joshua Jones. But the Cougars failed on their third two-point conversion of the first half, which ended with them leading 18-14.
Neither offense did much in the second half after Cleveland scored on its first play from scrimmage, a 32-yard touchdown by Odebunmi. Crenshaw was limited to two first downs in the second half while Cleveland added a safety by Cobe Green early in the fourth quarter to make the score 24-18.
“First half we shot ourselves in the foot a good number of times” Cleveland coach Mario Guzman said. “Our biggest thing is we want to play disciplined and we were a little undisciplined in that first half. So we challenged ourselves at halftime to get back to our roots, to be disciplined, physical and fast. And we really rose to the occasion in the second.”
Northampton Saints’ Tommy Freeman told BBC Radio Northampton:
“Good start and lots of points on the board which good to see but I think there is loads more in us which is what we said at half-time, but overall a good result.
“Our set piece we need to tighten up a bit on that first phase. Defensively we were caught a bit tight, but credit to Newcastle for stressing us in those areas but we would like to see better movement.
“It is always a challenge and going back-to-back [titles] is not done by many teams. There is a reason for that but we will be looking to take each week as it comes and keep putting our DNA on the pitch.”
Newcastle head coach Dan McFarland told BBC Radio Newcastle:
“We put a lot of good stuff out there but we were tested today by a really, really good team. We know where we stand now and where we’ve got to work. We have a long jounrey ahead of us and that was the first step.
“It was a fantastic score when we had a length of the field try and that was really us and we also had a lot of defensive sets where we had showed really good scramble and stopped them from scoring.
“But the game is up and down. We had that yellow card and then we had three tries which were scored during that yellow, and the try just before half-time was a real killer.
“Maybe we left a couple of tries out there but there is plenty in that that we will take away and see as a real positive.”
Southern Section Agoura 18, Thousand Oaks 6 Banning 18, Rancho Mirage 6 Beaumont 55, Redlands 21 Brentwood 40, SEED LA 7 Cajon 19, Yucaipa 0 California Military 6, Peninsula 0 Camarillo 35, Oak Park 14 Castaic 25, West Ranch 13 Chaparral 41, Norco 0 Colton 6, Bloomington 0 El Segundo 21, Vistamar 6 Etiwanda 24, Chino Hills 7 Grand Terrace 34, Carter 6 Great Oak 27, Valley View 6 Harvard-Westlake 39, Louisville 0 Hemet 27, Canyon Springs 24 Highland 12, Antelope Valley 6 Indian Springs 33, Arroyo Valley 26 JSerra 38, Orange Lutheran 0 Jurupa Valley 27, Rubidoux 0 Kaiser 19, Jurupa Hills 12 Lancaster 19, Knight 0 Moreno Valley 18, Vista del Lago 0 Oaks Christian 37, Calabasas 6 Oxnard 18, Ventura 13 Pacific 19, San Bernardino 6 Paloma Valley 47, Citrus Hill 6 Pasadena Poly 33, Rio Hondo Prep 12 Quartz Hill 32, Eastside 13 Ramona 20, Norte Vista 0 Rancho Cucamonga 24, Los Osos 0 Rancho Verde 41, Perris 6 Redlands Adventist 25, Loma Linda Academy 0 Redlands East Valley 31, Citrus Valley 0 Rialto 12, San Gorgonio 6 Rim of the World 19, Eisenhower 18 Riverside Poly 55, Riverside North 6 Santa Monica 24, Sunny Hills 0 Santa Paula 24, Fillmore 7 Saugus 18, Canyon Country Canyon 6 Segerstrom 32, San Dimas 6 Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 38, Immaculate Heart 6 Simi Valley 14, Moorpark 12 South Hills 21, Colony 13 St. Bonaventure 14, Cate 0 Temescal Canyon 27, Elsinore 0 Tesoro 28, San Clemente 20 Torrance 22, North Torrance 0 Valencia 19, Hart 7 Westlake 55, Newbury Park 12 Westminster 14, Laguna Hills 7
MONDAY’S RESULTS
City Section Camino Nuevo 6, Smidt Tech 0 Collins Family 19, Rise Kohyang 8 New Designs University Park 12, Stella 6 Stern 26, De La Hoya 0 View Park 7, Locke 0
Southern Section Adelanto 21, Victor Valley 0 Alhambra 25, El Monte 19 Alta Loma 12, Colony 6 Anaheim Canyon 34, Corona 18 Arroyo Valley 39, Fontana 0 Azusa 21, Garey 0 Baldwin Park 25, Nogales 0 Bell Gardens d. South El Monte, forfeit Bellflower 12, California 6 Bishop Amat 12, Serra 7 Bolsa Grande 32, Magnolia 0 Bonita 40, Claremont 0 California Military 46, Nuview Bridge 0 Cantwell-Sacred Heart 20, Mary Star of the Sea 6 Canyon Springs 26, Tahquitz 6 Canyon Springs 12, Arlington 12 Carter 18, Bloomington 13 Cathedral City 33, Jurupa Valley 0 Century 24, Western 6 Cerritos Valley Christian 52, Fairmont Prep 17 Chaparral 40, Temecula Valley 0 Chino 26, Chaffey 0 Chino Hills 19, Los Osos 0 Corona del Mar 18, Fountain Valley 8 Corona Santiago 26, Norco 13 Costa Mesa 30, Ocean View 0 Covina 33, Charter Oak 12 Crean Lutheran 21, Esperanza 7 Desert Hot Springs 20, Palm Springs 6 Dominguez 48, Compton Centennial 6 Don Lugo 13, Montclair 2 Downey 60, Mayfair 0 Edgewood 19, Bassett 0 Edison 32, Marina 0 Eisenhower 14, Colton 8 El Monte Arroyo 7, Rosemead 6 El Rancho 25, Keppel 0 Etiwanda 29, St. Lucy’s 6 Flintridge Sacred Heart 20, Immaculate Heart 8 Fullerton 44, Laguna Hills 13 Gabrielino 26, Temple City 0 Garden Grove Pacifica 21, Troy 12 Garden Grove Santiago 19, Los Amigos 2 Glenn 27, Oxford Academy 0 Godinez 20, Katella 14 Hemet 20, Riverside North 6 Huntington Beach 46, Los Alamitos 21 Indian Springs 44, Jurupa Hills 13 Irvine 12, Newport Beach Pacifica Christian 6 Kaiser 6, Rialto 0 La Habra 28, Brea Olinda 0 Lakewood St. Joseph 48, St. Mary’s Academy 0 La Mirada 13, Artesia 7 La Quinta 24, Xavier Prep 0 Liberty 27, Citrus Hill 0 Loma Linda Academy 47, Public Safety Academy 0 Long Beach Cabrillo 6, Compton Early College 0 Long Beach Poly 41, Lakewood 0 Long Beach Wilson 42, Long Beach Jordan 12 Mater Dei 39, Santa Margarita 13 Miller 6. Norte Vista 0 Millikan 20, Quartz Hill 13 Monrovia 26, Burbank Burroughs 9 Montebello 6, Mountain View 2 Moreno Valley 32, Lakeside 6 Murrieta Mesa 19, Great Oak 7 Murrieta Valley 6, Vista Murrieta 0 Northview 25, Hacienda Heights Wilson 24 Norwalk 26, Whitney 0 Ontario Christian 33, Woodcrest Christian 14 Orange 37, Estancia 0 Orange Vista 38, Perris 14 Paloma Valley 39, Heritage 6 Patriot 20, Ramona 7 Placentia Valencia 24, Garden Grove 0 Portola 12, Northwood 6 Ramona Convent 59, Sacred Heart of Jesus 0 Rancho Cucamonga 20, Upland 6 Rancho Verde 41, Rancho Christian 0 Redlands 12, Palm Desert 7 Rim of the World 12, Grand Terrace 7 Riverside King 33, Corona Centennial 12 Riverside Poly 40, Hillcrest 0 Rosamond 27, Littlerock 12 Saddleback 32, Savanna 0 Sage Hill 25, Irvine University 14 San Gorgonio 13, Summit 7 San Marino 13, La Canada 8 Santa Fe 6, Paramount 0 Saugus 6, Village Christian 0 Schurr 33, San Gabriel 12 Sierra Vista 32, Duarte 0 St. Margaret’s 32, Laguna Beach 6 St. Paul 40, St. Bernard 0 Trabuco Hills 27, Beckman 13 Tustin 18, Buena Park 0 Valley View 19, Vista del Lago 0 Villa Park 14, Sunny Hills 7 West Covina 19, Rowland 0 Westminster 37, La Palma Kennedy 20 Whittier 26, Pioneer 7 Woodbridge 38, Tesoro 33 Workman 20, La Puente 14 Yorba Linda 28, Cypress 6
When Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said earlier this week that the best was yet to come, his expectations were centered on the offense.
In the Dodgers’ 10-4 rout of the San Francisco Giants on Saturday, that better version of the offense was on display, putting together a pair of three-run rallies in back-to-back innings to take pressure off the pitching staff.
“This is the first time, seems like all year, that we’ve had four or five hitters swing the bats well for four or five games,” Roberts said. “So it’s been really good to see.”
This month, Mookie Betts, Kyle Tucker and Teoscar Hernández have led the group, with Max Muncy and Will Smith heating up this week. The Dodgers’ 15 hits Saturday were their most in a game since July 2 against the San Diego Padres, and just two shy of their season high.
Reinforcements should be coming soon too. Shohei Ohtani (right biceps and left knee) hit off the Trajekt machine Saturday and ran the bases before the game. Roberts said there’s a “good chance” that he’ll be activated off the 15-day injured list during the Dodgers’ series against the San Diego Padres this week. He can be reinstated as early as Wednesday.
Center fielder Andy Pages (fractured left hand) went through a simulated game Saturday. He could return Tuesday.
“You’re going to go through your waves,” said Betts, who finished the day with three doubles and a single. “You’ve just got to ride them. … Right now we’re getting them across, and we’re just going to keep giving ourselves chances. That’s the main thing.”
The offense kept the Dodgers in the game, despite Tarik Skubal struggling.
Skubal pitched only five innings, tied for his shortest start with the Dodgers. And he surrendered four runs, the worst mark of his Dodgers tenure.
Entering the game, Skubal appeared to be peaking. His previous two starts, both against the Reds, were some of his most efficient.
That efficiency, however, regressed against the Giants (64-91).
“Fastball command wasn’t great,” he said. “Not driving it up and in, kind of pulling the ball down at times, pushing it up at times. I think almost [all] pitching is all fastball command, and mine wasn’t great today.”
Though he got through the first two innings without giving up a run — thanks in part to a diving catch by Tucker in the right-center field to end the first — he issued two-out walks in each.
The Dodgers’ offense used that time to mount a lead. Betts hit the first of those doubles in his first at-bat, and Muncy authored his own to drive in the first run.
The next inning, rookie Josue De Paula’s walk, and singles from Alex Freeland and Betts combined to push in another run.
Dodgers baserunner Kyle Tucker slides head first into Giants catcher Andrew Knizner while scoring a run in the fifth inning Saturday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Then Skubal began to struggle. With a runner on second and one out, he pitched to a full count against designated hitter Victor Bericoto. Skubal missed down the middle with a fastball, and Bericoto sent it 425 feet to center field. It landed on the netting on the other side of the wall to tie the score.
The Dodgers’ offense, coming alive in September, struck back in the third. Smith hit his second home run in as many nights, launching the second pitch of the inning into the left-field pavilion.
The Giants took a different approach to tie the score for a second time. After back-to-back singles, they used back-to-back sacrifice bunts to advance the runners and score another run.
Then the two teams traded runs again. Betts put the Dodgers (95-60) up with an RBI double in the fourth. Skubal gave up back-to-back doubles in the fifth.
That marked both the end of Skubal’s start and the beginning of the Dodgers’ offensive onslaught.
“Obviously, I wasn’t very good today,” Skubal said. “But the offense and defense and bullpen picked me up big time. And that’s what good teams do, they pick each other up and win series and win baseball games. So, hats off to them.”
The Dodgers brought seven batters to the plate in the fifth, and all but one reached base. Tommy Edman hit a two-run single. And pinch-hitting Miguel Rojas almost matched him, but Giants left fielder Turner Hill made a perfect throw to nab Edman in a close play at home to end the inning.
Betts’ and Smith’s bats stayed hot to open the sixth with a leadoff double and one-out RBI single, respectively. The Dodgers took advantage of the Giants’ sloppy infield play to load the bases for De Paula, who lined a two-run single into shallow center field.
Those were the kinds of stifling rallies that had defined the Dodgers’ offense earlier in the season, when they were scoring regularly in double digits.
“I think our potential’s winning the World Series,” Tucker said. “So until we do that, then I can say we reached it. But we feel like we’re in a good spot right now. Our pitching staff’s done a great job all year giving us an opportunity to win every single night. Our defense has played pretty well behind them, and then offensively we’ve done a solid job as well.
“Right now we’ve got a few guys that are feeling good, a few guys that are banged up. But we’re still out there grinding, trying to win as many games as possible before the season ends and just trying to carry it all the way to the playoffs.”
Tucker picked up some extra bumps and bruises Saturday, most notably fouling a pitch off his right knee in the third inning. Once the game became a blowout, Roberts pulled him.
“I feel like everyone’s grinding at this point in the season,” Tucker said. “But I’ll be good with it.”
Myles Garrett is out for four games following knee surgery, but other Rams edge rushers said they were ready to step up against the New York Giants on Monday night at SoFi Stadium.
Aaron Donald will play for the Rams against the New York Giants on Monday, but will Puka Nacua be on the field?
“I’m not going to go out there and be Myles Garrett,” said Stewart, who made six tackles and had one quarterback hit in the Rams’ season-opening defeat by the San Francisco 49ers, “but as a group we’ll fill our role and help do the job.”
The Rams’ pass rush will be aided by the addition of lineman Aaron Donald, the three-time NFL defensive player of the year who will make his season debut after coming out of two-year retirement.
But the outside linebackers plan to contribute.
“The room is full of talented guys, so everybody always smells blood,” said Johnson, a fourth-year pro. “We’re all sharks in the room, but we’re all helping each other. … It’s time for everybody to put on them big-boy boots.”
Bailey was the only first-year undrafted free agent to make the roster. He did it with outstanding performances in preseason games.
Young said losing Garrett was “huge” but he is confident the group will perform well.
“We’ve got guys that can definitely rush,” Young said. “I definitely think as a collective we can affect it together. He’s going to be back soon, and while he’s gone we’re going to hold it down and do what we do.”
Southern Section Adelanto 25, San Gorgonio 6 Antelope Valley 16, Palmdale 0 Aquinas 13, Riverside Poly 12 Arroyo Valley 14, Victor Valley 2 Beaumont 26, Redlands East Valley 6 Bishop Montgomery 40, Vasquez 12 Cajon 20, Citrus Valley 0 California Military 54, Pomona 0 Carter 7, Colton 7 Charter Oak 25, Duarte 7 Chino 7, Sunny Hills 6 Colony 25, Los Altos 0 Colton 7, Carter 7 Dos Pueblos 31, Oxnard 20 Esperanza 13, St. Paul 6 Etiwanda 38, Los Osos 0 Grand Terrace 12, Eisenhower 8 Hart 14, Saugus 0 Harvard-Westlake 32, Alemany 0 Hemet 18, Hillcrest 14 Heritage 24, Liberty 15 Highland 18, Eastside 6 Indian Springs 32, Fontana 0 JSerra 39, Mater Dei 7 Kaiser 19, Summit 6 Laguna Hills 20, La Palma Kennedy 0 La Mirada 6, Santa Fe 0 Lancaster 27, Littlerock 6 Mission Viejo 25, Aliso Niguel 13 Moreno Valley 34, Arlington 7 Mountain View 13, Rosemead 6 Newbury Park 26, Oaks Christian 18 Nogales 8, Sierra Vista 2 Orange 19, Oxford Academy 0 Orange Lutheran 26, Santa Margarita 20 Oxnard Pacifica 24, Channel Islands 6 Paloma Valley 32, Perris 0 Palos Verdes 27, Inglewood 13 Patriot 33, Norte Vista 0 Quartz Hill 12, Knight 6 Rancho Cucamonga 44, St. Lucy’s 13 Rancho Verde 33, Orange Vista 6 Redondo Union 41, El Segundo 7 Rialto 7, Jurupa Hills 6 Rim of the World 33, Bloomington 14 Royal 19, Moorpark 6 San Bernardino 25, Rubidoux 0 San Marino 15, Gabrielino 6 Santa Paula 56, Bishop Diego 0 SEED LA 34, Yeshiva 14 Shadow Hills 37, Temecula Prep 12 Simi Valley 26, Oak Park 21 South Hills 48, San Dimas 0 Tahquitz 26, West Valley 0 Temescal Canyon 31, San Jacinto 14 Tesoro 34, Capistrano Valley 7 Thousand Oaks 46, Calabasas 0 Upland 15, Chino Hills 0 Valley View 20, Lakeside 0 Ventura 33, Rio Mesa 0 Village Christian 33, Rio Hondo Prep 0 Western Christian 35, Cerritos Valley Christian 7 Westlake 21, Agoura 0 West Ranch 18, Canyon Country Canyon 13 Westridge 19, Pasadena Poly 14 Yucaipa 19, Redlands 18
Intersectional Culver City 34, Vistamar 6 Santa Monica 27, Venice 0
MONDAY’S RESULTS
City Section Bell 34, South East 0 Camino Nuevo d. Collins Family, forfeit Carson 18, Los Angeles Wilson 6 East College Prep 50, Belmont 12 Fremont 36, Dymally 0 Fremont 28, Crenshaw 6 GALA 33, Washington Prep 0 GALA 19, Port of Los Angeles 0 Garfield 21, Huntington Park 0 Granada Hills Kennedy 25, Sylmar 6 Jefferson 26, Manual Arts 6 Legacy 6, South Gate 0 Los Angeles University 12, Palisades 0 Orthopaedic 33, Annenberg 0 Panorama 42, Sylmar 0 Santee 31, Diego Rivera 0 Stern 12, Rise Kohyang 6 Taft 12, SOCES 0 Van Nuys 26, Sun Valley Magnet 0 Venice 49, Westchester 12 Washington Prep 12, Port of Los Angeles 6
Southern Section Adelanto 37, Indian Springs 6 Alemany 32, Flintridge Sacred Heart 12 Alhambra 13, El Monte Arroyo 12 Alta Loma 14, San Dimas 12 Arrowhead Christian 14, Woodcrest Christian 7 Baldwin Park 33, Duarte 0 Bishop Amat 38, St, Mary’s Academy 0 Calvary Baptist 12, United Christian Academy 0 Castaic 14, Vasquez 6 Cerritos 22, Santa Fe 8 Chaffey 7, Don Lugo 6 Chino 26, Montclair 0 Chino Hills 7, Rancho Cucamonga 6 Compton 21, Long Beach Cabrillo 0 Compton Early College 13, Compton Centennial 12 Corona Centennial 43, Corona 18 Covina 20, West Covina 6 Downey 26, Warren 6 Edison 27, Fountain Valley 12 Eisenhower 42, Bloomington 6 El Modena 15, Villa Park 12 El Rancho 32, San Gabriel 6 Etiwanda 20, Upland 7 Fillmore 42, St. Bonaventure 26 Gahr 12, Bellflower 0 Gardena Serra 51, St. Anthony 0 Glendora 68, Claremont 0 Grand Terrace 13, Colton 0 Heritage 27, Rancho Christian 16 Hillcrest 15, Riverside North 12 Huntington Beach 38, Marina 6 Indio 13, Palm Desert 6 Jurupa Hills 19, San Gorgonio 13 La Canada 13, Burbank Burroughs 0 Laguna Beach 19, Rosary 0 La Serna 40, Mayfair 6 Long Beach Poly 26, Long Beach Wilson 7 Mater Dei 21, St. Joseph 6 Murrieta Mesa 18, Temecula Valley 6 Newport Harbor 25, Corona del Mar 0 Nogales 7, Azusa 6 Norco 26, Eastvale Roosevelt 14 Northview 26, Charter Oak 14 Orange 7, Garden Grove 0 Paramount 6, La Mirada 0 Pasadena Poly 39, Ramona Convent 0 Ramona 25, Miller 6 Rancho Verde 60, Citrus Hill 0 Rim of the World 6, Carter 0 Riverside King 39, Corona Santiago 19 Riverside Poly 33, Canyon Springs 0 Saddleback 18, Los Amigos 13 Sage Hill 25, Northwood 0 Santa Ana Foothill 25, La Habra 12 Schurr 34, Bell Gardens 6 Segerstrom 20, Laguna Hills 19 Serrano 19, Lancaster 0 Shadow Hills 31, Desert Hot Springs 8 Sierra Canyon 48, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 14 Sonora 32, El Dorado 7 South El Monte 47, Keppel 0 South Hills 13, Los Altos 0 St. Lucy’s 8, Los Osos 7 St. Margaret’s 41, Irvine 0 Trabuco Hills 13, El Toro 7 Valley View 13, Arlington 0 Vista del Lago 32, Lakeside 7 Whittier 21, Glenn 0 Windward 26, Brentwood 0 Woodbridge 46, Portola 14 Workman 26, Pomona 6 Yorba Linda 25, Anaheim Canyon 13
Intersectional Cleveland 27, Valencia 7 Mira Costa 27, Wilmington Banning 7 Sotomayor 13, Cantwell-Sacred Heart of Mary 6 Torrance 20, San Pedro 13
Jude Terry and Armindo Sieb each scored a goal, Hugo Lloris had his MLS-leading 12th shutout this season, and LAFC beat the New York Red Bulls 2-0 on Wednesday night to end a six-game winless streak.
The Red Bulls (7-11-6) are winless in six straight dating to a 3-2 home victory over Orlando on Aug. 1.
Son Heung-min cut back to evade a defender, darted toward the end line past another and then fired a shot from the left side of the area that was parried by goalkeeper Ethan Horvath at the near post. Terry, a 17-year-old homegrown, tapped in a first-touch putback from the top of the penalty box in the 21st minute.
Sieb subbed on for Jacob Shaffelburg in the 60th minute and his first MLS goal capped the scoring in the sixth minute of stoppage time. The 23-year-old forward, acquired Aug. 13 from Bayern Munich of the Bundesliga, made his debut for LAFC in a 2-2 tie at Real Salt Lake on Saturday.
LAFC is 11-0-2 this season it scores first.
Dennis Nelich and Sekou Kone, who were added earlier Wednesday from Red Bull New York II, made their MLS debuts. Kone came on for the Red Bulls in the 33rd minute when 17-year-old midfielder Adri Mehmeti went off due to an apparent leg injury.
New York had 57% possession but was outshot 15-8, 8-1 on target.
Horvath had six saves, including three in the closing minutes of the first half.
Even Dodgers catcher Will Smith, who’d never be accused of wearing his emotions on his sleeve, was a little worried during his monthslong absence because of a persistent neck injury that he might not be healthy by the end of the season.
“‘It was kind of the ‘who knows how long it’s going to take,’” Smith said when the Dodgers activated him at the beginning of the month. “But at some point I was going to be fed up and just kind of deal with it.”
It apparently didn’t come to that. And in the Dodgers’ 3-2 win against the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday, Smith’s fifth time in the lineup since returning from the injured list, he put the Dodgers ahead with a first-inning home run and guided Dodgers left-handed starter Tarik Skubal through 7 ⅓ innings of two-run ball.
“He called a great game,” Skubal said of his Team USA teammate. “And the targets that he sets up, and the way that he goes about it, he gives me a ton of confidence back there.”
A neck problem that was initially expected to resolve on its own in a few days turned into a nearly three-month IL stint. With the revolving door behind the plate in Smith’s absence, getting him back down the stretch and into the postseason was going to be key.
While Smith was on the IL, backup catcher Dalton Rushing was thrown into the starting role, learning how to balance the defensive responsibility of serving as the main backstop at the major-league level with a desire to also contribute offensively.
Rushing seemed to be getting the hang of it, with Chuckie Robinson and then Eliézer Alfonzo behind him, before he hurt his right elbow right before the trade deadline. The Dodgers traded for an entirely new catching duo, Hunter Feduccia and Ben Rortvedt, who held down the position until Smith’s return.
“It was frustrating early,” Smith said. “Just looking for answers why it was taking longer, but we finally got those answers. And then it was kind of a pretty straightforward process from there. So last month or two hasn’t been too bad.”
Smith and the Dodgers sought multiple doctors’ opinions. He was eventually diagnosed with an annular tear and given two possible recovery timelines. Though they proceeded with hope for the earlier return, the longer one came to fruition.
Now, the Dodgers are carrying three catchers, trying not to overwork Smith in his first weeks back. He’ll be out of the lineup Wednesday and play two of three games in Miami, manager Dave Roberts said.
With Rushing back on the IL for the same elbow injury, Feduccia can also serve as a left-handed bat off the bench, and Alfonzo gives the team more substitution flexibility.
Entering Tuesday, Smith had already thrown out three baserunners attempting to steal in his first week back in action. But despite some hard contact, hits weren’t falling for him. He went two for 17 with a single and a double in the same time period.
“Will is just very consistent, dependable,” Roberts said. “I know he’s taking really good at-bats. Hitting some balls to the warning track.”
On Tuesday, batting third in the lineup against Reds left-handed starting pitcher Nick Lodolo, he showcased the kind of influence he can make on both sides of the ball.
In Smith’s first at-bat, he battled for nine pitches, finally lifting a changeup over the left field wall.
“That was really good to see,” Roberts said. “With Will, it’s just great having him in there because you know you can count on the at-bat quality, and obviously having him behind the plate has been good.”
The next inning the Dodgers (88-57) doubled their score when Tommy Edman — hitting in the leadoff spot in place of Shohei Ohtani (right biceps and left knee), who was out of the lineup Tuesday as the Dodgers ease him back from a four-day absence over the weekend — was hit in the leg by a pitch with the bases loaded.
The Reds then tied the score in the third, as Elly De La Cruz launched a two-run homer off Skubal. But the Dodgers pulled ahead again two innings later, courtesy of the red-hot bat Teoscar Hernández has been swinging in September.
Tarik Skubal pitches in the second inning Tuesday.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
Hernández avenged his ill-fated inside-the-park home run attempt — he was thrown out at the plate on an aggressive send two innings earlier — with a well-struck RBI single.
Skubal wrapped up his deepest start of his Dodgers tenure to a standing ovation. He’d limited the Reds to just four hits, while recording five strikeouts in an efficient performance.
Flame-throwing reliever Edgardo Henriquez replaced Skubal, tasked with recording the last two outs of the eighth. He did so with the help of an ABS challenge from Smith that secured an inning-ending strikeout.
Lefty Tanner Scott earned the save, retiring three straight batters after a leadoff walk, and the Dodgers extended their winning streak to six games.
“It’s the last stretch,” Smith said at the beginning of the month. “We’re fighting for seeding as well. So yeah, it’s definitely time to step on the gas.”
Southern Section Adelanto 27, Victor Valley 8 Alta Loma 19, Covina 13 Antelope Valley 18, Eastside 0 Aquinas 41, Arrowhead Christian 6 Arlington 34, Vista del Lago 0 Arroyo Valley 47, Fontana 0 Ayala 18, Glendora 6 Baldwin Park 15, Garey 7 Banning 19, Indio 8 Burbank Providence 19, Pasadena Poly 18 Cajon 14, Vista Murrieta 6 California 19, Mayfair 0 Camarillo 25, Royal 21 Cerritos Valley Christian 19, Village Christian 7 Chaminade 20, Thousand Oaks 7 Citrus Valley 18, Norte Vista 7 Colony 7, Etiwanda 0 Dos Pueblos 49, Lompoc 0 Downey 19, La Serna 6 Eastvale Roosevelt 6, Rancho Cucamonga 0 Edison 39, San Clemente 14 Eisenhower 26, Carter 6 El Rancho 13, Paramont 0 Elsinore 27, West Valley 12 Fillmore 38, Bishop Diego 0 Gahr 60, Long Beach Jordan 0 Garden Grove 34, La Palma Kennedy 6 Grand Terrace 19, Bloomington 14 Hart 46, Golden Valley 6 Heritage 32, Citrus Hill 12 Highland d. Littlerock, forfeit Hillcrest 25, Canyon Springs 6 Hueneme 37, St. Bonaventure 25 Indian Springs 21, Rialto 19 Jurupa Hills 20, Summit 14 Jurupa Valley 36, San Bernardino 0 Knight 0, Palmdale 0 Liberty 31, Orange Vista 12 Los Alamitos 31, Lakewood 6 Los Osos 29, Ontario 0 Moorpark 20, Oak Park 6 Moreno Valley 39, Valley View 6 Mountain View 13, Pomona 6 Nogales 51, Duarte 0 Norco 33, Riverside North 7 Northview 21, Temple City 6 Oaks Christian 24, Ventura 13 Orange Lutheran 19, Mater Dei 12 Oxnard Pacifica 38, Rio Mesa 20 Patriot 34, Corona 27 Quartz Hill 31, Lancaster 0 Rancho Verde 13, Paloma Valley 7 Rim of the World 20, Colton 14 Rio Hondo Prep 33, Chadwick 0 Riverside Poly 32, Hemet 0 Rowland 19, Whittier 6 Sage Hill 33, San Juan Hills 9 San Gorgonio 14, Kaiser 6 San Jacinto Valley Academy 7, Nuview Bridge 6 Santa Barbara 13, Santa Paula 0 Saugus 14, West Ranch 12 Segerstrom 7, Placentia Valencia 6 Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 52, Louisville 0 Simi Valley 32, Newbury Park 12 St. Paul 24, San Marino 6 Sunny Hills 20, Chino Hills 0 Tahquitz 13, San Jacinto 6 Temecula Prep 47, Desert Christian Academy 0 Temescal Canyon 34, Riverside King 26 United Christian Academy 14, Public Safety Academy 0 Valencia 12, Castaic 7 Vasquez 32, PACS 6 Windward 53, YULA 0
Cam Schlitter gave up one run and two hits in eight superb innings, and the New York Yankees scored five two-out runs in the 10th in a series-clinching, 6-3 victory over the Angels on Wednesday night at Angel Stadium.
New York loaded the bases with one out in the 10th when Jose Caballero singled, the automatic runner holding at third, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. walked against reliever Luke Murphy (0-2).
Murphy got Luis Garcia Jr. to pop out, but Austin Wells stroked a two-run single to right, Cody Bellinger hit an RBI single to center, Trent Grisham hit an RBI single to left, and Ben Rice had an RBI single to right for a 6-1 lead.
David Bednar (7-3) struck out three in a scoreless ninth for the win. Yankees reliever Michael Fulmer gave up a two-run homer to Moisés Ballesteros in the bottom of the 10th, but New York won its second straight after dropping the opener, despite enthusiasm in Anaheim over an announced agreement for Arte Moreno to sell the team to Rams owner Stan Kroenke.
A marquee matchup between two of baseball’s best pitchers did not disappoint, Schlittler striking out nine and walking none, and Angels left-hander Reid Detmers giving up one run and six hits in seven innings, striking out eight and walking none.
Schlittler, who has an American League-leading 2.04 ERA, retired 20 of the first 21 batters he faced, his only blemish a soft single to left by Vaughn Grissom in the second inning.
But Schlittler grooved a 95-mph cutter to Grissom in the seventh, and the Angels first baseman drove it over the center-field wall for a a 1-1 tie.
It was Schlittler’s franchise-record 19th start this season in which he has given up one or no runs, moving him ahead of Ron Guidry (1978), Whitey Ford (1964) and Jack Chesbro (1904), who had 18 each.
Detmers, who has a major league-best 1.52 ERA since the All-Star break, gave up a run in the fourth on Amed Rosario’s double.
The game was delayed for about 10 minutes in the sixth when a 79.5-mph line drive off the bat of Rice hit a photographer in the head in the first-base camera well. The photographer was able to walk to a medical emergency vehicle and shake Rice’s hand before being carted away.
One of the more remarkable streaks in the history of this nearly century-old racetrack is still alive.
It’s just not the one most people expected.
Gold Phoenix’s bid to join Kelso as the only horses to win the same major stakes race in North America in five straight years ended Saturday evening when the 8-year-old gelding finished fourth behind Test Score and two others in the $300,000 Del Mar Handicap.
“Got beat, I think less than a length, and got stopped there at the top of the lane,” trainer Phil D’Amato said. “That’s grass racing.”
More specifically, it’s grass racing at Del Mar against Graham Motion, the East Coast trainer who in recent years has been more successful here than a margarita concession stand.
Test Score was the eighth horse Motion has sent to Del Mar for a summer stakes race since 2022 — and the eighth to win.
“It’s crazy,” said assistant trainer Alice Clapham, who accompanied Test Score on his trip west. “It’s one of those things you just pinch yourself. You know it’s going to stop at some point but you just go along for the ride.”
Gold Phoenix’s owners know the feeling.
They never expected their gelding to win this race four straight times, an unprecedented feat at Del Mar, but each year since 2022 he found a way, prevailing three times by less than half a length and once by 1¼ lengths.
This time the 11-10 favorite found himself on the wrong side of a five-horse photo finish. He nosed out Mondego but was a head behind Atomic Age, who was half a length behind Atitlan, who was a neck behind Test Score. The winner, a son of Lookin at Lucky who is half Gold Phoenix’s age, paid $7.20 as the 13-5 second choice.
While disappointed, Gold Phoenix’s connections weren’t about to ask for condolences.
“We’re so grateful for everything that he has done, for all of us and the partners,” said Gary Fenton, managing partner of Little Red Feather Racing Stable. “He’s just a really, really special horse and today changes nothing.”
Said Billy Koch, Little Red Feather’s other managing partner: “It just didn’t work out the way we needed it to work out. He tries, though, every time. Can’t say anything but be proud of him.”
Koch said he had a feeling during the race that another win could be problematic. Gold Phoenix was near the back of the pack in the field of 11 until the far turn, when jockey Hector Berrios began urging him. The jockey had to hold him up just a bit as they came around the corner, though he had a clear run once he shifted toward the rail.
Test Score also rallied from behind but had a little smoother journey under Juan Hernandez and outdid the other closers.
“[Berrios] took a chance to go up in there,” D’Amato said. “It got a little tight but once he got through, he battled and we just got outrun.”
The final time of 2 minutes 14.76 seconds for 1-3/8 miles was the fastest since Gold Phoenix’s initial win (2:14.51). As part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series, Test Score earned a fees-paid berth in the $5-million Breeders’ Cup Turf on Oct. 31 at Keeneland.
Fenton said the plan is to give Gold Phoenix another shot in that race, in which he’s finished fourth twice, fifth and 10th and earned $640,000 — about 25% of his career earnings of $2.6 million.
He won’t be the only Little Red Feather horse at Keeneland. Just a half-hour before Gold Phoenix’s race, Iron Man Cal pulled off an 8-1 upset in another Grade 2 race, the $250,000 Pat O’Brien. That win, in 1:22.02 for seven furlongs under Joel Rosario, guaranteed the 4-year-old gelding a berth in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile.
