SPORTS
WEEKEND, AUGUST 26-27, 2017
1B
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College Football
Beavers’ Hodgins to make debut in season opener
Four-star WR
enrolled early to
make impact
By ANNE M. PETERSON
Associated Press
Oregon State Colorado St.
Beavers
Rams
(0-0)
(0-0)
• Today, 11:30 a.m.
• at Fort Collins, Colorado
• TV: CBS Sports Network
CORVALLIS
—
Freshman Isaiah Hodgins
gave a peek at his future in
Oregon State’s spring game.
The
6-foot-4
early
enrollee from Northern Cali-
fornia pulled down a 38-yard
pass from junior transfer
quarterback Jake Luton in the
fi rst quarter, setting the stage
for a 6-yard TD reception by
Jordan Villamin.
For Saturday’s season
opener at Colorado State,
Hodgins makes his Beavers
debut atop the depth chart at
receiver opposite Villamin.
“When I fi rst got here
I was defi nitely more
immature as a player, more
immature physically and
mentally for the game of
football. Since then my IQ
for football has just jumped.
From reading safeties and
corners and coverages to
knowing different playbooks
and different routes to run.
My body has defi nitely
gotten more physically domi-
nating,” Hodgins said.
Overall, the Beavers are
in transition at the receiver
position. The top receiver
from last season, Victor
Bolden, has graduated.
Hunter Jarmon, who was
expected to be one of the
team’s best options, decided
to leave the Beavers early for
a pro baseball career.
Dynamic playmaker Seth
Collins, who missed the fi nal
two games of last season
because of a serious illness,
was moved to slot receiver
in fall camp. But he has a
fi nger injury and won’t play
on Saturday, making way for
sophomore Trevon Bradford
to top the season-opening
depth chart.
Villamin, a senior, is
the leading returner at the
position. After a promising
sophomore year, he fi nished
last season with just 21
catches for 253 yards and a
touchdown.
“There’s some good
pieces to the puzzle. I like the
receiving corps. But we have
to be able to throw the ball
down the fi eld. It will loosen
up the run game. It will get
those safeties back off the
ball a little bit, and those will
become big threats for us,”
head coach Gary Andersen
said this week. “But we’ve
got to go out, on game day,
and execute similar to the
way we have in practice, and
I think our offense will really
be in a better spot than it has
been in the past. Again, right
now, that’s just all talk. We
have to go out and produce.”
Hodgins, considered a
See BEAVERS/3B
Amanda Loman/Albany Democrat-Herald via AP
In this Aug. 4, 2017, photo freshman wide receiver Isa-
iah Hodgins participates in a scrimmage at Summit
High School in Bend. A four-star recruit, Hodgins came
to Corvallis early from the San Francisco Bay Area.
MLB
NFL
Mariners win in extra innings
Seahawks
sharp in
preseason
victory
Seattle
Mari-
ners’
Yonder
Alonso
follows
through
on a
home
run
during
the 11th
inning
of a
baseball
game
against
the New
York
Yan-
kees on
Friday
in New
York.
AP Photo/
Frank Frank-
lin II
By TIM BOOTH
AP Sports Writer
SEATTLE — Kansas City
may be looking for a starting
running back after Spencer
Ware injured his right knee in
the Chiefs’ 26-13 preseason
loss to the Seattle Seahawks on
Friday night.
Russell Wilson was again
brilliant for Seattle, throwing for
200 yards and a touchdown, but
his performance was secondary
to the injury
suffered
by
Ware and the
Kansas City impact it could
have for the
Chiefs.
W a r e
remained on
the turf after
making
a
Seattle
6-yard recep-
tion on a pass
from
Alex
Smith in the
fi rst quarter. Ware appeared to
take an awkward step with his
right leg during the play and
team trainers were looking at his
knee while he was down on the
fi eld. Players from both teams
took a knee while Ware was
examined, and he was taken off
the fi eld on a cart.
It was the second straight
week a starter in Seattle was
taken off the fi eld with a knee
injury. The Seahawks lost
starting left tackle George Fant
for the season last week due
because of a torn ACL in his
right knee.
The Chiefs have depth at
running back with veteran Char-
candrick West and impressive
rookie Kareem Hunt, who aver-
aged 4.3 yards per carry fi lling
in after Ware as hurt. But Ware’s
strength was his versatility as a
runner and pass catcher out of
the backfi eld. Ware rushed for
921 yards and had another 447
yards receiving last season for
the Chiefs, fi nding a home in
13
26
Alonso comes through with home run in 11th inning
Seattle’s
Yonder
Alonso
(10) cel-
ebrates
a home
run
during
the 11th
inning
of
Friday’s
game
in New
York.
AP Photo/
Frank Frank-
lin II
By MIKE FITZPATRICK
AP Baseball Writer
NEW YORK — Yonder
Alonso homered on a 100 mph
fastball from demoted closer
Aroldis Chapman in the 11th
inning, and the Seattle Mariners
outpitched the New York Yankees
for a 2-1 victory Friday night.
Mike Zunino homered and
had three hits for the Mariners,
right in the middle of a crowded
race for the second AL wild card.
They used seven pitchers to hold
down the Yankees, who lead the
wild-card chase but trail fi rst-place
Boston by 4 1/2 games in the AL
East.
Alonso entered as a pinch hitter
Seattle
New York
2
1
in the ninth and sent a drive to
center fi eld with two outs in the
11th against Chapman (4-3), the
$86 million reliever who recently
lost his job as closer. The strug-
gling lefty was booed again as he
walked off the mound after the
inning.
Acquired from Oakland this
month, Alonso became the third
left-handed batter to homer
against Chapman in his eight-year
See MARINERS/3B
See SEAHAWKS/3B
Sports shorts
49ers release veteran linebacker
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The
San Francisco 49ers have released outside
linebacker Ahmad Brooks after eight seasons
with the team.
The Niners cut Brooks on Friday because
they determined he would not
make the roster and wanted to give
him a jump on fi nding a new team.
The 33-year-old Brooks signed
with San Francisco in 2008 and
was the longest-tenured defensive
player on the roster. He had 51 1/2
sacks in 131 career games with the
Brooks
Niners and helped the team make
three straight trips to the NFC title
game from 2011-13.
Brooks was tied for the team lead with six
sacks last season.
Eli Harold had passed Brooks on the depth
chart and will start at linebacker. Harold had
three sacks last season.
“You wouldn’t expect
him to be able to do
what he does. He can
pick you apart. He
can beat you with his
feet. He can do a lot of
things. He does all his
talking with his play,
and I like that.”
— Mike Mularkey
Tennessee Titans head coach on
QB Marcus Mariota. After bat-
tling injuries early in his career,
Mariota is getting more freedom
from Mularkey and the Titans to
lead the team in 2017.
MLB hands out suspensions
for Tigers-Yankees brawl
NEW YORK (AP) — Two of baseball’s
biggest hitters were suspended Friday after
taking some menacing swings with their fi sts.
Detroit Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera
was banned seven games and
New York Yankees catcher
Gary Sanchez got barred
four games for their actions
on a fi ght-fi lled afternoon at
Comerica Park.
Major League Baseball handed out the
penalties one day after the Yankees and
Tigers got into a trio of beanball-related
clashes during Detroit’s 10-6 victory.
Also suspended were Tigers reliever Alex
Wilson (four games), New York catcher
Austin Romine (two games) and Detroit
manager Brad Ausmus (one game). All four
players were appealing and remain eligible
until the process is complete.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1939 — The fi rst major
league baseball game is tele-
vised. NBC-TV broadcasts a
doubleheader at Brooklyn’s
Ebbets Field between the
Cincinnati Reds and the
Dodgers.
2011 — The Tulsa Shock
snap the longest losing streak
in WNBA history with a
77-75 win over the Los
Angeles Sparks. The Shock
(2-25) had 20 straight losses
before Sheryl Swoopes hit a
jumper with 2.9 seconds left.
1999 Michael Johnson
shatters another world record
at the World Championships
this time, breaking the
400-meter mark with a time
of 43.18.
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