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SECTION B, Sunday & Monday, October 19-20, 2014
INSIDE TODAY:
H.S. FOOTBALL
Sophie Cunningham
became the first Bruins
female to score in a
football game. Page 4B
EVE EDELHEIT/Tampa Bay Times
Missouri defensive lineman Markus Golden and linebacker Michael Scherer, No. 30, celebrate after Golden scored a touchdown off of a fumble during the third quarter.
SWAMP MONSTERS
MISSOURI 42 | FLORIDA 13
While Mauk struggled,
Marcus Murphy got
224 all-purpose yards
in the Tigers’ win
By MICHAEL SHAW
sports@ColumbiaMissourian.com
GAINESVILLE, Florida — Maty
Mauk is one lucky quarterback.
Mauk struggled for the third
game in a row against the Gators.
He completed a third of his pass-
es, threw his ninth interception of
the season and only threw for 20
yards.
But fortunately for Mauk, the
Tigers have Marcus Murphy.
“It’s crazy,” Mauk said of Mur-
phy. “It really changes how a game
can end up and when the ball’s in
his hands, there can be six points
scored at any time.”
Murphy proved that time and
time again Saturday. He account-
ed for 224 all-purpose yards in
the Tigers’ 42-13 stomping of the
Gators at Ben Hill Griffin Sta-
dium. He returned the opening
kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown,
returned a third-quarter punt 82
yards for another touchdown and
got into the end zone on a five-yard
rush.
It was Missouri’s only offensive
touchdown, and Murphy’s first
rushing touchdown of the season.
Murphy became the first player in
Missouri history score on a rush,
punt return and kickoff return in
one game.
There were three delay of game
penalties called on Missouri’s
offense, and nearly another, if
coaches hadn’t called time out
before the play clock expired.
The offense gained 119 yards
from scrimmage, yet Missouri
(5-2 overall, 2-1 in the Southeast-
ern Conference) still scored 42
points.
“Defensively I felt our kids gave
us a chance to win,” Florida coach
Will Muschamp said. “They didn’t
have to do much.”
Florida’s offense — devoid
of a Murphy-like playmaker —
never got the Gators back into
the game. Fans booed quarterback
Jeff Driskel, who finished 7-of-19
Please see MURPHY page 2B
Missouri had just 119
yards of total offense;
the Tigers’ defense was
able to bail it out
By WADE LIVINGSTON
sports@ColumbiaMissourian.com
GAINESVILLE, Florida — The
chants started after Missouri line-
backer and Florida native Darvin
Ruise trotted into the end zone.
“Fire Muschamp! Fire Mus-
champ,” the fans in the northwest
corner of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
chanted. The jeers were aimed
at Florida coach Will Muschamp.
And they came from behind the
Gators’ bench.
Ruise had just intercepted Gators
quarterback Jeff Driskel’s pass on
3rd-and-4 with just more than six
minutes left in the third quarter.
His touchdown return — and the
ensuing extra point — made the
score 42-0 in favor of Missouri.
Ruise’s score was the second
by Tigers defenders in Missouri’s
42-13 defeat of Florida on Saturday
in Gainesville. It was the exclama-
tion point on a defensive effort
that, along with Marcus Murphy’s
special teams plays, propped up a
still-struggling Missouri offense.
And Ruise’s defensive touchdown
had Florida fans turning on the
their own head coach — on home-
coming day.
If you don’t count Murphy, here’s
who scored for the Tigers on Satur-
day: defensive end Markus Golden
and Ruise. Safety and team cap-
tain Braylon Webb almost found
the end zone when he picked off
Driskel’s pass in the second quar-
ter.
It was another night where Mis-
souri’s offense struggled, but luck-
ily the defense was there to bail it
out. The Tigers had just 119 yards
of total offense. Quarterback Maty
Mauk threw for just 20 yards.
But it didn’t matter.
Between Golden’s 21-yard
fumble recovery return, Ruise’s
46-yard interception return and
Webb’s pick return yardage, the
Missouri defense picked up 124
yards of its own. More important-
ly, it gave the Tigers offense a
Please see DEFENSE, page 2B
JOHN RAOUX/The Associated Press
Missouri running back Marcus Murphy gains
yardage against Florida during the first half of
Saturday’s football game. Murphy returned a
punt and a kickoff for touchdowns on Saturday.
Rooting for the other
Missouri team was a
hard choice to make
By KAYLA NELSON
sports@ColumbiaMissourian.com
Cardinals fans are at a stand-
still for the World Series.
Since the Cardinals lost
Game 5 of the National League
ChampionshipSeriesThursday
night against the Giants 6-3,
die-hard Cardinals fans feel as
if their loyalties are shattered.
To root for Missouri’s other
baseball team, the one that
made the Fall Classic, or to
remain in despair?
“I’m not even sure what to do
with myself right now,” Mis-
souri freshman and St. Louis
native Ellis Markman said Sat-
urday. “Of course I’m going for
the Royals, but that’s because
I’m obviously not going for the
Giants.”
This seems to be a com-
mon viewpoint in Columbia.
For Kansas City natives, the
answer is obvious, but for peo-
ple from St. Louis and other
Cardinals fans, the decision
is tough. The shock that the
Red Birds are done after an
emphatic 4-1 series win by San
Francisco is difficult to come
to terms with.
Some people, however, are
looking at the situation in a
Missouri-wide viewpoint, see-
ing that the Royals are still
a Missouri team and deserve
support.
“I’m really just for the Roy-
als because I feel like being
loyal to your hometown helps
you self-identify,” said Moberly
Area Community College stu-
dent Raheem Tolbert, who is
from St. Louis.
There’s even some baseball
fans who are simply still furi-
ous and would rather go for the
opposition.
“I’m just going to go for the
Giants,” sophomore Joshua
Easley said. “There’s just no
point anymore.”
Regardless of this city’s alle-
giances, the Kansas City Roy-
als will face the San Francisco
Giants in the World Series,
starting on Tuesday.
Supervising editor is
Sean Morrison: sports@
ColumbiaMissourian.com,
882-5730.
The Stars lost
to Lindenwood
University-Belleville
By RYAN BARIS
sports@ColumbiaMissourian.com
After starting the season
3-1 in four nonconference
matches, Stephens College
soccer went into conference
play in the best position in its
three-year history.
But after seven matches
against American Midwest
Conference opponents, the
Stars (3-9, 0-7) are still look-
ing for their first conference
victory.
Injuries plagued Stephens
throughout the early part
of the conference schedule.
Almost half the team has
dealt with injuries at some
point this season, leaving
coach Xander Kennedy to fig-
ure out roster adjustments.
“I think, maybe twice, I’ve
used the same lineup from
one game to the next,” Ken-
nedy said.
Kennedy said part of that
is trying to find the “perfect
recipe” of players to put on
the field, but most of the alter-
ations come from how many
players have gone down.
In Saturday’s 4-0 loss to
Lindenwood University-Bel-
leville, injury again played
a role for the Stars. Starting
goalie Amanda Chapman left
the game late after a busy
day in which she racked up
14 saves.
“She’s (Chapman) the sort
of athlete who will never ask
to come out,” Kennedy said.
“But there are two things
she’s dealing with – an ankle
and a knee – that both got
exacerbated today.”
Kennedy said improved
competition is the main dif-
ference in the Stars’ down-
turn. He said he knew the
team’s 3-1 start was deceptive
because of the quality of the
teams it beat.
“I intentionally scheduled
non-conference opponents
I thought we could be com-
petitive with, in large part
Cardinals fans switch loyalties
as Royals head to World Series
Injuries, inconsistent lineups
hinder Stephens women’s soccer
Please see SOCCER, page 2B
See more game photos on PAGE 3B
‘I’m not even sure
what to do with
myself right now.’
ELLIS MARKMAN
MU freshman, St. Louis native
‘I think, maybe twice,
I’ve used the same
lineup from one game
to the next.’
XANDER KENNEDY
Coach of the Stephens College
women’s soccer team