WASHINGTON’S WAKE UP
Scare for No. 5 Washington fuels rout of Stanford
SEATTLE (AP) — In hindsight, Washington needed the scare that it received two weeks ago in the desert.
Otherwise, Friday night’s beat down of Stanford may not have taken place.
“We actually needed that Arizona game to make sure we knew how to handle what happened, how to handle that pressure, how to handle getting punched in the mouth,” Washington defensive lineman Elijah Qualls said.
Washington’s 44-6 rout of Stanford Friday night vaulted the Huskies five spots to No. 5 in this week’s AP Top 25. It’s the highest ranking for Washington since the end of the 2000 season when the Huskies finished No. 3 in the final poll following a Rose Bowl victory over Purdue.
The last time Washington was ranked this high in October was 1992, when the Huskies spent five weeks at No. 1 before losing to Arizona.
SEAHAWKS-JETS
Wilson sharp, throws 3 TDs in Seahawks’ 27-17 win over Jets
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Russell Wilson was sharp and efficient despite playing with a sprained knee, throwing three touchdown passes in the Seattle Seahawks’ 27-17 victory over the New York Jets on Sunday.
Wilson injured the medial collateral ligament in his left knee last week against San Francisco and wasn’t his usual mobile self in this one, but his arm was plenty good. He finished 23 of 32 for 309 yards while wearing a brace on his leg as the Seahawks (3-1) won at MetLife Stadium for the first time since beating the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl in 2014.
Jimmy Graham, questionable with back spasms earlier in the week, had six catches for 113 yards, including an impressive 17-yard one-handed grab in the opening quarter, while giving the Jets (1-3) fits all game.
Wilson missed the first snap of his career due to injury last weekend after getting pulled down by San Francisco’s Eli Harold. The Seahawks quarterback has also dealt with a sprained right ankle from the opener against Miami. He was efficient against the Jets, especially in the first half when he went 10 of 11 for 191 yards and two TDs and a perfect 158.3 quarterback rating. He finished with minus-5 yards on five rushes for Seattle, which has a bye next weekend.
Wilson helped Seattle, making the first of three East Coast trips this season, improve to 8-5 in its last 13 games with a 1 p.m. Eastern start time.
Richard Sherman had two interceptions and Earl Thomas one as Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Jets couldn’t get much going against the NFL’s top-ranked defense.
ATHLETICS-MARINERS
Stephen Vogt’s homer leads Oakland to 3-2 win over Seattle
SEATTLE (AP) — Stephen Vogt hit his 14th home run in the first inning on the only pitch that he saw on the final day of the season and the Oakland Athletics held on for a 3-2 win over the Seattle Mariners Sunday.
Vogt drove the first pitch he saw from Felix Hernandez just beyond the left-field wall to give the A’s an early lead. Vogt was lifted for a pinch-hitter in his next at-bat. Marcus Semien and Eric Pinder both added RBI singles as Oakland made the three early runs stand up.
Seattle appeared drained closing it out at Safeco Field, after seeing its postseason hopes dashed in Saturday’s extra-innings loss to the A’s.
SOC-MLS-SOUNDERS-WHITECAPS
Sounders win 2-1, eliminate Whitecaps from playoff race
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Brad Evans scored on a penalty kick in the 81st minute and the Seattle Sounders beat the Vancouver Whitecaps 2-1 Sunday night in a game where both teams finished with 10 players.
The Sounders (13-13-5) have won four straight and are fifth in the Western Conference in the race for six playoff spots. The Whitecaps (9-15-8) were eliminated from playoff contention.
Evans earned the penalty when his cross struck sliding Vancouver defender Jordan Harvey’s arm in the Whitecaps’ box. Evans buried his first of the season into the middle of the net past goalkeeper David Ousted.
Pedro Morales scored on a penalty kick for Vancouver (9-15-8) in the 25th minute, and Osvaldo Alonso tied for Seattle in the 39th.
Morales was ejected by referee Ricardo Salazar in the 53rd for an elbow to the head/throat area of Sounders midfielder Cristian Roldan. Evans was sent off in the 84th minute for what appeared to be an attempted head-butt on Whitecaps defender David Edgar.
FLASH-THORNS
Flash down Thorns 4-3 in OT, head to NWSL championship
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Lynn Williams scored twice in overtime and the Western New York Flash beat the Portland Thorns 4-3 on Sunday for a spot in the National Women’s Soccer League championship game.
The Flash will play the Washington Spirit for the league title next Sunday in Houston. The Spirit beat the Chicago Red Stars 2-1 in overtime in the other semifinal Friday night.
Emily Sonnett scored the equalizer for the Thorns in the 78th minute. The Flash led 2-1 at the half after goals from Samantha Mewis and Makenzy Doniak. Christine Sinclair’s goal narrowed it for Portland in the 115th minute
Williams, who won the league’s Golden Boot award for most goals in the regular season, scored in the 98th and 103rd minutes after a 2-2 draw in regulation. Lindsey Horan added a goal for the Thorns in the 115th minute to narrow the gap but Portland couldn’t catch up.
New York coach Paul Riley, who was the Thorns in 2014 and 2015, was ejected in the 40th minute after an interaction with the referees.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.
