Area players stand out in All-American Bowl
BASEBALL: The Blue Jays acquired IF Yangervis Solarte from the Padres for prospects Edward Olivares and Jared Carkuff . ... The Padres re-signed RHP Craig Stammen to a two-year contract.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Easton Stick threw 50-yard TD pass to Darrius Shepherd and North Dakota State took back the FCS title, beating James Madison 17-13 in Frisco, Texas, a year after the Bison’s five-year run atop the FCS ended against the Dukes in the semifinals . ... Florida State CB Tarvarus McFadden and WR Auden Tates are entering NFL draft . ... North Carolina State QB Ryan Finley said he’ll return for his final season of eligibility instead of entering the NFL draft.
GOLF: Dustin Johnson holed out with a wedge for eagle, birdied all the par 5s and powered his way to a 7-under 66 to build a two-shot lead over Brian Harman going into the final round of the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Kapalua, Hawaii.
NFL: The Giants interviewed Vikings OC Pat Shurmur for their coaching job . ... The Bears interviewed Eagles QBs coach John DeFilippo for their coaching job.
OLYMPICS: Brian Hansen qualified for his third Olympic team by finishing second in the 1,500 meters at the U.S. speedskating trials in Milwaukee. Joey Mantia won the 33⁄4-lap race at 1:46.31, and Shani Davis was third at 1:47.15. Mantia and Davis have already qualified for the Olympics. Mia Mangenello made her first Olympic team with a third-place finish in the 1,500 meters. Brittany Bowe won the race, while Heather Bergsma was second. Both have already qualified for the Winter Games. Earlier, Erin Jackson qualified in the 500 meters by finishing third behind Bowe and Bergsma . ... Bradie Tennell, Mirai Nagasu and Karen Chen, the top women’s finishers at the figure skating national championships in San Jose, Calif., were selected to the U.S. team for the Olympics . ... The husband-wife pair of Chris Knierim and Alexa Scimeca-Knierim captured a national title at the U.S. championships, likely securing their Olympic berth.
SOCCER: Philippe Coutinho is joining Barcelona after Liverpool agreed to sell the Brazilian in a 51⁄2-year, $192 million deal that makes him one of the most expensive players in history . ... Stoke fired manager Mark Hughes after the relegation-threatened Premier League team was beaten 2-1 by fourth-tier Coventry in the FA Cup third round in Stoke, England.
TENNIS: Elina Svitolina won her first WTA title in Australia with a straight-sets win in the Brisbane International final . ... Roger Federer and Belinda Bencic won the deciding Fast4 mixed doubles 4-3 (3), 4-2 over Germany to give Switzerland its third Hopman Cup title in Perth, Australia. ... Gael Monfils won the Qatar Open with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Andrey Rublev.
WINTER SPORTS: Mikaela Shiffrin earned her 39th victory at a giant slalom in Slovenia . ... Marcel Hirscher edged Henrik Kristoffersen to win giant slalom in Switzerland. Kaillie Humphries won her third bobsled World Cup of the season in Germany to extend her standings lead.
Several South Florida players and recruits for state schools stood out in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio on Saturday afternoon.
Miami-Dade County running back James Cook scored two touchdowns while Hurricanes quarterback signee Jarren Williams was up and down and American Heritage’s trio of defenders made plays in the East team’s 17-16 loss to the West.
Cook, who played at Miami Central but transferred to Northwestern after the football season and is Dalvin Cook’s younger brother, scored the first touchdown of the exhibition from 16 yards out in the third quarter to give the East a 10-3 lead. After 14 unanswered from the West, he caught a touchdown with under three minutes remaining, but the East went for the two-point conversion and failed.
Williams made a firstdown throw on his first series with a sharp pass on an out route, and in the second half, he hit a receiver with a bullet pass over the middle where his team picked up 15 yards on a third-and-18. Williams also showed his dual-threat ability by scrambling for a gain of 10 on one first-half play.
Then there were the throws that Williams missed on. He had fellow UM signee Mark Pope, a receiver out of Miami Southridge, with a step on his defender deep down the sideline but underthrew him and the pass was deflected. Williams looked for Pope again on the ensuing play and missed him short there too. Williams was 3 for 6 for 35 yards, was sacked twice and had two delay-of-game penalties.
Miami signee Brian Hightower, a Bradenton IMG Academy receiver who played for the West, had four catches for 50 yards; Pope had one 5-yard reception.
American Heritage cornerback Tyson Campbell was on the coverage for a first-and-goal pass that fell incomplete on the East’s first defensive series. Patriots defensive tackle Nesta Silvera, a Hurricanes commit, applied pressure on the quarterback on third down two plays later to force a field goal attempt that missed.
Silvera also delivered a big hit on Ole Miss-signed quarterback Matt Corral, formerly a Florida Gators commit, on a pass that fell incomplete. Heritage corner Patrick Surtain II had a decent punt return in the first half, gaining doubledigit yards after backing up on a long kick. Neither of the Patriots’ five-star defensive backs, Surtain or Campbell, was thrown at much as they had solid coverage on the receivers they were defending.
FSU signee Jaiden Woodbey intercepted the first pass of the game on a tipped ball deep down the sideline.
Hurricanes-signed running back Lorenzo Lingard barely saw action, gaining a yard on two carries.
dfurones@sunsentinel.com, @DavidFurones_