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SPORTS Friday, October 14, 2016 East Oregonian Page 3B After fi rst start, Seattle’s Ifedi hopes rust is gone NFL By TIM BOOTH Associated Press RENTON, Wash. — Rookie Germain Ifedi was admittedly a little off when he fi nally made his regular-season debut on the Seattle Seahawks offensive line three weeks later than originally planned. It wasn’t the speed of the game or the scheme of the opponent. It was simply being back on the fi eld for a full game for the fi rst time as a pro. “I wouldn’t say conditioning but just playing a full game on this level, I hadn’t done that yet. Whether Week 1 or Week 4, I was going to have to knock off that rust of being able to play a whole NFL football game,” Ifedi said Wednesday. Ifedi’s return at right guard during Seattle’s Week 4 victory over the New York Jets fi nally put the Seahawks offensive line fully in place. Ifedi missed the fi rst three weeks of the regular season after suffering a sprained ankle in practice just days before the season opener against Miami. The injury led to signifi cant changes on the offensive Atlanta Seattle Falcons Seahawks (4-1) (3-1) • Sunday, 1:25 p.m. • at Century Link Field • TV: FOX AP Photo/Bill Kostroun Seattle Seahawks offensive guard Germain Ifedi (76) and Justin Britt (68) line up during the second half of a game against the New York Jets Sunday, Oct. 2, 2016, in East Rutherford, N.J. line with J’Marcus Webb — having not played guard all training camp — stepping into Ifedi’s spot for the fi rst three weeks. But the job was Ifedi’s from the start and the Seahawks hope his return in Week 4 is just the start of improved play along the entire offensive line. “There’s a lot of room for improvement there for Germain. He’s just one game old in the regular season and he’s been off for quite a while, too. He was rusty and he was behind a little bit, he was just a little bit shoddy with some stuff, it just had to happen that way,” coach Pete Carroll said. “He should improve a tremendous amount, and I think as he improves, he’ll affect what’s going on with Garry (Gilliam) and what’s going on with (Justin) Britt. We should see improvement in a number of areas. We’re really fi red up about him, we think he’s going to be a dominant player. He’s got to have it, he’s got a growth cycle that he’s got to go through to get caught up.” Where the Seahawks are hoping Ifedi can provide a boost is in the run game. While the pass protec- tion has been solid for quarterback Russell Wilson the past two weeks, the Seahawks have struggled to get the run game going to their standards for most of the season. Seattle has just one 100-yard rushing game — Christine Michael’s 106 yards in Week 3 vs. San Francisco — and go into this week ranked 18th in the NFL in rushing offense, averaging 93 yards per game. The Seahawks have fi nished in the top four in the NFL in rushing each of the past four seasons and while that still may happen, it’s the aspect of Seattle’s offense that has yet to click. “We know as an offense we need to get our run game going. ... As an offensive line we really put the run game on our shoulders and we want it to be better,” Ifedi said. “We’re going to keep building, keep working on it and get it right.” NOTES: DE Frank Clark (hamstring) did not practice Wednesday. ... WR Tyler Lockett (knee) is feeling better following the week off and is expected to have a bigger role in Seattle’s offense after being limited the past two weeks. Lockett suffered a knee sprain in the Week 2 loss at Los Angeles. “I made a point of hanging with him today, and we’ll see how he gets through the week, of course. He feels the best he’s felt and he’s kind of ready to get out there and get running around and get going. He was frustrated the last couple weeks that he couldn’t contribute more,” Carroll said. NLDS NFL Rivers leads Chargers to Kershaw helps Dodgers advance victory against Broncos By HOWARD FENDRICH Associated Press Associated Press SAN DIEGO (AP) — Philip Rivers threw for 178 yards and one touchdown, passing Hall of Famer Dan Fouts to become San Diego’s career passing leader, and the Char- gers held off the Denver Broncos 21-13 on Thursday night. The victory may have saved embattled coach Mike McCoy’s job . The Chargers (2-4) were coming off a mistake-fi lled loss at Oakland, and earlier in the season lost three games in which they led at the 2-minute warning. There has been increasing fan discontent with the conservative McCoy, and the Chargers are trying to convince voters to approve a $1.1 billion public handout for a new downtown stadium in the form of an increase in the hotel occupancy tax. The defending Super Bowl champion Broncos were coached by special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis after Gary Kubiak was ordered by doctors to sit this one out because of a migraine condition that mimics strokes. The fi ve-time defending AFC West champion Broncos (4-2) were mostly sluggish behind Trevor Siemian, who was back at quar- terback after rookie Paxton Lynch struggled in a loss to Atlanta. They lost their second straight game and had their NFL-record 15 straight divisional road victories snapped. The Chargers snapped their streak of 10 straight divisional losses dating to 2014. Rivers, in his 13th season with the Chargers and 11th as starter, has 43,094 career yards passing. Fouts threw for 43,040 yards in 15 seasons with the Bolts. Rivers threw a 5-yard scoring Denver San Diego 13 21 pass to rookie tight end Hunter Henry to cap the game’s fi rst possession. Rivers fi nished 18 of 29. Otherwise, the Chargers had to settle for Lambo’s career-high four fi eld goals, of 37, 21, 31 and 32 yards. LATE-FIRING BRONCOS: Denver didn’t get across the 50 on its own accord until there were just 2 minutes left in the third quarter. Denver’s fi rst score came after a punt bounced off San Diego’s Travis Benjamin and the Broncos recovered at the San Diego 11. The refs initially ruled that the Broncos downed the punt, but Denver chal- lenged and got the ball. Brandon McManus kicked a 29-yard fi eld goal. Siemian was 30 of 50 for 230 yards, with a 5-yard scoring pass to Bennie Fowler midway through the fourth quarter. McManus kicked a 46-yard fi eld goal with 27 seconds left, and Denver recovered the onside kick at its 46. It got to the San Diego 45 with eight seconds to go before Siemian’s desperation pass was batted down by Dexter McCoil. DEFENSIVE STAND: The Broncos were threatening at the San Diego 20 with less than 5 minutes to go. But on consecutive plays they were whistled for holding, Siemian was sacked by rookie Jatavis Brown and San Diego’s Craig Mager recovered a fumble by Demaryius Thomas. WASHINGTON — A little past midnight in Game 5 of the NL Division Series, Clayton Kershaw emerged from the bullpen to pitch in relief for the fi rst time in seven years. Two outs later, the only save of his major league career in the books, Kershaw’s arms were raised and teammates were rushing to celebrate with a guy whose postseason Los Angeles performances have never carried the luster of his regular-season success. Washington Coming in after closer Kenley Jansen issued a pair of one-out walks in the ninth inning, Kershaw got Daniel Murphy to pop out, then struck out Wilmer Difo to end it. That fi nished the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 4-3 victory over the Washington Nationals that decided their NL Division Series in the wee hours of Friday. The Dodgers won the last two games of the best-of-fi ve NLDS and now head to the NL Champi- onship Series to face the Chicago Cubs. That opens at Wrigley Field on Saturday night. The Nationals, meanwhile, still have never won a postseason series. Kershaw worked two days after throwing 110 pitches over 6 2/3 innings in Game 4, when he had the benefi t of only three days’ rest following his win in Game 1 against the Nationals. Several hours before Thurs- 4 3 Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22) cel- ebrates after clinch- ing the NLDS on Friday in Washing- ton. AP Photo/Alex Brandon day’s game began, Dodgers fi rst- year manager Dave Roberts was asked whether Kershaw might be available at all — maybe just for one out, say? “No,” came Roberts’ reply. “Absolutely not.” Turned out the three-time NL Cy Young Award winner would get a pair of outs in his fi rst relief appearance since the 2009 play- offs. “Clayton came to me in the seventh,” Roberts explained, “and said that he had an inning if I needed it.” Kershaw came in after Jansen threw a career-high 51 pitches while getting a career-high seven outs after entering in the seventh. Jansen walked Bryce Harper and Jayson Werth with one out in the ninth — and that’s when Roberts went to Kershaw. Kershaw wound up with his second pro save. His other one came on Aug. 19, 2006, in the Gulf Coast League in a game vs. the Nationals’ rookie club. And his Kershaw’s catcher that day a decade ago? Amazingly, none other than Jansen, who didn’t begin pitching professionally until three years later. LA’s scoring all came in a four-run seventh off six Nationals pitchers, including Joc Pederson’s homer off Max Scherzer and Justin Turner’s two-run triple off Shawn Kelley. The West champion Dodgers are back in the NLCS for the fi rst time since 2013, but they’ve lost in their past three trips to that round, failing to make it to the World Series since they won their most recent championship in 1988. The East champion Nationals, however, are one-and-done in the playoffs yet again. They won their third NL East title in the past fi ve years, but each time were elimi- nated in the NLDS. Washington was beaten in fi ve games in 2012 by the St. Louis Cardinals after leading 6-0, then 7-5 entering the ninth, at home in Game 5, and in four games in 2014 by the San Francisco Giants. Take it back further, and a baseball club based in the nation’s capital hasn’t won a postseason series since the old Senators were the 1924 World Series champions. SCOREBOARD Local Slate PREP FOOTBALL Today Hermiston at Bend, 7 p.m. Hood River at Pendleton, 7 p.m. La Grande at Mac-Hi, 7 p.m. Vale at Umatilla, 7 p.m. Nyssa at Irrigon, 7 p.m. Burns at Riverside, 7 p.m. Heppner at Culver, 7 p.m. Weston-McEwen at Pilot Rock, 7 p.m. Stanfi eld at La Center (WA), 7 p.m. Joseph at Echo, 7 p.m. PREP VOLLEYBALL Today Irrigon at Burns, Noon Umatilla at Nyssa, 1:30 p.m. Echo at Joseph, 4 p.m. Riverside at Burns, 5 p.m. Horizon Christian at Ione, 5 p.m. Umatilla at Vale, 5:30 p.m. Saturday Helix at Powder Valley, 10 a.m. Riverside at Nyssa, Noon Irrigon at Vale, Noon Mac-Hi at Ontario, Noon Umatilla at Burns, 1 p.m. Arlington at Mitchell/Spray, 1 p.m. Helix at Wallowa, 1 p.m. Riverside at Vale, 4 p.m. Irrigon at Nyssa, 4 p.m. PREP BOYS SOCCER Saturday Irrigon at City Christian, 1 p.m. Mac-Hi at La Grande, 2 p.m. PREP GIRLS SOCCER Saturday Mac-Hi at La Grande, Noon Thursday’s Games Hood River 8, Pendleton 0 Hermiston 7, The Dalles 0 Riverside 1, Mac-Hi 0 1A Old Oregon League Conf Ovr SW SL Rnk Powder Valley 10-1 16-3 48 13 5 Joseph 9-2 16-4 50 20 8 Echo 10-3 21-6 61 23 18 Helix 7-5 16-8 48 30 22 Cove 4-7 6-12 21 35 37 Wallowa 4-7 4-16 14 44 36 Pine Eagle 2-11 2-15 9 44 54 Nixyaawii 0-11 0-13 0 39 59 GIRLS SOCCER Thursday’s Games Hermiston 3, The Dalles 2 Hood River 6, Pendleton 0 Riverside 5, De La Salle 0 Portland Adventist 7, Umatilla 2 Prep Standings Football 1A Special District 4 Conf Ovr PS PA Rnk Sherman 5-0 6-1 371 88 5 Dufur 3-1 6-1 346 98 3 Perrydale 3-1 4-2 225 142 14 Arlington 3-2 4-2 214 149 18 Ione 1-3 1-6 112 251 34 Mitch./S/W 0-4 2-4 97 293 36 So. Wasco 0-4 1-5 66 343 33 ——— This Week Ione 56, Mitchell/Spray/Wheeler 8 Dufur 74, South Wasco 0 Sherman 69, Arlington 6 VOLLEYBALL 5A Columbia River Conference Conf Ovr SW SL Rnk Hood River 7-1 22-3 56 17 11 Pendleton 4-4 7-10 32 32 24 The Dalles 3-5 4-11 18 34 27 Hermiston 2-6 6-12 22 36 21 4A Greater Oregon League Conf Ovr SW Baker 6-0 19-3 53 La Grande 3-2 11-10 32 Ontario 1-3 7-11 21 Mac-Hi 0-5 1-11 7 SL Rnk 15 7 33 21 32 30 30 36 COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL Today The Evergreen State at Eastern Oregon, 5 p.m. Saturday Northwest University at Eastern Oregon, 5 p.m. 3A Eastern Oregon League Conf Ovr SW Vale 7-0 20-3 54 Burns 5-2 14-8 41 Irrigon 4-3 15-10 41 Nyssa 3-4 8-9 28 Riverside 1-6 3-15 13 Umatilla 1-6 2-18 10 SL Rnk 10 1 21 11 32 17 31 26 46 39 49 37 COLLEGE MEN’S SOCCER Today Rocky Mountain at Eastern Oregon, 3:30 p.m. Saturday College of Idaho at Eastern Oregon, 3:30 p.m. 2A Columbia Basin Conference Conf Ovr SW SL Rnk Culver 8-0 20-1 57 11 1 Weston-McEwen 5-2 17-10 50 27 6 Pilot Rock 3-4 12-9 37 27 17 Heppner 1-6 11-12 32 35 21 Stanfi eld 1-6 4-12 13 37 27 COLLEGE FOOTBALL Saturday Eastern Oregon at Southern Oregon, 6 p.m. COLLEGE WOMEN’S SOCCER Today Rocky Mountain at Eastern Oregon, 1 p.m. Saturday Blue Mountain at Walla Walla, Noon College of Idaho at Eastern Oregon, 1 p.m. Prep Scores BOYS SOCCER 1A Big Sky League Conf Ovr SW SL Rnk Arlington 12-0 15-1 43 6 3 South Wasco 11-2 18-3 53 15 15 Dufur 10-3 12-11 38 42 17 Ione 6-6 8-13 29 39 26 Sherman 4-8 7-12 24 37 35 Condon/W 3-8 5-17 22 44 43 Horizon Chr. 1-10 2-10 9 31 52 Mitchell/Spray 1-11 3-15 12 46 61 BOYS SOCCER 5A Columbia River Conference Conf Ovr GS GA Rnk Hood River 4-0 10-0-2 45 9 1 Hermiston 3-1 9-2-1 47 10 4 The Dalles 1-3 3-9 13 42 23 Pendleton 0-4 1-9-1 7 59 24 4A Greater Oregon League Conf Ovr GS Ontario 2-0-2 4-2-2 29 La Grande 2-1-1 9-2-1 47 Mac-Hi 2-1-1 6-5-1 32 Baker 0-4 1-8-1 9 GA Rnk 20 14 13 8 20 15 41 32 3A Special District 4 Conf Ovr GS GA Rnk Riverside 4-0 7-3-1 53 9 5 Irrigon 1-1-1 4-2-1 38 11 21 Umatilla 1-2-1 5-4-2 37 30 26 City Christian 0-3 0-7 3 54 44 GIRLS SOCCER 5A Columbia River Conference Conf Ovr GS GA Rnk Hood River 4-0 9-3 56 18 13 Hermiston 3-1 6-6 32 22 20 The Dalles 1-3 4-8 30 44 30 Pendleton 0-4 0-10 2 56 33 4A Greater Oregon League Conf Ovr GS La Grande 3-1 9-2 28 Mac-Hi 3-1 7-4-1 25 Baker 2-2 5-3 28 Ontario 0-4 3-6-1 26 GA Rnk 7 12 27 15 18 11 36 30 3A Special District 2 Conf Ovr GS GA Rnk Riverside 5-0-1 5-3-1 26 12 10 Portland Adv. 4-0-2 6-2-2 30 11 14 Portland Chr. 4-1-1 6-4-1 28 27 16 Umatilla 2-4 3-6-1 29 25 21 Horizon Chr. 1-5 1-5 14 35 26 De La Salle 0-6 0-9 0 42 30 Football NFL AMERICAN CONFERENCE East W L T Pct New England 4 1 0 .800 Buffalo 3 2 0 .600 N.Y. Jets 1 4 0 .200 Miami 1 4 0 .200 South W L T Pct Houston 3 2 0 .600 Tennessee 2 3 0 .400 Indianapolis 2 3 0 .400 Jacksonville 1 3 0 .250 North W L T Pct Pittsburgh 4 1 0 .800 PF 114 117 92 88 PF 82 92 137 84 PF 139 PA 74 87 136 119 PA 104 101 148 111 PA 93 Baltimore 3 2 0 .600 94 88 Cincinnati 2 3 0 .400 92 110 Cleveland 0 5 0 .000 87 148 West W L T Pct PF PA Oakland 4 1 0 .800 142 137 Denver 4 2 0 .667 140 108 Kansas City 2 2 0 .500 83 92 San Diego 2 4 0 .333 173 155 NATIONAL CONFERENCE East W L T Pct PF PA Dallas 4 1 0 .800 129 91 Philadelphia 3 1 0 .750 115 51 Washington 3 2 0 .600 115 122 N.Y. Giants 2 3 0 .400 89 108 South W L T Pct PF PA Atlanta 4 1 0 .800 175 140 Tampa Bay 2 3 0 .400 94 142 New Orleans 1 3 0 .250 114 130 Carolina 1 4 0 .200 123 135 North W L T Pct PF PA Minnesota 5 0 0 1.000 119 63 Green Bay 3 1 0 .750 98 83 Detroit 2 3 0 .400 119 125 Chicago 1 4 0 .200 85 126 West W L T Pct PF PA Seattle 3 1 0 .750 79 54 Los Angeles 3 2 0 .600 82 106 Arizona 2 3 0 .400 125 101 San Francisco 1 4 0 .200 111 140 ——— Thursday’s Games San Diego 21, Denver 13 Sunday’s Games Cincinnati (+6.5) at New England, 10 a.m. Pittsburgh (-7) at Miami, 10 a.m. Philadelphia (PK) at Washington, 10 a.m. Baltimore (+3) at N.Y. Giants, 10 a.m. Jacksonville (+1.5) at Chicago, 10 a.m. Carolina (-2) at New Orleans, 10 a.m. Los Angeles (+2.5) at Detroit, 10 a.m. San Francisco (+7) at Buffalo, 10 a.m. Cleveland (+6) at Tennessee, 10 a.m. Kansas City (+2) at Oakland, 1:05 p.m. Atlanta (+6) at Seattle, 1:25 p.m. Dallas (+5.5) at Green Bay, 1:25 p.m. Indianapolis (+3.5) at Houston, 5:30 p.m. Open: Minnesota, Tampa Bay, Oakland Monday’s Games N.Y. Jets (+6.5) at Arizona, 5:30 p.m. NCAA Top 25 Today’s Game Duke at No. 7 Louisville, 4 p.m. (ESPN) Saturday’s Games NC State at No. 3 Clemson, 9 a.m. (ABC) Kansas State at No. 19 Oklahoma, 9 a.m. (ESPN) No. 20 West Virginia at Texas Tech, 9 .m. (FS1) No. 10 Nebraska at Indiana, 12:30 p.m. (ABC/ESPN2) North Carolina at No. 16 Miami (FL), 12:30 p.m. (ABC/ESPN2) No. 24 Western Michigan at Akron, 12:30 p.m. (CBSSN) Wake Forest at No. 14 Florida State, 12:30 p.m. (ESPN) Kansas at No. 11 Baylor, 12:30 p.m. (FS1 No. 1 Alabama at No. 9 Tennessee, 12:30 p.m. (CBS) No. 17 Virginia Tech at Syracuse, 12:45 p.m. (ESPNU) Missouri at No. 18 Florida, 1 p.m. No. 21 Utah at Oregon State, 1 p.m. (PAC12) Tulsa at No. 13 Houston, 4 p.m. (ESPN2) No. 12 Ole Miss at No. 22 Arkansas, 4 p.m. (ESPN) No. 2 Ohio State at No. 8 Wisconsin, 5 p.m. (ABC) Colorado State at No. 15 Boise State, 7:15 p.m. (ESPN2) Tuesday, Oct. 18: Chicago at Los Angeles (FS1), 5:08 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 19: Chicago at Los Angeles (FS1), 5:08 p.m. x-Thursday, Oct. 20: Chicago at Los Angeles (FS1), 5:08 p.m. x-Saturday, Oct. 22: Los Angeles at Chica- go (Fox or FS1), TBA x-Sunday, Oct. 23: Los Angeles at Chicago (Fox or FS1), TBA Baseball Basketball MLB Playoff Glance WILD CARD Tuesday: Toronto 5, Baltimore 2, 11 innings Wednesday: San Francisco 3, New York 0 DIVISION SERIES (Best-of-5; x-if necessary) American League Toronto 3, Texas 0 Thursday, Oct. 6: Toronto 10, Texas 1 Friday, Oct. 7: Toronto 5, Texas 3 Sunday, Oct. 9: Toronto 7, Texas 6, 10 innings Cleveland 3, Boston 0 Thursday: Cleveland 5, Boston 4 Friday: Cleveland 6, Boston 0 Sunday, Oct. 9: Cleveland at Boston, ppd., rain Monday: Cleveland 4, Boston 3 National League Chicago 3, San Francisco 1 Friday: Chicago 1, San Francisco 0 Saturday, Oct. 8: Chicago 5, San Francisco 2 Monday: San Francisco 6, Chicago 5, 13 innings Tuesday, Oct. 11: Chicago 6, San Francisco 5 Los Angeles 3, Washington 2 Friday: Los Angeles 4, Washington 3 Saturday, Oct. 8: Los Angeles at Washing- ton, ppd., rain Sunday, Oct. 9: Washington 5, Los Angeles 2 Monday, Oct. 10: Washington 8, at Los Angeles 3 Tuesday, Oct. 11: Los Angeles 6, Wash- ington 5 ——— LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES (Best-of-7; x-if necessary) American League All Games on TBS Toronto vs. Cleveland Friday, Oct. 14: Toronto (Estrada 9-9) at Cleveland (Kluber 18-9), 5:08 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15: Toronto (Happ 20-4) at Cleveland (Bauer 12-8), 1:08 p.m. Monday, Oct. 17: Cleveland (Tomlin 13-9) at Toronto (Stroman 9-10), 5:08 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 18: Cleveland (Clevinger 3-3) at Toronto (Sanchez 15-2), 5:08 p.m. x-Wednesday, Oct. 19: Cleveland at Toronto, 1:08 p.m. x-Friday, Oct. 21: Toronto at Cleveland, 5:08 p.m. x-Saturday, Oct. 22: Toronto at Cleveland, TBA National League Chicago vs. Los Angeles Saturday, Oct. 15: Los Angeles at Chicago (Lester 19-5) (FS1), 5:08 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 16: Los Angeles at Chicago (FS1), 5:08 p.m. WNBA Playoff glance Finals (Best-of-5) Los Angeles 1, Minnesota 1 Sunday, Oct. 9: Los Angeles 78, Minne- sota 76 Tuesday, Oct. 11: Minnesota 79, Los Angeles 60 TODAY: Minnesota at Los Angeles, 6 p.m. (ESPN2) Sunday, Oct. 16: Minnesota at Los Ange- les, 5:30 p.m. x-Thursday, Oct. 20: Los Angeles at Minnesota, 5 p.m. NBA Preseason Thursday’s Games Washington 100, Philadelphia 79 Detroit 99, Atlanta 94 Memphis 110 Oklahoma City 94 Toronto 119, Cleveland 94 Boston 100, Brooklyn 97 L.A. Clippers 109, Portland 108 Sacramento 116, L.A. Lakers 104 Today’s Games Indiana at Orlando, 4 p.m. San Lorenzo de Almagro at Toronto, 4 p.m. Cleveland at Chicago, 5 p.m. Miami at San Antonio, 5:30 p.m. Golden State at Denver, 6 p.m. Dallas at Phoenix, 7 p.m. Hockey NHL Thursday’s Games Montreal 4, Buffalo 1 N.Y. Rangers 5, N.Y. Islanders 3 Boston 6, Columbus 3 Tampa Bay 6, Detroit 4 Florida 2, New Jersey 1, OT St. Louis 3, Minnesota 2 Winnipeg 5, Carolina 4 Pittsburgh 3, Washington 2 Dallas 4, Anaheim 2 Today’s Games Chicago at Nashville, 5 p.m. Edmonton at Calgary, 6 p.m. Philadelphia at Los Angeles, 7:30 p.m. Soccer MLS Wednesday’s Games Houston 0, Seattle 0, tie Thursday’s Games Columbus 2, Chicago 2, tie Colorado 2, San Jose 1