DETROIT (AP) — The Kansas City Royals hit three homers and got two spectacular defensive plays in a 7-6 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Monday afternoon.

Eric Hosmer, Salvador Perez and Alcides Escobar homered for the Royals, but the biggest plays of the game came on defense. Alex Gordon reached well over the left-field fence to rob Mikie Mahtook of a three-run homer, while Lorenzo Cain’s sliding catch took two RBIs away from Jose Iglesias.

Since trading Justin Verlander and Justin Upton on Thursday, the Tigers are 0-5 and have been outscored 36-11.

The Tigers trailed 7-3 going into the ninth, but Nicholas Castellanos hit a three-run homer off Brandon Maurer with one out. Maurer struck out Efren Navarro before James McCann and Jeimer Candelario singled to put the potential winning run on base.

Scott Alexander replaced Maurer and retired Mahtook for his third save in five chances.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa — The Blue Dragons (1-1) battled back from an early 14-point deficit and found themselves in position to tie the game with 9 seconds left. A TD and extra point would have put the Blue Dragons on top of the No. 12 Iowa Western Reivers (2-0) for the first time all afternoon.

The HCC defense forced Iowa Western into a field goal on the previous possession to keep the game within reach. Cam Jones kept HCC’s drive going in the red zone with a fourth-down scramble to the 4 yard line. A delay of game penalty moved the ball back to the 9. There was no run-off on the clock because Jones finished the previous carry out of bounds. Once officials fixed the game clock, Jones looked to the corner of the end zone, but threw incomplete for Jawaun Johnson. An out-route to Johnny Lumpkin moved the ball 6 yards away from a tie. On third down, Jones rolled left and found Jaylen Erwin for a completion to the 2. An unsportsmanlike penalty against Iowa Western moved the ball 1 yard from pay dirt. HCC huddled up, knowing the clock would start once the ball was made ready-for-play at the 1.

With no timeouts left, HCC broke the huddle quickly and lined up with RB B.J. Emmons in the Power Dragon.

The transfer from Alabama took the most important snap of the day and leaped over the offensive and defensive lines for a touchdown. As the Blue Dragons celebrated, whistles could be heard. A quick look at the turf revealed a flag: the previous play never “happened.” The clock had stopped with less than 10 seconds left.

The Blue Dragons were called for a false start. With the clock running and down to 9 seconds, the 10-second run-off effectively ended the game. Knocking on the door with a chance to tie and then possibly win with the extra point, the Blue Dragons watched helplessly as the Referee made the announcement that the game was, by rule, officially over.

HCC held the prolific Iowa Western offense to 338 yards. Staggering as that number may be, the Reivers posted 732 yards of offense a week ago against Independence. The Blue Dragon defense kept Iowa Western’s leading rusher Mekhi Sargent to 2.9 yards per carry and 67 yards on the ground. Sargent only had 15 yards in the first half.

Iowa Western’s quarterbacks ran wild against the Blue Dragons in the first half. Kurt Walding rushed for 58 and threw for 101. He finished the game with 39 yards rushing and 160 yards passing. Kai Locksley played late in the second quarter and added 59 yards on the ground.

HCC’s early problems came with the center-quarterback exchange. That, in turn, led to problems with the quarterback-running back exchange. High snaps and ball security issues saw the Blue Dragons fumble the ball six times. Fortunately, only three were lost.

Cam Jones finished 14-20 with 112 yards. He had 1 TD and 1 INT. DeShawn Waller led the HCC rushing attack with 95 yards on 14 carries. B.J. Emmons had as many touches and finished with 92 yards. Both backs found the end zone once. Both had big plays called back for penalties at the line of scrimmage.

Coming off an 18-penalty game, HCC finished with 11 penalties for 62 yards.

The HCC offense fired up to open the third quarter. The Blue Dragons marched 60 yards in 14 plays to cut the Reiver lead to 7.

Iowa Western looked good in the first 4 minutes of play. The Reivers scored less than 3 minutes into the game on a Kurt Walding back-shoulder pass to Anthony Turner. Less than a minute later, Chester Graves scooped up a Dragon fumble off a high snap and dashed 15 yards for the TD.

DeShawn Waller closed the gap with a 10-yard run that capped off a short 3-play drive that covered 21 yards. HCC got great field position on a Waller punt return. As the game wore on, Waller got more looks on special teams, returning both punts and kicks.

Storey Jackson led HCC in tackling with 10 stops.

Chester Graves led Iowa Western with 11 tackles, 1 sack, and 3.5 tackles-for-loss.

FINAL: Iowa Western 27 HCC 21

HCC (1-1) now prepares for Rezolution Prep out of Texas.

The Blue Dragons play host to the Wildcats on Sept. 9 at noon.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — HCC (1-0) travels to Council Bluffs Saturday for a matchup with the Reivers of Iowa Western (1-0). The Blue Dragons overcame a 25-point deficit at home last week to defeat Coffeyville. The Reivers, however, scored early and often in a 70-21 victory over Independence.

HCC is (1-2) against Iowa Western since 2014. HCC’s only win came last year in Gowans Stadium. The Blue Dragons forced a fumble on the last play of the game for a scoop-and-score. Ronheen Bingham ran back the scoop-six to finish the Reivers 21-12.

HC Scott Strohmeier talked with Daren Dunn of Eagle Sports about the upcoming contest.

OLATHE, Kan. — Down 14 late in the third quarter, Hutch High found a way to beat Olathe East on the road. HHS tied the game with 8 minutes left, before Olathe East took the lead back at 21-14. The Salthawks scored and went for two in the final minute of regulation to defeat Olathe East 22-21.

Head Coach Ryan Cornelsen sat down with Rusty Hilst after the game:

Salthawks score with 1 minute to play. Going for 2 and the win.

— Salthawk Athletics (@salthawkad) September 1, 2017

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