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Chiefs’ Charles off PUP list, makes training camp debut

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) – Kansas City Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles has made his training camp debut.

Charles had been on the physically-unable-to-perform list the first three weeks of camp. He underwent surgery last season after tearing the ACL in his right knee in Week 5 against Chicago. He was at practice Tuesday.

Charles missed the Chiefs’ preseason opener Saturday against the Seattle Seahawks, and it’s not clear whether he will play against the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday.

The four-time Pro Bowl running back worked out a bit during the offseason program, and Charles said all along that he expected to be ready for the season opener against San Diego on Sept. 11.

Kennedy pitches Royals past Tigers

By DAVE HOGG
Associated Press

DETROIT (AP) – Ian Kennedy pitched effectively into the seventh inning to win for the first since June 26 as the Kansas City Royals beat the Detroit Tigers 3-1 on Monday night.

The Tigers lost slugger Miguel Cabrera after four innings to a strained left biceps. Cabrera appeared to injure himself in a first-inning collision with Cheslor Cuthbert at first base, but batted twice before leaving the game.

Detroit said Cabrera is day to day.

Kennedy (7-9) ended an eight-start winless streak, allowing one run on five hits and a walk in 6 2/3 innings. Three relievers finished, with Kelvin Herrera pitching the ninth for his fifth save.

Daniel Norris (1-1) took the loss, allowing two runs – one earned – in 5 1/3 innings.

Rookie Chris Jones gains attention in preseason opener

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) – Kansas City rookie defensive end Chris Jones gained attention in the Chiefs’ preseason opener.

The team’s first pick of this year’s draft had two tackles against Seattle and pressured quarterbacks. He also helped thwart a fourth-and-1 attempt in Kansas City territory.

Coach Andy Reid says Jones was able to “reach out and grab people.”

Jones is 6-foot-6 with a 7-foot-1 wingspan.

Jones is second on Kansas City’s unofficial depth chart behind Jaye Howard at left defensive end. He’s the only rookie listed on the first or second string on defense.

Hays High and TMP-Marian open football practice

The first of two practices of the 2016 football season came to a close Monday evening. Around 60 players checked out gear on Monday starting with a practice at 8 a.m. and then again at 4 p.m. The Indians enter their second season under coach Randall Rath. Rath already noticed a difference during the summer time before this season, noting the players understood how he wanted them to work in the summer time.

Coach Randall Rath

Hays will look to improve on their 2-7 record from a last season. Some of the key returners include Seniors Shane Berens, Conrad Vanjar, Chantz Brungardt and Kohlton Meyers and Junior Hunter Brown Hays opens the season September 2nd at Scott City.

TMP-Marian had 39 players greeted new head coach Jason Cauley as they held their first workout early Monday morning. Cauley takes over a Monarch team that finished 1-8 in 2015.

 

Coach Jason Cauley

 

FHSU football receiving votes in AFCA preseason Top 25 poll

FHSU Sports Information

WACO, Texas – Fort Hays State Football is receiving votes in the AFCA Division II Preseason Top 25 Poll, released on Monday. The Tigers were receiving votes in several weekly polls last year – a season that saw them finish 8-4 overall with a trip to the Mineral Water Bowl, the first postseason game for the programin 20 years.

The Tigers received six votes in the initial poll. FHSU is one of six teams from the MIAA referenced in the poll, three among the top 25 and three receiving votes. Leading that list is defending national champion Northwest Missouri State, which starts the year at No. 1. Also earning top 25 nods are Central Missouri at No. 20 and Emporia State at No. 23. Emporia State made the NCAA playoffs last year, while Fort Hays State tied Central Missouri at 8-3 in the regular season and kept Central Missouri out of a potential bowl game or playoffs by winning the head-to-head match up in Hays. Joining the Tigers in the receiving votes section is Pittsburg State with 88 votes and Central Oklahoma with three votes.

The MIAA schedule proves to be a tough one once again this year with half of the teams referenced in the preseason national poll. FHSU opens the year with Missouri Southern on September 1 in Hays before facing two of the teams referenced in the poll in weeks two and three. FHSU travels to No. 20 Central Missouri onSeptember 8, then hosts Central Oklahoma on September 17.

Below is the 2016 AFCA Division II Preseason Top 25 Poll.

Rank School (1st votes) Record Pts. Prev Rank*
1. Northwest Missouri St. (29) 15-0 749 1
2. West Georgia (1) 12-2 676 3
3. Grand Valley St. (Mich.) 12-3 658 4
4. Shepherd (W.Va.) 13-1 638 2
5. Colorado St.-Pueblo 12-2 581 5
6. Ashland (Ohio) 10-1 523 10
7. Minnesota St. 10-2 466 13
8. Indiana (Pa.) 9-3 364 19
9t. Henderson St. (Ark.) 11-2 363 12
9t. Texas A&M-Commerce 8-4 363 23
11. Slippery Rock (Pa.) 12-2 360 7
12. Ferris St. (Mich.) 11-1 359 6
13. Humboldt St. (Calif.) 10-2 353 16
14. Midwestern St. (Texas) 10-2 344 9
15. North Alabama 9-3 330 15
16. Indianapolis (Ind.) 10-2 276 18
17. Tuskegee (Ala.) 10-3 241 11
18. Colorado School of Mines 8-3 228 NR
19. Minnesota-Duluth 9-3 196 NR
20. Central Missouri 8-3 184 NR
21. Assumption (Mass.) 11-2 144 17
22. Catawba (N.C.) 9-3 140 25
23. Sioux Falls (S.D.) 9-3 125 21t
24. Emporia St. (Kan.) 11-3 124 8
25. Augustana (S.D.) 9-3 119 24

*Previous rank is ranking from the final 2015 poll.

Others Receiving Votes: Florida Tech, 107; Valdosta St. (Ga.), 99; Pittsburg St. (Kan.), 88; West Chester (Pa.), 82; Winston-Salem St. (N.C.), 74; Charleston (W.Va.), 60; Carson-Newman (Tenn.), 53; Colorado Mesa, 50; Harding (Ark.), 40; Albany St. (Ga.), 34; Virginia Union, 29; California (Pa.), 25; Angelo St. (Texas), 19; Azusa Pacific (Calif.), 13; Miles (Ala.), 11; Delta St. (Miss.), 9; Michigan Tech, 9; Western Oregon, 9; West Texas A&M, 8; Fort Hays St. (Kan.), 6; Bowie St. (Md.), 4; Saginaw Valley St. (Mich.), 4; Central Oklahoma, 3; Ouachita Baptist (Ark.), 3; Ohio Dominican, 2; Texas A&M-Kingsville, 2; Bemidji St. (Minn.), 1; McKendree (Ill.), 1; Newberry (S.C.), 1.

Snyder once again could have K-State in Big 12 title race

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) – Bill Snyder has always valued continuity, whether on the coaching staff or in the huddle.

It’s why four of his assistants, including co-offensive coordinators Dana Dimel and Del Miller, have spent at least 18 years at Kansas State. And why relative youngsters on the staff, such as Andre Coleman and Blake Seiler, played for the Wildcats before joining the profession.

The Wildcats have been to six straight bowl games. But as the 76-year-old Snyder enters his 26th season, there are growing rumblings that it may be his last. He needs seven wins to reach 200 for his career, a significant milestone, and the talent returning from an injury-plagued 2015 season means Kansas State could compete for another Big 12 title.

Perhaps such success would make it the right time.

Orlando, Cain each have 4 hits, 3 RBIs, Royals beat Twins

By ANDRES YBARRA
Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Paulo Orlando and Lorenzo Cain each got four hits and drove in three runs as the Kansas City Royals won their first road series since late June, beating the Minnesota Twins 11-4 Sunday.

Orlando homered, tripled and scored three times. Cain matched his career high for hits in a game.

Edinson Volquez (9-10) threw six solid innings to snap his five-game winless streak. He gave up two earned runs and five hits.

Chris Young pitched three scoreless innings for his first save.

Orlando hit a three-run homer off starter Hector Santiago (10-7) in the fourth, capping a six-run inning. Orlando is hitting .368 (39 for 106) since the All-Star break.

Brian Dozier hit his 26th home run for Minnesota and Joe Mauer had a pair of hits, including an RBI single in the fifth that pulled the Twins to 7-4.

Larks come up short in NBC title game

WICHITA – Another close call for the Hays Larks, but for the fifth time in the organization’s history they come up short in the championship game of the NBC World Series. Jacob Patterson scattered six hits over seven shutout innings to lead the Santa Barbara Foresters to a 6-2 win Saturday night at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. Patterson struck out five and walked two in his only start for the Foresters (36-14) who won their sixth title and third in five years.

Game Highlights

The Foresters scored their first five runs with two outs. Lex Kaplan singled and Dylan Paul doubled to give them a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Kyle Isbel’s triple made it 4-0 in the second. Matt Henderson tripled in the fourth to push the lead to 5-0.

The Larks (43-11) had chances in the second when they put two on with one out but Ty Redington and Connor Ross struck out to end the inning. They had two on with one out in the fifth but Michael Burns was picked off second then Nate Olinger struck out to end the threat.

They broke up the shutout in the ninth. After Alex Weiss doubled to lead off the inning, Ty Redington and Connor Ross both drove in runs.

Alex Lopez (8-1) allowed five runs on seven hits over 3 2/3 innings and suffered the loss for the Larks who saw their 10-game win streak come to an end.

Weiss and Ty Redington both had two of the Larks eight hits.

Michael Burns received the tournament’s leading hitter award. Burns led the Larks with a .535 average and had 15 hits in the Larks six games. Keegen Curtis brought home the leading pitcher honor after he recorded 20 strikeouts in his two starts.

Dozier, Duffey lead Twins past Royals

By PATRICK DONNELLY
Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Brian Dozier hit his 25th home run of the season and the 100th of his career, leading Tyler Duffey and the Minnesota Twins over the Kansas City Royals 5-3 Saturday night and ending a four-game losing streak.

Dozier has 17 homers since June 25, most in the majors over that span. He also doubled and scored twice. Robbie Grossman added three hits, including a home run.

For the second time this season, the Twins homered three times off Royals starter Dillon Gee (4-6).

Eddie Rosario’s two-run shot in the fifth inning put the Twins ahead 4-1. Dozier followed him with a towering drive deep into the second deck in left.

Duffey (8-8) won for the third time in three starts this month. He allowed two runs on six hits in seven innings, striking out six.

Ryan Pressly pitched a scoreless eighth and Brandon Kintzler allowed an unearned run in the ninth but held on for his 11th save in 12 chances.

Seahawks top Chiefs in preseason opener

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Trevone Boykin engineered a last-minute, 88-yard touchdown drive in four plays, hitting Tanner McEvoy with a 37-yard scoring pass, and Tyvis Pope scored the 2-point conversion with no time remaining, lifting the Seattle Seahawks to a 17-16 victory Saturday over Kansas City.

Boykin, competing with veteran Jake Heaps to be Russell Wilson’s backup, replaced Wilson after one possession and had some good and some not-so-good moments before getting going on the final drive.

The clock showed 0:00 when McEvoy out-positioned and out-jumped Malcolm Jackson in the end zone, bringing the Seahawks to within one point in a game they had trailed all day.

Then the Chiefs were flagged for having 12 men on the field, moving the ball to the 1, and Pope went off left guard to score the winner.

Boykin, a star at TCU who was not drafted, was 16 for 26 for 188 yards. Keeping the winning drive alive, he had a scrambling 15-yard run. It was second-and-9 when he lofted the pass to McEvoy, who was waiting in the end zone for the ball.

For the first 59 minutes, the Chiefs dominated, getting a touchdown drive from Alex Smith on their first possession and three field goals from Cairo Santos.

Steven Hauschka also had three field goals for the Seahawks.

PICKING UP WHERE YOU LEFT OFF

Seahawks: Hauschka was 3 for 3 after hitting 29 of 31 last season, connecting from 52, 49 and 50 yards.

Chiefs: Santos was also perfect on three attempts and Marcus Peters, last season’s NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, had an interception of Wilson at the goal-line.

ROOKIE WATCH

Seahawks: Brandin Bryant, the 290-pound rookie out of Florida Atlantic who’s been turning heads in practice, had two tackles at left tackle and seemed to hold his own against more experienced Chiefs linemen. Tyvis Powell, a safety out of Ohio State, made an alert interception off a tipped ball, got up and returned it 11 yards to put the Seahawks at midfield.

Chiefs: Special teams hopeful Eric Murray made a nifty stop on the 9-yard line on the kickoff following Santos’ field goal, leading to KC’s next taking possession at their 44.

INJURY UPDATE

Seahawks: The injury issue that’s been hurting the Seahawks since camp opened kept a number of players from even suiting up, including running backs C.J. Prosise and Zac Brooks and wide receivers Deshon Foxx, Kevin Smith and Kasen Williams. … Tight end Jimmy Graham, who returned to practice on Wednesday for the first time since injuring his patella tendon last November, stayed home.

Chiefs: Linebacker D.J. Alexander went out in the first quarter with a rib injury, but returned late in the second.

POSITION BATTLES:

Seahawks: Boykin got off to a good start in his competition to back up Wilson. His case is strengthened because his college offense is similar to what he’s doing now. Flashing the agility that made him a dual-threat star at TCU, he also faked out linebacker Ramik Wilson for a 5-yard gain on third down.

Chiefs: Nick Foles, signed after camp opened to perhaps provide experienced backup for Smith, completed half his eight passes for 37 yards and was high on his first couple of throws, a problem he’s been having in camp. But tight end Demetrius Harris dropped a well-thrown ball on third down.

Smith directed a nearly flawless touchdown drive in his only possession, making a particularly nifty third-down completion to set up KC’s touchdown. He was 3 for 4 for 36 yards.

Wilson was almost equally impressive in his brief appearance. But a goal-line interception by Marcus Peters thwarted an otherwise impressive drive by the Seahawks’ first-team offense and its revamped offensive line.

Heaps, was 2 for 6 for 20 yards.

Nick Foles, who had success in Philadelphia with Andy Reid, completed half of his eight passes for 37 yards after replacing Smith but was high on several throws. Tyler Bray, the strong-armed undrafted fourth-year quarterback from Tennessee, was 3 of 9 for 48 yards.

Taking advantage of Seattle mistakes, the Chiefs’ first-team offense drove 49 yards in eight plays to take a 7-0 lead on the game’s first possession. Knile Davis picked up 34 yards with the kickoff, then a facemask penalty on Steven Terrell added 15. On third-and-9 from the Seattle 21, Smith escaped pressure and found Jeremy Maclin on the 1. Spencer Ware went in for the TD.

Larks knock off Stars in 17 innings; advance to NBC title game

WICHITA – It was the longest game in the modern wood bat era and it put the Hays Larks in the 82nd NBC World Series championship game. The Larks (43-10) raced out to a 6-0 lead then had to come back with three in the 17th inning to beat the Kansas Stars 9-6 in Friday’s semifinals at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium.

The Larks will take on the Santa Barbara (CA) Foresters at 7 p.m. Saturday. The Foresters beat the San Diego Force 7-6 in 12 innings.

Game Highlights

Jacob Boston gave the Larks the lead with a single to left which scored Mike Mioduszewski. Connor Ross hit a sac fly to right which scored Alex Weiss then Micheal Burns singled to score Boston.

Daniel James (2-0) retired the final 10 batters he faced to pick up the win. James pitched eight scoreless innings of relief with six strikeouts and no walks for the win. He worked around a runner at second with no outs in the 12th then got a strikeout with the bases loaded to end the 14th.

The Larks struck for two in the first inning and four in the third and led 6-0.

The Stars, comprised primarily of former major league players, came back with four in the sixth thanks to two walks and two hit batters. They added a run in the eighth on a Ryan Langerhans two-out single then tied the game in the bottom of the ninth when Jayson Nix doubled to right and scored Brandon Inge from first base. Nix was thrown out trying to stretch the double into a triple, sending the game to extra innings.

Larks starter Keegan Curtis retired the first nine batters he faced before being chased in the sixth. Stars starter Tim Hudson gave up six runs on four hits with six walks over 2  1/3 innings.

The Larks will play in their fifth NBC World Series title game at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Ventura, Royals top Twins for 5th win in in 6 games

By DAVE CAMPBELL
AP Sports Writer

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Yordano Ventura won consecutive starts for the first time in two months, Kendrys Morales homered in his return from a one-game suspension and the Kansas City Royals beat the Minnesota Twins 7-3 Friday night.

Ventura (8-9) struck out nine in seven innings, allowing four hits, one walk and three runs, pitching the Royals to their fifth win in the last six games. After posting a 5.15 ERA in the first half, Ventura has a 3.26 ERA after the All-Star break.

Miguel Sano homered for the fifth time in the last seven games and Brian Dozier hit a two-run shot, giving Twins starter Kyle Gibson (4-7) a one-run lead he took into the fifth inning. The Royals hit the ball plenty hard, but the softest one made the biggest impact.

Salvador Perez’s bat broke on a two-strike, two-out, two-run bloop single with the bases loaded the gave the Royals a 4-3 lead. Third baseman Trevor Plouffe awkwardly backpedaled for the slowly rising ball, but it cleared his head and landed in front of diving shortstop Jorge Polanco.

Larks beat Panners; advance to NBC World Series semifinals

WICHITA – The Hays Larks pounded out a season-high 21 hits and extended their winning streak to nine games with a 13-7 win over the Alaska Goldpanners in the quarterfinals of the 82nd National Baseball Congress World Series Thursday at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. The Larks (42-10) advance to Friday’s semifinals where they will face the Kansas Stars, a team comprised of recently retired players from the major leagues, at 7 p.m. Friday. The Stars knocked out the defending champion Seattle (WA) Studs 10-2 Friday.

The Santa Barbara (CA) Foresters play the San Diego (CA) Force in Friday’s second semifinal at 9:30 p.m. The five-time champion Foresters eliminated the Northwest (WA) Honkers 11-0 in six innings. The Force scored seven runs in the seventh to rally past the NJCAA National Team 12-8 in Thursday night’s late game.

Frank Leo Postgame

Game Highlights

After they squandered several scoring opportunities early, the Larks broke through for five runs in the fourth inning then added two in the sixth for a 10-3 lead. The Goldpanners (25-18) scored three on a two-out home run from Isaiah Aluko in the seventh, but the Larks answered with three in the bottom of the inning to retake control.

The Larks first seven batters all hit safely to open the fourth. Ty Redington, Nate Olinger, Austin O’Brien, Jacob Boston and Jeff Deimling all drove in runs.

Micheal Burns and Austin O’Brien both had four hits. Burns was a home run away from hitting for the cycle and scored twice while O’Brien drove in two. Nate Olinger and Jacob Boston both had two hits. Boston drove in three.

Starter Stephen Yancey (5-2) allowed two earned runs on six hits with five strikeouts and one walk over six innings and picked up the win.

The Larks 42 wins is tied for second most in team history, joining the 2003 team.

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