NFL Network: Kellen Moore to Lions

YAKIMA, Wash. — NFL Network and NFL.com reporter Ian Rapoport is reporting on Twitter that sources are saying former Prosser High and Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore is planning to sign with the Detroit Lions.

Update, 5:30 p.m. — Moore has confirmed his signing with the Lions to the Idaho Statesman’s Boise State beat reporter Chadd Cripe.

Update: 5:35 p.m. — Cripe and Brian Murphy note that Moore will be the third quarterback on the Lions roster with starter Matthew Stafford and Shaun Hill.

• This story will be updated.

Apple Cup: Wofford claims fourth again

Driver matches Fall Classic finish ||

YAKIMA, Wash. — Wapato’s J.C. Wofford made a statement in the Apple Cup Super Late Model main event Sunday at Yakima Speedway.

He showed that his fourth-place finish in last year’s Fall Classic was no fluke.

Wofford backed up that performance with another fourth-place finish on Sunday, the final car on the lead lap.

PHOTO GALLERY Click here for more photos from this event. SPACER Click here for information on purchasing photos.

“It’s all about consistency,” Wofford said after the race.

Consistent would be an apt description of Wofford’s day.

Starting in 10th position, he dodged trouble early and moved into the top five on lap 27, when Pete Harding and Mike Longton wrecked in turns one and two.

He would move into fourth on lap 35 when leader Shane Mitchell turned down pit lane with a smoking engine.

Wofford just kept plugging away.

“We went out trying to be conservative,” Wofford said.

That proved to be an excellent plan, as half of the 18 cars that started the race failed to finish.

Wofford’s biggest worry early was the slick conditions on the half-mile oval.

Apple Cup rules specify that drivers must start the race on the same tires they qualified on. That means that at the drop of the green flag, the entire field was on nearly 30-lap-old tires.

The only time tires can be changed is if one goes flat, so there’s no way to change onto new tires without a driver seriously disrupting his race.

“It was like ice out there,” Wofford said. “I guarantee the leaders were feeling it too.”

Wofford also dodged a bullet with a mechanical issue.

“We had a bad oil leak,” Wofford said.

The leak was causing enough smoke that track officials checked the back of Wofford’s car during a caution period on lap 102. Officials also checked the cars of Owen Riddle and David Smick for leaks on the same lap.

Officials were satisfied that the oil wasn’t reaching the track and let the cars continue.

That was the end of the drama for Wofford, who congratulated Riddle on his first major victory at Yakima Speedway.

“He deserved it,” he said. “He’s been out here a long time.”

Wofford is planning to be busy this summer, with races scheduled in Yakima, Spokane and Montana.

He also said he’s not done making statements, and is not content to rest on his consecutive fourth-place finishes.

“We want to be a force to be a force to be reckoned with,” Wofford said.

Follow Sunday’s Apple Cup action

YAKIMA, Wash. — We’ll be be keeping you updated from the Super Late Model main event at Yakima Speedway’s Apple Cup this afternoon.

Follow us on Twitter at @sportsyakima for all the updates. We’ll also have occasional updates on the Season Ticket blog as well.

Boys soccer: Wildcats a ‘Top’ pick for CWAC

YAKIMA, Wash. — How does a team go from a 4-5 record one year to being a top pick to win the league the next?

Well, returning 10 of 11 starters is a pretty good first step.

That’s what Toppenish boys soccer coach Uriel Gonzalez has going for him this season.

Victor Lopez, who scored 19 goals last season for the Wildcats, returns as the leader of a group of 14 seniors, most of whom have played together since middle school.

“There’s a lot of pressure,” Gonzalez said of the group of 12th-graders. “We’re going to have to bring our best game. We’re going to have a target on our back.”

In addition to Victor Lopez, Gonzalez says he’s counting on three other players with the surname Lopez. Victor’s brother Jonathan, a freshman who will play all over the field, and twin brothers Edgar and Eric, who are not related to Victor and Jonathan.

Moises Pinon, a three-year starter at midfield, returns, while Armando Robles moves from the midfield to defense.

Joining Robles and Edgar Cano on defense is Osvaldo Martinez, who was a second-team all-CWAC selection at Wapato last season before transferring to Toppenish.

Martinez, Victor Lopez and Ivan Sabalza have already decided to continue their soccer careers together at Columbia Basin College.

The Wildcats’ last line of defense will feature one of their youngsters, sophomore goalkeeper Oliver Sanchez, who Gonzalez says has excellent reaction time and good hands.

“We’re just trying to put the pieces together and get these guys in rhythm,” Gonzalez said.

And those pieces may be coming together faster than expected.

Toppenish has started its season 1-1 against teams from the CBBN 4A.

The Wildcats defeated Richland 1-0 in a shootout and lost 1-0 to Eisenhower. Richland was 9-3 in its league and reached the regional round last year, while Eisenhower appears to be improved over the team that just missed district play at 6-6 in 2011.

But the true test comes when the league season begins.

The CWAC is one of the toughest and evenly matched leagues in the state with all 10 teams capable of earning a spot in the district tournament

“Anybody can beat anybody on any given day,” Gonzalez said. “You have to stay sharp and not let your guard down.”

• Marcus Michelson can be reached at 509-577-7677 or [email protected]

2012 Prep boys soccer preview capsules

CBBN 4A

FAVORITES

Richland and Chiawana figure to be tough again this season. The Bombers will have to overcome the loss of CBBN 4A MVP Eric Thomas and two other first-team all-leaguers who graduated. Chiawana, a state quarterfinalist a year ago, loses only one senior who earned all-league honors last year. Davis and Eisenhower should be in the mix atop the division this year.

AROUND THE DIVISION

DAVIS graduated four seniors who earned all-league honors last season, but returns a strong nucleus with Jhony Mendoza (a senior defender), Ricky Badillo (senior forward) and Homar Renteria (senior midfielder). Youngsters Jetzael Marmolejo, Daniel Guzman and Jorge Guererro will key the Pirates’ defense. … EISENHOWER knows it can beat anyone in the league, because they did it last year. However the Cadets split with each of those teams, so they know it can go the other way as well. Coach Tyler Suhm has an experienced group back keyed by midfielders Guillermo Silva and Jesus Delgado and goalie Cesar Aparicio. Pablo Suarez, Juan Licea and Cristian Tejeda are among the newcomers that the Cadets will be counting on.

CBBN 3A

FAVORITES

Much like the 4A division, this could be anybody’s to win. Southridge, which was 12-2 last season and fourth place at state, loses six all-leaguers to graduation. Pasco and Eastmont were also considered good bets to be in the thick of things at the end of the season.

AROUND THE DIVISION

SUNNYSIDE is being coach by interim mentors David Guevara and Sergio Lincona while Juan Pineda is away from the team. The Grizzlies are led by seniors Edgar Aguilar (midfielder), Javier Gonzales (forward) and Josue Pineda (defender) and juniors Osvaldo Lopez (midfielders) and Bradley Lopez (defender). Top newcomers include Armando Armenta, a midfielder, and Cristian Vargas, a goalie/utility player. … Former WEST VALLEY standout Josh Koreski, returns as coach of his alma mater. Koreski, who had 23 goals for the Rams in 1994 and 21 goals in 1995 will try to help the Rams bounce back from a 4-10 record last season. WV is led by senior forward Jesse Esquivel, a 2011 second-team CBBN 3A forward, and senior defenders Tim Gibson and Evan Bowman, junior defender Tyler Cluff, and junior midfielders Moises Navarro and David Ellis.

CWAC

FAVORITES

It’s a recurring theme, but the top spots in the CWAC are up for grabs. Toppenish should be the team to beat, but East Valley, Othello, Ellensburg, Selah, Prosser, Wapato and Grandview will all return strong cores. Grandview was noted by more than one coach as a team on the rise.

AROUND THE LEAGUE

Ricky Barragan will lead the EAST VALLEY midfield and Manny Lopez will anchor the defense. Two freshmen that coach Todd Morrow are looking toward are Christian Villegas, a striker who could make some serious noise in the CWAC in the future, and Adrian Lopez, a freshman who will play some midfield and forward this year. Berkley Aguilar is a junior who is moving up from JV and will be starting on defense along with returning all-CWAC second teamer Gavin Osegueda. Cesar Pena and Chad Morrow are returning sophomore starters. … ELLENSBURG lost quite a few seniors, including all-CWAC goalie Andrew Yoder, but has a good group to build around, coach Levi Teasley said. Casey Oltman has tallied seven goals so far this season. Seniors Jacob Harris and Jose Ibarra are also among the team’s leaders. Leo Munguia, a sophomore defender, will help the Bulldogs overcome their graduation losses. … GRANDVIEW went 1-8 last season in the CWAC, but you can pretty much forget about that. Coach Anne Holden is building a team around young players who are learning on the fly. The Greyhounds responded to a film session last week with a nine-goal outburst on Saturday. Ricardo Cerata, Ruben Clara, Edwin Salgado and Mauricio Torres provide the foundation for Grandview. Youngsters such as Sammy Cuevas and Victor Valencia provide a preview of a bright future for the Hounds. … PROSSER lost only one all-leaguer to graduation and could be in the mix for the district playoffs this season, after losing to Selah in the first round of districts in 2011. … SELAH is hoping to build on last year’s run to the first round of the state tournament. Eliseo Montiel, who led the Valley in scoring with 19 goals last season, returns for coach Todd Martin’s Vikings. Six seniors also return for Selah, including defender Troy Brown. All-CWAC first teamer Danny Hernandez is out with an injury. Other players the Vikings are counting on are Ivan Balbuena (center midfielder), Rafael Arellano (midfielder), Felipe Duarte (defender) and defender Troy Simonson. … TOPPENISH returns most of the team that reached last year’s district playoffs. For more on the Wildcats, see the accompanying story. … WAPATO has a new coach in Ruben Torrico, who is also the girls soccer coach for the Wolves. Torrico is building his squad around first-team all-CWAC forward Fredy Rodriguez, who scored seven goals as a junior last season. Julio Alvarez, a senior, also stands out as a fast and smart defender, according to Torrico. The Wolves will also have a freshman making contributions this year in Hector Cruz at defender.

SCAC

FAVORITES

Highland, Royal and Wahluke should be the teams to beat. Wahluke was 13-1 in the SCAC last season and went on to win the state championship. The Warriors did lose some firepower to graduation, but should be able to reload. Royal, which finished third at state in 2011 should contend again, but has considerable graduation losses to overcome.

AROUND THE LEAGUE

GRANGER has three players back who earned all-SCAC honorable mention last season. Esau Cervantes, Noe Ramos and Hector Franco. Ramos has already notched a four-goal game this season and Cervantes scored twice against Kiona-Benton. … HIGHLAND returns nine of their 11 starters from last year’s squad that reached the state tournament. Jesus Gutierrez will be a force up front for coach Greg Wagner’s Scotties, while Luis Nogales will split time between offense and defense and not miss a step in the process. Miguel Muniz and Tomas Alvarez are captains holding down the fort in the midfield and defense, respectively. As a last line of defense, the Scotties have Antonio Gonzalez in goal. … Edgar Diaz, Lorenzo Sanchez and Gil Machado have been on the score sheet for MABTON so far this season who are 1-1 to start the season, including a shootout loss to Royal. … NACHES VALLEY is looking to improve on a disappointing 2011 campaign. Coach Aaron Washburn is counting on returning players Zale Lockwood, Porfi Navarro, Gerek Thompson, Jacob Charlet and Jediah Main. Newcomers include Ryan Willard and Garret Upton.

• This story was updated to correct information about East Valley’s returning starters/

Papa Wells Invite will be hub of prep track on Saturday

YAKIMA, Wash. — Nearly all of the Yakima region’s prep track and field teams will flock to East Valley’s Barden Field for Saturday’s 30-team Papa Wells Invitational.

The sixth annual event hosted by Riverside Christian will include Eisenhower, Davis, West Valley and Sunnyside, six local 2A schools from the CWAC and four teams from the SCAC West.

Field events will start at 10:30 a.m. with the first running event at 11.

Davis’ Kaitlin Kaluzny has won the 800- and 1,600-meter races in each of the last two Papa Wells Invites, and Toppenish’s Angie Zuniga won the 100 in 2009 and 2010.

How to follow Davis’ state quarterfinal

YAKIMA, Wash. — Live coverage of Thursday’s Class 4A boys basketball state quarterfinal between Davis and Bothell will be available on a multitude of media.

Here’s how you can watch the 3:45 p.m. matchup:

• Television — The game will be broadcast by KWYT on Channel 39.4. The channel is not available on Charter, Dish or DirecTV. The only way to get the channel is with an antenna (rabbit ears or one on the roof or in the attic will work). For more information, contact KWYT at 509-248-5971.

• Radio — The game will be on KUTI (1460 AM) in the greater Yakima area.

• Online — Washington Sports Network and the WIAA will be live streaming the games on the Internet. The Washington Sports Network Feed will be available on sportsyakima.com. You can reach the WIAA’s feed at their website, www.wiaa.com or by clicking here

How to watch Sunnyside Christian on SWX

YAKIMA, Wash. — Thursday’s Class 1B girls state tournament game between Sunnyside Christian and Cusick is scheduled to be broadcast on SWX, which is a digtal subchannel of KNDO.

To find out how you can receive SWX, visit this website

First-round state volleyball pairings

Class 1B

At Yakima Valley SunDome, Yakima

Wilbur-Creston vs. Lopez Island, 8 a.m.

Lake Quinault vs. Colton, 8 a.m.

Thorp vs. Sunnyside Christian, 9:45 a.m.

Crescent vs. King’s Way Christian, 9:45 a.m.

NW Yeshiva vs. Moses Lake Christian, 11:45 a.m.

Tekoa-Oakesdale vs. Almira/Coulee-Hartline, 11:45 a.m.

Neah Bay vs. Seton Catholic, 1:30 p.m.

Odessa-Harrington vs. Christian Faith, 1:30 p.m.

Class 2B

At Yakima Valley SunDome, Yakima

Kittitas vs. Bear Creek, 11:45 a.m.

Pe Ell vs. Reardan, 11:45 a.m.

DeSales vs. Pateros, 11:45 a.m.

Darrington vs. Adna, 11:45 a.m.

NW Christian (Lacey) vs. Brewster, 1:30 p.m.

Colfax vs. LaConner, 1:30 p.m.

Orcas Island vs. South Bend, 1:30 p.m.

Riverside Christian vs. Asotin, 1:30 p.m.

Class 1A

At Yakima Valley SunDome, Yakima

Naches Valley vs. Freeman, 8 a.m.

Life Christian vs. Castle Rock, 8 a.m.

Ridgefield vs. Lynden Christian, 8 a.m.

Overlake vs. Zillah, 8 a.m.

La Salle vs. Montesano, 9:45 a.m.

Annie Wright vs. Colville, 9:45 a.m.

Kalama vs. Cedar Park Christian, 9:45 a.m.

Chelan vs. King’s, 9:45 a.m.

Class 2A

At Evergreen State College, Olympia

Black Hills vs. Pullman, 8 a.m.

Olympic vs. Burlington-Edison, 8 a.m.

East Valley (Yakima) vs. North Kitsap, 9:45 a.m.

Archbishop Murphy vs. White River, 9:45 a.m.

Ephrata vs. Port Angeles, 11:45 a.m.

Sehome vs. Tumwater, 11:45 a.m.

Centralia vs. Anacortes, 1:30 p.m.

Interlake vs. Selah, 1:30 p.m.

Class 3A

At St. Martin’s University/Timberline High School, Lacey

Enumclaw vs. Eastside Catholic, 8 a.m.

Kennewick vs. Camas, 8 a.m.

Capital vs. Mt. Spokane, 8 a.m.

Mount Si vs. Meadowdale, 9:45 a.m.

Bainbridge Island vs. Prairie, 9:45 a.m.

Timberline vs. Seattle Prep, 9:45 a.m.

Glacier Peak vs. Auburn Mountainview, 11:45 a.m.

Mercer Island vs. West Valley (Yakima), 11:45 a.m.

Class 4A

At St. Martin’s College/Timberline High School, Lacey

Newport vs. Olympia, 11:45 a.m.

Tahoma vs. Mead, 1:30 p.m.

Central Valley vs. Puyallup, 1:30 p.m.

Rogers (Puyallup) vs. Jackson, 1:30 p.m.

Kamiak vs. Kentwood, 3:15 p.m.

Kent Meridian vs. Woodinville, 3:15 p.m.

Curtis vs. Wenatchee, 3:15 p.m.

Skyline vs. Bellarmine Prep, 5:15 p.m.

The weekend in pictures

YAKIMA, Wash. — In case you missed it, here are some of the best photos from some of the biggest sports news stories from the past weekend.

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