NEWS RELEASE – (Columbus, OH) Justin Ruggiano’s grand slam in the eighth was about the only bright spot in an 18-5 loss on Tuesday night to Columbus in game one of the Governors’ Cup Finals.

Clippers starter David Huff retired his first 12 hitters, and the best hitting the team in the league scored five runs in the first inning off Durham’s Richard De Los Santos (0-2 in the post-season).

De Los Santos was ejected in the third inning after hitting Wes Hodges with a pitch. Hodges had homered in the five-run first off De Los Santos.

Darin Downs did throw two scoreless innings, and Durham got on the board in the fifth on a Columbus throwing error, but the Clippers then put the game away with a seven-run fifth, sending 12 hitters to the plate.

Columbus eventually scored 12 unanswered runs over three innings to take a 17-1 lead before Ruggiano hit a grand slam in the eighth inning, his first homer of the post-season.

Columbus hit four homers, and collected 20 hits, as each starter had at least two hits. It was the most runs allowed by the Bulls this season, and the most lopsided loss since a 20-2 defeat against Scranton in the last game of the 2008 Governors’ Cup Finals.

Durham will try to answer in game two on Wednesday at 6:35 with RHP Aneury Rodriguez takes the mound against Zach McAllister in a matchup of righties.

NEWS RELEASE – Bring on the face painting, crowd cheering, car-pooling, cookouts, pep rallies, halftime showdowns, hometown pride and mud-slinging battles in the trenches. It is week four of the Great American Rivalry Series, and this year the Series alongside the United States Air Force comes to Cary to cover the action.

For the first time, the Great American Rivalry Series will feature longtime rivals the Cary Imps and the Apex Cougars on Friday, Sept. 17 at 7:30 p.m.

The Cary-Apex Rivalry is one of 30 must-see match ups selected for the Air Force-sponsored Rivalry Series. The winning team not only earns bragging rights but also the coveted Great American Rivalry Champion trophy, presented on field by a member of the United States Air Force. The game’s Most Valuable Player will also be recognized, and the Series will award a college scholarship to the top student-athlete from each school.

In addition to game-night festivities, students from each school are invited to participate in the Great American Rivalry Series “IT Factor Challenge” to determine which school has what “IT” takes! Conducted by the Rivalry Series and the U.S. Air Force, the “IT Factor Challenge” will be held the week prior to the big game and consists of physical, mental, and coordination tests. The winning school will be announced and awarded a trophy during the game.

“The Air Force is proud to be part of the Great American Rivalry Series again,” said Master Sgt. Jeffrey B. Morris, program manager, Events Marketing for Headquarters Air Force Recruiting Service. “This allows us to showcase how teamwork, dedication, and commitment to excellence goes beyond the football field. It helps us connect with fans and emphasize these values are common in both football and the Air Force. We are excited and pleased to be associated with this series, the schools and the student athletes.”

The Great American Rivalry Series emerged from a desire to celebrate the cultural phenomenon of Friday night high school football. The Series shines the spotlight on classic gridiron clashes where expectations are sky high and die-hard fans abound.

For more information, contact 859-225-3399 or visit www.greatamericanrivalry.com.

Maybe it’s time to bring former UNC player Ethan Albright, a long snapper, back into the fold in Washington.

A botched snap from Albright’s replacement Nick Sundberg almost cost the Redskins the game against the Cowboys. A chip-shot field goal in the third quarter never got off the ground because Sundberg snapped high and hard to the holder who couldn’t handle it. Even if he had handled it, the likelihood of the field goal being blocked was great.

The field goal would have made the final score 16-7 and the holding call on the last play of the game would have been a mute point.

Albright, 39, handled long snapper duties for more than a decade. If the new Redskins coaches really wanted to go young, why did they bring in Donovan McNabb, Larry Johnson and Vonnie Holliday, among other older veterans? You normally build for the future with guys who play almost every down, not long snappers.

If Coach Mike Shanahan thinks the Redskins have a chance at making the playoffs, you’d think he would have stuck with Albright’s experience. As one sports journalist wrote, “(Long snapper) has not been an area of concern for the Redskins for years, with Ethan Albright handling the duties perfectly for almost a decade.”

Perfect for a decade and now a botched field goal on his first game gone. It appears than Albright has not hooked up with another team. Bring Albright back.

PANTHERS
The Panthers brought back kicker Rhys Lloyd after Todd Carter, his replacement, had back spasms after a kickoff Sunday.

Lloyd is used as a kickoff specialist and had previously done well for the Panthers but they decided before the year to go with the younger and cheaper Carter. The Panthers reached an injury settlement with Carter.

N.C. State coach Tom O’Brien missed the mark this week with his complaints about Thursday night’s game with Cincinnati in Raleigh.

O’Brien, speaking to the Wolfpack radio network after Saturday’s victory at Central Florida, said the ACC made N.C. State “a sacrificial lamb” by scheduling a Thursday game following a Saturday contest.

Whether O’Brien is right or not isn’t the point. The bottom line is, the game was scheduled months ago, and O’Brien and his staff have had plenty of time to prepare. Complaining on the radio – and sending a negative message to your team – is no way to spin the situation.

This is the type of situation where Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski is superb. Krzyzewski takes a situation, even a negative one, and finds a way to use it to his advantage. In this case, for example, O’Brien could have praised the toughness of his team, applauded the depth he has seen develop, and said this was a great opportunity for the Pack to showcase its talents. He could have said the Wolfpack program and fans are ready for national recognition and, despite the short turnaround, will be ready for opportunity.
But he didn’t. And even though he didn’t expound on his postgame comments when meeting with the media Monday, he essentially framed the game in a negative light.

O’Brien knows better. He’s a smart guy and savvy coach. There’s no ACC conspiracy to hold down the Wolfpack. Sure, State has a tough turnaround, but it is part of the sport when television dollars rule. The Wolfpack should embrace the opportunity, rather than whine about it.

N.C. State is suddenly one of the few positive stories in an ACC football season that has been derailed after only two weeks.

Virginia Tech, the preseason pick to win the league,has been humiliated, with defeats to Boise State and now James Madison. Miami, Florida State and Georgia Tech all suffered deflating losses. And North Carolina is under a double investigation that has the feel of Ken Starr investigating the Clintons – it just goes on and on and on. Even Duke, which has high hopes under David Cutcliffe, couldn’t hold Wake Forest under 50 points and 500 yards in yet another exasperating loss to the Deacons.

The league will have only one team – Miami – in the rankings when they come out Monday, a pretty humbling turn of events for a conference that yearns for recognition in football. It seems like the net of expansion has not been that other teams rise to the level of the incoming powers, but the new teams instead stumble back to the ACC pack.

The ACC should have at least four programs in the national picture on a regular basis – Florida State, Miami, Clemson and Virginia Tech – and North Carolina, N.C. State and Georgia Tech have the resources and traditions to make regular appearances in the Top 25 as well.

Some ACC team could well get on a roll and go on to a decent year, but any thought of a team contending for a national title is out of the question. The ACC is far from fielding a team of that caliber, as Alabama will show on Saturday in Durham.

So that leaves N.C. State at 2-0 with Cincinnati coming to Raleigh Thursday for an ESPN contest. Wolfpack coach Tom O’Brien is already complaining about the fast turnaround, but that’s often the price of national exposure. A win Thursday puts State on target for a winning season, a great reward for Wolfpack fans who have hung in there with the program.

On a day that saw Virginia Tech being upset by James Madison, Georgia Tech losing to unheralded Kansas, Florida State being humiliated by Oklahoma and Miami falling to Ohio State, the Wolfpack of N.C. State held some honor for the ACC with a 28-21 victory at the University of Central Florida.

A surprisingly effective running game early and a big-play defense that came up with five turnovers throughout led to State’s victory in a game that wasn’t really close or in doubt until the last five minutes of the game.

The Wolfpack ran out to a 21-0 lead and still led 28-7 going into the fourth quarter.

The defense set up the first touchdown when sophomore safety Earl Wolff intercepted a Rob Calabrese pass and ran it back 31 yards into UCF territory. Eight plays later, Dean Haynes, a redshirt freshman converted to tailback, got a good block from guard Andrew Wallace – a 6-foot-4, 304-pound redshirt sophmore – and busted in untouched from four yards out.

State QB Russell Wilson, who didn’t have the big numbers we’ve seen so often, did thrown four straight completions on the next drive, including a 26-yard TD lob to a wide open Darrell Davis.

A muffed punt gave the Wolfpack the ball deep in UCF territory and runningback Mustafa Greene sliced up the middle on a draw play on third and long and went 21 yards for the score to make it 21-0.

UCF’s Quincy McDuffie took the ensuring kickoff back 93 yards to give the home team some life as the teams went into the halftime lockerroom at 21-7.

In the third quarter, State seemingly wrapped it up when cornerback C.J. Wilson picked off an overthrown Calabrese pass and ran it in from 43 yards out to make it 28-7.

Midway through the third quarter, short and speedy backup quarterback Jeff Godfrey came in with fresh legs and gave the tiring Wolfpack defense a fit. He passed for 107 yards and ran for 52, including two touchdowns to make the game close.

The second score came with 4:29 left and the fired-up defense held the Pack on four downs and UCF got the ball back with less than three minutes to go.

Godfrey moved UCF into Wolfpack territory and completed a 21-yard pass to Quincy McDuffie at the State 10 yard line, but the defense came through once again for the final time of the night. Safety Brandan Bishop popped the ball loose with a jarring tackle and linebacker Terrell Manning fell on it to wrap up the victory.

Random Thoughts: At least twice, State linebacker Audie Cole changed momentum. Once he made a nice diving catch to intercept on a halfback pass to stop a drive. Earlier he ended another drive with a big sack. He also had double-digit tackles.

Former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach, serving as the color commentator on TV, made the “duh” observation of the game when, with less than five minutes to play and UCF down by 14 points, he said, “UCF needs a score on this drive.”

A horrible shanked punt by State’s Jeff Ruiz with less than three minutes to play gave the Knights the ball at the Wolfpack 49 on that last drive that made the game more exciting than it needed to be.

Wilson completed only 10 of 30 passes for 105 yards. State rushed for 134 rushing yards, led by Greene’s 55 yards. UCF, with the late rush under Godfrey, actually outgained the Pack.

N.C. State, which was 114th last year in turnover margin, did not turn the ball over once while UCF turned it over five times. The State defense hit hard and really controlled the game except during two fourth-quarter drives.

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