IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Michigan State wiped away 22 years of frustration at Iowa with a resounding win Saturday over the Hawkeyes.The Spartans also took a big step toward a much more important milestone – a spot in the Big Ten’s first title game.Kirk Cousins threw for 260 yards and three touchdowns and 13th-ranked Michigan State beat Iowa 37-21 to take control of the Big Ten’s Legends Division race.B.J. Cunningham caught a pair of TD passes for the Spartans, who snapped a seven-game losing streak at Iowa dating back to 1989.Michigan State (8-2, 5-1 Big Ten) took a commanding 31-7 lead with two touchdowns in a 36-second stretch late in the second quarter. Cunningham followed Le’Veon Bell’s 25-yard TD run with a 22-yard touchdown catch to put Michigan State up by 24 at the break.The Spartans can now earn a spot in the Big Ten title game with wins over Indiana and Northwestern in the next two weeks.”We came here with an idea that we were going to have to weather the storm or be the storm,” Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said.James Vandenberg threw for 262 yards and two touchdowns for Iowa (6-4, 3-3), which lost its first home game of the season.”They were a lot more ready to play then we were, and certainly did a great job in that first half and made it a real challenge for us,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said.Save for a brief flash of life out of Iowa late in the third quarter, the Spartans coasted to a payback win over the Hawkeyes after getting pounded 37-6 last season in Iowa City.Iowa quickly cut a 34-7 deficit to 13 points on Marvin McNutt’s 3-yard TD catch and a 2-yard touchdown run by Marcus Coker. But Iowa got too cute trying a hurry-up sneak on 4th-and-1 and was called for a false start, and Vandenberg’s next pass fell incomplete with 10:16 left.Dan Conroy hit a 48-yard field goal with 5:11 left, and Tony Lippett’s fumble recovery with 2:53 to go sealed the win for the Spartans.”We’ve been the hunted the last two years. We are a program that people are hunting down. Last year we were undefeated when we walked in here,” Dantonio said. “To be able to push through the discouragement last year is a sign of progress and a sign of maturity.”McNutt was stellar in his final home game for the Hawkeyes with eight catches for 130 yards, becoming the program’s leader in career receiving yards with 2,635.But Iowa only got 57 yards rushing from Coker, the Big Ten’s leading rusher entering the game.Michigan State never got going in last year’s loss to Iowa. The Spartans had been unbeaten until that game.It took less than six minutes for Michigan State to top that terrible performance.Cousins found Cunningham alone in the middle of the end zone for a 6-yard TD pass, putting the Spartans ahead 7-0 after their first drive.Cousins then followed a pick by Johnny Adams with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Edwin Baker to give Michigan State a 14-0 lead with 7:37 left in the first quarter.In less than half of a quarter, the Spartans had more points than they had scored in each of their previous three road games.Iowa’s answer came seven seconds into the second, as Vandenberg found sophomore C.J. Fiedorowicz for his first career TD grab from eight yards out. But safety Tanner Miller went for an interception of Cousins and missed, allowing Keshawn Martin to go 67 yards and set up a 22-yard field goal from Conroy.That put the Spartans ahead 17-7 – and they weren’t through yet.Bell, who ran for 112 yards, went straight up the middle of Iowa’s defense for a 25-yard touchdown run with 1:57 left in the second quarter, and Jordan Bernstine fumbled the kickoff right back to Michigan State.That set the stage for a leaping touchdown grab by Cunningham, giving Michigan State a 31-7 lead.It was a complete role reversal from last season’s game, which Iowa led 30-0 at halftime, and ended Iowa’s slim hopes of landing in the inaugural Big Ten title game.”We didn’t look ready. We left the door open way too many times in all three phases,” Ferentz said.The misery didn’t stop there for the Hawkeyes either, as Michigan State successfully converted a fake field goal in the third quarter with a 24-point lead.Iowa is out of the Legends Division title picture, which is now Michigan State’s to lose.”We’re right where we want to be with two weeks to go in the regular season,” Cousins said.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Tim Tebow hit Eric Decker on a 56-yard touchdown pass, one of his only two completions in the game, helping the Denver Broncos to a 17-10 win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. Denver (4-5) played almost the entire game without leading rushers Willis McGahee and Knowshon Moreno. McGahee hurt his hamstring and Moreno went down with a knee injury in the first quarter. It didn’t matter against the struggling Chiefs. Lance Ball ran for 96 yards and Tebow added 44 yards and a touchdown on the ground, helping the Broncos win for the third time in four games with the former Heisman Trophy winner under center. Matt Cassel was 13 of 28 for 93 yards and a touchdown for Kansas City (4-5), which followed up a 31-3 loss to previously winless Miami with another miserable showing at home.

The Championship rounds were held at the State Volleyball Tournament Saturday. In Class 3-A, Waverly-Shell Rock defeated Sioux City/Bishop Heelan, 3-1.  In Class 4-A, Iowa City West was a 3-2 winner over Iowa City High.  Tripoli was crowned the Class 1-A State Champions, after their 3-0 victory over LeMars Gehlen Catholic. And, in Class 2A, Dike-New Hartford was a 3-0 winner over Hull/Western Christian.

State Football

During the high school football playoff’s Saturday, in the Class 1-A semi-finals, Council Bluffs/St. Albert defeated Emmetsburg, 24-6.  St. Albert takes on St. Ansgar in the Championship round 10:05-a.m. Sat., Nov. 19th.  St. Ansgar moved into the Championships after they defeated West Branch 32-19, Saturday.   Tonight’s schedule pits Harlan against Decorah and LaPorte City/Union against ADM/Adel, in the Class 3-A Semi-finals.  And, in Class 2-A, Spirit Lake takes on State Center/West Marshall, and Dyersville Beckman plays Iowa City Regina. All games begin at 7-p.m.

(AP) — The St. Louis Cardinals said they will announce the hiring of Mike Matheny as manager during a news conference Monday. Matheny, a former St. Louis catcher will replace the retired Tony La Russa.

Mike Matheny (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

La Russa stepped down after leading the team to the World Series title. The 41-year-old Matheny was a minor league instructor with the Cardinals and has no managing experience. He played for St. Louis from 2000-04 and won three Gold Gloves. He won another with San Francisco. Matheny’s playing career blossomed after he signed a one-year free-agent deal to be the backup catcher in St. Louis. A career .239 hitter Matheny did enough defensively to earn a starting job. Matheny was one of six men the Cardinals interviewed to replace La Russa. They also talked to Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg, longtime Cardinals third-base coach Jose Oquendo, former Boston manager Terry Francona, Triple-A manager Chris Maloney, and Chicago White Sox coach Joe McEwing.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) – Northern Iowa football player Varmah Sonie has been stabbed during a street fight in Cedar Falls. Police say 21-year-old Sonie was being treated Sunday for a non-life-threatening injury. Football coach Mark Farlay told the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier,  that Sonie was expected to be released from a hospital later in the day. Police say the large fight broke out on West 20th Street about 1 a.m. Sunday, a few hours after Sonie made a key interception in Northern Iowa’s 34-21 win over Southern Utah. Sonie walked into a local hospital with a stab wound attributed to the fight. No arrests have been made. The fight is under investigation. Sonie is a 5-foot-9, 160-pound junior from Burnsville, Minn. He’s started every game this season at cornerback.

(Championship matches will be played Saturday)

Class 4A Semifinals:
Iowa City West 25-25-23-15-15, Cedar Rapids Kennedy 19-18-25-25-7
Iowa City High 26-26-22-25, Ankeny 24-24-25-23

Class 4A Championship:
11 a.m. – Iowa City West (38-6) vs. Iowa City High (40-3)

Class 3A Semifinals:
Sioux City Bishop Heelan 25-25-21-25, Dubuque Wahlert 21-20-25-20
Waverly-Shell Rock 25-25-25, Union 21-21-23

Class 3A Championship:
1:00 p.m. – Sioux City Bishop Heelan (46-11) vs. Waverly-Shell Rock (47-3)

Class 2A Semifinals:
Western Christian 26-24-24-18, Grundy Center 24-26-26-25
Dike-New Hartford 25-25-25, Lake Mills 21-23-19

Class 2A Championship:
3:00 p.m. – Western Christian (49-1) vs. Dike-New Hartford (43-3)

Class 1A Semifinals:
Tripoli 25-25-25, Boyden-Hull 21-13-22
LeMars Gehlen Catholic 16-25-25-25  vs. Janesville 25, 23, 20, 22

Class 1A Championship:
5:00 p.m. – Tripoli (39-3) vs. LeMars Gehlen Catholic

Class 1A:
SAINT ANSGAR (10-2) vs. WEST BRANCH (10-2) 9:30 AM
EMMTSBURG (12-0) vs. ST. ALBERT, COUNCIL BLUFFS (12-0) 12:00 PM 

Class A:
WEST HANCOCK, BRITT (12-1) 48, MADRID (10-3) 38
LISBON (13-0) 24, NEWMAN CATHOLIC (11-2) 10

Class 4A:
VALLEY, WEST DES MOINES (13-0) 14, ANKENY (11-2) 3
BETTENDORF (12-1) 35, CEDAR FALLS (11-2) 3

w/ Jim Field

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