MANHATTAN, Kan. – Wildcat fans visiting Manhattan next weekend will be welcomed to a bevy of events surrounding the season-opening football game against South Dakota.

In addition to the game, which will kickoff at 6:10 p.m., and be televised on K-StateHD.TV, here is a list of highlighted activities and reminders for all Wildcat fans:

Varney’s Invitational at Bramlage

K-State’s volleyball team will be hosting the Varney’s Invitational Friday and Saturday in Bramlage Coliseum. The Wildcats will open play at noon Friday against Green Bay before hosting Cal at 7:30 p.m. later that night. Tickets for those matches are $8 for adults and $5 for youth, and fans with a ticket to the South Dakota football game can receive a general admission ticket for just $3. On Saturday, the volleyball team will host UNLV at 1:30 p.m., and admission to that match will be FREE for all fans. Click here for more information on the tournament.

Vanier Family Football Complex Ribbon-Cutting

Fans are invited to attend a special ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Vanier Family Football Complex as fans will officially be welcomed into the new north end zone seating area. When stadium gates open at 4 p.m., fans are invited to meet at the northwest corner of the concourse for a brief ceremony. Once the ribbon has been cut, fans will be able to walk the new north concourse and into their seats in the north end zone.

Coach Snyder Hall of Fame Recognition

A representative from the National Football Foundation will be on hand to recognize Coach Snyder for his election into the College Football Hall of Fame. Snyder will be presented his hall of fame certificate in a brief presentation just prior to kickoff, so fans are encouraged to arrive early to their seats.

Stripe Out the Stadium

Fans are also asked to help “stripe out” the stadium for the opener in honor of Coach Snyder’s recognition. Shirts can be purchased at various local retailers, including online from the K-State Super Store. Those ordered online by August 31 can still be sent via mail in time for the game, and fans are encouraged to purchase their shirt prior to gameday due to expected long lines. Click here for more information.

Gigapixel Photo to be Taken in First Half

During the first half of the football game, a panoramic Gigapixel photo will be taken from the field which will then be posted online for fans to tag friends and enter to win prizes. The images are 16 billion pixels in size, and are powered by Blakeway Worldwide Panoramas. Unframed and framed panoramas will also be available for purchase from www.panoramas.com.

Ring of Honor Halftime Celebration

Four new members will be inducted into the K-State Football Ring of Honor during the weekend as Michael Bishop, Jordy Nelson, Clarence Scott and Darren Sproles will be back on campus. Following a Friday night induction ceremony, the group will be recognized at halftime and will receive their official induction plaques.

Postgame Fireworks

Fans are once again are encouraged to remain in their seats following the 7th annual K-State Family Reunion as the annual fireworks show, co-sponsored by UPC, will take place shortly after the conclusion of the game.

Watch Game Live Exclusively on K-StateHD.TV

Fans are reminded that the football game will be broadcast world-wide exclusively on K-StateHD.TV beginning with “K-State Gameday” at 5:10 p.m., hosted by Brian Smoller and former K-State greats Ian Campbell and Nick Leckey. To subscribe to K-StateHD.TV fans can visit kstatesports.com or click here.

Heat Relief Stations Available at Stadium

With temperatures expected in the upper 80s for Saturday’s game, K-State Athletics is supplementing its First Aid centers at Bill Snyder Family Stadium with heat stations providing cool towels for those who may be affected by the warm weather.
Towels will be provided at tents located on the stadium’s south concourse near Gate M on the east and Gate D on the west; between Gates T-V on the east and near the elevators on the View Level (east upper-deck). Members of the Kansas Capital Area Chapter of the American Red Cross will provide support for the heat stations as well as the First Aid centers located on the east concourse inside Gate M and on the west concourse near Gate A.

In addition, fans are reminded they are permitted to bring into the stadium one, 1-liter bottle of commercial-brand water that has not been opened and is not frozen. Fans may refill their bottles at water fountains located behind Sections 2 and 8 on the west side, Sections 23 and 25 on the east side and those located on the concourse of the North End Zone.

Other Stadium Notes
Text-Assist: Fans needing any type of assistance are always encouraged to find stadium staff. In addition, K-State Athletics offers a text-assist service by which fans can report an incident or request help by texting CATFAN followed by their seat location and issue to the number 69050. The message goes directly to a K-State stadium dispatcher, who then communicates with stadium staff in the area to resolve the issue.
Tailgate Terraces: The West Stadium Center’s Goss Family Terraces will open two hours prior to kickoff at the same time as all stadium gates. A Tailgate Terrace ticket is required for entrance.

Traffic/Parking
Traffic in and around Manhattan should be normal for gameday with no major construction projects in progress. Parking lots open at 1 p.m., Saturday, five hours prior to kickoff. Parking in the east and west lots of the stadium is reserved for members of the Ahearn Fund and requires a pass for entry. Paid parking for fans with disabilities is available on a first-come, first-served basis in the east and west stadium lots. To gain entry, guests must display a state-issued accessible license plate or hangtag and present a disability card along with a form of personal identification. All other general public parking is limited to grass parking in Lot 9 east of the stadium, in the paved lot of the Peters Recreation Center or in private satellite lots and parking areas on campus. Parking will be available in the grassy area of the KSU Foundation lot at the corner of Kimball and Denison Avenues. Additional public parking is available near the Equine Center north and east of the fire station on Denison Avenue and north of the sheep grazing lot on Denison. General public parking fees are $20 for cars.

– k-statesports.com –

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KENNY LANNOU
Assistant A.D. for Communications | K-State Athletics

The Junction City High School varsity sports schedule this week finds:

–Lady Jay volleyball opening their season in a quadrangular at Hayden at 5 p.m.on Thursday.

–The JCHS girls tennis team will host a quadrangular Thursday at 3 p.m.

–The boys soccer team will compete at Emporia Tuesday with j-v action at 4:30 and the varsity following at 6 p.m.

–The Blue Jay football hosts Highland Park at 7 p.m. Friday at Al Simpler Stadium.

–And the JCHS boys and girls cross country teams will compete in the Manhattan Invitational at Warner Park.

 

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – Brandon Guyer and Kevin Kiermaier homered, and the Tampa Bay bullpen held the Kansas City Royals to one hit over five innings Sunday in the Rays’ 3-2 win.

Kiermaier’s sixth-inning homer off Luke Hochevar (1-1) broke a 2-2 tie. It was Kiermaier’s second homer in two games and sixth of the season.

Xavier Cedeno (3-1) got the win in relief while Brad Boxberger pitched the ninth for his 32nd save.

Four of Kansas City’s seven hits came during a two-run third that included RBIs by Ben Zobrist and Lorenzo Cain.

The AL Central-leading Royals, who lost for only the sixth time in 23 games, had a chance to tie it in the eighth when Rays first baseman James Loney completed a double play by throwing Zobrist out at the plate.

Rays starter Nathan Karns gave up two runs on six hits while striking out five.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – Kansas City manager Ned Yost says left fielder Alex Gordon is “getting close” to rejoining the AL Central-leading Royals after missing almost two months with a strained left groin.

“He’s up to about 90 percent running speed, has no issues with his leg,” Yost said before Saturday night’s game against Tampa Bay.

Gordon has been out since July 9. He hit .279 with 11 homers and 39 RBIs in 78 games before the injury. He is currently on a minor league rehab assignment with Triple-A Omaha.

“This is kind of a one-shot deal,” Yost said. “He comes back and hurts it, he’s done. So we want to make sure that he’s in great shape, healthy and ready to go when he gets back.”

Kansas City opens a nine-game homestand Tuesday night against Detroit.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – Mike Moustakas had three hits and three RBIs, Kendrys Morales kept up his torrid two-out hitting and the AL Central-leading Kansas City Royals beat the Tampa Bay Rays 6-3 on Saturday night.

Morales had an RBI single and Moustakas a run-scoring double off Jake Odorizzi (6-7) as the Royals grabbed a 4-3 lead in the fifth. Morales leads the majors with 47 RBIs with two outs this season, breaking the team record of 46 set by Joe Randa in 2000.

Lorenzo Cain had a run-scoring single in the sixth, and Moustakas added an RBI single in the ninth.

Kris Medlen (3-0) allowed three runs and four hits over 5 1/3 innings in his second start and ninth appearance since returning from elbow ligament replacemet surgery. Wade Davis got the last three outs for his 13th save.

Kevin Kiermaier homered for the Rays, who have lost 10 of 15.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs’ Alex Smith knows exactly how much weight Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota feels as the first-round pick tries to turn around the fortunes of Tennessee.

He was in a similar position in San Francisco a decade ago.

“For me, it was battling the anxiety of being the top pick and justifying that, and that’s what I fought for so long, and it took me a while,” Smith said shortly after leading Kansas City to a weather-shortened 34-10 victory over the Titans on Friday night.

“In some ways,” he said, “you have to play yourself out of that, and I think I did.”

Enough to solidify the starting job with the Chiefs, where Smith has flourished in coach Andy Reid’s West Coast offense. He was 16 of 18 for 171 yards and two touchdowns in less than a half against Tennessee, almost certainly his final tuneup before the regular season.

Meanwhile, Mariota misfired on his first three throws before completing seven of his last eight attempts. He threw for 99 yards while playing the entire first half.

“Kansas City has a very good defense, and for us to be able to score points against them, it says a lot about where we have come from,” Mariota said. “A lot of it we can still improve.”

The game was called with 3 minutes, 50 seconds remaining after thunder rumbled and lightning streaked across the sky. Heavy rains had turned one end zone into a lake.

By that point, starters and backups had mostly finished their dress rehearsals.

Aaron Murray took over late in the first half and wound up throwing for 146 yards and two touchdowns with an interception, while backup Chase Daniel got the night off for KC.

Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles, who played 10 snaps total the first two preseason games, carried three times for 26 yards and caught two passes for 15 yards. Jeremy Maclin hauled in seven catches for 65 yards, including a 29-yard touchdown grab that made it 7-0.

Travis Kelce also caught a touchdown pass for Kansas City, while All-Pro linebacker Justin Houston had his first sack of the preseason when he tracked down Mariota before halftime.

“We have everything we need to do the things we want to achieve this year,” Maclin said. “It all starts with the guy under center and we have all the faith in the world in him.”

The Titans, still trying to settle on an offensive line, struggled to move the ball on the ground. Bishop Sankey ran six times for just 17 yards, while former Chiefs wide receiver Dexter McCluster at least managed to move the chains when he got a handful of carries.

Zach Mettenberger, who had played so well for Tennessee that some have wondered whether he’ll be traded, took over to start the second half. He was 3 of 11 for 38 yards.

Antonio Andrews had a short touchdown run late in the first half for the Titans.

“Obviously we didn’t start the way we wanted to. A lot of it was because of mistakes we made,” Titans coach Ken Whisenhunt said. “There were too many penalties, we fumbled the ball one time, we jumped offsides and we missed tackles. Those are the things you can’t do.”

Some observations from the game:

ROOKIE WATCH

Titans: Third-round pick Jeremiah Poutasi fared well at RT, even though he lined up against Houston most of the time, perhaps cementing the starting job.

Chiefs: WR Chris Conley, the Chiefs’ third-round pick, had three catches for 30 yards.

POSITION BATTLES

Titans: Poutasi started at RT because Byron Bell moved to LG in place of Andy Levitre, who had been ineffective. That could be the starting unit in the opener against Tampa Bay.

Chiefs: CBs Marcus Peters and Philip Gaines started together while Sean Smith stares at a three-game suspension for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy.

INJURY UPDATE

Titans: S Da’Norris Searcy left with a knee injury in the first half. The Titans’ defense was already without DT Sammie Hill (knee), CB Jason McCourty (groin) and DE DaQuan Jones (leg).

Chiefs: WR Albert Wilson hurt his left shoulder early in the game. There was no word on the injury, though he was favoring it in the locker room afterward.

QUOTABLE

Titans: “Where the game was, it didn’t make any sense to go back out there.” — Whisenhunt on the officials’ decision to call the game early.

Chiefs: “I was way too juiced up.” — Murray on his interception.

For a second straight year there were a lot of people in the stands, the parking lots were packed with vehicles, and even streets around Junction City High School were lined with cars driven by people attending the scrimmage activities at the senior high.

High school, middle school football teams, the Junior Jays, Future Blue Jays, and Lady Jay volleyball teams all scrimmaged.

Matt Westerhaus, JCHS Athletic Director,  said it was an awesome environment for the Blue – White Scrimmage. “We call it our community-wide football event. Gets our Junior Jays, both our middle school programs, parents, everybody out. Obviously every night for home football games we want to see our stadium packed.  So it’s been a great experience.”

Westerhaus added that football coach Randall Zimmerman thought of this idea last year. “And so we went with it, and we’ll continue to do it. It just kind of brings everything together.”

In addition to the scrimmages you could als opurchase a meal from the dance team, cheerleaders were conducting a field turf fundraiser, old JCHS athletic apparel and equipment were beingsold, and you could sign up to join the Junction City Athletic Booster Club. The dance team also conducted a meal fundraiser at Al Simpler Stadium as part of the activities.

 

 

The Junction City Blue Jay defense is a veteran group, and that’s showing early this football season.

The Blue Jays return nine starters on defense, with another from a year ago, Raye Wilson, moving to fullback on offense.

Head coach Randall Zimmerman, said the defense is fast, experienced, and the players know what they’re doing. “They’re listening to the coaches very well. Our young kids up front that struggled with discipline a little bit a year ago are not struggling with discipline right now, and that’s got to continue. We’ve got our eyes where they need to be a lot better.”

The Blue Jays have five starters returning on offense.

The coach was pleased with the team’s performance in the Blue – White scrimmage Friday night at Al Simpler Stadium.  “From the standpoint of our older kids we had eleven on the field we needed them, and kids were in and out the way they needed to be. Felt pretty good about the way the night went.”

Junction City will host Highland Park next Friday night ( Sept. 4 ) at 7 p.m.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Chiefs wide receiver Albert Wilson and Titans safety Da’Norris Searcy were banged-up in the opening quarter of Friday night’s preseason game.

Wilson hurt his shoulder on the game’s first drive, while Searcy hurt his knee later in the opening quarter. Both were questionable to return.

The Titans were already playing without three defensive starters. End DaQuan Jones has a bruised leg, nose tackle Sammie Hill has a sprained knee and cornerback Jason McCourty is working his way back from a groin injury.

The Chiefs were without left tackle Eric Fisher and right guard Jeff Allen for the second straight preseason game. Fisher has an ankle injury and Allen has a knee injury.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – Kendrys Morales hit his 15th homer, Edinson Volquez pitched into the seventh inning and the AL Central-leading Kansas City Royals beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 on Friday night.

Morales put the Royals up 3-1 with a two-run shot in the third off Erasmo Ramirez (10-5) that struck an overhanging catwalk. He has 89 RBIs this season, including a majors-best 46 with two outs.

Volquez (12-7) allowed two runs and six hits in 6 2-3 innings. Greg Holland, the third Kansas City reliever, got three outs for his 29th save.

Ramirez gave up three runs and six hits over 4 1-3 innings for the Rays, who started play 2 1-2 games back in the crowded second AL wild-card race. Tampa Bay is 1-3 on a six-game homestand.