SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — With every pitch, Madison Bumgarner etched his place among the World Series greats.

The long, tall lefty kept slinging away and put the San Francisco Giants just one win from yet another championship, throwing a four-hitter to beat the Kansas City Royals 5-0 Sunday night for a 3-2 Series edge.

Hardly menacing on the mound, Bumgarner was simply untouchable — again — as “MVP! MVP!” chants broke out in the late innings.

And by the time the 25-year-old from Hickory, North Carolina, closed out his second win in a week, he had evoked memories of Bob Gibson, Sandy Koufax, Curt Schilling and the top October aces of all time.

Joined them, and maybe even passed them.

Who else has gone 4-0 in four World Series starts with an 0.29 ERA? Throw in only 12 hits in 31 innings, along with 27 strikeouts, and that adds up to the very definition of Big-Game Pitcher.

“He’s so fun to watch. He’s always fun to watch,” teammate Brandon Crawford said. “In the postseason, you could look at him and he looks like he’s just pitching in the middle of June, like it’s no big deal. He takes the pressure off of everybody else. We just feed off of him.”

On this evening, he fanned eight without a walk and never was in trouble, becoming the first pitcher to toss a World Series shutout since Josh Beckett’s clinching gem for the Florida Marlins in 2003 at Yankee Stadium.

The Giants’ work isn’t done yet. To lock up their third crown in five years, they’ll need to win in Kansas City.

Jake Peavy gets the first chance to seal it for San Francisco when he starts Game 6 at Kauffman Stadium on Tuesday night against rookie Yordano Ventura.

If the Giants don’t win then, there was always this possibility: Bumgarner out of the bullpen in Game 7.

Hunter Pence once again was in the middle of things for the Giants. He singled off James Shields in the second and scored on a groundout by Crawford, who finished with three RBIs.

Later, the enigmatic Pence accidentally threw his bat past the mound while striking out, and seemed to apologize to Shields. Pence added another hit in a three-run eighth, making him 9-for-19 in the five games.

Postseason star Pablo Sandoval also singled twice. Juan Perez broke it open with a two-run double off the top of the center-field fence in the eighth off Wade Davis and scored on a single by Crawford.

Since trailing 4-1 in Game 4, the Giants have responded with 15 straight runs. San Francisco won that game, putting aside concern that Bumgarner should’ve been moved up to pitch on short rest.

Bumgarner won for the fourth time in this postseason, and this blanking bookended the four-hit shutout he threw at Pittsburgh in the NL wild-card game. Durable, he’s thrown 47⅔ innings this October, trailing just Schilling’s 48⅓⅓ in 2001 for the most in a single postseason.

Given an early lead, Bumgarner was in control. He surely didn’t need much of a cushion, and looked even better than he did in winning the opener in Kansas City.

And on the rare occasion when the 6-foot-5 Bumgarner made a mistake, failing to cover first base on a grounder to the right side, his defense bailed him out.

Toward the late innings, it appeared that only a lightning strike could rescue the Royals, perhaps a home run out of nowhere. Not happening — this was the third straight game without either team hitting a homer, the longest streak in the World Series since 1948 when the Boston Braves and Cleveland began with a three-game drought, STATS said.

Exactly why the man nicknamed MadBum is so dominant isn’t easily apparent. Royals cleanup man Eric Hosmer said before the game that Bumgarner’s “cross-body” delivery is tough to pick up.

Bumgarner definitely has an impressive whip, along with an imposing WHIP in the World Series. His walks-plus-hits ratio per inning is incredible.

Bumgarner certainly excels at keeping hitters swinging at shadows by changing speeds. Kansas City batters chased balls that bounced as well as high ones out of the strike zone.

After Salvador Perez led off the second with a single — he homered in Game 1 for the lone run off Bumgarner — the slow-walking lefty who never seems to be in a hurry made quick work of the Royals.

Bumgarner struck out the next three batters, all swinging. He was at his best against pesky Omar Infante on three pitches: a 76 mph curve, a fastball at 91 and a slider at 86.

About the only thing Bumgarner didn’t do was get a hit. He takes pride in his plate prowess and launched four home runs this season, including two grand slams. Bumgarner went 0-for-4, leaving him hitless in 22 postseason at-bats.

Yep, he’s still got some work to do.

UP NEXT

Royals: Ventura will become the fourth rookie to start twice in a Series since 2000, joining John Lackey, Justin Verlander and Michael Wacha.

Giants: Peavy started in the World Series last year for the champion Boston Red Sox. He took the loss last week in Game 2, and is 1-4 with a 7.05 ERA in eight career postseason starts.

STATS

Of the 41 previous instances the World Series was tied at 2 in the best-of-seven format, the Game 5 winner has won the title 27 times.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Jamaal Charles shredded the Rams on a pair of touchdown runs. Knile Davis returned a kickoff 99 yards for another score. The Chiefs sacked St. Louis quarterback Austin Davis seven times.

If there was a fourth phase to football, Kansas City probably would have dominated that, too.

After spotting their cross-state rivals the first touchdown, the Chiefs turned up the pressure in every way Sunday. The result was a 34-7 victory, their sixth straight in the series dating to Sept. 24, 1994, when the Rams were still based in Los Angeles.

“Any time you play good in all three facets, you’re going to win a lot of games,” said Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith, “and it felt like we did that.”

Charles, who last week became the Chiefs’ career rushing leader, powered over the left side of the line for a touchdown in the first quarter. He added a 36-yard score early in the fourth, dodging a defender at the line of scrimmage and then accelerating past the Rams’ defense.

Cairo Santos added a pair of field goals for Kansas City (4-3), including a career-best 53-yarder right before halftime. Smith was 24 of 28 for 226 yards, and Davis capped the string of 34 unanswered points with a short touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

By that point, the banged-up Rams (2-5) were just trying to survive.

“It’s disappointing,” said coach Jeff Fisher, whose team was coming off a victory over Seattle. “We had a great week, a short-lived bit of momentum, and we weren’t able to put it all together.”

Austin Davis finished 15 of 25 for 160 yards with a touchdown and an interception, three of his sacks coming at the hands of Justin Houston. It didn’t help that left tackle Jake Long, right guard Rodger Saffold and center Scott Wells sustained injuries during the game.

The Rams were also playing with an injury-depleted defensive backfield.

“You looked at the injuries they had today, they had three or four rookies starting for them on the defensive side,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “That’s tough.”

The Rams’ running back by committee proved to be a bust, too. Benny Cunningham, Zac Stacy and Tre Mason were bottled up all game, and St. Louis managed just 84 yards on 19 carries.

“They took some things away and when that happens you’ve got to find a way to get some momentum offensively,” Davis said, “and we weren’t able to do that. But my hat really goes off to them. They did a really good job and made a lot of good plays.”

The Rams jumped to a 7-0 lead on a pass from Davis to tight end Lance Kendricks on the opening series, but everything went the Chiefs’ way the rest of the game.

Special teams had a lot to do with it.

One week after the Rams used two long returns and an audacious punt fake to beat Seattle, they watched as Greg Zuerlein missed a 38-yard field goal in the second quarter to keep the game 7-7.

Santos hit his 53-yarder for a 10-7 lead right before halftime.

The Chiefs got the ball back to start the third quarter. Knile Davis fielded the kickoff on a bounce, veered to his right and picked up a key block from James-Michael Johnson before going the rest of the way for his second career TD return.

Davis, who also had a franchise-long 108-yard kickoff return touchdown as a rookie in 2013, is the fifth player in history with a kickoff-return touchdown of at least 99 yards in each of his first two NFL seasons.

Santos added his second field-goal and Charles punctuated a big day for the offense when he took a carry up the middle, left a defender grasping for air and outran the entire secondary for his second score of the game.

Davis added a 3-yard touchdown plunge in the final minutes as chants of “Let’s Go Royals” filled Arrowhead Stadium.

“We clearly got outplayed in the second half of this game in all three phases,” Fisher said. “It wasn’t a good effort and we’ve got our work cut out for us.”

— Associated Press —

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Sparkling defense, a stingy bullpen and just enough timely hitting. That winning formula of fundamental baseball put the Kansas City Royals ahead in the World Series.

Jeremy Guthrie outpitched fellow World Series newcomer Tim Hudson, four Royals relievers combined on four hitless innings and Kansas City beat the San Francisco Giants 3-2 Friday night for a 2-1 lead in the Fall Classic.

“This is the way our games have gone all year,” said Royals manager Ned Yost, who made several lineup changes that paid off. “I’m getting really good at protecting a one-run lead because a lot of times that’s exactly what we have to deal with.

“But I have the necessary tools to be able to do that. It’s not me doing it. It’s the guys that we put out there that are doing it. We have the type of pitchers in our bullpen that can accomplish that,” he said.

Alex Gordon hit a run-scoring double for his first hit of the Series in 10 at-bats and Lorenzo Cain made two slick grabs in right field as the Royals backed Guthrie with nifty glove work. All night long, Kansas City looked perfectly comfortable playing in the tricky territory at unfamiliar AT&T Park.

Eric Hosmer had a sixth-inning RBI single in an 11-pitch at-bat against lefty Javier Lopez for his first World Series hit — on his 25th birthday.

Cain drove in the first run with a groundout after Alcides Escobar’s leadoff double in the first.

Game 4 is Saturday night, with right-hander Ryan Vogelsong trying to get the Giants even against Kansas City lefty Jason Vargas.

“We’ve got to keep grinding. It’s going to be a tough series,” said Royals center fielder Jarrod Dyson, added to the starting lineup in Game 3.

Yost moved Cain from center field to right in place of Norichika Aoki for a defensive boost in the expansive outfield at AT&T Park. Cain chased down Buster Posey’s slicing line drive in the first for a pretty catch from his knees, then snagged Travis Ishikawa’s sinking liner in the second.

Gordon was moved up from sixth to second in the lineup and came through with his RBI double following Escobar’s single in the sixth.

On a night that began with a remembrance of late Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn, Kansas City produced just enough run support even without designated hitter Billy Butler. The Series shifted to AT&T Park and National League rules for three games.

The Giants had their six-game home winning streak in the World Series snapped. The unbeaten run dated to the 2002 wild-card club of Barry Bonds and Co. that lost in seven games to the Angels.

The Royals seemed unfazed by the fanfare and tough conditions in improving to 5-0 on the road this postseason. Of the first 56 times the World Series was tied 1-all, the Game 3 winner went on to win in 37 of those instances and four of the last five.

A cast of Giants Hall of Famers were celebrated on the field in a star-studded pregame featuring a “Play Ball!” chant by Huey Lewis.

Pinch hitter Michael Morse hit an RBI double with none out in the sixth to chase Guthrie. Yost turned it over to his fantastic bullpen, and Kelvin Herrera immediately walked Gregor Blanco.

With the hard-throwing Herrera clocking 99-101 mph on the radar gun, Joe Panik had a tough time attempting a sacrifice bunt. His high-bouncing grounder still did the trick to advance both runners, and Posey pulled the Giants to 3-2 on a groundout.

Then, the Royals shut down San Francisco the rest of the way.

“I don’t know if there’s a better bullpen, because that seventh, eighth and ninth inning, and you get a tough go when you’re facing those guys,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “Hopefully you get some runs early, but Guthrie did a great job on us.”

Herrera worked 1 1/3 innings, rookie Brandon Finnegan got two outs in his World Series debut, and Wade Davis pitched a 1-2-3 eighth. Greg Holland got three outs for a save.

The four hitless innings of relief were the most in the World Series in 22 years.

“Our bullpen’s been lights out. We’ve got 100 percent confidence in (those) guys getting their job done,” Dyson said. “From an offensive standpoint, we’re just trying to put runs on the board and get them in position.”

Guthrie, who attended nearby Stanford, retired 10 straight during one stretch and combined with Hudson to retire 20 in a row. That was the longest Series streak since the Yankees’ Don Larsen and the Brooklyn Dodgers’ Sal Maglie retired the first 23 batters during Larsen’s perfect game in 1956, according to STATS.

“What a gutsy performance, and that’s one of the performances we needed right now, to be able to take this first one here,” Royals teammate James Shields said. “He went out there and pitched his heart out. He did a phenomenal job tonight.”

As a gorgeous Bay Area afternoon turned into a breezy night along the water, the 39-year-old Hudson left in the sixth to a rousing ovation from the orange towel-twirling sellout crowd.

Hudson waited 16 years for his first World Series chance only to watch Alcides Escobar hit the game’s first pitch for a double. Escobar scored on Cain’s groundout, and Hudson settled in nicely after the second. The right-hander retired 12 in a row before Escobar’s one-out single through Hudson’s legs in the sixth. Gordon followed with an RBI double.

GUTHRIE’S MARK

In a quirky stat, Guthrie became the fifth starting pitcher in World Series history to not record a walk or a strikeout through five innings and the first since Hall of Famer Greg Maddux in Game 2 of the 1996 Series for Atlanta against the Yankees.

UP NEXT

Royals: Vargas, an 11-game winner who pitched the ALCS clincher against Baltimore, attended Game 1 of the Giants’ 2010 World Series at AT&T Park against Texas with his wife as a fan.

Giants: Vogelsong is the only pitcher to yield no more than one run in his first five postseason starts. That run ended in the NL Championship Series when Vogelsong allowed four runs in three innings of a no-decision against St. Louis. … San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy said he and pitching coach Dave Righetti discussed going with ace lefty Madison Bumgarner in Game 4 on short rest if trailing — something they know he can handle physically despite his heavy workload.

— Associated Press —

Audio only available at KHUT:  hutchinsonscountrystation.com

Quality of video will depend on availability of broad band service in Dodge City.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Salvador Perez and the pesky Kansas City Royals fought back from a Game 1 flop to beat the San Francisco Giants’ brilliant bullpen and even the World Series.

Perez broke Game 2 open with a two-run double in a five-run sixth inning, and the Royals’ own cast of clutch relievers kept the Giants in check for a 7-2 victory Wednesday night that spiced things up as the Series shifts to San Francisco for the next three games.

Jeremy Guthrie will be on the mound Friday night for the Royals, who had won eight straight playoff games before a 7-1 loss in the opener. Tim Hudson will start for San Francisco.

The Royals had already pulled ahead 3-2 on Billy Butler’s RBI single in the sixth when Perez doubled into the left-field gap. Omar Infante followed with a two-run shot off Hunter Strickland, the fifth home run the feisty Giants reliever had allowed to 23 postseason batters.

Strickland appeared to mutter to himself as he stalked back to the mound, and Perez overheard him. The two exchanged words and players from both dugouts spilled onto the field. More streamed in from the outfield bullpens before order was finally restored.

Suddenly, a series that began with a sleepy blowout had some life.

Young flamethrower Yordano Ventura, with his 100 mph fastball singeing the brims of the Giants’ batting helmets, allowed just two runs while pitching into the sixth inning. The 23-year-old hardly looked like the first rookie to make a World Series start in Royals history, calmly working through a lineup that ravaged staff ace James Shields just 24 hours earlier.

The dynamic trio of Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis and Greg Holland did the rest.

Herrera got the final two outs of the sixth to escape a jam, two of his first three pitches clocking 101 mph on the radar gun. He also survived a shaky seventh that included a pair of walks before Davis locked down the eighth, striking out two in a perfect inning.

Greg Holland, who saved each game in the Royals’ sweep of Baltimore in the AL Championship Series, allowed a two-out single to Brandon Crawford before fanning Gregor Blanco to end the game.

The Giants’ only runs came on a homer by Blanco and a double by Brandon Belt, their streak of seven straight World Series wins ending on a crisp, breezy night.

Early on, though, it looked as if they could be heading back to the Bay Area with a big lead.

The fleet-footed Blanco silenced a rollicking sea of blue, becoming the 10th player to open a World Series game with a home run. He deposited Ventura’s 98 mph fastball in the bullpen in right field, just his 17th home run in more than 2,300 at-bats.

The crowd, energized from the moment that Hall of Famer George Brett delivered the ceremonial first pitch, was left waiting for something good to happen for the second straight night.

This time, the scrappy Royals gave it to them.

ALCS MVP Lorenzo Cain stretched a liner to left field into a two-out double later in the first, and Eric Hosmer walked on four pitches. Butler, Peavy’s long-time nemesis, then bounced a single past the outstretched glove of Crawford at shortstop to knot the game 1-all.

The Royals kept the pressure on in second. Infante doubled over the head of Travis Ishikawa in left field, and Escobar sliced a two-out double down the right-field line to give Kansas City a 2-1 lead, its first in the World Series since Game 7 in 1985.

The Giants, so accustomed to October baseball, still didn’t look rattled — even as Ventura kept pounding the strike zone with a steady dose of 100 mph fastballs.

Eventually, Pablo Sandoval sent a high fly to the warning track leading off the fourth, and a stiff wind blowing out to left turned Cain around. The ball caromed away for a double, and Belt drove in Sandoval with a double that bounced off Nori Aoki’s glove in right field.

The game was still knotted at 2 when the Royals got their first two batters aboard in the sixth. Giants manager Bruce Bochy finally pulled the fiery Peavy, hoping to play for matchups with his bullpen. Butler promptly hit a go-ahead single off Jean Machi, and Strickland came in two batters later to face Perez, whose homer in Game 1 represented the Royals’ only run.

From there, well, the Royals showed they still had plenty of fight left.

PANDA POWER

Sandoval has reached base safely in 25 consecutive playoff games. The only players to have done that more are Miguel Cabrera (31) and Chase Utley (27).

LINCECUM LEAVES

Two-time Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum worked 1 2-3 innings of relief before he appeared to hurt himself on a pitch with two outs in the eighth. Santiago Casilla replaced him.

UP NEXT

Giants: Hudson has appeared in 12 postseason games and started 11 of them, first with Oakland and then Atlanta. But he’s never been on the mound in the World Series. He shut down Washington in the NLDS, giving up one run in 7 1-3 innings, but struggled against St. Louis in the NLCS.

Royals: Guthrie, an 11-year veteran, did not pitch in the Royals’ sweep of the Angels in the ALDS. He made his first career postseason start in the ALCS against the Orioles, allowing one run on three hits over five innings in his first outing since Sept. 26.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Madison Bumgarner and the San Francisco Giants put a sudden stop to the Kansas City Royals’ perfect postseason roll.

Bumgarner pitched shutout ball into the seventh inning, Hunter Pence homered early and the Giants showed off their October poise, shutting down the Royals 7-1 Tuesday night in the World Series opener.

From the get-go, the Giants simply did everything right to win their seventh straight World Series game. There’s a reason Bumgarner and these guys in black and orange are trying for their third title in five years.

The Royals, meanwhile, looked nothing like the fresh team that had become baseball’s darlings by starting the playoffs with eight wins in a row — pitching, hitting and fielding all deserted them.

The fates seemed to change from the very first batter, in fact. Gregor Blanco led off with a soft line drive to center field and AL Championship Series MVP Lorenzo Cain charged, then backed off as the ball fell for a single. It would’ve taken a near miracle to catch it, but that’s the kind of play the Royals had been making on a routine basis.

Moments later, Pence’s homer highlighted a three-run burst in the first inning against James Shields. Nicknamed “Big Game James,” he once again failed to live up to that billing and left in the fourth when the Giants made it 5-0.

By then, Royals fans who had waited since 1985 for the Series to come to town had gone silent. Or, worse, they were booing while small “Let’s go, Giants!” chants echoed through Kauffman Stadium.

Just like that, what many figured would be a tight matchup had turned into a mismatch. And it was a good omen for the Giants — the Game 1 winner has won 15 of the last 17 World Series.

The Royals will try to get even in Game 2 on Wednesday night when rookie Yordano Ventura starts against veteran Jake Peavy.

Bumgarner added to his sparkling World Series resume, improving to 3-0 and extending his scoreless streak to 21 innings before Salvador Perez homered in the seventh.

The 25-year-old called MadBum by his teammates was in trouble only once. Down 3-0, the Royals loaded the bases with a two-out walk and cleanup man Eric Hosmer stepped to the plate, but grounded out on the first pitch.

Bumgarner went on to stretch his road postseason scoreless streak to a record 32 2-3 innings as the Giants cruised. He pitched three-hit ball for seven innings, struck out five and walked one.

Michael Morse, getting to play as the designated hitter in the AL park, had an RBI single that finished Shields, and reliever Danny Duffy walked Blanco with the bases loaded.

Rookie Joe Panik hit an RBI triple that bounced past usually reliable right fielder Nori Aoki in the seventh and scored on a single by October force Pablo Sandoval. The MVP of the 2012 World Series triumph, Sandoval also had an RBI double in the first that extended his postseason streak of reaching base to 24 straight games.

Pence also doubled and walked.

Before the game, the mood at the ballpark was positively giddy. Ushers greeted fans with “Welcome to the World Series!” and some hot-dog vendors high-fived each other behind the counter.

Yet the Giants wrecked that fun, and won for the 16th time in their last 18 postseason games.

The Royals had won 11 straight in the postseason dating to their 1985 championship run, one short of the record held by a pair of New York Yankees clubs.

But it was clear from the start that this would not be their night, and not even the little things went well.

Early in the game, Kansas City third base coach Mike Jirschele retrieved a foul ball and tried to flip it into the stands. Instead, his toss fell well short of reaching the seats.

UP NEXT

Giants: Peavy lost 12 straight decisions this season, spanning his July trade from Boston to the Giants. … The 33-year-old is 1-3 with a 7.03 ERA in seven postseason starts, including an outing for the Red Sox in last year’s World Series. He beat Washington in the NL Division Series and was pulled after four innings vs. St. Louis in the NL Championship Series. … Royals DH Billy Butler is 14 for 33 (.424) with three HRs off Peavy.

Royals: The 23-year-old Ventura will become the first rookie to start a World Series game at any position for the Royals. No Giants hitter has ever faced the right-hander with a 100 mph heater. … Ventura pitched well in a start vs. the Angels in the ALDS and struggled vs. Baltimore in an ALCS start.

NO REPLAY NEEDED

The first Series game in the expanded replay era didn’t require a single video review. But all six umpires quickly huddled to discuss a foul ball that glanced off Perez’s bat on a bounce, and got it right.

— Associated Press —

HUTCHINSON, Ks — The fifth-ranked Hutchinson Community College football team had a record-setting first half to defeat the Highland Scotties 58-35 in a Jayhawk Conference battle on Saturday night at Gowans Stadium.

The 8-0 Blue Dragons clinch a tie for the program’s first Jayhawk Conference football championship since 1995. HCC is now 7-0 in the conference with one KJCCC game remaining against Independence on Nov. 8. Highland falls to 5-3 overall and 2-2 in the Jayhawk Conference.

The victory was also the 60th for Blue Dragon coach Rion Rhoades at Hutchinson.

The Blue Dragons broke a program record for points in half, scoring 52 points in the opening half on Saturday. That beat the 49 points scored in the first half against Highland in a 90-7 victory over the Scotties in 2011.

Hutchinson had 385 total yards in the first half, passing for 324 yards and rushing for 61. The Blue Dragons also tied a team record for touchdown passes with six – four by Dalton Demos and two from Kylen Binn. The Dragons scored on eight of 11 first-half possessions (seven touchdowns, one field goal).

For the game, Highland held Hutchinson to a season-low 139 rushing yards. But three Blue Dragon quarterbacks combined for a season-high 376 passing yards. HCC scored a season-high 58 points amassing 515 total yards.

Demos was 10 of 17 passing for 182 yards and four touchdowns. Binn was 11 of 22 for 174 yards and two touchdowns. Ethan Loder was 1 of 1 for 20 yards.

Anthony Autry caught a season-high eight passes for 96 yards and three touchdowns. Alvin Kamara caught a 54-yard TD pass and had three catches for 77 yards. Juwan Dickey had two receptions, both for touchdowns, for 65 yards. Eight different Blue Dragons caught passes in the game.

Bradan Smith and Tory Smith tied for the team rushing lead with 41 yards each. Kamara was held to 36 rushing yards, but only on eight carries. HCC was held to a season-low 3.2 yards per rush.

Highland racked up 352 total yards of offense – 65 rushing and 287 passing yards.

Danton Cosentino came off the bench in the second half to completed 20 of 30 passes for 224 yards and three touchdowns. Troy Grant caught six passes for 125 yards and a touchdown. Twelve different Highland players caught passes.

The Blue Dragons scored on their first possession for the third-straight game, going 61 yards in seven plays. The drive was capped off by a 26-yard Demos-to-Dickey touchdown pass for a 7-0 HCC lead with 12:19 to play in the opening quarter.

HCC forced a three-and-own and took over at the Hutch 10. A mishandled Blue Dragon lateral pass turned into a Tyree Horton 2-yard fumble return for a Scotty touchdown, which tied the game at 7-7 with 9:35 to play in the half.

Two possessions later, after a Tyler Williams fumble recovery at the Highland 24, the Dragons scored in two plays. Autry hauled in a Binn 23-yard TD strike and HCC regained the lead at 14-7 with 6:36 remaining in the opening quarter. Two possessions after that, Hutch made it 21-7 when Autry caught a 10-yard strike from Demos with 59 seconds left in the first quarter.

The Blue Dragons outscored Highland 31-6 in the second quarter, racking up 212 of HCC’s 253 yards of total offense in the period through the air.

HCC made is 28-7 with 12:28 to play in the period on Kamara’s 9-yard touchdown run. That score was the start of six-straight possessions in which HCC put points on the board. After Steve Williams’ 7-yard touchdown pass on fourth down pulled the Scotties within 28-13, HCC scored 24 unanswered to close the half.

Kassidy Lemons kicked a 27-yard field goal with 8:10 left to push the Hutch advantage of 31-13. Less than 2 minutes later, Kamara took a screen pass from Demos and weaved his way through the Highland defense for a 54-yard touchdown and a 38-13 lead with 6:31 remaining. Less than 2 minutes after that, Dickey caught his second touchdown pass of the game, a 39-yard strike from Demons for a 45-13 lead.

Then HCC worked the 2-minute offense to perfection, going 42 yards in five plays in 1:00. Binn threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Autry with 47 seconds to play in the opening half for a 52-13 lead.

The second half was a much different story as HCC played several backups for a majority of the second half. Highland outscored Hutchinson 22-6. The Scotties had 227 total yards in the second half, 224 yards were passing. The Dragons, meanwhile, were limited to 130 total yards, 48 coming on their only scoring drive of the second half.

Tory Smith scored his first career rushing touchdown with a 10-yard bolt up the middle with 1:13 remaining in the contest.

The Blue Dragons received a bit of help on Saturday at No. 3 Mississippi Gulf Coast was upset by Copiah-Lincoln on Saturday 29-26. Hutchinson will now travel to No. 2 Iowa Western for a match-up with national implications next Saturday at 1 p.m. in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

GAME NOTES – HCC head coach Rion Rhoades moved into sole possession of third place on the Games Coached list with 87, breaking a tie with Bill Goldsmith. … HCC is now 31-2 all-time against Highland, including 19-0 at Gowans Stadium. … The 35 points scored by Highland was the most the Scotties have ever scored against HCC. … HCC’s 8-0 start is the fourth-best in program history. … Now with 364 total points for the season, the 2014 Blue Dragons moved into ninth place on the team season scoring list. … Alvin Kamara becomes just the third Blue Dragon ever to score at least 20 touchdowns in a season. … Kamara is now third on HCC’s single-season scoring list with 120 points. That also places him in a three-way tie for eighth on the career points list with Lonnie Crittendon and Jamison Palmer. … The Dragons had an interception for the 16th consecutive game. … Lakel Bass had his third interception of the season, which ties Darius Wright for team-high honors.

(HCC Sports Information)

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — With a short field goal the only thing standing between Oklahoma and the lead late in the game, Michael Hunnicutt just had to do what he’s done for more than three years: Be automatic.

No. 11 Oklahoma, trailing by a point in the fourth quarter, had finally seized momentum after playing catch-up for much of the game. The Sooners drove to the Kansas State 1-yard line, but couldn’t punch in the ball.

Neither could Hunnicutt.

Hunnicutt missed a chip-shot field goal that would have put the Sooners ahead with 3:53 remaining. A stunned home crowd gasped and groaned, and No. 14 Kansas State took possession and ran out the clock, defeating Oklahoma 31-30 on Saturday.

Kansas State coach Bill Snyder was just as surprised as Oklahoma’s fans about the mistake by Hunnicutt, Oklahoma’s all-time scoring leader and a preseason All-Big 12 pick.

“The youngster that missed the field goal, he will go another hundred years without missing another field goal,” Snyder said. “So we were just lucky. That happens.”

Hunnicutt missed a total of two short field goals and had an extra point blocked. Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said he’d trust Hunnicutt again in a pressure situation.

“I feel for Michael,” Stoops said. “He’s been an excellent kicker for us and a great young man. We all love him. I feel that for him, because unfortunately, the kicker, that just kind of sticks out.”

Oklahoma tight end Blake Bell said it wasn’t all Hunnicutt’s fault.

“Hunnicutt’s a great kicker,” Bell said. “I mean, he makes every single kick that I’ve ever seen — it’s ridiculous — so you can’t blame it on him. Hunny, the type of guy he is, he’s going to bounce back and be great and make field goals for us.”

Jake Waters passed for 225 yards and two touchdowns for the Wildcats (5-1, 3-0), who also beat Oklahoma in Norman two years ago.

Oklahoma’s Sterling Shepard tied a school record with 15 catches and had 197 yards receiving. Trevor Knight passed for 318 yards and three touchdowns for Oklahoma (5-2, 2-2), which saw its playoff hopes take a severe hit.

Knight headed to the locker room with 8:44 left in the first quarter after taking a hit to the back. Backup quarterback Cody Thomas stepped in for the rest of the drive and led the Sooners to a touchdown. Samaje Perine’s 2-yard scoring run gave the Sooners a 7-0 lead.

Kansas State answered quickly when Glenn Gronkowski caught a 62-yard touchdown pass from Waters.

Back in the game, Knight threw out of his end zone, and Kansas State’s Danzel McDaniel stepped in front of Durron Neal and returned the interception 5 yards for a touchdown to put Kansas State ahead a minute into the second quarter.

Knight came right back and found Blake Bell over the middle for 22 yards, then found Shepard deep for a 47-yard touchdown that tied the score at 14.

Waters connected with Tyler Lockett in the back of the end zone for a 9-yard score that gave Kansas State a 21-14 lead.

Hunnicutt made a 38-yard field goal to cut Kansas State’s lead to 21-17. He could have cut the Wildcats’ lead again, but a 32-yard field goal attempt went wide left as time expired in the first half.

A 28-yard catch by Shepard helped set up Bell’s 4-yard touchdown catch that tied the score at 24.

Waters’ 3-yard touchdown run gave Kansas State a 31-24 lead.

Oklahoma reached the Kansas State 17, but Neal, a receiver, was intercepted by Morgan Burns late in the third quarter to end the threat.

Neal made up for it with his first career touchdown catch, a 9-yarder that cut Kansas State’s lead to 31-30, but Kansas State’s Travis Britz blocked the extra point, and that turned out to be the difference.

The Wildcats emerged as contenders for the Big 12 title, and perhaps, a spot in the college football playoff. It was their first win over a ranked team this season, and it came against a marquee opponent on the road. Kansas State’s only loss was a close call at home against Auburn.

Though Oklahoma outgained the Wildcats 533-385, Kansas State took advantage by avoiding mistakes and taking advantage of opportunities.

“Turnovers, those are significant,” Snyder said. “In all reality, that is the difference in the ballgame. We get a turnover and get seven points out of it and we don’t turn the ball over. The right numbers can tell you something, but not yardage.”

— Associated Press —

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Davis Webb threw for 288 yards and three touchdowns to lead Texas Tech to a 34-21 win over Kansas on Saturday, snapping the Red Raiders’ eight-game Big 12 skid that dated to last season.

The loss for the Jayhawks was their fourth straight conference defeat this year and keeps interim coach Clint Bowen still in search of his first win.

Webb threw TD passes of 13, 8 and 6 yards. He also threw his 12th interception of the year, one of two errors the Jayhawks capitalized on with touchdowns.

But it wasn’t enough for Kansas, which has won just one conference game in its last 34 outings.

Red Raiders (3-4, 1/3 Big 12) freshman Justin Stockton scored on a 21-yard run to put the game out of reach.

Michael Cummings completed 20 of 32 passes for 235 yards, two touchdowns and one interception for the Jayhawks (2-5, 0-4).

The Red Raiders dominated offensively, getting 507 total yards to the Jayhawks’ 363.

Webb, the second-best passer in the Big 12 coming into the game, completed 28 of 44 passes. Running back De’Andre Washington finished with 164 yards on 23 carries.

Ben Heeney, a standout linebacker on Kansas’ defense, had a career-high 17 solo tackles. His previous high was 15 last year against Duke.

Texas Tech lost five straight conference games to close its regular season last year. The Red Raiders opened Big 12 play this season with losses to Oklahoma State, Kansas State and West Virginia.

The Jayhawks made it a one-possession game late in the third quarter when Cummings scored from 1 yard out to make it 27-21. The Red Raiders got their first rushing touchdown on their next possession, a 21-yard scamper up the middle by Stockton to put more distance, 34-21, between Texas Tech and Kansas.

Kansas got touchdowns off two mistakes by Webb, one in each half. The second came after Webb fumbled on the Red Raiders’ 40. Two plays later Cummings found Jimmay Mundine over the middle to pull within 20-14 with 8:34 remaining in the third quarter.

The Red Raiders answered quickly, with Webb capping a nine-play drive when he hit freshman receiver Ian Sadler on a 6-yard touchdown to go up 27-14.

Texas Tech led 17-7 at halftime off two touchdown passes by Webb. He got his first when he found Reginald Davis on fade route in near corner of the end zone to put the Red Raiders up 10-0. Webb’s second TD pass, an 8-yarder to Bradley Marquez, made it 17-0. It was Texas Tech’s largest lead of the season and gave Marquez his seventh touchdown for the season, a career high.

On the Red Raiders next possession, Heeney intercepted Webb and returned it 37 yards to the Texas Tech 39. Cummings found Justin McCay for a 16-yard touchdown pass to pull the Jayhawks within 17-7.

The interception extended the Red Raiders streak of losing at least one turnover to 19 games; Webb has 12 now in seven games, compared to the nine in 10 games he had last season.

— Associated Press —