second half

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.”

Fox Sports announcer Tom Brady might have spoken for all of us when viewing the play in which Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels dislocated his left elbow Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys.

Brady said an expletive on the air, expressing a genuine reaction to the gruesome sight of Daniels’ joint bending in the wrong direction after he planted his left hand to break a fall.

The same expression was no doubt used by countless Commanders fans who had seen their quarterback miss much of the 2025 season with the same injury to the same elbow.

Chicago Bears fans also probably reacted with similar words when star quarterback Caleb Williams was carted off the field with a hamstring injury.

The coaches of both teams had injury updates Monday about the quarterbacks who were selected first (Williams) and second (Daniels) in the 2024 draft. Bears coach Ben Johnson told WMVP in Chicago that Williams appears to have avoided a major injury but would “likely miss some time.”

Hours later, however, Johnson told reporters he wasn’t yet ruling out Williams for the Bears’ “Monday Night Football” game against the Philadelphia Eagles. He said Williams underwent an MRI scan on Monday and that the team received news that was “somewhat encouraging.”

“He’s right now working through every avenue that he’s got available to get back on track here,” said Johnson, who added that Williams probably would not practice this week. “We’ll see what that looks like. Here’s what I know: This guy’s a little bit different than the average human being. … He gets back, he has in the past, a lot faster than what people can anticipate. I’m not putting a timeline on this. We’re going to say week to week.”

Commanders coach Dan Quinn told reporters that Daniels underwent imaging that morning and would see specialists the following two days.

“We’ll go through the process from there,” Quinn said. “I know you’ll have some questions regarding timelines, but until we go through that process, I’d be guessing to give you any.”

Quinn did say that veteran backup Marcus Mariota would start Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks and that he might have an update on Daniels on Thursday or Friday.

Williams, after going 5-12 as a rookie, threw for a franchise-record 3,942 yards while leading the Bears to an 11-6 record and the NFC North title. He got hurt during Chicago’s 9-3 loss Sunday while scrambling deep in Minnesota Vikings territory midway through the fourth quarter.

Williams was replaced by Tyson Bagent, a fourth-year player who has appeared in 13 games and is 2-2 as a starter. Johnson told reporters Monday that he was confident in Bagent should he have to start any games in Williams’ place.

“If it goes that route, I feel strongly about what he’s capable of, and our team does, too,” Johnson said. “They know he’s a darn good football player.”

Daniels was an immediate star in Washington, leading the Commanders to a surprise appearance in the NFC championship game his rookie season, but he missed all but one game in the second half of last season after dislocating the same elbow Nov. 2 against the Seattle Seahawks.

He injured it Sunday on a play from the Dallas one-yard line with three seconds remaining before halftime. Left guard Chris Paul stepped on Daniels’ foot as he backed away from center and the quarterback threw a wild incomplete pass as he braced himself on the ground with his other hand.

Mariota replaced Williams in the second half and completed 11 of 16 passes for 111 yards with one touchdown.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Angel City cruised to a 3-0 road victory over a shorthanded Utah team that received two red cards in the first half.

Defender Paige Cronin and midfielder Ana Tejada were ejected by the 24th minute. Two minutes later, Ally Sentnor converted the resulting penalty kick past goalkeeper Mandy McGlynn to put Angel City (11-8-6) ahead in Sandy, Utah.

Two minutes after coming off the bench for the second half, Taylor Suarez made it 2-0 with a one-touch finish off a pass from Gisele Thompson.

Sveindis Jonsdottir capped the scoring in the 67th minute, dispossessing Tatumn Milazzo deep in Utah territory before rolling a shot past McGlynn’s right side.

Utah fell to 13-9-3.

JSerra converted on three fourth downs in the second half Friday, allowing the Lions to battle back from a seven-point, first-half deficit to beat host Bishop Amat 37-28.

With the nonleague victory, JSerra improves to 4-1, while Bishop Amat falls to 4-1.

JSerra quarterback Hayes Cloutier, who threw for two touchdowns and rushed for three, engineered all three second-half conversions, two with his legs and one with his arm.

The first, and most impressive, came on the Lions’ first possession of the half. Trailing 28-21 and facing fourth and three on the Bishop Amat 27-yard line, Cloutier zigged and zagged across the field, eluding most of the defense.

After the Lions tied the score, sophomore defensive back Sean Veritch snagged a deflected pass by Bishop Amat quarterback Domenico Doran, and the Lions drove to the Lancers’ 16-yard line. On fourth and 10, Evan Leddy kicked a 33-yard field goal to give JSerra an apparent 31-28 lead, but the Lions accepted a penalty on Bishop Amat that moved the ball to the 11-yard line.

JSerra coach Hardy Nickerson opted to go for it on fourth down, and Cloutier rewarded his gamble, scoring on an 11-yard run. Leddy’s extra point was blocked, and JSerra settled for a 34-28 lead.

JSerra High quarterback Hayes Cloutier leaps as he tries to evade a tackle by a Bishop Amat defenders.

(Nick Koza)

The Lions’ defense, which had given up scores on four of Bishop Amat’s five first-half possessions, then stiffened, forcing the Lancers to punt. With about two minutes remaining in the third quarter, the Lions reeled off a 23-play drive, which included four JSerra penalties and ate up more than 10 minutes.

A 22-yard run by Cloutier was key, as was his four-yard completion to Clark Cokely on a fourth-and-two play. The drive ended with a 44-yard field goal by Leddy that gave JSerra a 37-28 lead.

After surrendering 28 first-half points, JSerra held Bishop Amat scoreless, and running back Justin Clinton, who rushed for more than 130 yards, including a 67-yard burst and a 43-yard touchdown, in check in the second half.

“It was a heavyweight fight,” Nickerson said of the first half. “But my defensive staff just put it together in the second. We turned things up and made adjustments.

“We knew that if we could get in the throwing lanes and forced them to have to pass the football … we felt we would have a chance. And those guys went out and executed the second half and it was beautiful.”

ARLINGTON, Texas — Paige Bueckers scored 19 points, Jessica Shepard had her fifth triple-double of the season with 13 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists, and the Dallas Wings beat the Sparks 97-77 on Thursday night for their fifth straight victory.

Both teams were returning from the break for the FIBA World Cup in Germany, where Bueckers helped lead the United States to the title.

Dallas (25-16) tied the franchise record for wins in a season set by the 2003 WNBA champion Detroit Shock (25-9). The Wings have three games remaining in the regular season.

Shepard has the third-most triple-doubles in a season in WNBA history, trailing Alyssa Thomas’ six in the 2023 and eight in 2025.

Maddy Siegrist added 12 points and Arike Ogunbowale had 11 for Dallas. Kitija Laksa and Aziaha James each scored 10 off the bench. Odyssey Sims did not play in the fourth quarter after injuring her right knee late in the third.

Nneka Ogwumike scored 18 points to lead the Sparks (12-26). Dearica Hamby added 14 points and Rae Burrell had 12.

Dallas pulled away by going on a 12-0 run spanning the third-quarter break for a 74-58 lead. The Wings finished with a 46-27 edge in rebounds.

Up next for the Sparks: at Portland on Sunday night.