SAN JOSE, Calif. — For the San Jose State football team, Saturday night was a little bit more about celebrating 18 seniors on Senior Night. Those seniors were Chandler Hawkins, Zamore Zigler, Sailosi Latu, Jesse Osuna, Brandon Ezell, Josh Love, DeJon Packer, Ethan Aguayo, Christian Webb, Lionell Wiggins, Korey Mariboho, Deano Motes, Troy Kowalski, Bailey Gaither, Brett Foley, Duane Tuatasi, Alex Galland, and Quinn Oseland.
With that said, SJSU had their game faces on when the Fresno State Bulldogs were in town. Senior quarterback Josh Love and the Spartan offense opened the game with the ball. But the Bulldogs struck first as senior quarterback Jorge Reyna threw a 38-yard pass to tight end Jared Rice, who ran for the opening touchdown, and Cesar Silva kicked in the extra point. It was 7-0 Bulldogs with 7:49 left in the first quarter.
Fresno State made it a 14-0 game just 2:41 later. Ronnie Rivers rushed for a 5-yard rushing touchdown and Silva kicked in the extra point.
Junior center Kyle Hoppe suffered an injury and didn’t return. However, SJSU got on the board first as Matt Mercurio kicked a 22-yard field goal to reduce the deficit to 14-3 with 1:13 left in the first. The Bulldogs led 14-3 at the end of the first.
The second quarter looked better for the Spartans. Jay Lenard snagged an interception–his second interception of the season–for the first turnover of the game late in the second.
Just minutes after Cade Hall showed some moves with the strip sack, Justin Rice kicked a 10-yard field goal to extend the Bulldogs’ lead to 16-3 with 5:27 left in the second. The Bulldogs led 16-3 at halftime.
SJSU pulled within six to cut the deficit to 16-10 with 9:43 left in the third quarter. Love rushed for a 2-yard rushing touchdown and Mercurio kicked in the extra point. The Spartans continued to trail 16-10 after the third.
DeJon Packer saved the night for the Spartans. Packer rushed for a 10-yard rushing touchdown to put the Spartans up 17-16 with 2:11 left in the fourth quarter. Packer’s touchdown was all the Spartans needed to beat Fresno State 17-16 and keep the Valley Trophy for the first time since 2016.
With the win, SJSU finished the regular season 5-7, 2-6 Mountain West. Fresno State wrapped up the season 4-8, 2-6 Mountain West.
Follow me on Twitter @AnaKieu for San Jose State football offseason updates.
By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Saturday, November 30, 2019
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Killing penalties is an unglamorous, but necessary part of success in hockey. San Jose has one of the best penalty-kill units in the NHL and proved it again Saturday.
The Sharks overcame an early deficit on Timo Meier’s go-ahead goal, killed off back-to-back power plays in the third period, and defeated Arizona 4-2 in a key Pacific Division contest.
Both teams were playing the second game of back-to-backs — the Sharks beat the Kings 4-1 in Los Angeles on Friday, while the Coyotes lost in Las Vegas in an overtime shootout with the Golden Knights.
“Big resiliency,” is how Sharks coach Peter DeBoer described his team’s effort. “In a back-to-back game, it could have been 4 or 5-0 in the first five minutes. Then we settled down and got to our game. I thought the next 50 minutes was some of the best hockey we’ve played this year.
“We talked about these games (against Los Angeles and Arizona) being four-point games. These are opportunities to close the gap (in the division standings) of which you don’t get very many. So, we wanted to take advantage of both of these games.”
With San Jose leading 3-2 in the third period, San Jose’s Erik Karlsson was cited for tripping at 6:55 and Radim Simek got the gate for delay of game at 9:11, essentially giving the Coyotes a four-minute power play.
Arizona, which finished November with 19 points (8-5-3), was unable to put together an effective power play, and did not capitalize.
“Our PK has been big all year,” DeBoer said. “Not only do we do a good job on it, it really grabs the momentum for us and saps it from the other team. Those are big momentum moments there in the third, and we got a lot of energy from those kills.”
Logan Couture, who scored the first and fourth San Jose goals, said the penalty kill has “won us many games. I was saying the other day, imagine our kill was at 85 percent with all the penalties that we’re taking. We would have lost a lot of these games that we were able to win. Credit to the killers, the system has been great and our goaltenders have been spectacular on the kill.”
The Coyotes wasted little time getting on the board. Nick Schmaltz beat Sharks goaltender Martin Jones at 1:33 for his fifth goal of the season. Less than a minute later, Derek Stepan also scored his fifth goal, giving Arizona a quick 2-0 lead.
Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said, ‘For seven or eight minutes, I think it was our best hockey of the year and the crowd was in it. For whatever reason, after a couple of breakaways, we slowed it down again, a couple of blown coverages, and then it just kind of unraveled.
“You could tell guys were getting tight and I’m not sure why. San Jose is a veteran team and they’ve been in tough games before … 2-0, they weren’t going to panic and they didn’t.”
Logan Couture’s seventh tally of the season cut the Sharks’ deficit to 2-1 at 11:01 of the first period. Couture’s shot from the slot just outside the right circle beat a screened Antti Raanta, with assists going to Erik Karlsson and Evander Kane.
San Jose got the equalizer at 2:55 of the second period when Dylan Gambrell circled around from behind the net and flipped a low shot at a sharp angle from the bottom of the right circle, beating Raanta to the stick side.
Moments later, the Sharks took their first lead of the game on Timo Meier’s redirection at 8:52. From the faceoff in the left circle, Marc-Edouard Vlasic won the draw, passed to Tomas Hertl at the left point, whose shot was steered in by Meier, who was parked to the left of the crease.
With the Coyotes employing a sixth attacker in the final minute, Couture popped in an empty-net goal at 19:31.
After a shaky start, Jones settled down at stopped 21 of 23 shots. Raanta finished with 26 saves, as the Sharks outshot Arizona 30-23.
“Martin’s been big here lately,” DeBoer said. “I think his season has mirrored our team’s season, getting off to a slow start and then finding our game. I think he’s done the same thing.”
The Sharks return home for a Tuesday game against Washington, then embark on an eastern road trip to Carolina, Tampa Bay, Florida and Nashville.
SACRAMENTO — Saturday marked the return home for the Sacramento Kings after a long road trip. The trip took the Kings through the cities of New York, Washington D.C., Boston, and Philadelphia. It was a tough trip for the Kings who went 1-3 beating the Washington Wizards. The Kings were looking to continue their climb back to .500 against a formidable opponent in the Denver Nuggets on Saturday afternoon. The tip-off was set for 2 PM PST.
In the first quarter, the Kings struggled early. No one on the Kings could seem to hit a shot and Denver began knocking down their’s after struggling in the opening minutes as well. With 2:00 minutes remaining in the first quarter, the Kings were already down 27-13. The rest of the quarter the Kings were able to put up a few more points to cut the deficit to 27-17 going into the second quarter.
In the second quarter, Yogi Ferrell ran the point, the Kings offense seemed to show life in the early minutes for the second. In the opening 2 minutes of time, the Kings managed to cut the lead to 5 points. However, the Nuggets starting piling on again after that. The Nuggets would put up a total of 57 first-half points compared to the Kings’ 40. This obviously wasn’t what Luke Walton and Co. planned for the first half. The King’s fans let out a subtle chorus of boos as the team headed into the locker room. Garry Harris led all scorers in the first half putting up 20 points. The leading scorer for the Kings was Harrison Barnes, who had 8 points for the Kings. If the Kings hoped to come back they needed to shoot better. Specifically, be better from long range.
In the third quarter, the Kings played better than they had all game. That’s not to say there wasn’t room for improvement. The Kings outscored the Nuggets 27-18, which was a marked improvement on both ends of the floor. Led by Harrison Barnes (12 points in the 3rd), the Kings managed to cut the deficit 67-75. The Kings would need to make a big ground in the fourth quarter to have a chance.
In the fourth quarter, the Kings still struggled to hit open shots. Namely, Buddy Hield really struggled. Buddy had a considerable number of open shots that he was unable to knockdown. Regardless of the shooting struggles, the Kings managed to hang tough. With 3:20 left in the game, the score was 87-80 and the Kings had a chance to execute. The Kings managed to do just that. The Kings were able to come back and tie the game with a Buddy Hield layup with 22.9 seconds left. The Kings then got the defense stop with a Rashaan Holmes block and it sent the Kings to overtime. In overtime, the Kings and Nuggets would battle and trade baskets. The game would come down to the final 14 seconds with the score 98 to 97 Kings up. Buddy Hield would be fouled on the inbound and make both his free throws. From there, the Kings got a stop and would go on to win 100-97.
The Kings stay home to host the Chicago Bulls on Monday at 7 PM PST.
SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose State men’s basketball team will meet their second straight Pac-12 foe on Sunday when SJSU and UCLA tip at 5 pm PST in Pauley Pavilion on the Pac-12 Network.
Here’s what you need to know about Sunday’s game.
SAN JOSE STATE SPARTANS (3-4, 0-0 Mountain West)
PPG: 66.7 | FG%: 40.1 | 3FG%: 25.3 | FT%: 63.4
NOTES: The Spartans will face their third Pac-12 foe of the young season on Sunday evening at UCLA. SJSU played Arizona on Nov. 14 in Tucson and Oregon State last Wednesday in Las Vegas. Guards Seneca Knight (11.9 PPG) and Richard Washington (10.1 PPG) are also getting after it on the glass, combing for 11.6 rebounds per game. Guard Zach Chappell is averaging 11.8 PPG off the bench over the Spartans’ last four contests.
NOTES: UCLA went 1-2 last week at the Maui Invitational, with a win over Chaminade and losses to BYU (78-63) and Michigan State (75-62). The Bruins feature four players averaging double figures in scoring led by Chris Smith’s 12.0 points per game. The Bruins lost to Hofstra, 88-78, while SJSU knocked them off on the road in their season opener 79-71.
RADIO: Justin Allegri on the call through TuneIn.com and the TuneIn app. Search for “San Jose St. Basketball”.
ZEALOUS ZACH
A constant in the Spartans’ last four games has been the play of reserve guard Zach Chappell … Chappell posted a season-high 17 points, including 3-of-3 shooting from deep, iu Saturday’s loss to Portland State … Chappell tallied 14 points in a win over Simpson on Nov. 17, going 5-of-7 from the field including a pair of 3-pointers … The Spartans are shooting just 25.3% from 3 on the season but Chappell is shooting 43.8% from deep.
SAN JOSE STATE STYMIES GRAMBLING STATE
Grambling State entered the game on Nov. 20 with the nation’s No. 1 scoring offense, averaging 114 points over its first 3 games … The Spartans held the Tigers 38 points under their average in an 83-76 win at the Provident Credit Union Event Center … Grambling State was 1-of-10 shooting on 3s.
BEAUTIFUL BALANCE OVER SIMPSON
The Spartans had 13 different players score in an 85-60 win over Simpson on Nov. 17 … Guard Zach Chappell came off the bench to score a season-high 14 points, including a pair of 3s … Guard Seneca Knight was 6-of-8 shooting for 15 points … Forward Craig LeCesne added 13 points in 19 minutes … Forward Ralph Agee posted 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting … Freshman walk-on Harminder Dhaliwal made his collegiate debut and had 2 points and 2 rebounds in 6 minutes.
SAN JOSE STATE STUNS HOFSTRA SJSU opened the 2019-20 season with a bang, defeating Hofstra on the road, 79-71, on Nov. 6 … Hofstra won 27 games last year, SJSU lost 27 games … In his Spartan debut, JUCO transfer and former Wake Forest guard, Richard Washington, posted a team-high 23 points off the bench on 8-of-13 shooting. He scored 12 of his 23 points in the final 4 minutes, including a stretch of 3 straight 3s to put the game away … Senior forward Craig LeCesne had his first career double-double with a career-high 19 points plus 11 rebounds … It was SJSU’s first win in a road opener since 2010-11 when the Spartans topped Eastern Washington, 67-60 … The Spartans snapped a 21-game road losing streak dating back to 2017-18 … SJSU won on the East Coast for the first time since 2001-02, when the Spartans defeated Fairleigh Dickinson at the BCA Tournament hosted by NC State in Raleigh, N.C.
STARTERS TO STAY
The Spartans return seven players who started at least 1 game a season ago … Guard Seneca Knight is the most experienced, as the sophomore started 17 games, including the final 12, of his rookie season … Point guard Brae Ivey was just behind Knight, as the former junior college transfer started 16 games last season … Forward Craig LeCesne and guard Zach Chappell both started 15 games last year … Forward Christian Anigwe, guard Isaiah Nichols and walk-on guard Trey Smith started 1 game apiece.
SIX NEWCOMERS
Spartans head coach Jean Prioleau will have the help of 6 newcomers on the roster in 2019-20 … The Spartans have three new junior college transfers in Richard Washington (Tallahassee CC), Eduardo Lane (Marshalltown CC) and Ralph Agee (East LA College). Washington started his collegiate career at Wake Forest, where he played eight games as a freshman before an injury caused him to miss the entire 2017-18 season … Another Wake Forest transfer will join the Spartans on the floor this season, as center Samuel Japhet-Mathias will be eligible after a redshirt season last year. The former 4-star recruit appeared in 17 games off the bench at Wake Forest as a freshman in 2016-17. He posted 6 points and 4 rebounds at No. 17 Xavier … Prioleau added two freshmen this season in guard Omari Moore and walk-on center Harminder Dhaliwal.
TELEVISION SCHEDULE
SJSU will play 10 games on TV this season, including three at home … SJSU hosts an ESPN networks game this year for the first time since 2010-11, when either ESPN2 or ESPNU will carry the SJSU tip against Utah State on Dec. 4. SJSU will also be on ESPN2 or ESPNU when visiting Utah State on Feb. 26 … SJSU will have four non-conference games on TV, all against Pac-12 competition. The Spartans will be on CBS Sports Network when hosting Stanford at the Provident Credit Union Event Center on Dec. 14. SJSU will battle both UCLA and Arizona on Pac-12 Networks … The Spartans will also have four Mountain West contests on AT&T SportsNet this season — Jan. 15 at UNLV, Jan. 21 at New Mexico, Feb. 8 at Nevada and Feb. 29 vs. UNLV.
photo from fresnobee.com: Columbus Blue Jackets forward Gustav Nyquist, left, of Sweden, celebrates his third goal of an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins with teammate forward Nick Foligno during the third period in Columbus, Ohio, Friday, Nov. 29, 2019.
On the NHL podcast with Matt:
#1 Gustav Nyquist scored a hat trick and Nick Foligno scored two goals as the Columbus Blue Jackets defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2
#2 Vegas Golden Knights edged out the visiting Arizona Coyotes 2-1 as Alex Tuch scored a regulation goal and later scored a shootout goal for the win.
#3 The Washington Capitals’ Dmitry Orlov scored the game winning at 3:03 in the overtime stanza that defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 on Saturday night
#4 David Krejci got a game winner for the Boston Bruins scoring an overtime goal at 1:40 and David Pastrnak scored his 24 goal of the season the league leading goal scorer in the NHL as the B’s beat the New York Rangers 3-2 Saturday night.
#5 The San Jose Sharks have won 9 of their last 11 and have been a house on fire on Saturday they defeated the Los Angeles Kings behind a key goal from rookie Noah Gregor his first goal with San Jose and defensive goaltending by Martin Jones who stopped 33 shots.
SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Barracuda are becoming a broken record. Get off to a fast start, but allow the opposition to come back. This bad habit once again reared its ugly head as the Bakersfield Condors scored the final two goals of the game en route to a 4-3 victory on Friday evening at SAP Center.
San Jose had their two-game winning streak snapped. With the victory, Bakersfield also snapped their four-game losing streak.
Condors forward Cooper Marody scored what proved to be the game winning goal at the 7:33 mark of the third period when William Lagesson centered a pass over to Marody, who was camped out in front of the crease. After a battle with ‘Cuda goalie Josef Korenar, Marody took possession of the puck and slammed it home for his fourth goal of the season.
San Jose (7-10-0-1) drew first blood at the end of the first period. Lean Bergmann fed a pass over to Sasha Chmelevski then showed off his skating skills coming down the right wing and into the crease where his backhander sneaked past a confused Condors goalie Stuart Skinner for his second goal of the season at the 17:11 mark. Thomas Gregoire received the secondary assist.
“I feel like I’m a different player since my injury,” said Chmelevski. “I feel like I’ve been playing with confidence, been playing hard and just want to contribute to the team anyway I can.”
Bakersfield (7-9-2-1) had a golden opportunity to break through earlier when they have a 5-on-3 power play for 1:41 of ice time when Nick DeSimone went off for a delay of game penalty. Maxim Letunov was already in the sinbin for interference 19 seconds earlier.
However, thanks to some key saves by Korenar and some luck from his best friend in the goal post, San Jose killed off both power plays gaining momentum off the kill.
San Jose dominated play in the opening 20 minutes, outshooting Bakersfield 13-6.
The ‘Cuda doubled their lead on the power play less than five minutes into the second period. Jonny Brodzinski fired a shot behind the net where Joel Kellman received the puck. After a bit of a delay, he banked the puck off Skinner for his second goal of the season at the 4:27 mark. The goal snapped a 15 game goalless drought for the Swedish forward.
It didn’t take the Condors to cut the lead in half. Kirill Maksimov fed a pass over to the Dmitri Samorukov at the right point. The Russian defenseman skated into the slot and wired a quick wrist shot beating Korenar to the short side in the lower right corner for his first professional goal of his career just 27 seconds later at the 4:54 mark.
“It went south was right when we make it 2-0 and they scored on their next shift to make it 2-1,” said Barracuda head coach Roy Sommer. “Then with 50 seconds left in the second period, they win the draw and the puck bounces over our head and goes in the net, 2-2.
Just when it looked like the San Jose was going to head into the second intermission with a lead, an innocent looking wrist shot from the point by Evan Bouchard hit off the arm of Korenar and floated up in the air behind him where Ryan McLeod cashed in the rebound for his third goal of the season with 50 seconds left in the middle frame.
“You work for your breaks and I thought the compete was there but I don’t know how many pucks we turned over through the neutral zone…at least 15 where we could have had it in behind him and maybe created something and that’s something we’ve got to look at,” said Sommer.
The ‘Cuda regained the lead in the opening minutes of the third period when Letunov had control of the puck near the right board. He made some nifty puck-handling moves around two Condors defenders before firing a shot on net that was initially saved by Skinner. The puck jumped out to Evan Weinger just to the left of the crease and he tapped home his sixth goal of the season at the 1:57 mark.
However, as we have seen of late, San Jose once again weren’t able to hold on to their lead and close out the game. Just under two minutes later Brad Malone centered a pass out in to the left faceoff circle where Lagesson’s shot was stopped by Korenar, but couldn’t control the rebound. Lagesson was able to get the puck back on his stick and fired it past Korenar, who was out of position, for the equalizer, his second goal of the season, at the 3:28 mark.
“We had a great first period, we got the lead,” said Kellman. “We’re up 2-0 and then something happened when they scored the first goal, I don’t know what, it was 2-2. Our second period was not that good but I don’t think we got the momentum back in the third. We got up 3-2 and then I don’t know what happened.”
Skinner finished the evening 34 saves on 37 shots to earn his seventh victory of the season. Korenar allowed four goals on 31 shots in the losing effort.
GAME NOTES: San Jose was 1/4 on the power play. Bakersfield was 0/3.
FISTICUFFS! Jeffery Viel and Joe Gambardella squared off in a spirited fight 63 seconds into the third period. Each player successfully landed haymakers on one another.
Letunov extended his points streak to six games with the assist on Weinger’s goal.
San Jose is now 6-6-0-0 on home ice. They lead the all-time series against Bakersfield 25-17-2-4.
Three stars of the game:
1. Marody
2. Lagesson
3. Weinger
UP NEXT: The Barracuda travel down to Ontario for a weekend series with the Reign starting on Friday, December 7 at 7:00 pm at Toyota Arena.
photo from sfgate.com: San Jose Sharks center Noah Gregor, center, celebrates with teammates on the bench after scoring a goal against the Los Angeles Kings during the second period of an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Friday, Nov. 29, 2019.
On the Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:
#1 Gotta be a thrill for the Sharks Noah Gregor to score his first goal for the season hitting it in the second period on a corner shot stick side of Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick
#2 Talk about Sharks goaltender Marty Jones getting the assist on the Gregor goal it doesn’t come often when a goal tender gets the assist on a goal.
#3 This team is taking each game by storm they picked up their ninth win out of their last 11 games today with a dominating win over the Los Angeles Kings.
#4 Sharks score two per period and in the second period it looked as if the Sharks had taken the wind out of the Kings sails.
#5 Sharks playing back to back head to Arizona to face the Coyotes who have won six of their last ten games talk about how you see this match up.
photo from sfgate.com: Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson runs against the Los Angeles Rams during the first half of an NFL football game Monday, Nov. 25, 2019, in Los Angeles.
On the SF 49ers podcast with Joe:
#1 The 49ers (10-1) had a bulldozer game against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football. The 49ers dominated the Packers on both sides of the ball.
#2 Looking to Sunday’s game in Baltimore, a game that could either be the 49ers’ best or worst of the season.
#3 The Baltimore Ravens (9-2) have home field. They’re also coming off a huge victory over the LA Rams from last week. They have home field against the 49ers and Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.
#4 Do the Ravens have the pick of the oddsmakers? They’ve been favored by six points and this could be a rough afternoon for the 49ers.
#5 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo goes up against a pretty good pass rush. How does Joe see Garoppolo throwing against the Ravens?
When Ryan Beecher runs out of the tunnel into Stanford Stadium on Saturday for the last time, he’ll be met by water works.
It’s Senior Day against No. 15 Notre Dame, so Cardinal players will be recognized before the game and greeted by their families on the field. Emotional, but even more so for Jim and Julie Beecher, and their other children, Annabelle (’17) and Holden.
In December 2017, the night before the team was flying to the Alamo Bowl, Ryan was packing at his home in Fresno, Calif. when he received a phone call from Stanford Hospital. A pathology report had come back about a lump under his armpit and a biopsy revealed he had tested positive for Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma.
Scared and uncertain about his future, Ryan stayed home and sought an immediate diagnosis. Steve Schwartz, the father of teammate Harry Schwartz, arranged an appointment with a lymphoma specialist at UCLA. The family was told he had a treatable strain.
“The days before Ryan was officially diagnosed were some of the hardest days of my life,” said Julie. “Suddenly, my young, healthy son had this terrifying word, cancer, hanging over his head and we had no idea what that would mean for him.”
Teammates quickly rallied around Beecher. They signed his No. 43 game jersey and wrote messages, and it arrived at his home the day before the game. On game day against TCU, Beecher wore the jersey and watched the game on television with his family. Many Stanford players wrote his number on their arms and JJ Arcega-Whiteside pointed to it after catching a touchdown pass.
Photo credit: gostanford.com
“From Week 1, it was just an overwhelming amount of love and support,” Beecher said. “I will always be thankful to them.”
The official diagnosis was a rare form of lymphoma called “ALK-positive.” Beecher underwent six rounds of chemotherapy, lost his hair and considerable weight off his 6-1, 230-pound frame.
“The eyebrows took some getting used to,” Beecher said.
Teammate Lewis Burik cooked a big dinner for Beecher and his friends before his first round of chemotherapy. Kaden Smith helped him shave his head.
Beecher was unsure about his football future and missed spring practice and two quarters of school. He never complained and told his mom he wanted to climb Half Dome in Yosemite National Park.
Photo credit: gostanford.com
“Right before the Spring Game that year, Ryan was at a low point,” said Julie. “It was hard to get him to go because he was completely bald and pretty run down from months of chemotherapy. He decided to go, and as he was walking into the game, Coach (David) Shaw approached him and told him he was being put on scholarship. When Ryan told us after the game, it an was incredible moment. It still makes me cry to think about it.”
Photo credit: gostanford.com
Beecher was cleared to participate in fall camp in the summer of 2018 and hasn’t missed a beat.
“Getting back out on the field was a goal and dream of mine once it got taken away,” Beecher said. “Football was a huge motivator in the sense that it taught me a lot of mechanisms to respond to that type of adversity. I give a lot of credit to our training staff and coaches for instilling in us the sense of reacting to adversity and staying positive.”
Beecher was initially told to take it easy, especially during wind sprints, but he tuned out the strength and conditioning coach.
“I’m a stubborn guy and didn’t listen as much as I should have,” Beecher said. “I was pretty exhausted after that first workout. But let me tell you, it was so relieving after months and months — the doctors didn’t want me to go into any gym and expose myself to germs — being back. There’s a certain type of energy you get working out, especially with a group of guys you love.”
Cardinal team captain Casey Toohill said Beecher’s attitude and determination inspired everyone.
“The thing that impressed me the most was when he came back for summer runs after just doing the chemo, he made all the times, which is unheard of, because people miss the times anyway,” Toohill said.
Shaw, the Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football, wasn’t surprised Beecher sold out.
“Being through something similar with my brother the last couple of years, the appreciation of life is powerful,” said Shaw. “To come back from cancer and say all I have to do is run gassers? That’s it? I’m not going to pull back and I’m going to go as hard as I can and know my body is going to respond.”
Beecher, a former walk-on and now a fifth-year senior, played on special teams in 13 games in 2017 and 2018. This season, he has appeared in every contest and earned his first start against Colorado, collecting a career-high five tackles. Beecher has 16 total stops, one pass breakup and one quarterback hurry.
“To play as well as he’s played, stepping up and contributing at inside linebacker, it’s been amazing to watch,” Toohill said. “I’m just proud to be his friend.”
Shaw said, “He’s a tough guy. And tough guys like being around tough guys. To see a guy fight through what he fought through and be able to get in there and grind with his brothers on the field makes you feel like you’re around someone special.”
Photo credit: gostanford.com
Beecher isn’t the biggest, strongest or fastest player on the team. If you walked by him on campus, he looks more like a history major — which he is — than a football player.
Looks can be deceiving. Beecher started 32 consecutive varsity games at San Joaquin Memorial High School and made 232 tackles, leading the league in 2013.
“All he thinks about is his job and what he can do,” said Shaw. “His teammates appreciate that. Every time he makes a tackle or a play, the sideline goes crazy. They’re always cheering and rooting for him. To be able to coach a guy like Ryan Beecher makes you feel good about what you do on a daily basis.”
Beecher is cancer-free, but will need follow up scans for the rest of his life.
“Going through something like that, you take things a little more serious now,” Beecher said. “Definitely happier and more thankful for everything … my family, my friends and everyone who was in my corner supporting me. It’s just really easy when you have a bad day to kick yourself out of it because you’ve had worse days for sure.”
INJURY UPDATE
Connor Wedington, K.J. Costello, Paulson Adebo and Malik Antoine will not play against Notre Dame.
PERSEVERANCE LEADS TO PROMINENCE
Donald Stewart caught his first career touchdown pass last week against Cal, and it was a feel-good moment for everyone. He has overcome injuries, dipped on the depth chart and has spent much of the season working with the scout team. He never complained, went full speed, remained positive and stepped up last week when Connor Wedington was injured on the opening kickoff.
“Donald has had the entire college football experience from playing early, playing well, from not playing much, playing more and making big catches,” Shaw said. “He’s probably grown as much as anybody on the football team.”
Shaw continued to remind him that nothing is set in stone. If you put in the work, it’ll pay off.
“I commend Donald for trusting us,” Shaw said. “We put him back in the rotation and for the last month, Donald has been ready. It was great in a big moment in a Big Game for him to be open and that was a tough catch. Great to see that for him and guys celebrating for him.”
MAKING MILLS
Davis Mills will make his sixth career start at quarterback against the Fighting Irish (9-2). Due to injuries, he didn’t play in 2017 and saw brief action in one game last season.
“Technically, in my book, you’re still a freshman until you play 12 games,” said Shaw. “We’re still technically in Davis’ freshman year. He’s capable of extreme highs.
SHAW ON HIS DEFENSE
“We’ve had outstanding effort and consistent play from a handful of guys, led by Casey Toohill,” Shaw said about the unit’s showing against Cal. “The guy just pours his heart out every single play. Everybody that stepped out on the field played well.”
Shaw also praised the efforts of Andrew Pryts, Curtis Robinson, Thomas Booker and Jovan Swann.
“As injured as we are, we have the guys on the field that can make the plays,” said Shaw. “And now it’s when we make those plays. If it’s late fourth quarter, we make to make those plays. The same thing about us offensively.”
TIGHTEN UP
Containing mobile quarterbacks remains a challenge. Stanford will encounter another quick, athletic and explosive player in Ian Book on Saturday.
“That’s been a difficult thing the entire year, understanding the integrity of where you need to be,” Shaw said. “The rush lanes containing the quarterback are vital. We’ve struggled with that and must improve.”
SENIOR RECOGNITION
Shaw commended the leadership of his seniors for never letting down this season.
“Even after a couple tough losses, the guys come out and are flying around, practicing hard and pushing each other in a positive way,” said Shaw. “That credit doesn’t go to our coaches; that credit goes to our seniors and our leaders.
“These guys have been outstanding in a year when most people are understandably talking about the record and it’s not what we want it to be. But there have been some moments this year at any point in time where these guys could have packed it in, and their teammates wouldn’t allow them to.”
MUTUAL ADMIRATION
Lynn Swann grew up in Michigan and is not a Notre Dame fan. That being said, he respects what the program has accomplished and knows they are benchmark for success.
“It means a lot to strap up and go against a team like that,” Swann said. “People have dislike for them because they are such a great program. I just happened to be born in Michigan.
“I think they’re a great team and we have a great challenge ahead of us and I’m excited to play against them because when you make plays against teams like that it shows you are a real team and can compete against some of the best in the nation. And I think that’s our mentality this week to play to the best of our ability.”
QUOTE
“Growing pains are called growing pains because they hurt.” — David Shaw on using 20 freshmen this season.
espn.com photo: Derek Carr hasn’t won in five games at Arrowhead Stadium, with most of those games being lopsided.
On the Raiders podcast with Joe Hawkes:
#1 Oakland Raiders head coach Jon Gruden says that playing in Arrowhead Stadium is one of the coolest places to play. Gruden said he absolutely loves going there.
#2 On the other hand, for Raiders quarterback Derek Carr, Kansas City is like a house of horrors for him.
#3 Carr is 0-5 in five of his last six games at Arrowhead.
#4 Carr knows how the turf feels like in Kansas City as he’s been sacked 17 times in the those last five games at Arrowhead.
#5 Carr said after last Sunday’s loss to the New York Jets “I want to win now” Carr also said “we haven’t won there (in Kansas City) yet”.
