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Broncos’ Weekend Roundup: Nov. 12-15

Courtesy Bronco Sports — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 22:20:44 +0000

Broncos busted in first NCAA Championship Tournament birth

The Boise State Broncos fell 7-1 to No. 3 UCLA in the first round of the NCAA Soccer Tournament in Los Angeles, Calif., Friday night. After the Broncos took an early lead on a Maureen Fitzgerald goal in the 7th minute, the Bruins rallied with a dominating performance to score seven unanswered goals to advance into the second round of the tournament.

Boise State opened the scoring early with a strike in the 7th minute. A long ball was played down field to Molly Hill who drove it into the box where she played a pass to Shannon Saxton on the right side. Saxton turned and passed it back to the top where Fitzgerald was waiting. The freshman followed by launching a high arcing shot from 16 yards out into the upper left corner for the 1-0 lead.

However that score seemed to wake the third-ranked Bruins up. UCLA countered quickly with a pair of Sydney Leroux goals in the 13th and 16th minutes, on the day she would score four goals. The first UCLA score was the result of a series of perfect one touch passes that cumulated with Leroux volleying a cross in from eight yards out into the left side of the net. The second strike was a shot from the top of the box that found the inside of the right post.

UCLA extended its advantage in the 24th minute when Lauren Cheney was rewarded with another series of solid one touch passing resulting with her scoring from 11yards out. UCLA took the 3-1 lead into the half.

The second period was all UCLA as Leroux scored two quick goals to put an end to any doubt about the final outcome.

The Broncos played hard throughout the game but UCLA’s speed and experience was to much for Boise State today. The Bruins finished the game with three goals in the first half and four in the second. Held the Broncos to one shot in the final 45 minutes and out shot Boise State 13-to-2 in shots on goal throughout the 90 minutes of action.

The loss brings an end to Boise State’s best season in history as its finishes with 13-7-4 overall mark. The bulk of this squad will return next year with 21 of the 28 players being either freshmen or sophomores.

Broncos win then drop games during opening weekend

Despite having three Broncos score in double-figures, the Boise State men’s basketball team fell to Montana, 82-95, Saturday night as the Grizzlies proved to be deadly from 3-point range.

Senior Ike Okoye led the way for the Broncos with a team-high 20 points and nine rebounds, while La’Shard Anderson had another great offensive night with 16 points and five assists.

Play was close throughout most of the first half of as senior Kurt Cunningham led the Boise State offense with 13 points in just 12 minutes of play as he found himself on the bench with two fouls early on. It wasn’t until the three minute mark that Montana went on a 15-6 run, entering the half with a 52-42 lead over the Broncos.

Things open well for the Broncos Friday night in a victory over Loyola Marymount 90-87.

While the game was close throughout, the play of junior guard La’Shard Anderson clenched the win for the Broncos as he nailed nine consecutive free throws down the stretch en route to recording a career-high 26 points. Overall, Anderson was 13-14 from the line, and 6-10 from the floor.

As a team, Boise State made 50 percent of their shots from the floor and an incredible 83.3 percent from the line, as compared to 48.5 percent from the floor and 65.0 percent from the line by LMU.

Go online for the update from Montana on BSU’s Sunday game against North Dakota.

Cross country concludes season at regional championships

The Boise State men’s cross country team completed their 2009 campaign on Saturday morning racing in the NCAA West Region Championships hosted by the University of Oregon at the Springfield Country Club in Eugene, Ore. The Bronco men finished 15th out of 26 teams while Boise State’s sole women’s competitor, freshman Shannon Porter, placed 101st out of 184 runners.

Broncos’ volleyball spit to ends home season through weekend play

The Boise State volleyball team closed-out their 2009 home schedule on Saturday evening by capturing their seventh win of the season, defeating San Jose State, 3-1, in Bronco Gym. The Broncos (7-20, 7-8 WAC) downed the Spartans 25-22, 25-12, 19-25, 25-21.

Facing a tough No. 3-ranked Hawaii team, the Boise State volleyball team fell in straight sets, 25-16, 25-14, on Thursday evening in Bronco Gym. The Broncos (6-20, 6-8 WAC) fall to a 0-21 record all-time against the Rainbow Wahine (24-2, 14-0 WAC).

Bronco swimmers cut down Lumberjacks

Benjamin Mack — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 18:32:33 +0000

NIK BJURSTROM /THE ARBITER Boise State swimmer does butterfly during Fridays meet at the West YMCA Aquatic Center

The Boise State swimming and diving team continued to flex its muscles among the Western Athletic Conference’s top programs as they downed the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks 185.5 to 114.5 at the Boise West YMCA Nov. 13. The Broncos pushed past the Lumberjacks, winning 10 of 16 events to improve their record to 11-3 overall and 5-1 against WAC teams.

“We definitely had some strengths,” head coach Kristin Hill said of her team’s performance. “We had some good runs.”

Jennifer Cahill, Emily Irvin, Amber Boucher and Stephanie North each took home a pair of first-place finishes to lead the Broncos to victory. Cahill continued her dominance in distance events, winning both the 1000 and 500 freestyle. North was unstoppable in sprints, winning both the 50 and 100 freestyle. Irvin took home the titles in the 100 and 200 breast stroke while Boucher beat out the competition in 100 butterfly and 200 freestyle.

Cahill’ times of 10:27.31 and 5:07.13 led a trio of Broncos as they went 1-2-3 in both the 1000 and 500 free. Katelyn Lofland and Rachael Meisner rounded out the sweep in both events.

“We were pumped,” Cahill, a freshman, said of BSU’s win. “We were ready (for Northern Arizona).”

The Broncos also reeled in a 1-2-3 sweep in the 200 breast stroke with Irvin, Erin Stotts and Lauren Keele demolishing the hapless Lumberjacks. The feat was repeated for a fourth time in the 100 free behind the swimming of North, Chelse Lopus and Stevie Hughey.

Lopus was the only other individual winner for the Broncos, bringing home first in the 200 butterfly with a time of 2:05.35. The Broncos earned their final victory of the meet with an eight second win in the 4×400 free relay.

Erin Lionberger led the Bronco divers in both the 1-meter and 3-meter events with scores of 213.95 and 207.75, respectively.

Cahill said she believes the win should be a message to opponents. “We’re ready for anyone that comes our way,” Cahill said.

Hill said she was proud of her team’s effort, especially considering it was their third meet in a week. “Our focus is racing fast no matter how tired we are,” Hill said.

The Broncos will train for almost a month before competing again at the Missouri Invitational, to be held Dec. 4-6 in Columbia, Mo.

Harris, Van Hoogen, Broncos back to business

Kirk Bell — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:39:40 +0000

NIK BJUSTROM/THE ARBITER Broncos' senior Tasha Harris battles for the ball on the floor during their exhibition game against LCSC Sunday afternoon. Harris recorded three assists, three steals and 7-points for the Broncos

During their 2008-09 campaign the Broncos had to do without their two senior leaders; guard Tasha Harris and forward Jessica (Thompson) Van Hoogen.

Van Hoogen fell to injury before the season opener and Harris ended hers season early just four games into the season.

But there appeared a sense of relief with the two as the final buzzer sounded. They seemed glad to be back to work for BSU and head coach Gordy Presnell.

They are back and able to produce. But old ties are out the door. There are 11 players on this season’s roster besides Harris and Van Hoogen. Seven have yet to play a full season with the senior standouts.

Both are feeling healthy again and back to full form. By watching them both on Sunday, it was difficult to see a step lost. Each was able to create plays for the Broncos and get up and physical with their opponents. They still carry themselves with the same finesse and flare fans would expect from the dynamic duo.

“It was fun. I just had a lot of fun,” Van Hoogen said. “I’m just blessed to be able to play on the court again. I’m excited.”

Each joked about pushing themselves and feeling it later, forced to sooth it with a frigid ice bath. Neither Harris nor Van Hoogen are strangers to physical pain caused by old injuries.

“I don’t think during the game we changed our style. I think afterwards we think about it and we regret it,” Harris laughed. “I don’t think it affected us during the game. I think that we’re just focused on what we have to do out there.”

Candid as the two are, they continue to progress and learn from their new teammates. Coming back after difficult recoveries is never an easy endeavor for an athlete.

“I’ve done it before. It’s always hard coming back,” Harris said about returning to competition. “It’s so much easier when you have teammates who can take the pressure off of you and you can kind of work your way back in. It feels pretty good.”

That should not be a problem for the Broncos this season. While Harris and Van Hoogen sat observing last year, their fellow Broncos were busy getting time on the court and much need experience.

Learning their roles

Five players – Heather Pilcher, Melissa Rima, Janie Bos, Rebecca Kepilino and Stacie Gross – averaged 15.4 minutes per game combined for a much-needed boost in experience prior to this season. The development should help those who contributed to last season’s shared fifth place finish in the Western Athletic Conference.

“I definitely feel that this is a team and a program for roles,” Harris said “…We really haven’t gotten our roles from our coach yet but I think as we get those and put those together, we just have to know that each person is important no matter what their role is. As long as we stay in it together I think we should be pretty good and keep improving.”

The Broncos look to Friday as their season opener against Western Oregon. The coaches and media each picked the Broncos to finish third this season behind favorites Louisiana Tech and Fresno State. Pressing for improvement is a major focus for the Broncos early on in the season next to getting a feel for the team.

“We have a lot of big, hard competition that we’re going to face,” Van Hoogen said. “We’re all going to have to get better. We need to get better as a team. We need to get better individually. So I’m looking forward to seeing how we do with that kind of competition.”

BSU tips of against Western Oregon at Taco Bell Arena Friday, Nov. 13, at 7:00 p.m.

Broncos offense dominates Concordia

Brendan Sherry — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 06:08:00 +0000

NIK BJUSTROM/THE ARBITER Senior forward Ike Okoye stuffs the basket during BSU's final exhibition game of the 2009-10 season. Okoye led the Broncos with 21 points and nine rebounds against Concordia Saturday night at Taco Bell Arena. BSU beat Concordia 109-89.

The Boise State men’s basketball team took their high-powered offense to the court Saturday at Taco Bell arena for their final exhibition game before the regular season.

The Broncos started off sluggish but were able to get their offense rolling and racked up the points on the Concordia University Cavaliers beating them 109-89. Saturday’s game marks the second straight time that the Broncos have hit the century mark.

Concordia came out on fire and played the Broncos tough in the early going. The Cavaliers used solid outside shooting to keep up with the Broncos in the early part of the first half. The Broncos were able to pick up the tempo half way through the first and take Concordia out of rhythm. Following Drew Preuninger’s three-point basket, that put the Cavaliers up 17-13, The Broncos began to run the floor and put up 15 unanswered points.

“We started off a little slow but we had that run where we picked up the defense and got out and running.” Coach Greg Grahm said.

The Broncos were able to maintain the momentum and continued to score at will the rest of the way. Although Boise State scored most of their points in transition they were still able put points on the board while in the half-court set. The post players were able to use their size advantage and had a big part in the Broncos ability to score.

“Ike played very well tonight, he had 21 points and 9 boards in 20 minutes,” Grahm said. “and Kurt had 14 points 7 assists and 5 rebounds.”

Grahm also gave credit to the newcomers for contributing to the Broncos success. Juniors transfers Robert Arnold, Westly Perryman, and Daequon Montreal all gave impressive performances for second game in a row.

The Broncos were able to spread the ball around the floor very well against the Cavaliers, having 12 different players score. Most of the time the Broncos had five different players on the floor that could score at any time; which made it difficult for the Cavaliers to key in on one guy.

Even though the first two games were exhibition games, Grahm is confident that the Broncos can maintain their success.

“We are pretty unselfish and we have some speed that allows us to attack the basket, get up and down the floor and score some easy baskets.” Grahm said. “But once we start shooting the ball it will really open things up for our big guys.”

The Broncos will now head to Missoula, Mont. where they will open their regular season against Loyola Marymount on Friday. The match up against LMU is the first of three games in a tournament hosted by the University of Montana. The Broncos will play five games on the road before returning home to play North Texas on Nov. 28.

Broncos weekend round-up

Arbiter Staff — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 06:04:33 +0000

Broncos continue to make splash

The Boise State swimming and diving team went 2-1 in their first of two meets in the state of Utah on Friday. The Broncos emerged victorious over New Mexico and Seattle (201-97 over UNM, 228-64), but fell to BYU 199-99 in the quad meet. Stephanie North continued to roll with a pair of overall first-place finishes.

North took the overall title in the 50 free with a time of 23.68 to score some big points for the Broncos. She also took the overall title in the 100 free with a time of 53.78. In addition to her overall titles, North helped both the Bronco relay teams to second place overall finishes, finishing behind the BYU team twice but taking the top spot over New Mexico and Seattle.

Wrestling rolls into regular season

The Boise State wrestling team recorded its’ first official win of the season, Friday (Nov. 6) night, as the Broncos (1-0, 0-0) took care of the University of Great Falls-Montana (0-1, 0-0) with a dominating 40-3 win in their first home dual of the season in Taco Bell Arena.

Boise State 40, Great Falls 3

125 – Alan Bartelli (BSU) fall (2:04) Bryan Borst (UGF)

133 – Andrew Hochstrasser (BSU) fall (5:43) Kyle Middlemist (UGF)

141 – Levi Jones (BSU) dec. Jason Costello (UGF) 10-3

149 – Jason Chamberlain (BSU) major dec. Byron Kuylen (UGF) 18-7

157 – Adam Hall (BSU) major dec. Michael Hader (UGF) 12-2

165 – Michael Cuthbertson (BSU) major dec. Noah Hatton (UGF) 12-2

174 – Nate Lee (BSU) dec. Brendon DeCock (UGF) 9-3

184 – Kirk Smith (BSU) major dec. Michael French (UGF) 17-3

197 – Alex Calvi (UGF) dec. Matt Casperson (BSU) 6-5

HWT – Sam Zylstra (BSU) win by forfeit

Joli, Thongdach both fall at Indoor Championships

Boise State men’s tennis player Vicente Joli dropped his second match of the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships in New Haven, C.T., Friday (Nov. 6), bumping him from the singles competition of the tournament.

After losing his opening round match on Thursday, Joli opened day two in the consolation round of 16 where he would face No. 46 ranked Ed Corrie of Texas. Despite a strong effort, Joli fell to Corrie, 6-4, 6-2, to end his run at the tournament.

Boise State women’s tennis player Pichittra Thongdach advanced to the quarterfinal round of the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships, Friday (Nov. 6), before falling in the third round of the singles tournament at Yale University in New Haven, Conn.

Thongdach, who entered the fall ranked No. 47 nationally, earned her second win of the weekend Friday morning by defeating Allie Will (Florida), 1-6, 6-3, 6-0, in the round of 16. The win would advance her to the quarterfinals, but that is where her run in the winner’s bracket would end, however. Thongdach lost in the round of eight to No. 4 ranked Jana Juricova (California), 6-3, 6-2.

BSU Volleyball trumps La Tech

The Boise State volleyball team fought to a five-set win over Louisiana Tech on Saturday (Nov. 7) afternoon, sweeping the Lady Techsters two matches to none in the Western Athletic Conference regular season. Boise State (6-19, 6-7 WAC) rode on the backs of three Broncos – who had career-best performances – sophomore Elizabeth Griffin, freshman Liz Hardin and sophomore Breann Nesselhuf – to pull off a 25-19, 20-25, 27-25, 23-25, 15-9 win over Louisiana Tech (14-16, 4-10 WAC).

Information courtesy Bronco Sports

Boise State wins WAC Soccer Championship

Matt Bedinger — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:03:33 +0000

JOSH RASMUSSEN/THE ARBITER The Broncos hold up the 2009 WAC Championship trophy after downing Nevada 1-0

JOSH RASMUSSEN/THE ARBITER Junior forward Shannon Saxton sheds tears of joy following BSU’s victory over Nevada 1-0

Boise State rode their defense and scored another timely goal to defeat Nevada Sunday afternoon 1-0 to claim their first ever Western Athletic Conference tournament championship, as well as an automatic berth into the NCAA tournament.

In stark contrast to Friday’s semifinal match against Utah State, Boise State started out the first half strong, getting off three shots in the first five minutes.

“It’s the final. You’re going to come pumped up, you’re going to be excited and we used that to our advantage,” junior forward Shannon Saxton said.

Nine minutes in, junior midfielder Cheyenne Jones hit a cross into the box and sophomore forward Molly Hill, unmarked, had a chance to give the Broncos the lead but couldn’t get a foot on it.

In the 12th minute, Saxton made a similar play with Jones on the receiving end, but Jones’ volley attempt sailed left of the frame.

A moment of danger came for the BSU defense in the 21st minute, when Nevada forward Natalie Ratnavira had a one on one opportunity with sophomore goalkeeper Liz Ruiz, but defender Malia Hendrix tracked back to push her off the ball for a goal kick. One minute later, senior midfielder Kaylea Perenon hit a perfect through ball to Saxton, who was stuffed by goalkeeper Marie Cove.

A key substitution after the ball was cleared for a throw-in changed the game. In the 23rd minute, just seconds after entering, freshman forward Erica Parks buried a cross across the 6-yard box from Saxton with a side volley to give the Broncos a 1-0 edge.

“Shannon worked her butt off to get around the corner and she crossed it and I was just standing in the right spot and just volleyed it in,” Parks said.

Parks had another solid opportunity to score in the 26th minute, but her shot headed for the back of the net from 10 yards out was denied by Cove.

Another mistake in the BSU back line led to an unmarked Cristen Drummond at the top of the 18-yard line in the 37th minute, but Drummond failed to capitalize, shooting wide right of the goal. On the counterattack, BSU released Saxton on a breakaway, but the Nevada defense tracked back to stop her and keep the score at 1-0 heading into halftime.

The second half kicked off with a little bit of a different feel to it, with BSU tightening up their defense.

“Staying together as a unit was key. Good communication and we’re all pretty close outside of soccer so I think that helps as a group,” Ruiz said.

Freshman midfielder Maureen Fitzgerald and Parks worked a good attack down the right six minutes into the half, with Fitzgerald’s shot being caught by Cove. In the 57th minute, freshman defender Lauren Hickok sent a cross through the Nevada defense with Parks waiting on the other end of it. However, Parks was unable to get a touch on it from four yards out and the Broncos missed a golden opportunity to go up by two goals. The remaining thirty minutes contained three or four decent Bronco chances, but was highlighted by a stout BSU defense that came into the tournament allowing only 0.81 goals per game.

With the win, Boise State claimed its first ever WAC Championship, set a school record for wins with 13 on the year, and set a school record for shutouts with nine on the year.

“This is what we wanted to be and it ended up happening. I’m proud of those guys. Our backs played well all year and they kept doing it. Today, we really needed it and kept them off the board. You can’t lose if you don’t get scored on,” head coach Steve Lucas said.

“It’s the best feeling, the best day of my life,” added Saxton.

Broncos down Utah State; WAC title game next

Matt Bedinger — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 18:27:20 +0000

JOSH RASMUSSEN/THE ARBITER Broncos' forward Shannon Saxton carries the ball during their first round WAC Championship match. BSU plays Nevada in the title match Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Boas Soccer Complex

Freshman forward Erica Parks scored the lone goal in the 58th minute for a 1-0 win over Utah State to send the Broncos into the Western Athletic Conference Championship, where they will play Nevada.

The game was very defense oriented, with a lot of the play taking place in the middle third of the field. At halftime, each team had just one shot on goal and scoring chances were limited.

Eleven minutes in, junior forward Shannon Saxton picked off a bad back pass by a Utah State defender, but hit it straight to Aggies’ sophomore goalkeeper Molli Merrill from 18 yards out.

In the 25th minute, a turnover by BSU led to a USU opportunity, but freshman defender Adrienne Lommasson was able to clear the ball out of danger twice and preserve the clean slate.

With six minutes remaining in the first half, Parks received a square ball at the top of the box unmarked, but mis-hit it off the side of her foot and out of bounds for a goal kick.

“The way we were playing, we had to keep it up and just pick up the tempo. Obviously, second half, one team plays down and the other team picks it up so that was the main thing we were going to think about in the locker room,” senior midfielder Kaylea Perenon said.

The action picked up a bit in the second half, starting in the 56th minute. The Aggies committed a foul at the top of the 18-yard box and freshman midfielder Maureen Fitzgerald put the ensuing shot on frame, but Merrill tipped it over the bar for a corner kick. After the corner kick was kicked out of bounds for a goal kick, Boise State capitalized on a Utah State error. Merrill kicked the ball to the middle of the field 40 yards, where Fitzgerald hit a pass between two defenders. Parks split the defenders, and while off balance, finished with her left foot in the bottom right side netting from six yards out to give the Broncos a 1-0 advantage.

“One of my midfielders headed it and I was going after it, and before I got sandwiched, I toe-poked it. It just went in,” Parks said.

Just two minutes later, the Aggies almost equalized. A dangerous scrum in the box was cleared without USU getting a shot on goal. In the 60th minute, a BSU free kick almost led to another score, as Perenon’s shot was blocked from six yards out.

There was a scary moment in the 77th minute, when a hard challenge from sophomore midfielder Chelsea Robinson left her and USU’s Natalie Norris on the ground. Robinson was given a yellow card and both players were able to walk off and return to play.

With eight minutes left to play, the aggies had their best opportunity. Forward Lauren Hansen received a ball at the top of the 18-yard box, surrounded by three Bronco defenders. As she turned the ball, she beat the two defenders in front of her and found herself open with only sophomore goalkeeper Liz Ruiz left. Hansen shot from the top of the box over the bar and the Broncos were gifted with a goal kick. The remaining time was dominated by a Bronco defense that has allowed just 0.81 goals per game this year and the score stood up at 1-0.

“It feels amazing. We’ve never done this before and gotten this far, but it’s not over yet. We’ve got tomorrow and we’re going to be ready on Sunday,” Perenon said.

Boise State plays Nevada for the WAC championship Sunday at 1 p.m. MT.

Nevada won its semifinal game against top-ranked San Jose State 2-1 in overtime.

“As a Bronco, we don’t worry about the other team. We go out there and we do what we need to do. It keeps giving us the results we want so we’re just going to keep doing it. We’re not changing anything,” Parks said.

Broncos show resiliency in win

Trent Lootens — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 06:39:54 +0000

JOSH RASMUSSEN/THE ARBITER. Junior wide receiver Austin Pettis celebrates with sophomore center Thomas Byrd after Pettis scored a touchdown earlier in the season against UC Davis.

A win is a win, but when you’re trying to compete for a spot in the BCS, a 45-35 win over Louisiana Tech won’t help.

Boise State had to fight, scratch and claw, to hold off the Bulldogs who were able to gain momentum and fight back to close BSU’s lead to only two points after being down 27-7 at the half.

BSU sophomore quarterback Kellen Moore had a great game throwing for 354 yards and three touchdowns. His only interception came on BSU’s first drive to start the third quarter, and it was costly.

Moore led the Broncos on a promising drive deep into Bulldog territory that could’ve broken things wide open to start the third quarter. An attempt to throw the ball away on a bad pass off his back foot across the field was intercepted by La Tech junior cornerback Josh Victorian and was returned 75 yards for a touchdown. Moore had not thrown an interception in his previous 136 pass attempts. The pick six made it 27-14 early in the third.

“Throwing that stupid pick really gained some momentum for them and gave them some quick points. That kept them in the game and it’s something I shouldn’t be doing,” Moore said.

La Tech fed off the momentum from that play and the tide seemed to turn in an instant.

La Tech junior quarterback Ross Jenkins revived the Bulldog offense that only gained 64 yards in the first half.

After a Kyle Brotzman field goal put BSU up 30-14, Jenkins methodically marched the Bulldogs down the field. Jenkins took matters into his own hands, and on a third down play at BSU’s 9-yard line he took the ball on a quarterback keeper into the end zone cutting into BSU’s lead 30-21.

A successful and surprising onside kick recovery by La Tech at the end of third quarter put them back in business. Again the Bulldogs drove down the field and Jenkins connected withsenior tight end Dennis Morris for an 11-yard touchdown, making it 30-28 early in the fourth quarter.

“Credit to them, credit to Coach [Derek] Dooley. He’s a heck of a special teams coach. He got us a couple of times,” Boise State head coach Chris Petersen said.

BSU put together a good drive to counter punch, but the red zone problems that have plagued the Broncos all year showed appeared at the worst time. BSU’s drive stalled inside La Tech’s 15-yard line and Broncos’ junior kicker Kyle Brotzman missed a 31-yard field goal from the left side hash – the side where he has struggled from all season.

Petersen said later that maybe they should’ve gone for it on fourth and five because of Brotzman’s struggles.

La Tech was unable to take advantage of the opportunity presented and had to punt the ball.

Moore quickly hit junior tight end Kyle Efaw on a 40-yard pass which put the Broncos back in the red zone, and this time they made it count. Junior wide receiver Austin Pettis had to go up for a high Moore delivery and pulled in a 12-yard touchdown to give the Broncos much needed breathing room.

“I’ve scored on that play at least three different times this year against Tulsa, Miami (Ohio), and Hawai’i. They give it to me and I take advantage. Kellen was on the money once again,” the receiver said.

On a questionable call, BSU went for the two-point conversion to put them ahead by 10 points. The conversion was successful, though, on a pass from Moore to sophomore wide receiver Tyler Shoemaker.

Petersen later said he shouldn’t have made that call to go for two, but did anyways.

The lead was 38-28, but the way things went in this game that score was still too close.

BSU’s defense stepped up again and forced a turnover on downs setting them up inside La Tech territory. Running back Jeremy Avery took the first handoff from scrimmage 43 yards to the house, icing the game for the second time, 45-28.

La Tech junior running back Myke Compton scored on a 1-yard run with a 2:49 remaining in the game to bring the Bulldogs closer 45-38, but a failed onside kick recovered by BSU sank the Bulldogs for good.

“The one thing that I do like is how they competed and how they finished,” Petersen said. This was a tight game in the fourth quarter and we hadn’t been in that situation for a while.”

Avery finished the night with 148 yards on 25 carries and a score. He was the only running back who did anything for the Broncos. Sophomore Doug Martin and freshman Matt Kieserman combined for only three yards on six carries.

“Finally he (Avery) got the hot hand late and sometimes its hard to play three guys,” Petersen said.

Pettis had 105 yards receiving and a touchdown, while Titus Young got in his touches with 110 yards receiving and pulled in a beautiful 40-yard touchdown pass from Moore in the second quarter.

Brotzman was three of five on the night, having missed both field goal attempts from the left hash.

Kyle Wilson finally got his chance to return a punt and took advantage returning one 59 yards inside La Tech’s 5-yard line early in the second quarter.

“It felt good to get that one. It doesn’t bother me I had to wait this long, but it feels nice and I’m just glad to contribute to this great win,” Wilson said.

No. 7 BSU was the highest ranked team to ever play at La Tech. When asked if this win would help BSU in the polls Petersen had this to say.

“That’s how it always is when you play. It’s never good enough. It’s good enough for us. We won and we’ll try to get better next week and go from there.”

WAC Championship semifinals: Top four seeds meet Friday

Kirk Bell — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:35:53 +0000

JOSH RASMUSSEN/THE ARBITER Broncos' Middle fielder Brandy Hickox drives past Fresno State defenders in their first match of the WAC Championship at Boas Soccer Complex Thursday. No. 3 BSU beat FSU on an 89th minute Hickox goal to beat the Bulldogs, 2-1.

No. 3 Boise State soccer advanced to a semifinal match of the 2009 Western Athletic Conference Championships after defeating No. 6 Fresno State 2-1 with two second half scores.

The winning strike came from the foot of Broncos’ sophomore midfielder Brandy Hickox during the 89th minute of play. Hickox connected well with the ball from a 21-yard free kick to beat FSU’s junior goal keeper Kaitlyn Revel.

Broncos’ freshman forward Erica Parks sent the ball past Bulldogs’ Revel during the 51st minute to take the first lead of the match.

FSU would come back during the 65th minute to even the score. Junior forward Janna Sadowitz beat BSU’s sophomore goal keeper Liz Ruiz. The Bulldogs couldn’t manage another score before Hickox’s winner for the Broncos.

BSU will face the No. 2 Utah State Aggies Friday at 3 p.m. at the Boas Tennis/Soccer Complex. The Broncos lost to USU earlier this season 1-0. The Aggies have won six of their last eight matches this season. They tied one and lost one match in that stretch.

Earlier during the day the No. 4 Nevada Wolf Pack downed No. 5 New Mexico 1-0 to start the tournament. The Wolf Pack will face No. 1 San Jose State for tomorrow’s first match at 12:30 p.m.

Nevada is on a four-game win streak following its Thursday victory. SJSU lost one match in its final fifteen this season which came at the hand of BSU to end an unblemished conference record. The Spartans beat Nevada 3-1 earlier in the season.

No. 6 Fresno State (6-13-0) versus No. 3 Boise State (11-6-4)

11/05/09 at Boise, Idaho (Boas Complex)

Attendance: 429

Weather: High 50’s, sunny

Goals by period 1 2 Tot

——————————-

Fresno State…….. 0 1 - 1

Boise State……… 0 2 - 2

SCORING SUMMARY:

1. 50:58 BSU Parks, Erica (7) (Hickok, Lauren) – Break down left wing, beat keeper to right post

2. 64:41 FS Sadowitz, Janna (3) (unassisted) – defender slipped. scored on one-versus-one

3. 88:10 BSU Hickcox, Brandy (3) (unassisted) – free kick from 21 yards, into right wing

Shots: Fresno State 5, Boise State 19

Shots on Goal: Fresno State 3, Boise State 10

Saves: Fresno State 8 (Revel, Kaitlyn 8), Boise State 2 (Ruiz, Liz 2)

Second match of the WAC Tournament

Information courtesy Bronco Sports

The Weekly Buzz Kill: Idaho sex education fails

Josh Gamble — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 03:36:15 +0000

COURTESY/JOSH GAMBLE

Long, long ago, almost a year, as I recall, I was but a wee high school student trying to make my way through the Idaho Public School system. One of the main hurdles we all had to make our way over was the coming-of-age ritual known as Sex Education. I assume the name is ironic.

I can’t speak for all school districts, because the state leaves sex education up to parents and churches. Yes, I said churches. Thankfully, Mountain View High School, in the Meridian School District accepted the burden, sort of. Students were offered three choices of health class: Sports Medicine, an abstinence-only class and a non-abstinence-only class, known as Health P2.

Being a socialist liberal pornographer, I selected P2 in hope of actually learning something. Once we passed the “all drugs are equally evil” unit, we tackled the “human sexuality” unit. Now, the state defines sex education as “the study of the anatomy and the physiology of human reproduction,” which is exactly what we studied.

After spending two or three weeks memorizing uncomfortable diagrams and giggling at the word “testes,” we finally got to the part where we learned about contraception. This amounted to “condoms fail, don’t have sex.” We then covered all the scary awful things that happen to teenagers having sex, stopping just shy of “wrath of the almighty.”

Evidently, scare tactics work poorly on teenagers. According to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, one in four Idaho teenagers carries an STI (sexually transmitted infection). Idahoteenpregnancy.com states that 2,702 teen girls became pregnant in 2007, 23 percent of which were repeat pregnancies. Some might say that means we just need to shout “abstinence!” at our children at increased volume. I hold the radical notion that teaching teens to use contraception by age 15 might be a tad more effective.

I’m not the only one. Jodi Brawley, health educator at the BSU Health and Wellness Center, believes “the abstinence message is important, but there needs to be a realization that students are making the choice (to have sex).” Brawley, who holds a Master’s Degree in health promotion recognized that if students start having sex without having been taught how to properly use a condom, they stand a higher risk of being infected with an STI or getting pregnant.

Here’s the fact of the matter: teenagers have been going at it for millennia. Throwing high morals into their face isn’t going to stop them. However, education about the medical and emotional ramifications is shown to have an impact. This is why Planned Parenthood, the Obama administration and BSU’s own Gender Right’s Network are fighting for more comprehensive sex education nation-wide and an end to abstinence-only programs.

Meanwhile, both the Women’s Center and the Health and Wellness Center are helping to educate BSU students on the emotional and medical aspects of sexual relationships and how to engage in sex safely. Both offices offer free pamphlets on proper use of condoms, different varieties of birth control and symptoms and treatment of STIs. They also put on programs such as “Curious about Contraception” and “Sex in the Lobby.”

“We usually try to hit the major residence halls in the fall semester,” Brawley said.

Starting Nov. 18, the Health and Wellness Center will have an anonymous Web site called “Everyday Q&A” where students can ask and answer questions about sex, sleep, back health and other topics.

“It’s a Web site for people to ask questions without feeling like they’re dumb questions,” said peer educator Jessica Lott.

As college students, we are able to get our information on sex someplace other than porn and “that one kid,” but as of right now, it’s not so easy for Idaho high school students. So here’s my message to whoever writes health class curriculum: Step up your game and for the love of god, please stop showing “The Miracle of Life.”

Now go vote or something.

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