ST. LOUIS (AP) – At the trade deadline in July, the Cardinals appeared to be in the market for starting pitching. Instead, St. Louis stood pat and trusted their young arms.  That trust paid off – in a trip to the World Series. Led by NLCS MVP Michael Wacha, the group of 20-somethings has formed a core of one of the best staffs in the major leagues.

Wacha outpitched Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw twice in the NLCS, including in a 9-0 win in Game 6 on Friday night. Ace Adam Wainwright says the kid has been so good he wouldn’t be surprised if Wacha was on the mound for Game 1 of the World Series on Wednesday at the winner of the ALCS between Boston and Detroit.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Wade Markley threw for 253 yards and rushed for the final touchdown of the game to finalize a 24-14 win for Butler against Drake Saturday.  Markley, making his first start of the season, scored on a 4-yard rush to stretch a close 17-14 lead into a two-score game.

Andy Rice threw a touchdown pass midway through the second quarter to tie up the score at 7 for Drake (3-4, 2-2 Pioneer League). Butler responded with a touchdown of its own right before the half and a field goal in the third quarter brought the score to 17-7.

One minute into the fourth quarter, a fumble by Markley was picked up by Brandon Coleman and returned 17 yards for a touchdown and Drake’s final score of the game. Markley’s touchdown pass in the first quarter grabbed an early 7-0 lead for Butler (6-2, 4-0).

w/ Doug Evans

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Class 3-A, District 1

• Atlantic 7 @ Harlan 42
• Lewis Central 17 @ Glenwood 28
• Winterset 20 @ Creston 32
• ADM 6 @ Perry 13

Class 2-A, District 8

• Clarinda Academy 8 @ Greene County 55
• Shenandoah 0 @ Clarinda 42
• Ridge View 18 @ OA-BCIG 9
• Kuemper Catholic 58 @ Red Oak 7

Class 1-A, District 8

• St. Albert 14 @ Nodaway Valley 12
• Tri-Center 27 @ Panorama 38
• Treynor 24 @ Missouri Valley 20
• Van Meter 50 @ West Central Valley 14

Class A, District 7

• Bedford 18 @ Madrid 73
• Woodward-Granger 44 @ Woodward Academy 8
• Martensdale-St. Marys 0 @ Audubon 40
• Earlham 18 @ Guthrie Center 35

Class A, District 8

• Westwood 22 @ Underwood 20
• Logan-Magnolia 18 @ A-H-S-T 27
• West Monona 8 @ Riverside 48
• East Mills 32 @ Griswold 0

Eight Man, District 6

• Murray 60 @ East Union 6
• Lamoni 38 @ Mormon Trail 6
• Grandview Park Baptist 44 @ Colo-Nesco 25
• Ankeny Christian 23 @ Adair-Casey 78

Eight Man, District 7

• Charter Oak-Ute 20 @ Coon Rapids-Bayard 63
• Exira/EHK 56 @ Ar-We-Va 6
• Boyer Valley 28 @ Woodbine 21
• Glidden-Ralston 56, HLV 36

Eight Man, District 8

• Stanton 34 @ Sidney 63
• Southwest Valley 34 @ Fremont-Mills 27
• Nishnabotna 34 @ Essex 20
• Melcher-Dallas 34 @ Lenox 33

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Carlos Beltran and the Cardinals stunned Clayton Kershaw with a four-run third inning, rookie Michael Wacha was again magnificent on the mound and St. Louis advanced to its second World Series in three seasons by roughing up the Los Angeles Dodgers 9-0 in Game 6 of the NL championship series Friday night.

Matt Carpenter sparked St. Louis’ big inning with a one-out double on the 11th pitch of his at-bat. Beltran singled him home and the Cardinals quickly removed all the suspense surrounding a team that squandered a 3-1 series lead in the NLCS last fall against San Francisco.

Game 1 of the World Series is Wednesday at the winner of the ALCS between the Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers. After losing Game 5 in Los Angeles, the Cardinals turned to Wacha once again. The right-hander was even better in outpitching Kershaw for the second time this series.

A-H-S-T, Avoca 27, Logan-Magnolia 18

Adair-Casey 78, Ankeny Christian Academy 23

Audubon 40, Martensdale-St. Marys 0

Bishop Heelan Catholic, Sioux City 42, Denison-Schleswig 14

Boyer Valley, Dunlap 28, Woodbine 21

Carroll 27, Sergeant Bluff-Luton 6

Clarinda 42, Shenandoah 0

Coon Rapids-Bayard 63, Charter Oak-Ute 20

Creston-Orient-Macksburg 32, Winterset 20

East Mills 32, Griswold 0

Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton 56, Ar-We-Va, Westside 6

Glenwood 28, Lewis Central 17

Greene County 55, Clarinda Academy 8

Guthrie Center 35, Earlham 18

Harlan 42, Atlantic 7

IKM-Manning 41, Pocahontas Area 13

Kuemper Catholic, Carroll 58, Red Oak 7

Madrid 73, Bedford 18

Melcher-Dallas 34, Lenox 33

Murray 60, East Union, Afton 6

Nishnabotna 27, Essex 12

Ogden 34, Mount Ayr 22

Panorama, Panora 38, Tri-Center, Neola 27

Riverside, Oakland 48, West Monona, Onawa 8

Sidney 63, Stanton 34

Southwest Valley 34, Fremont Mills, Tabor 27

St. Albert, Council Bluffs 14, Nodaway Valley 12

Treynor 24, Missouri Valley 20

Valley, West Des Moines 88, Council Bluffs, Thomas Jefferson 0

Van Meter 50, West Central Valley, Stuart 14

Waukee 23, Council Bluffs, Abraham Lincoln 14

Westwood, Sloan 22, Underwood 20

w/ Jim Field

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Lewis Central edges Harlan for the girls team title and Shenandoah slipped past Harlan for the boys team crown at the meet Thursday in Red Oak.  The girls champion was Megan Hart of Shenandoah and the boys winner was Cooper McDermott of Creston.  Click the links below for the results of each division.

H-10 XC Varsity Girls

H-10 XC Varsity Boys

H-10 XC JV Girls

H-10 XC JV Boys

H-10 XC MS Girls

H-10 XC MS Boys

Griswold won the girls title and Riverside was the boys team champ at the meet Thursday.  Michelle Mumm of Tri-Center was the girls individual champion and Wyatt Schulz of Logan-Magnolia won the boys title.  Click the link below to see the entire results.

Western Iowa Conference Cross Country Meet Result

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Every time Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith is flushed from the pocket, it seems that one of two things happens. Either he uses his fleet feet to scramble for yards, or he throws it away. Neither of which is a bad thing. The Chiefs have never had a quarterback who can make things happen on the ground with the same nimbleness as Smith. Nor have they had one in recent years who is smart enough to throw the ball into the third row of seats rather than take a sack or force a pass into coverage.

It’s an example of how selfless Smith has played this season. He has thrown just three interceptions during their 6-0 start. The Chiefs play Houston on Sunday. You can hear the game on KJAN. Kick-off is set for 3:25-p.m.