Sports briefs 11/8
Girls volleyball
Fort Cherry will enter the PIAA Class 2A playoffs as the third-place team from the WPIAL, the result of the Rangers defeating Shenango 3-1 in a consolation match played Thursday night at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart High School.
Game scores were 25-20, 25-21, 24-26, 25-11.
Both teams qualified for the PIAA playoffs that begin Tuesday.
Fort Cherry (18-2) will play the District 6 champion, either Northern Cambria or Purchase Line, in the first round.
Yellow Jackets win season opener
Jonah Biggers scored 17 points and led five Waynesburg University players in double figures as the Yellow Jackets opened the season with a 77-66 victory over Elmira on Friday in the first round of the tournament at Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse.
Waynesburg took control of the game in the middle of the first half led by as many as 16 points midway through the second half.
Elmira, behind a game-high 26 points from Gustavo Coutinto, closed to within six points with less than two minutes remaining before Waynesburg pulled away down the stretch.
Lorenzo Stanley followed Biggers in the scoring column for Waynesburg with 14 points. Aiden Blake finished with 13, Cam Suggs scored all of his 11 points in the first half and Teegan Finucan also netted 11. Demetrius Rivers grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.
The game was turnover-filled. Waynesburg won despite committing 24 turnovers. Elmira turned it over 21 times. Elmira was held to only 17 field goals but made 26 of 30 free throws.
Waynesburg will play either Otterbein or Misericordia in the championship game at 3 p.m. Saturday.
Baseball
The Toronto Blue Jays say a series of anti-Muslim videos posted by Anthony Santander on the right-fielder’s social media account do not represent the team’s values and beliefs.
The team issued the statement after Santander posted the videos in the aftermath of the U.S. midterm elections. He deleted them on Thursday.
The videos included a Christian preacher saying, “There is no such thing as kind Muslims,” with another suggesting Sharia law would be imposed on the U.S. after Abdul El-Sayed was elected to the senate in Michigan.
El-Sayed is the son of Egyptian immigrants and will become the first Muslim American U.S. senator.
“Baseball is for everyone, and the Blue Jays have created an inclusive experience where all fans feel welcome at our ballpark,” the team said. “Individual comments do not represent our organization’s values and beliefs.”
NFL
The NFL told disgruntled wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk that he needs to repay the San Francisco 49ers about $13 million he previously received in bonuses as he tries to get reinstated to the team’s roster.
Aiyuk’s new agent, Drew Rosenhaus, said earlier this week that Aiyuk had officially submitted his paperwork to the NFL to get back and was planning to report to the 49ers on Friday.
A person with knowledge of the situation said the league sent Aiyuk and the NFLPA a letter Thursday saying that he owes the 49ers the money based on bonuses he was paid after signing a four-year, $120 million extension just before the start of the 2024 season.
Aiyuk hasn’t played a game in more than two years since going down with a knee injury in October 2024 and has been on the reserve/left squad list after leaving the Niners late last season.
Auto racing
Dodge will return to the NASCAR Cup Series with veteran drivers AJ Allmendinger and Ty Dillon – and potentially one more – in 2027.
Kaulig Racing, which is anchoring Dodge’s effort slated to begin at Daytona International Speedway in February, made the announcement Friday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Kaulig CEO Chris Rice said he would like to run a third car in the season-opening Daytona 500 but added “there are some stipulations that we have to go through” to make it happen.
Allmendinger, 44, will drive the No. 16 Dodge. Dillon, 34, will pilot the No. 10 entry.