Corvallis Gazette-Times

Oregon State placekicker Alexis Serna was named the Pacific-10 Conference Special Teams Player of the Week on Monday, after scoring all of the Oregon State football team’s points over the weekend.

He was also selected as one of 20 semifinalists for the 14th annual Lou Groza Award, given annually to the nation’s best placekicker.

The three finalists will be announced on Nov. 21 and the winner will be announced on Dec. 8 during the ESPN Home Depot College Football Award Show in Orlando.

The sophomore from Fontana, Calif., connected on all six field goals attempts in an 18-10 win over Washington. That broke his OSU record of five and tied a Pac-10 record held by UCLA’s John Lee in 1984 against San Diego State and Oregon’s Paul Martinez this season against Montana.

Serna is 22-for-24 in field goals this season and is the national leader with an average of 2.44 field goals a game. He’s also 11-for-11 in Husky Stadium, dating back to last season.

“I think it’s awesome,” coach Mike Riley said of Serna’s success. “It’s really comforting to have consistency there. And we should never take it for granted. I think he’s done a great job. And he obviously likes kicking in Husky Stadium.”

USC quarterback Matt Leinart is the offensive player of the week and Oregon defensive tackle Haloti Ngata earned the defense honors.

Leinart was 22-for-28 for 259 yards and four touchdowns in a 51-21 win over Stanford. Ngata had a game high 11 tackles and batted down two passes at the line of scrimmage in a 27-20 overtime win over California.

Ceremony for baseball team

The 2005 baseball team will be honored at halftime of Saturday’s football game in Reser Stadium against Stanford. It won the Pac-10 title and two NCAA regional championships, and reached the College World Series this past spring. Players will be introduced and presented their championship rings.

Burke signs with Texas

Former Beaver baseball/football letterman Jamie Burke has signed a minor-league contract with the Texas Rangers. A catcher/third baseman, he played for the Chicago White Sox organization the past three years, playing for Chicago and its Charlotte franchise in Triple-A.

Burke hit .265 with 10 homers and 53 RBI for Charlotte in 2005 and was 0-for-1 in a brief stint with the White Sox. He has a .328 lifetime major-league average, with no homers and 17 RBI, in 73 games with Anaheim and the White Sox.

Burke lettered in football as a place-kicker in 1990-92 and in baseball as a third baseman in 1992-93.

Civil War banquet

A Civil War banquet is scheduled for 6 p.m. Nov. 14 at the Club Level of Reser Stadium. Athletic director Bob De Carolis, football coach Mike Riley, and team captains Keith Ellison, Trent Bray and Mike Hass will be the guest speakers.

The cost is $25. For reservations call the OSU Beaver Athletic Scholarship Fund at 541-737-2370.

Soccer players honored

Sophomore midfielder Brett Gardner was a men’s first-team selection and senior defender Cara Miller was a women’s third-team selection on the CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District team.

Gardner has a 3.82 grade-point average in business administration, and will go on a national ballot for Academic All-American honors. Miller, a Corvallis High graduate, has a 3.96 GPA in apparel design.