THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS: SPORTS

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MOUNT PLEASANT -- Central Michigan coach Butch Jones was disappointed with his team's 31-24 loss to Ball State on Wednesday, but didn't take anything away from the Cardinals.

AP PhotoBall State quarterback Nate Davis (13) celebrates the Cardinals' victory over Central Michigan on Wednesday that preserved BSU's undefeated season.

MOUNT PLEASANT -- Championship teams convert even the most brow-arching fourth-and-inches decisions, control fourth quarters with indomitable running attacks and win every time. If Ball State should continue meeting all those standards, it wants the opportunity to prove itself alongside other champions.

The task is not complete but, at 11-0, with the Bowl Championship Series ratings featured on the cover of their game notes and with a Fiesta Bowl representative on hand for Wednesday's 31-24 win against Central Michigan -- two weeks after the Orange Bowl also scouted them -- the Cardinals no longer can skirt the topic.

AP PhotoBall State's MiQuale Lewis finished with 180 yards rushing against Central Michigan on Wednesday.

MOUNT PLEASANT -- MiQuale Lewis didn't need to score a touchdown to make an impact.

With the outcome of the game still in the balance, Ball State leaned on its 5-foot-6, 184-pound junior running back for important yardage down the stretch.

Lewis ran for 89 of his game-high 180 yards in the fourth quarter, and helped lead the Cardinals to their game-winning touchdown drive in Ball State's 31-24 win against Central Michigan in front of 20,114 frozen fans Wednesday night at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.

ALLENDALE -- Joe Skuta, the 24-year-old brother of Dan Skuta, Grand Valley State's Division II All-American defensive tackle, died in his sleep Monday night of yet-to-be-determined causes.

The Grand Valley State sports information department confirmed the report, but has yet to obtain any detailed information. Coach Chuck Martin has talked with the family and his star tackle, who told the coach he would return to campus Thursday.

AP PhotoMichigan State coach Mark Dantonio wouldn't mind sharing the Big Ten title with Ohio State.

If No. 17 Michigan State is to earn its first outright Big Ten championship since 1987, the Spartans must win Saturday at seventh-ranked Penn State, and those dreaded Michigan Wolverines must pull off a major upset at No. 10 Ohio State.

Regardless of the importance of a Michigan win, Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio refuses to root for the Wolverines because of his ties to MSU, which also include as an assistant, and to Ohio State as an ex-assistant and defensive coordinator.

"I won't," Dantonio said when asked during Tuesday's final Big Ten coaches conference call if he would be pulling for U-M. "I have too many good friends and too many people who would not let me back into the house. So, go Bucks."

K'Len Morris scored 15 points and Pete Trammell (Jenison) added 12 points as Grand Valley State defeated Lake Erie, 65-63 on Wednesday.

The Lakers (2-0) won despite nearly giving away a 17-point halftime lead. Trammell also had nine rebounds.

Press Photo/T.J. HamiltonJenison's Taylor Root, left, celebrates the Wildcats' quarterfinal victory over rival East Kentwood with teammates Jessica Maier, Kelly Hevelhurst and Elizabeth Vaughan on Tuesday.

KENTWOOD -- The jaw hurts from dropping, smiling and forming the word "oh" so often.

The ears, a bit tender from the constant noise. The eyes, dry from not daring to blink.

Seriously, the quarterfinal volleyball match Tuesday pitting second-ranked Jenison, the defending Class A state champion, and top-ranked East Kentwood had to have affected everyone in the crowd of about 2,000.

AP File PhotoQuarterback Nate Davis, left, and running back MiQuale Lewis lead Ball State's offense.

MOUNT PLEASANT -- Butch Jones and Brady Hoke would like nothing more than to play on a short field tonight -- and stop the other guy from doing that.

And, oh yeah, hang onto the ball.

Jones, football coach at Central Michigan, and Hoke, his counterpart at Ball State, agreed that the winner of the field position and turnover battles in the Mid-American Conference showdown at CMU's Kelly/Shorts Stadium should be in good shape.

MILWAUKEE -- The Grand Rapids Griffins still can't figure out a way to beat the Milwaukee Admirals.

Stephen Werner scored twice in the third period to lift the Admirals to a 3-2 win at the Bradley Center on Tuesday night.

The Griffins are 0-6-1-1 in their past eight games against the Admirals, including 0-3-1-0 this season. Grand Rapids, which lost 5-4 at Milwaukee on Sunday night, is 8-1-1-1 against the rest of the American Hockey League this year.

Press File Photo/Adam BirdAshland quarterback Billy Cundiff finished with 358 yards passing and four touchdowns against Grand Valley State earlier this season.

ALLENDALE -- After Grand Valley State had rallied to beat Ashland 48-42 in late October, Grand Valley State coach Chuck Martin told Ashland's Lee Owens that he would see him in a few weeks.

"I had looked at the possible playoff pairings, and it looked like we would meet them again," Martin said.

Game on: Saturday, 1 p.m. Lubbers Stadium.

And the good Grand Valley State team -- the one with a defense that bends, but doesn't often break -- better show up.

Courtesy Photo/NASCAR: Marc SerotaNASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Johnny Benson stands with, from left, daughter Mikayla, wife Debbie and daughter Katelyn in the Seminole Paradise Courtyard at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla.

NASCAR hosted its annual Craftsman Trucks season-ending awards banquet Monday night, but Johnny Benson Jr. fans will have to wait until December before they can see and hear their driver deliver his victory speech.

Benson, who clinched his first Truck championship with a seventh-place finish in Friday's season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, was honored in a ceremony in Hollywood, Fla. The Speed Channel will televise the banquet at 8 p.m. Dec. 8.

CHICAGO -- Tom Izzo would rather not talk about the rough-and-tumble Big Ten Conference's 18-game league schedule.

"Why ruin a good day?" the 14-year Michigan State coach said when asked to discuss the 10-week league slate.

Courtesy Photo/Marc MillerMarc Miller will race his go-kart in the Rotax Max World Finals next week in Italy.

Tim Lobaugh was well aware of what Marc Miller of Holland could do with a go-kart long before the two ever became teammates.

Let's just say Lobaugh never stood in line waiting for Miller's autograph.