WACO

Temple

WASHINGTON (AP)

FORT HOOD

With Friday

On Dec. 3 Wes Riddle of Belton stood in the back watching studiously as U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, amid a crowd of supporters in front of the Bell County Courthouse, declared he would seek re-election to the 11th Congressional District. Nearly a month later, Riddle officially threw his hat into the race Friday, hoping to unseat the long-time U.S. Representative.

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Craig Krenzel left college football with another Fiesta Bowl triumph and another MVP award. Ell Roberson’s comeback fell one touchdown short in a game many thought he would not play. Krenzel, who finished his Ohio State career 24-3 as a starter, matched his career high with four touchdown passes — two apiece to Michael Jenkins and Santonio Holmes — and No. 7 Ohio State held off No. 8 Kansas State 35-28 on Friday night.

DALLAS (AP) — Eli Manning stayed another year at Mississippi in hopes of a season just like this: 10 wins and a January victory. Manning threw for 259 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score in his final game for Ole Miss, leading the No. 16 Rebels to a 31-28 victory over No. 21 Oklahoma State in the Cotton Bowl on Friday.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Stephen Davis sat down at his locker, unaware Steve Spurrier had just resigned as coach of the Washington Redskins. When told, he didn’t believe it. He checked his cell phone: Eight messages.

(AP) It seems fitting Peyton Manning and Steve McNair shared The Associated Press NFL Most Valuable Player award Friday. After all, their teams finished with the same record and tied atop the AFC South. In just the third tie since the award began in 1957, the premier passers each received 16 votes Friday from a nationwide panel of 50 sports writers and broadcasters who cover the NFL.

While the high school football season might well be over, in Texas it’s never too late to talk football. On Sunday we will be recognizing the achievements of area football athletes and programs, but there were also a lot of stories around the state that are worth noting, some of which have local ties. One of those belongs to Rogers, which is a good place to begin. While Ennis quarterback Graham Harrell practically rewrote the record books, setting state records for career passing yards (12,511), career touchdown passes (167), and single-season TD passes (67), Philip Beck of Crosby caught 16 passes in a playoff loss to La Marque to give him 124 on the season, which broke the state single-season record of 122 set by Rogers’ Josh Whatley in 1997. But with more and more teams moving to the spread offense, it wouldn’t be surprising if that mark fell during the next few years.

TEXARKANA — The Central Texas Blackhawks led by as many as two goals but couldn’t hang on in the end, dropping a 4-3 shootout decision to the Texarkana Bandits on Friday night at Four States Arena. Both teams moved to 12-15-1 for 25 points in the North American Hockey League. Central Texas has lost five straight games.