Sports in brief: Tatupu’s season not finished yet

Seattle Seahawks middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu’s season might not be over after all.

Coach Jim Mora said Monday that further tests showed the muscle and tendons of Tatupu’s injured pectoral muscle might not be detached from the bone.

“After further review and further imaging, we’re not certain yet that Lofa is done,” Mora said.

If the muscle is not detached from the bone, it’s an injury that can heal with rehabilitation instead of season-ending surgery.

Tatupu was injured after making a tackle of Larry Fitzgerald in the second quarter. It appeared he suffered the injury after he was struck by teammate Deon Grant.

Mora did not have a timeline for how much time Tatupu will miss at a minimum even if the muscle is only partially torn.

Seattle Times

WAC selects UI’s Lavarias

College football: Idaho defensive end Aaron Lavarias, who had two sacks and forced a fumble, has been named top defensive player for the week by the Western Athletic Conference.

Lavarias, a junior, had four solo tackles, three quarterback hurries and played a key role in the Vandals’ 35-23 victory over Hawaii on Saturday. After he forced a fumble in the fourth quarter, the Vandals capitalized by marching for a touchdown to go up 35-17 and improve to 6-1 on the season.

Boise State, NIC to square off

Wrestling: Boise State, ranked No. 9 nationally pre-season among NCAA wrestling teams, returns to Spokane for a Halloween evening exhibition match.

The event, pitting the Broncos against North Idaho College, is a fundraiser for the Washington State Wrestling Coaches Assoc. Graham Baker Morin scholarship fund.

Cost is $8 for adults and $5 for children. The match is at 7 p.m. at West Valley. Coaches will also conduct a free kids and coaches clinic at 4 p.m.

Boise State is two-time defending Pac-10 champion and finished 12th in the NCAA tournament last year with 46.5 points. The Broncos have only two seniors in a lineup that has five wrestlers ranked among the nation’s top 11, including two-time top-four NCAA placer Andrew Hochstrasser (133 pounds).

Boise State’s roster includes area wrestlers Adam Hall (Bonners Ferry), Levi Jones (Lakeside), Brian Owen (University), Jacob Neumann (Central Valley) and Derek Toney (Reardan).

NIC placed second in the NJCAA community college tournament last year and had five All-Americans. The Cardinals incoming freshman class includes several area athletes.

Mike Vlahovich