MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State offensive coordinator Courtney Messingham and defensive coordinator Scottie Hazelton met with members of the media on Thursday at the Vanier Family Football Complex prior to the Wildcats’ game this Saturday against Bowling Green. Quotes from both Messingham and Hazelton are below.

The Wildcats and Falcons kick off at 11 a.m., on Saturday inside Bill Snyder Family Stadium in a game that will be shown on FSN and aired on the K-State Sports Network. Tickets to the game can be purchased by visiting www.kstatesports.com/tickets, calling 1-800-221-CATS or visiting the main ticket office inside Bramlage Coliseum.

COURTNEY MESSINGHAM, OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR

On what pleased him the most during game one…

“Just the operation in general. I thought they did a good job, in general, of getting on the field. Skylar (Thompson) did a good job taking care of business and just, in general, operating as an   offensive unit.”

On what Skylar Thompson did well…

“Probably, the thing he did as good a job of any was keeping the guys tight-knit – keeping the huddle really where they were all on the same page and communicating. As many wideouts as we kept rotating in and skill guys in general, keeping them all on the same page.”

On throwing to tight ends…

“There is plenty in the game plan for them it just depends on how it unfolds. They played a whole bunch of man coverage and, like it or don’t like it, our tight ends aren’t always going to be able to create their own space when its man coverage.”

On performance of the running backs…

“(I was) really happy with them. I was really happy with all the backs that got opportunities to get in. They did a nice job of both carrying the football but also, on any of our protection stuff, we didn’t have any protection busts. We were really happy with the running backs as a whole.”

On playing 20 offensive players on the first drive…

“It is just a little bit of each guy has their own pieces of the puzzle that they bring to the table. We’re going to try to keep as many guys as engaged as we can each week. The more that we can keep guys knowing they got a part in it, ‘This is your part of it, so make sure you know it well, so when we as you to do it, you can take care of your business.”

On his philosophy of playing lots of players…

“It has kind of been the entire time I’ve been coaching. I feel like if you have one guy that is just head and shoulders above everybody else, then you’re going to play them more. But if people bring things to the table that can help us win, we’re going to use those things.”

On the Bowling Green defense…

“They do a really, really good job of putting pressure on you. That is one of the things we have to do a good job this week is we have to keep pressure off the quarterback. If we can do a nice job there protecting, I think we’ll have opportunities, but they’re going to try to bring more than just four to the quarterback.”

On wide receiver Joshua Youngblood…

“One thing is that he’s physical even though he’s a freshman. He’s got really, really good ball skills. He has the ability to catch the football and make plays. It just happened to be in this setting that that’s where he was at. Each week it could change a little bit. We want to get him the ball, want to get him an opportunity to make plays, but he also kind of got to get his feet wet. It was his first college game, and I was really happy with how he did play.”

On having special packages for quarterback John Holcombe II…

“We’ve got to keep getting him engaged and having him as part of what we’re going to do. He is 6-4 plus and he’s 245 pounds. The best part is if he’s in a ‘run quarterback,’ he can throw the football. He will be a guy that will be a threat. He won’t be a Wildcat quarterback where his only job is to run. He’ll be a guy that can run our entire offense. Obviously, Skylar (Thompson) runs our offense very well. So, we’re happy with that, but we need to be able to use John.”

On the depth of the offense…

“So far so good. I’m happy with pretty much all the position groups. The biggest thing is going to be, as the season keeps going, how healthy can we stay because I want to have the ability to use that many players each week.”

On drops by wide receivers against Nicholls…

“Obviously people saw some that are right out there, and drops in general are something that everybody is going to see or not see. The key for me is that we made a bunch of plays. Skylar (Thompson) didn’t blink about coming back to that same wide receiver for the next opportunity, and that’s what we’ll keep doing. Catching the football is a unique skill that not everybody can do, especially when there’s other guys out there trying to hit you. So, I was not at all displeased with the wide receiver group. I was really very happy with the wide receiver group.”

On fullback Jax Dineen…

“I thought he did a nice job. Obviously, all of those guys that were true freshmen playing, it’s so different now. Very, very few places is a high school setting that’s the same out there at (Bill) Snyder Family Stadium, (which) is a phenomenal game day atmosphere.”

On the overall play of the wide receivers…

“(I was) very happy. You don’t rush for that many yards without players making plays downfield as far as blocking DBs. I think, as far as their ability to create space and get open, I think they did a nice job. I think that that’s something they need to do because we’re not going to be able to run the ball for 300-plus yards each week. We need to be able to throw the football.”

On if it becomes easier to score touchdowns after getting the first one…

“Oh no. The biggest thing for us is worrying about the next drive each time. Honestly, the first drive and the second drive have nothing to do with what the third drive is. All of a sudden, you put yourself in a third-down situation and you need to move the chains. That’s probably the thing I was most pleased with was our ability to convert on third downs.”

On the atmosphere…

“It was a fun. This atmosphere is phenomenal. From our standpoint, I try to tell the players it’s just taking care of your own business and getting ready to play each play. I know that is kind of coach speak, but from a coaching standpoint, it’s the same as well. We have to follow the game plan and then execute it. But I had a good time. It was a great atmosphere.”

On being in the box vs. on the field…

“It’s actually been more about what position I’ve coached and the age of those guys. When I’ve been a quarterback coach and coordinator, if it was a younger quarterback, I would be on the field. If I had an older quarterback, then I was in the box. In this situation, with me coaching the tight ends and fullbacks and having an older quarterback in general, I feel great with Collin (Klein) and myself both upstairs. That’s how I would kind of like to do it if I can.”

On where he would like to see the most improvement against Bowling Green…

“I think the biggest thing I want to make sure we do between now and Saturday is keep detailing our work and making sure we understand that one game has absolutely nothing do with what the next game is. We’ve got to get better each day. To this point, I think that we’ve worked hard this week and hopefully we’ll be ready to play at 11 a.m. It’s more just continuous improvement, a want to get better, better at the steps I take, better at my aiming points, better at shooting my hands, better at creating space as a wide receiver or a tight end or a running back. I think our guys are starting to understand that every day you go out there you have to work hard and try to improve, because once that day’s gone, it doesn’t come back.”

On how the team has handled success…

“Really well. Really well. Now, we’re going to stay on them and we’re always going to stay on them. You don’t need to be patting yourself on the back when you play well. You need to really get into the details of, ‘What can I continue to get better at.’”

On if any new freshman will play this week…

“You never know with each week because of the four-game rule. We could have any guy that we felt like that really has done a nice job get an opportunity to get in and play.”

On how comfortable quarterback Skylar Thompson seemed on Saturday…

“I thought he went into the game very confident, and I thought after the first drive, he really felt good about himself. That’s something each week we’ve got to keep him understanding that, ‘You’re going to have adversity, so don’t get down if something doesn’t go right, especially if it doesn’t go right early,’ because he’s done a great job. We have to let him know, ‘You’re our guy.’”

 

SCOTTIE HAZELTON, DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR

On his overall takeaway from the defense against Nicholls…

“Week one, I think we learned some things about our guys. Hopefully we got some of the kinks out. There’s always a little bit of game-one stuff that you’d say. Some of it’s good, some of it’s bad. As always, there’s room to improve. Hopefully those guys took it in, and with this week of practice there’s a little more urgency in the things that they saw that they messed up. So that’s good. You can learn a bunch of stuff from the first game, just about people and kind of how we play. Now they kind of know the system and how we work things on the sideline. So hopefully they feel more comfortable in week two.”

On if there was a position group that stood out to him…

“I think everybody did. It was nice to see AJ (Parker) get a pick on second play of the game. That’s always a good way to start, and to score on defense is always a fun thing. I think when JA (Jonathan Alexander) does stuff like that it’s a good deal. So I think that those guys played pretty well. There’s bright spots everywhere. There’s some marks we have to get better everywhere as well.

On how Daniel Green played early in the game…

“He played okay. He had to knock a little of the rust off early. He missed a couple of tackles there, you can see him coming out of coverage. But I think he’ll get better as we keep going. The plan is to keep playing a lot of guys throughout the game, not just the two guys who are starting. So we see him as a starter also, and hopefully he improves this week too.

On his expectations of the linebackers…

“They have to be able to do a good job to communicate, talk to the safeties, get in the right alignment. Then, as we’re running just whatever plays, they get a chance to make sure they, hopefully, make those plays. We would like them to be very efficient tacklers. I think the two starters did a very good job of that. Like I said Daniel (Green) had a couple of plays that he should of made that he missed, but we’ll get those things cleaned up, hopefully soon.”

On possibly playing a 4-3 set instead of a 4-2-5…

“With all the spread stuff, there isn’t much of an opportunity to take a 4-3. We consider our nickelback, he’s really like our linebacker right now. So I don’t know when we would get into that, maybe a goal-line situation or someone came out more like we do where the true fullback and those kinds things we might get into. Really, we’re a 4-3 but most of the time it’s five DBs play.”

On how pleased he was with the third-down defense…

“There is some things we did well. It’s kind of like the whole game. There are things we did well – we got pressure on the quarterback but we didn’t get sacks; when they ran the ball, we played that pretty efficiently. But there are things that you say, ‘Well, that play wasn’t run exactly right.’ Those sort of things. We were good enough to make up for our mistakes in those situations and you hope that if you get off that field at that rate all year, that’d be crazy. You can’t expect that every week, but that’s what you like to be able to do, is feed the ball to the offense because they do a good job holding on to it.”

On the test of Bowling Green’s running style…

“It’s good because it’s a different game plan to go back and forth and adjust these guys a little bit. Hopefully they’ll continue to learn it’s week to week. We tweak little things in the game plan every week and we’ll see how it goes. They have two really good backs. I think our front four really has to do an excellent job stopping the run. It’s a different scheme, so as you look at it, ‘Hey, one week you’re going to play the spread where it’s all zone and moving around, then the next week they are going to come run at your head.’ It’s going to be good practice for us just to say, ‘Ok, we got to see how we run latterly and see how we stop the ball there. Now let’s see if we can do it when people just run the ball right at you.’”

On if Bowling Green’s offensive similarities to K-State helps prepare the defense…

“Through fall camp, I think the toughness factor helps us a bunch. I think their O-Line is good. You watch some Boston College tape too, those guys pound it all the time. So it’s a good challenge for us. At least the positive thing for us, looking at our offense, at least we’ve seen a little bit more big people in the game before where they condense sets or want to get into two tight end sets and those kinds of things. We’ve seen that, which is helpful for us. It’s not like we’re learning it from day one, where some teams, if all they see is 10 personal and spread all day, it’s hard to make that transition. “

On the atmosphere of last Saturday’s game…

“I thought it was great. The fans were great, they were loud when they needed to be. Coming out of the locker room, the guys were pretty jacked and that was good to see. It’s a really good atmosphere, it’s up there with a lot of them. The student section there waving at you, I had a chance to see a lot of that stuff, so it was pretty neat.”

On what impressed him most week one and what he thinks they need to work on…

“I was impressed by seeing the guys run to the ball, because sometimes that a thing that takes off right away just how hard guys play. You try to train them in practice, then you get into a game and you get guys watching a little bit on the field and going, ‘Oh yeah, I was supposed to run,” and you get some of that. We didn’t have a lot of that, so that was very impressive. And, like I was talking about, we made some mistakes there, there were mistakes with the scheme, but sometimes, just through pure effort, a typical fan won’t notice that, ‘We misitfit that but someone from the backside was running so fast he made up for that,’ and you say that’s a good play. So that was really good.

“On the other side of things, you would say we had a couple busts in there that’d you say, as It came through, there was a couple missed tackles that you’d like to clean up. I think those are things from week one that you always worry about. It’s the first time you really live tackle for a while. We missed some of those. Then there was a couple of busts in there that allowed some big plays to pop. so you obviously want to get rid of those things too.”

On how he would assess the defensive line’s performance in week one…

“The quarterback got hit. We always look at it like hurries, when you’re playing a good quarterback, ‘Ok, he’s going to get rid of the ball,’ which he did. He got hit a few times. The hurries will turn into sacks, the ones that you worry about is if you don’t get any hurries, he’s not feeling pressure. If he doesn’t feel pressure, then that’s a different situation. That’s a hard thing to play with. I think that he felt the pressure and got hit a few times. I hope we continue to get better there too.”

On how crucial it is to getting pressure against Bowling Green…

“Those our unknown questions. When they do throw the ball you’d like to get after it. They’re a little bit different, though, because they’re not spread; They will do max-pro stuff, so they have the ability to double three guys on the line and you get one one-on-one, so that one guy that’s got the one-on-one needs to do a good job getting there or we have to figure out a different way – adding pressure guys in man or blitz or whatever the case is. We have to let that guy feel pressure, and hopefully he will. It will a be a good test. It’s a different deal. You don’t know a lot about these people, like we didn’t know a lot about them last week. So you get a chance to get out there and say, ‘OK, we don’t know a bunch about these guys. We don’t know how good they are, how they compare, let’s see how it works out.’”

On Bowling Green’s biggest strength…

“Their run game, definitely. They have three different backs back in there that can run the ball. Their scheme is designed to run the ball. It sets up all their play action. When they do go max pro, their quarterback generally feels pretty easy because he’s back there and their max proing, taking shots at people. You have to live through the shots, but really the thing it goes back to, and what it always goes back to, is can you stop the run, can you knock it down, can you get him off schedule. Then you earn the rushes that way. If we get a bunch of those, then we get a chance to rush a whole bunch. If we don’t, then we won’t and it will be a harder game for us if they’re 3rd and 3.”

On the little amount of defensive plays against Nicholls…

“We’ve been in a couple of those, but those are few and far between. It’s great when you do that. We always say, ‘The best defense you can play is when you’re drinking Gatorade.’ You’re just hanging out. You can’t get scored on that way, you’re not giving up yards, so it’s great. If the offense can do that every week, we’d sure appreciate it.”

On the performance of Da’Quan Patton…

“He played really well. For me, it’s not so much about the stats or the tackling and those kinds of things. It’s about the fact that, here’s a young man is a senior, and that dude, if you just watch his play, he is running to the ball. That was the most special thing that I saw. He did make tackles and he played really well. I won’t take away anything from him there, but for me, it was more about, ‘Man, that guy’s giving great effort. He’s setting the bar for the rest of the defense. If you want to see a guy run to the ball, watch that guy.’ He was on it the whole day. That was exciting for me to see as a senior saying, ‘Listen, I’m going to take this to the next level.’ Guys were also running to the ball, but he was at a different speed. I hope that gets contagious and all the guys see that and start to try to mimic that.”

HUTCHINSON, Kan. – Wichita West took advantage of Salthawk fumbles to spoil the Hutchinson Salthawks season opener at Gowans Stadium Friday night 38-14.

Just about before fans got settled in their seats Wichita West scored 3 touchdowns in the first 7 minutes of the first quarter to lead 21-0.

The Pioneers quarter back Jermain Brown scored from 11 yards out, then Quitan Sanders stripped the ball out of the Salthawks hands to score for a 25 yard sprint to the end zone on the first play of the Salthawks 2nd possession.  Jomarion Nelson scored on a 69 yard run on the first play on the next Wichita West possession.

Hutchinson trailed at the half but scored 2 td’s to pull within 28-14.

West tacked on a 37 yard field goal and a late 4th quarter touchdown to make the final score 38-14, Wichita West with the win.

Hutchinson will travel to Maize High School next Friday for a key AVCTL game.

MIAMI (AP) — Jorge Lopez pitched six innings of four-hit ball and Hunter Dozier homered, leading the Kansas City Royals to a 3-0 victory over the Miami Marlins on Friday night.

Lopez (3-7) struck out six in his longest outing since May 3, when went seven innings against Detroit.

Whit Merrifield and Ryan O’Hearn each had two hits and an RBI for the Royals, who have won five of six.

Dozier hit his 25th homer, a solo shot off Miami reliever Jeff Brigham in the eighth.

Kevin McCarthy pitched a perfect seventh before Scott Barlow allowed a pinch-hit, two-out single by Curtis Granderson and a double by Jon Berti in the eighth. Barlow retired Isan Diaz on a deep fly to center for the third out.

Ian Kennedy earned his 27th save.

The Marlins were shut out for the 21st time this season.

O’Hearn’s double off Miami starter Pablo Lopez in the seventh gave the Royals a 2-0 advantage.

Pablo Lopez (5-8) had his longest outing since returning from the injured list Aug. 26. The right-hander, who missed two months because of a shoulder strain, lasted 6 1/3 innings, allowed two runs, eight hits and struck out four.

The Royals took a 1-0 lead on a run-scoring single by Merrifield in the third. Merrifield drove in Meibrys Viloria, who had singled and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Jorge Lopez.

Bryan Holaday attempted to tie it in the fifth, running from first on Pablo Lopez’s opposite field double to left center. Merrifield’s relay throw from centerfielder Brett Phillips caught Holaday at the plate.

TRAINER’S ROOM
Royals: RHP Jesse Hahn (elbow sprain) will have rest days between outings after a scoreless inning in his season debut against Detroit on Thursday. “We want to make sure that in this rehab process that we’re doing it right and we’re protecting him,” manager Ned Yost said.

Marlins: RHP Jordan Yamamoto (forearm strain) threw a bullpen session before Friday’s game. Yamamoto was placed on the 10-day injured list Aug. 28.

UP NEXT
Royals: LHP Danny Duffy (5-6, 4.89) will start the middle game of the series Saturday.

Marlins: LHP Caleb Smith (8-9, 4.30) will make his first career start against the Royals. Smith has lost four of his last five starts.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Chiefs’ Head Coach Andy Reid talks football Friday during a presser at Arrowhead Stadium.

OPENING STATEMENT: “These are the guys who didn’t practice today, Jordan Lucas had some back spasms, he didn’t practice today. Xavier Williams was sick so he didn’t practice today, and then we should be okay there. Look forward to the challenge of playing the Jags. We know they’re a good football team, they’re well coached. They have good personnel and we look forward to that challenge of playing against them. I think by now everyone knows about Tyreek Hill’s contract extension. It’s great to have him for a few more years here and you know how good he plays. He’s a good football player. My hat goes off to Drew (Rosenhaus), who is his agent, and Brett Veach for working the contract out and allowing us to have Tyreek here for a few more years. With that, time is yours.”

Q: How important was it to get that deal done before the first game of the season?

REID: “I’m not in that business anymore. I hope he can still run fast with all that money in his pocket, so that’s good.”

Q: Are there any negotiations going on with Chris Jones’ representation?

REID: “We don’t get in to all of that.”

Q: With Tyreek’s tumultuous offseason, was there ever a point where you didn’t think you would get to where you are today?

REID: “So he signed up. I think that probably speaks for itself. You have the answer to your question. By us signing him we obviously felt pretty good about it.” 

Q: What makes Tyreek Hill so special and how special is he?

REID: “By all the things we do with him and all the places we put him in the offense, he’s a special player. I think if you look through the league and talk to different people in the league, as you guys do, I think you understand that. Then you can tell by our offense and how we use him, he’s important to the offense.”

Q: With Tyreek Hill coming back at the beginning of training camp, was there anything you saw in his maturity level or how players interacted with him before training camp?

REID: “So we felt it was important he took care of business during the OTAs, that’s why he wasn’t here. It was good to get him back in there. His teammates were always on board with him and that wasn’t an issue at all. Him stepping back in wasn’t a big deal as far as the football part goes. I don’t think there was ever a question with his teammates when he wasn’t here. They understood the situation and the time he needed to take to make sure everything was resolved and here we are.”

Q: How has LeSean (McCoy) taken to the playbook in his first week of practice?

REID: “He’s done a good job with it and we will see. We just added another load on him today with the red zone. So I’ll talk to Deland (McCullough) and Eric Bieniemy and we’ll see how he handled it. Over on the sideline, that’s where he’s at talking to his coaches and I’m in the middle of the field. I presume he was able to handle that okay.”

Q: What are you thinking about for your defense going into Sunday?

REID: “I just want them to go out there and play and continue to grow through the season. I think that will be important. There are a lot of new, moving parts there. They’ve worked so stinking hard during the OTAs and during camp. I think they’re going to be fine there.”

Q: Did you see the Royals wearing their Chiefs jerseys yesterday?

REID: “Yes, I should’ve mentioned that. Ned (Yost), you’re looking good dude. That might be the best you’ve ever looked wearing that uni. You and Randy Reid can get together. But listen, we appreciate their support. We had a bunch of guys out at practice and they’re good guys. To have that relationship with them is special. We’re kind of in each other’s backyard here and Ned has always opened the door up for us to go over there and watch their practices or come to games, and we’ve done the same things here. It’s a great relationship that the two organizations have.”

Q: It is really unique, isn’t it, how the two teams interact?

REID: “Absolutely. I’ve been in Philadelphia, we had a good relationship there likewise. I think proximity matters there. We’re so close and it would be a mess if we didn’t have a good relationship, I think. I can see how that happens. I’m sure that’s taken place at other places, but it’s phenomenal with what we have here.”

Q: It’s going to be in the upper 90s on Sunday, what have you done to prepare the team?

REID: “Well the last couple of days, you guys have been standing through it so you know, it’s been warm here. The guys came out here and worked hard and then you have to go play. That’s how it is. They’re going through the same thing you’re going through.”

Q: What sort of a force can Leonard Fournette be for Jacksonville and how important is it to stop him?

REID: “He’s a heck of a football player now. I think on his own he dropped some weight and feels good. He’s somebody you have to take care of. We’ll have our eye on him for sure.”

Q: Can you talk about the strengths and weaknesses of the Jacksonville Jaguars?

REID: “I don’t know any weaknesses. They’re pretty good. Again, the first game will be a test for both teams coming off the offseason, knowing there’s room to grow in a lot of areas. They’re well coached and they have good players. We have to make sure we play a good, sound football game in all three phases. Special teams included.”

Q: In the preseason, you said Andrew Wylie and Cam Erving are both starters, Wylie will get the first crack at it this game?

REID: “Possibly. Both of them, we still consider both of them starters. If (Andrew) Wylie goes, he goes. If (Cam) Erving goes, he goes. It really doesn’t matter there.”

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Alma, Neb. 48, Northern Valley 0
Andover Central 35, Augusta 7
Atchison County 56, Oskaloosa 12
Axtell 34, St. John’s Beloit-Tipton 12
BV West 28, Mill Valley 21
Bennington 34, Wakefield 8
Belle-Plaine 14, Inman 0 (Thursday night)
Bishop Miege 27, BV North 20
Buhler 34, Newton 14
Burlingame 50, Southern Coffey 0
Caldwell 52, South Haven 6
Caney Valley 42, Cherryvale 6
Cedar Vale/Dexter Co-op 50, Altoona-Midway 0
Central Christian-Hutchinson 40, Attica 34
Chanute 24, Circle 0
Cherokee, Okla. 44, South Barber 8
Cheylin 76, Fowler 12
Cimarron 38, Elkhart 13
Clay Center 29, Abilene 0
Clearwater 22, Rose Hill 15
Clifton-Clyde 64, Wetmore 0
Columbus 21, Pittsburg Colgan 14
Crest 52, Hartford 42
DeSoto 51, Leavenworth 19
Derby 48, Garden City 19
Dodge City 34, Wichita Campus 12
Douglass 56, Wichita Independent 6
El Dorado 18, Independence 16
Ell-Saline 41, Sterling 0
Ellsworth 30, Russell 16
Emporia 17, Washburn Rural 6
Eureka 46, Bluestem 6
Fort Scott 40, Coffeyville 14
Frankfort 52, Linn 0
Fredonia 38, Erie 14
Frontenac 20, Richmond, Mo. 14
Galena 58, Riverton 8
Garden Plain 35, Cheney 19
Gardner-Edgerton 49, SM East 14
Goddard-Eisenhower 21, Salina Central 14
Golden Plains 60, Deerfield 6
Grainfield-Wheatland/Grinnell 52, Langdon-Fairfield 6
Great Bend 13, Andover 10, OT
Halstead 38, Nickerson 0
Haven 36, Lyons 0
Hesston 43, Hillsboro 14
Hiawatha 50, Riverside 0
Hodgeman County 54, Dighton 6
Hoisington 37, Pratt 13
Holcomb 48, Goodland 6
Humboldt 56, Neodesha 14
Hutchinson Trinity 14, Marion 8
Jackson Heights 46, Horton 8
Jefferson West 7, Holton 0
KC Harmon 35, KC Turner 0
KC Piper 34, Eudora 7
KC Washington 40, Atchison 14
Kapaun Mount Carmel 6, Wichita Southeast 3
Kingman 21, Chaparral 7
Kiowa County 34, Minneola 18
La Crosse 63, Ellinwood 19
Larned 32, Smoky Valley 16
Lawrence 31, Olathe South 14
Lawrence Free State 45, Olathe West 19
Lebo 46, Waverly 14
Lee’s Summit Community Christian, Mo. 55, KC Bishop Ward 0
Leoti-Wichita County 74, Pretty Prairie 0
Liberal 69, Guymon, Okla. 0
Lincoln 50, Tescott 0
Maize 47, Valley Center 0
Maize South 40, Wichita Heights 24
Manhattan 41, Olathe Northwest 7
Marysville 34, Chapman 22
McPherson 29, Salina South 17
Minneapolis 27, Republic County 8
Mission Valley 24, West Franklin 6
Moscow 52, Cunningham 6
Moundridge 18, Goessel 12
Ness City 36, Central Plains 30
Oakley 31, Sublette 6
Olathe North 27, Olathe East 21
Olpe 55, Osawatomie 7
Oswego 64, Chetopa 16
Ottawa 26, Baldwin 14
Oxford 22, Burden Central 12
Paola 48, Bonner Springs 21
Perry-Lecompton 68, Royal Valley 0
Pittsburg 40, Labette County 0
Plainville 29, Norton 22
Plattsburg, Mo. 36, KC Sumner 6
Pleasanton 62, Northeast-Arma 0
Prairie View 35, Santa Fe Trail 15
Riley County 41, Rock Creek 34
Rock Hills 78, BV Randolph 28
Rossville 28, Centralia 8
SM Northwest 49, SM West 33
SM South 35, SM North 7
Sabetha 13, Nemaha Central 6
Scott City 14, Hugoton 0
Silver Lake 38, St. Mary’s 12
Smith Center 34, Hays-TMP-Marian 0
Solomon 46, Rural Vista 0
South Central 56, Bucklin 8
South Gray 26, Ingalls 8
Southeast 34, Uniontown 12
Southeast Saline 54, Salina Sacred Heart 0
Southwestern Hts. 14, Syracuse 6
St. Francis 46, Wallace County 0
St. James Academy 41, BV Northwest 14
St. Paul 52, Sedan 14
St. Thomas Aquinas 48, Blue Valley 19
Thunder Ridge 50, Lakeside 0
Tonganoxie 49, Basehor-Linwood 28
Topeka 44, Shawnee Heights 7
Topeka Hayden 55, Topeka West 8
Trego 50, Stockton 0
Udall 21, Flinthills 0
Valley Heights 52, Troy 7
Victoria 42, Otis-Bison 14
West Elk 50, Marmaton Valley 0
Wheatland-Grinnell 52, Fairfield 6
Wichita Collegiate 28, Wellington 7
Wichita Home School 51, Veritas Christian 6
Wichita Home School 61, Veritas Christian 6
Wichita Northwest 21, Wichita Bishop Carroll 17
Wichita South 47, Wichita North 6
Wichita West 38, Hutchinson 14
Winfield 20, Arkansas City 18

HUTCHINSON, Kan. – The Hutchinson Salthawk Football team opens the 2019 season at home in Gowans Stadium tonight as they match up against an opponet from the Wichita City League in the Wichita West Pioneers.  The Salthawk Football pregame show starts at 6:30pm, then kickoff is set for 7:00pm.  It can be heard on KWBW Radio 1450am/98.5fm as well as on the KWBW app for your smart phone.  Also available on tune-in radio as well as Amazon Alexa devices.  Streaming of the game is available on NFHSNetwork.com and here on HutchPost.com.  Glen Grunwald will provide the play-by-play along with “Coach Nac” Dan Naccarato analysis, Hutch High’s Joe Blake sideline reports and Sarah Peterson videophotographer.

AUDIO STREAM    NFHSNetwork     Kpreps Pregame Show

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs signed Tyreek Hill to a three-year, $54 million contract extension Friday, locking up the playmaking wide receiver whose off-the-field issues left his future in the NFL in question just a couple months ago.

The deal includes a $5.8 million signing bonus and $35.2 million in guarantees, a person with knowledge of the details told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the Chiefs do not disclose the terms of contracts.

“I hope he can still run that fast with all that money in his pocket,” coach Andy Reid quipped after Friday’s walk-through ahead of the Chiefs’ opener Sunday in Jacksonville.

The length of the deal protects the Chiefs from investing too heavily in a dynamic player with a checkered past while also giving the 25-year-old Hill the chance for another payday down the road.

“We’re pleased we were able to reach an agreement with Tyreek to keep him in a Chiefs uniform for the foreseeable future,” general manager Brett Veach said. “He understands our expectations of him as a member of this team and community. This extension is contingent upon the conditions Tyreek agreed to adhere to upon his return to the team in July.

“Tyreek is an elite player in this league and has played a major role in our team’s success,” Veach said, “and we’re pleased that he’ll continue to make an impact for us.”

Hill was barred from the Chiefs facility all offseason after audio surfaced in which his then-fiancée accused ill of hurting their 3-year-old son. It prompted an investigation by the district attorney, another by the NFL and another by the Kansas Department for Children and Families.

Local authorities were the first to clear Hill after finding no evidence to support the alleged abuse. The NFL cleared Hill the week before training camp, at which point the Chiefs announced that he was free to resume working with the team in advance of this season.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to continue my playing career here in Kansas City,” Hill said in a statement. “Kansas City is my home, and I appreciate the love and support from (team owner) Clark Hunt, coach (Andy) Reid and Brett Veach, along with my coaches and teammates.”

Hill, who was kicked off the team at Oklahoma State for another domestic violence incident, was a lightning rod the moment he entered the league. But he’s largely stayed out of trouble while becoming one of the best wide receivers in the NFL, and that has endeared him to the Chiefs fanbase.

He received a standing ovation when he took the field for their first open practice of camp.

“You know all the things we do with him and all the places we put him,” Reid said. “He’s a special player. You look through the league, you talk to people in the league, I think you understand that. And then you can tell by our offense and how we use him that he’s important to the offense.”

The Chiefs had been working on an extension before the summer-long suspension, and those talks quickly resumed once Hill was cleared to play. He was entering the final year of his rookie deal and the Chiefs were limited in their options — they could have franchised him after this season, but that would have prevented them from potentially using the tag on star defensive tackle Chris Jones.

The structure of the deal, along with the timing of it, also helps the Chiefs when it comes to the eventual signing of MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes to an extension after this season.

“I mean if you ever watch him, he has to have, like a 45- to 50-inch vertical. I mean, the dude can just jump out of the gym,” Mahomes said. “When you know you have a guy like that and for a small guy he is really muscular so he uses his body well, so I just try to put it up there and give him a chance to make a play, and he’s been making them like he did all last season.”

Hill is coming off his best season, catching 87 passes for a club-record 1,479 yards with 12 touchdowns. He also ran 22 times for 151 yards and another score, and was again one of the best punt returners in the game, taking one back for a touchdown for the fourth time in his career.

Perhaps most importantly, he developed into a well-rounded wide receiver.

He has always been among the fastest players in the game, but Hill has worked meticulously on his route-running and hands. Even when he was suspended this past offseason, he participated in long, on-their-own workouts with Mahomes and the rest of the Chiefs’ wide receivers.

“His teammates were always on board with him. That wasn’t an issue at all,” Reid said. “They worked out all summer together. So him stepping back in was no big deal. I don’t think there ever was a question with his teammates when he wasn’t here. They understood the situation.”

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Jacksonville’s 2018 season began to unravel in Kansas City. The Chiefs scored on three of their first four possessions, led 20-0 at halftime and seemingly could have dictated the final score. Kansas City went on to win 30-14 and sent the Jags into a seven-game tailspin that ruined their much-hyped season and caused them to make the ultra-expensive decision at quarterback. They’re counting on that offseason move making a huge difference in the rematch Sunday in Jacksonville.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Jordy Mercer put the Tigers ahead with their third home run of the fourth inning, and Detroit overcame a three-run deficit in a victory for the first time this year by beating Kansas City 6-4. The Royals built a 3-0 lead in the second. Harold Castro started the comeback with an RBI single in the third, and Detroit took a 4-3 lead in the fourth off Glenn Sparkman when Brandon Dixon, Dawel Lugo and Mercer went deep for the Tigers’ first three-homer inning this year.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Dakota Hudson pitched six innings of one-hit ball and hit a two-run single for his first big league RBIs, helping the St. Louis Cardinals rout the San Francisco Giants 10-0 to open a three-game lead over the second-place Chicago Cubs in the NL Central. Paul DeJong hit a two-run homer and Paul Goldschmidt singled and scored twice for the Cardinals, who for the sixth time in seven games. San Francisco has lost five of six and eight of 10, dropping 9½ games back for the NL’s second wild card.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs’ locker room is hardly a pressure-packed place with the NFL’s regular season rapidly approaching. A team that many peg as the AFC favorites is full of jokesters, a hard-working yet light-hearted attitude pervasive. In fact, that may just be one of the things that drives Kansas City to a Super Bowl berth.

IRVING, Tex (AP) — The Big 12 Conference got off to a 10-0 start this season. There were some struggles even though every Big 12 team won its opener for the first time since 2012. West Virginia got outgained in yards, Kansas needed a late touchdown to win its opener for Les Miles and West Virginia struggled offensively. All were against FCS teams. Still, the Big 12 is the only FBS or FCS conference without a loss. Two Big 12 games this week are against SEC teams, including a top-10 matchup with LSU at Texas.

National Headlines

CHICAGO (AP) _ Aaron Rodgers hit Jimmy Graham in the second quarter for the game’s only touchdown as the Green Bay Packers tripped the Chicago Bears, 10-3 at Soldier Field. Both Rodgers and Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky were sacked five times as defense controlled a pair of shaky attacks. The Packers logged just 213 total net yards, while Chicago had 254. The Bears failed to score after Eddy Pineiro drilled a 38-yard field goal late in the first quarter.

UNDATED (AP) _ The St. Louis Cardinals continue to enjoy a 2 ½-game lead over the Chicago Cubs atop the NL Central. Dakota Hudson pitched six innings of one-hit ball and the Cardinals rode homers by Paul DeJong and Paul Goldschmidt to a 10-0 pounding of San Francisco. Kyle Schwarber’s grand slam highlighted a five-run sixth that led the Cubs to a 10-5 win at Milwaukee.

ATLANTA (AP) _ Atlanta’s lead in the NL East is up to eight games after Max Fried outpitched Stephen Strasburg in the Braves’ 4-2 victory over the second-place Washington Nationals. Fried pitched one-hit ball over seven innings, yielding only a first-inning single to NL batting leader Anthony Rendon. Ronald Acuna Jr. homered in the Braves’ seventh consecutive win.

BOSTON (AP) _ The Minnesota Twins were able to celebrate a 2-1 win over the Boston Red Sox after left fielder Eddie Rosario threw out Rafael Devers at home plate for the final out. Pinch-hitter Willians Astudillo (as-too-DEE’-uh) drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning with just the second hit of the night for Minnesota. The Twins took two of three in Boston and wrapped up an 8-2 road trip that puts them atop the AL Central by 6 ½ games over Cleveland.

UNDATED (AP) _ Tampa Bay has stayed atop the AL wild-card standings by a half-game over Oakland, with Cleveland 1 ½ games back. Austin Meadows’ 27th home run of the season gave the Rays a 5-4 lead in a 6-4 victory over the Blue Jays. Josh Phegley smacked a two-run home run and Robbie Grossman added a two-run triple while the Athletics scored seven times in the seventh to turn a 6-1 deficit into an eventual 10-6 win over the Los Angeles Angels.

Thursday Scores

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Chi White Sox 7 Cleveland 1
Final Detroit 6 Kansas City 4
Final Oakland 10 L-A Angels 6
Final Texas 3 Baltimore 1
Final Minnesota 2 Boston 1
Final Tampa Bay 6 Toronto 4
Final Houston 11 Seattle 9 (13 Innings)

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final St. Louis 10 San Francisco 0
Final Cincinnati 4 Philadelphia 3 (11 Innings)
Final Atlanta 4 Washington 2
Final Miami 10 Pittsburgh 7
Final Chi Cubs 10 Milwaukee 5

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Final Green Bay 10 Chicago 3

WARRENSBURG, Mo. – Central Missouri scored two touchdowns in the final 5:35 and rallied for a 34-30 win over No. 11 Fort Hays State in the season opener for both Thursday night at Walton Stadium. Cameron Saunders hauled in a 36-yard touchdown pass from Brook Bolles with 1:33 left to give the UCM the lead for good. The score came after Chance Fuller fumbled while being hit on a pass on third down the possession prior.

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Redshirt freshman Te’Corey Tutson’s one-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter pushed the Tigers lead to nine at 30-21. A sack on third down forced the Mules to punt but a fake kept the drive alive which led to a 65-yard scoring strike to Shae Wyattto pull within two with 5:25 to play.

The Tigers raced out to an early 13-0 lead. Layne Bieberle hauled in a 27-yard touchdown pass from Chance Fuller on the Tigers first possession. Dante Brown then connected on field goals from 20 and 51. He later added a 36-yarder to make it 16-7 which was the score at halftime.

Both teams scored on their first two possessions of the second half.

Chance Fuller completed 27-of-42 passes for 33 yards and two touchdowns. Layne Beiberle hauled in four passes for 99 yards and a score. Charles Tigner had eight receptions and led the Tigers ground game with 65 yards.

The Mules, who finished with 516 yards of total offense, was led on the ground by Koby Wilkerson’s 103 yards. Bolles completed 14 of 26 passes for 271 yards and three touchdowns

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Jordy Mercer fired up his teammates and helped them end to another skid in a sorry season.

Mercer put the Tigers ahead with their third home run of the fourth inning, and Detroit overcame a three-run deficit in a victory for the first time this year by beating the Kansas City Royals 6-4 Thursday.

“That excited the dugout,” Detroit manager Ron Gardenhire said. “We played pretty good baseball in this series.”

Detroit, which stopped a four-game losing streak, is a big league-worst 41-97 and Kansas City at 51-90 also is on pace for more than 100 losses.

Kansas City built a 3-0 lead in the second against Matthew Boyd (8-10) when Whit Merrifield hit a two-run single and scored on Adalberto Mondesi’s double. Merrifield had four hits, one shy of his career high.

Harold Castro started the comeback with an RBI single in the third, and Detroit took a 4-3 lead in the fourth off Glenn Sparkman (3-11) when Brandon Dixon and Dawel Lugo homered on consecutive pitches with one out and Mercer went deep with two outs for the Tigers’ first three-homer inning this year.

“We’ve talked about the importance of tack-on runs, and we just couldn’t do it,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “We couldn’t tack on runs until the eighth inning. We tacked on one, and I was hoping that one run would be big. It looked like it was starting to loom big in the ninth.”

Pinch-hitter Willi Castro had a two-run single in the sixth off Josh Staumont. Castro replaced Mercer, who left because of a bruised right wrist. An X-ray was negative.

Cheslor Cuthbert had a run-scoring grounder in the eighth against Bryan Garcia.

Boyd allowed three runs and 10 hits in 6 1/3 innings, and Joe Jiménez got three outs for his fifth save in six chances.

“I think he controlled the game,” Gardenhire said of Boyd. “He got into a little bit of a groove. I think he made some minor adjustments. The first couple of innings his breaking ball was going across the zone. He started getting it to go down. Once he did that, he was fine.”

Sparkman gave up four runs and seven hits in four innings.

UP NEXT
Tigers: After completing a suspended game that resumes with Detroit trailing Oakland 5-3 in the seventh inning, RHP Spencer Turnbull (3-14, 4.45 ERA) starts for the Tigers and Homer Bailey (12-8, 4.96 ERA) for the Athletics. The game was suspended by rain in Detroit on May 19.

Royals: In Kansas City’s first game against the Marlins since 2016, RHP Jorge López (2-7, 6.61 ERA) starts at Miami on Friday against RHP Pablo López (5-7, 4.89 ERA).