Category Archives: football

Saturday’s scores/Pitt State falls to Truman/Region VI previews


Here’s scores from today’s games. Can’t believe what happened with Pitt State. Getting some with texts and e-mails from angry PSU fans already.

And Friends-Ottawa next Saturday … yessir I will be there. Will you?

MIAA

Washburn 56, Emporia State 35 – Ichabods won when they were supposed to, now they’ve got to wait and see how the Super 4 rankings shake out. I think they deserve to be in the playoffs, but might be a win short. As far as ESU … time to wipe the slate clean and start from scratch, right? Simoneau hits for 354 and 3 Tds. Nice bounce back game for him, and while I may have cooled on my off. MVP talk … I definitely think the defensive MVP is Watkins and Simoneau is your first-team qb.

Truman 28, Pitt State 21 — Truman had not won a game in the MIAA this year before beating the Gorillas. Things are as bad as they’ve been at PSU since Broyles arrived. Ultimately, someone has to provide answers to the people that make the team go, aka the fans. Not unfathomable for PSU to get it turned around for next year but it’ll take some work. Gorillas’ 5-6 record is Broyles first losing season.

Fort Hays State 48, Missouri Southern 34 — Caps best season for Tigers since joining MIAA. Verdugo, on the hot seat before the year, gets some much-appreciated job security.

KCAC

No. 14 Friends 22, Kansas Wesleyan 10 — Falcons struggle a little … but still win and that’s all that matters at this point. KCAC title game is Saturday in Wichita vs. Ottawa.

No. 7 Ottawa 41, Bethany 14 – This wraps up a piece of KCAC title for Braves and could have clinched them a playoff berth. Knowing what I know, that matters zilch to this group. They want Friends.

No. 16 McPherson 34, Bethel 16

Sterling 26, Saint Mary 14

Southwestern 23, Tabor 20

Saturday’s games … and then some

HOW 'BOUT THEM DUCKS!

HOW 'BOUT THEM DUCKS!!!!

Thought I’d start this thing off with a little Pac 10 action via the Jayhawk Conference — that’s former Wichita North and Butler County star Zac Clark in the middle of the Oregon locker room, singing the fight song after his Ducks beat Oregon on Halloween in Eugene. I’ve always thought that things like this are the beauty of the Jayhawk — one fall you’re playing in front of a couple grand on some dingy field behind an elementary school in El Dorado and the next …

THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME: They are playing basketball now, BTW, including the Hutch men trouncing Barclay behind 18 points, 11 boards and 7 assists from Garrius Holloman on Thursday than waxing Fort Scott on Friday behind 16 from Joe Mitchell. I guess GH’s knee is gonna be okay …

If you haven’t checked out my Newman previews, you can go here and here.

Here’s my look at Saturday’s football games — I’ll do my Jayhawk stuff for Sunday when I’m posting scores, post-haste, manana:

Read More »

Saturday’s scores (10/31)

SCORES AS I GET ‘EM, PREVIEWS AND MGMT WHILE YOU WAIT -TA

No. 3 Fort Scott 14, No. 4 Butler 10 FINAL Butler fumble on FS 17 then Greyhounds go 15 plays ending with a Jasmin Hopkins 5-yard touchdown run. Butler turned it over twice in first half; Logan Ortiz kicks 36 yd field goal to make it 7-3; Butler fumbles going into end zone, Fort Scott recovers but Ryan Downing intercepts a pass two plays later and then …Marcus Kennard 14 pass from Ross Dausin 10-7 Butler 8:24 left to play in the game. Fort Scott scores a touchdown on a 93-yard drive with 1:37 left Jasmin Hopkins TD run 14-10 Fort Scott lead. FORT SCOTT’S WIN MEANS BUTLER’S EIGHT-YEAR REIGN ATOP JAYHAWK IS OVER AND GRIZZLIES WON’T WIN THIRD STRAIGHT NAT’L TITLE

MIAA

No. 3 Northwest Missouri 66, Fort Hays State 40

Washburn 37, Truman State 7

Missouri Western 29, Emporia State 6

Nebraska Omaha 31, Pittsburg State 28, OT

KCAC

No. 14 Friends 45, Saint Mary 21

Sterling 35, Bethany 2

Southwestern 21, Bethel 20 D’OH THRESHERS … THE JINX LIVES!!!

No. 16 McPherson 43, Tabor 10

No. 7 Ottawa 42, KWU 10/ Haller 391 yds 5 Tds

JAYHAWK

Hutchinson 55, Garden City 14/Hutch gets final playoff spot … and a trip to Fort Scott next Sunday!

No. 17 Coffeyville 24, Independence 0

Dodge City 29, Highland 22 … ugh

Saturday’s games

All you need to know, right here and right now:

MIAA

No. 3 Northwest Missouri (8-1 overall, 7-0 MIAA) at Fort Hays State (5-4, 3-4), 2 p.m. — The Tigers actually lead the all-time series 12-11-1, but that matters little to the Bearcats, who handed Fort Hays its worst loss of 2008, a 56-7 shellacking in Maryville, Mo. One thing going for the Tigers is that they’ve been tough at home this season, going 3-1 at Lewis Field.

Truman State (1-8, 0-7) at Washburn (6-3, 4-3), 1 p.m. — The Ichabods shouldn’t have any problem with Truman in a game notable only because senior linebacker Zach Watkins will likely become the career tackles leader for Washburn. Watkins currently has 452 career tackles, behind only Grant Gould (2002-05) with 459.

Missouri Western (7-2, 5-2) at Emporia State (2-7, 1-6), 1 p.m. –
ESU finishes the year 2-9 after they lose this game and then lose to Washburn in the regular season finale. And that’s in a year when they brought back 9 starters on defense and 6 on offense, along with bringing in the Jayhawk Conference offensive POY. The damage? It’s the Hornets worst season since 1983.

Pittsburg State (5-4, 3-4) at Nebraska-Omaha (5-4, 4-3), 1 p.m. — Chance to save some face for the Gorillas, who can win here and then close out with a win over Truman … and then start to think about what they need to do for next year.

KCAC

Saint Mary (2-5, 2-4) at No. 14 Friends (6-1, 5-1), 1:30 p.m. — Don’t look now, but the Falcons are starting to roll, having defeated their last three opponents by a combined score of 104-13. If Friends can survive here – which it should – season-defining games at Kansas Wesleyan (Nov. 7) and back home for senior day against No. 7 Ottawa (Nov. 14) await, as does a shot at a fourth straight KCAC title.

Sterling (4-3, 3-3) at Bethany (4-3, 3-3), 1:30 p.m. – This game might be a couple of also-rans in the middle of the pack, but don’t think it’s not important. It’ll be a dogfight.

Bethel (2-5, 2-4) at Southwestern (1-6, 1-5), 1:30 p.m. –

No. 16 McPherson (6-1, 5-1) at Tabor (0-7, 0-6) , 1:30 p.m. — There might not be a 1,000 yard rusher in the KCAC this year, which blows my mind. But if there is, it’ll be McPherson’s Aaron Lafitte, who already has 677 yards.

Kansas Wesleyan (4-3, 3-3) at No. 7 Ottawa (7-0, 6-0), 2 p.m. – Don’t think that the Braves aren’t licking their chops at getting the Coyotes at home — this Ottawa team smells blood in the water, it goes in for the kill. No looking ahead for OU.

JAYHAWK

Garden City (4-4, 3-3) at Hutchinson (5-3, 3-3), 7 p.m. — It’s hard to imagine that Hutchinson was ranked as high as No. 3 this season, but now finds itself in a win-or-you’re-done situation in the final game of the regular season. However, if the Blue Dragons win, they’re still in the running for a bowl game, likely the Salt City Bowl on Dec. 5 in Hutchinson.

No. 4 Butler (7-1, 6-0) at No. 3 Fort Scott (8-0, 6-0), 1 p.m. – Winner gets top seed in Region VI playoffs, regular-season Jayhawk title and an inside track to playing in the national championship game. Other than that …

Independence (2-6, 2-4) at No. 17 Coffeyville (5-3, 4-2), 7 p.m. – In Montgomery County, this game is a big deal. In 1997, unranked Indy came in and upset No. 1 Coffeyville about halfway through the season. How do I know these obscure facts? Unfortunately, I played in that game. And not for Indy.

Dodge City (0-8, 0-6) at Highland (0-8, 0-6), 1 p.m. – The absolute Toilet Bowl of JuCo games.

Saturday’s scores (10/24)

POSTING AS I GO … PREVIEWS WHILE YOU WAIT

UPDATE: I GOT EVERYTHING BUT HUTCH-INDY AS OF 8:20 p.m. Saturday

MIAA

No. 4 Northwest Missouri 22, No. 16 Washburn 19 OVERTIME/FINAL Better to have loved and lost … whatever. That one hurts to your bones. Kind of game you think about for the rest of your life if you’re a player. So close. Washburn LB Zach Watkins finishes with 16 tackles.

Pittsburg State 59, Fort Hays State 41 (Old Gorillas die hard, I guess. And they run for 406 yards … YOwza )

Emporia State 30, Truman State 24 FINAL/2 OT (ONE AND DONE)

KCAC

No. 14 Friends 46, Bethany 0

Bethel 32, Tabor 29/3 OT

Sterling 28, Kansas Wesleyan 7

No. 17 McPherson 48, Southwestern 7 (No threat here)

No. 8 Ottawa 54, Saint Mary 13 (Ottawa improves to 7-0 and 6-0 in the KCAC as QB Ethan Haller breaks single-season passing record and 44-year old career passing record)

JAYHAWK

Hutchinson (4-3, 2-3) at Independence (2-5, 2-3), 7 p.m — As unbelievable as it might have sounded at the beginning of the season, this game has big-time playoff implications… as in the loser can kiss its postseason hopes goodbye. The teams are tied for fifth in the standings right now, one game behind Garden City for the final Region VI berth with two regular season games to go.

No. 4 Butler 54, Highland 3 (No. 3 Fort Scott awaits. Who you got? BTW, No. 1 Blinn vs. No. 2 Navarro is same day down in Texas. Establishes a direct route to the national title game for the two winners. Could that game be in Hutch or Pittsburg if it features a Kansas team?)

No. 20 Coffeyville 27, Dodge City 6 Another week amongst the living

Dane Simoneau making case for MIAA Offensive MVP

SUNFLOWER SLATE INTERNATIONAL HQ

SUNFLOWER SLATE INTERNATIONAL HEADQUARTERS/AKA MY DESK

First things first: Yes, I did think the Jayhawk Media Day was today. Yes, it is next Monday. Yes, I got up before my pre-set 10 a.m.-11 a.m. wake-up call and was going about my day when I called Mike Kessinger circa 7:30 a.m. to ask if he was in Wichita yet and he said, in not so kind words, that it wasn’t until next week. These long nights at Sunflower Slate International Headquarters are really getting to me. So you’ll have to wait until next week to hear what’s going on with Steve Eck.

Onto bigger (and better) things.

Mainly, I think Washburn sophomore quarterback Dane Simoneau should be in the discussion for MIAA Offensive MVP at this point. Numbers don’t lie.

DANE SIMONEAU (WU REVIEW PIC)

DANE SIMONEAU (WU REVIEW PIC)

The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Salina Sacred Heart product leads the league in passing and total offense with 2,265 yards, 23 Tds and just 6 interceptions. The thing that struck me watching him pick apart Pittsburg State on Saturday was the zip in which his passes were thrown. He looked like he was playing shortstop out there the way he was zinging it around the field (which he also does for the Ichabods, BTW). Check that, he looked D-I.

But here’s the thing, I think, that makes him a real candidate: His team is winning. I know WU coach Craig Schurig had to make a tough decision last year to bench his starter midway through the season and go with Simoneau, but now CCS looks like a genius. And now the Ichabods are No. 16 in the country and have a legitimate shot at making the playoffs.

If you think I’m crazy for putting this out there, just ask yourself this: If not Simoneau, then who else? I think the NW Missouri trio of QB Blake Bolles, WR Jake Soy and RB Laron Council each make good cases, but nobody means as much to their team as No. 9.

I’m out TA

Saturday’s scores (10/17)

Got a chance to watch the Pitt State-Washburn game this afternoon … wow … Pitt State is bad. And Dane Simoneau is really good. Also, Fort Hays State picked up the HUGE win over Nebraska-Omaha.

And Southwestern finally won a game. And that might be the biggest surprise of the day.

Here’s the scores from Saturday:

MIAA

No. 20 Washburn 55, Pittsburg State 3

No. 5 NW Missouri 45, Emporia State 12

Fort Hays State 31, Nebraska-Omaha 20

KCAC

No. 16 McPherson 52, Kansas Wesleyan 38

Southwestern 34, Bethany 21 … I say it again, WOW

Sterling 47, Tabor 21

Saint Mary 42, Bethel 27

No. 14 Friends 28, Haskell 7

JAYHAWK

No. 4 Butler 38, Independence 0

No. 3 Fort Scott 59, Highland 17

Garden City 46, Dodge City 0

Air Force Prep at No. 20 Hutchinson (3-3, 2-3), 7 p.m.

Saturday’s games

Our marquee matchup for Saturday is looking like the PSU-Washburn tilt in Topeka, which FYI is going to be televised on Cox Channel 22 starting at 1 p.m. Although, I’m not sure if anything is bigger this weekend than the Washburn-ESU volleyball tilt … I’m not kidding, that’s the place to be.

And there’s this … Hutchinson C.C. running back Romero Cotton — presumably the only prep athlete in Kansas history to win four state titles in wrestling and football — was sentenced to 38 months in prison yesterday.

Here’s a look:

MIAA

Pittsburg State (4-3 overall, 2-3 MIAA) at No. 20 Washburn (5-2, 3-2), 1 p.m. — This is a make-or-break game for both teams. If Pittsburg State wins, the Gorillas have a legitimate shot at finishing 8-3 and salvaging the season. Lose, and 6-5 is a real possibility. Washburn can’t afford to lose here and then go on the road with its playoff hopes riding on an upset of No. 5 Northwest Missouri next week.

No. 5 Northwest Missouri (6-1, 5-0) at Emporia State (1-6, 0-5), 1 p.m. — This one will get ugly. The Hornets get Truman next week in the only chance either team has to win an MIAA game this season. Sad state of affairs up the turnpike.

Nebraska-Omaha (5-2, 4-1) at Fort Hays State (4-3, 2-3), 2 p.m. – Here it is. Fort Hays gets another chance to win a meaningful MIAA game. That they get it at home is a huge plus. They lose this one and it’s back to pretender status.

KCAC

No. 16 McPherson (4-1, 3-1) at Kansas Wesleyan (4-1, 3-1), 1:30 p.m. — McPherson can’t lose again if it wants to stay in contention for both the KCAC title and an NAIA Tournament bid, and this will be a true test. Kansas Wesleyan has similar goals, but must still play Friends and Ottawa. If the Bulldogs can find a way to win, they should cruise to 7-1 with their next two games against the league’s winless teams.

No. 14 Friends (4-1, 4-1) at Haskell, 1:30 p.m. – I got to spend some time with Monty Lewis on Wednesday after KCAC hoops media day, and of course I grilled him about his running game, which has fallen off the map this year. The Falcons won the last three league titles by running the rock better than almost anybody in the country, but this year they’re having to rely on passing. But does he still have an ace up his sleeve? Maybe, but I’m not saying quite yet. It would ruin the fun.

Saint Mary (1-4, 1-3) at Bethel (1-4, 1-3), 1:30 p.m. – Bethel wins its second straight here. If you haven’t seen defensive lineman James McCartney play yet, you might wanna catch the Threshers this season. He’s something else.

Bethany (4-1, 3-1) at Southwestern (05, 0-4), 1:30 p.m. — The Swedes couldn’t have a better opponent on their schedule after last week’s deflating loss to Bethel on Homecoming. Remember, Bethany led 16-3 with 10 minutes to play and turned it over 3 times in its own red zone. Ouch. But The Jinx doesn’t apply to football anymore, and the Moundbuilders play slumpbuster better than anybody.

Tabor (0-5, 0-4) at Sterling (2-3, 1-3), 1:30 p.m. – Time to catch some Zs.

JAYHAWK

Independence (2-4 overall, 2-2 Jayhawk) at No. 4 Butler (5-1, 4-0), 1:30 p.m. — It’s still two weeks from the Halloween showdown between the Grizzlies and No. 3 Fort Scott, and with winless Highland up next week, this should be Butler’s last real test before facing the Greyhounds. The Grizzlies have the top-ranked defense in the league, and cornerback Darron Edwards is tied for the league lead with three interceptions.

Highland (0-6, 0-4) at No. 3 Fort Scott (6-0, 5-0), 1 p.m. – Fort Scott rolls here, beats Air Force Prep next Friday and takes 8-0 into the Butler game. But here’s the thing … they play again two weeks later in the Region VI title game, right? I think if either team wants a shot at the national title, it’ll need to win both games.

Garden City (3-4, 2-3) at Dodge City (0-6, 0-4), 1:30 p.m. & Air Force Prep at No. 20 Hutchinson (3-3, 2-3), 7 p.m. – I did a double-up on this one because it is shaping up, in my opinion, that the Garden City-Hutch and Coffeyville-Independence games on Oct. 31 will be for the third and fourth playoff spots in Region VI. Let me know if my math is off.

I’ll be posting updates on scores tomorrow, so come on back now, ya’ hear?

-TA

Chuck Broyles

CHUCK BROYLES

CHUCK BROYLES

If you haven’t read my article yet that ran in Sunday’s paper about the current state of the Pittsburg State football program, please check it out here.

I went on the road early last week to head to southeast Kansas, first to Pittsburg to talk to several people for the article, including head coach Chuck Broyles, and then to Parsons to meet with Wayne Gilmore, who runs www.teamkong.net, a PSU fan site. You could say the whole trip was born out of PSU’s three-game losing streak to start MIAA play, but it’s bigger than that.

So … what was the impression I came away with?

Mainly, Coach Broyles is still the man. Three-game losing streak be damned, he still runs that town, although it’s not necessarily Shangri-La anymore.

Here’s how it went down:

I met with Assistant AD Dan Wilkes first, who was my de facto tour guide for the day. First was an interview with Dennis Gatewood, who is the Gorilla Club President. He’s been going to games for over 30 years, and his message was pretty clear: if you’re not with us, you’re against us. Dude doesn’t have a whole lot of patience for bandwagon-type fans. Ended with him, headed down to the weight room to talk to Kendall Fisher, a Garden Plain product and stud wideout for PSU. On the way, I passed former QB Mark Smith in the hall, who is now the QB coach for the Gorillas. That was cool. Talked to Kendall for a few minutes (pulled him out of the weight room) and I could tell the losses had worn on him. If you’re around athletes long enough you kind of get a feel for when something’s weighing on them, and I definitely felt that way after talking to him, especially when he said he’d been hearing stuff in his classes. Ouch.

Then I went to meet with PSU president Steve Scott. He straight up told me he didn’t make it a practice to talk about sports, so I guess that was his way of telling me I’m lucky to get an interview. His office … wow. It’s nice to be King, right? OH, and there was also a Lane Lord sighting in the parking lot on the way to see the prez. Think they’re happy to have him there? Lane Lord, that is.

Then it was time to meet with CCB.

Now here’s the thing about interviewing Coach Broyles … he’s Chuck Broyles. And he knows it. Here’s a snippet from the first couple of minutes we talked:

ME: So there’s things that people are saying about the program, about how it’s fallen off a bit and maybe they’ve got some questions about the direction it’s headed in.

CHUCK: Well if they’re saying it, they’re not saying it to me.

ME: Probably not.

And we went from there. He talked to me for a good 10-15, answered every question, and didn’t avoid any topic I brought up. And I respect that. I mean, we’re talking about a guy who once told me he was going to watch Smokey and the Bandit on the PSU jumbotron in the offseason. In the words of my generation … how player is that?

After my interview with CCB, I hit a sports bar (not for drinks, people) to meet with a couple of fans for lunch, then it was off to Parsons, where I met with Gilmore at his optometry office because, well, he’s an optometrist. Wayne was really insightful — no rah, rah, nothing like that, just straight talk. And he gave the story an angle it had been missing to that point.

Then it was back to the ICT and my beautiful apartment in Old Town. Just kidding, it’s not that nice.

Like I said, give my story a read if you have a chance.

Yours truly,

TA

Butler, Bethany and everything else that happened this weekend

ROSS DAUSIN (EL DORADO TIMES)

ROSS DAUSIN (EL DORADO TIMES)

Over 4,000 people pack into Gowans Stadium in Hutchinson for a lights-out thriller of a game between two nationally ranked teams … A quarterback getting a new lease on life leads a once-proud program to 4-0 and its first national ranking since 2002 … And my Dead Red Ravens? Maybe they’ve got a little life in them after all.

It all happened Saturday, and I thought I’d go over it today because I’m moving Roll Call back to Tuesdays … no big deal, just a few of the leagues don’t get their Player of the Week awards out until Tuesday and I want to get them all in.

Let’s look at what we’ve got …

MIAA

No. 12 Washburn 28, Fort Hays State 14 — I wasn’t so much impressed that Washburn won as I was that FHSU almost won. Is that so wrong? I think the Tigers have a good team and could pull off an upset if they’re hitting on all the right cylinders, which they’ll have to do because the rest of their schedule is BRUTAL. As far as Washburn … QB Dane Simoneau isn’t a star in the making, he’s a star.

Pittsburg State 21, Missouri Southern 13 – Pittsburg State breaks a three-game, MIAA losing streak with a win against one of the downtroddens. Don’t know that it proves anything, and questions still need to be answered in Gorilla Country.

Neb-Omaha 34, Emporia State 13 – Hornets play Truman Oct. 24 in last winnable game of the season. Then what?

KCAC

No. 24 Bethany 27, Kansas Wesleyan 21 – Steven Baker started for Bethany back in 2003, 2004 and 2005. Then he started coaching. Then this year he decided to come back. Then Saturday he threw for 326, 2 TDs and no picks in the Swedes’ win over rival KWU, a battle of unbeaten teams. And now … he’s got Bethany ranked for the first time since 2002. They’ve got Bethel on Saturday for Homecoming, and don’t sleep on the Threshers.

No. 15 Friends 15, Bethel 7 — I’m not sure what to think of Friends. They’re doing what they have to do right now, but we won’t know if they’re the team until they get a true test against a good team. Until then it’s just smoke and mirrors, baby.

No. 10 Ottawa 54, Southwestern 16 – Here’s a thought: Why don’t all the teams in the KCAC put together their own records as far as stats, send them to me, I’ll sort them out and then we’ll have some sort of all-time leaders in the KCAC? That way, we can say once and for all that Ethan Haller is the greatest (statistically) KCAC qb of all-time.

Peru State 19, Tabor 7 — Tabor-Southwestern game in November will be one chance for either team to win a game.

No. 18 McPherson 21, Sterling 0 — Linebacker Jeff Paulson continues to make his case for All-American honors for the Bulldogs, who don’t necessarily need Ottawa to lose to make the NAIA playoffs … but they do need to win out.

JAYHAWK

QUICK QUESTION: HOW MANY KJCCC PLAYERS HEAD TO MANHATTAN NEXT SEASON? GUESS RIGHT AND THERE’S A PRIZE!

No. 4 Butler 13, No. 13 Hutch 10 — Talked to Jeff Lutz, who covered this game for us, and he said there was a nice crowd, but they never got much to get excited about it. Hey, that’s a 13-10 game for you. As far as Butler … both No. 1 Blinn and No. 2 Navarro won Saturday. What that means is on Oct. 31, when Blinn plays Navarro and Butler plays Fort Scott, the winners of those two games will have the inside track to play in the national championship game. I think. For Hutch, now, its a matter of making a bowl.

No. 3 Fort Scott 31, Independence 9 — I’m telling you … Jasmin Hopkins is nice.

Coffeyville 35, Garden City 0 — Didn’t see this one coming. Injuries have slowed GCCC … but wow. Looks like the Coffeyville-Independence game will be for fourth playoff spot.

Air Force Prep 30, Highland 10 – zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.