The Junction City Blue Jays ( 8-2 ) will host the Lawrence Free State Firebirds ( 7-3 ) in the second ( Sectional ) round of the Class 6A football postseason playoffs. Kickoff is scheduled at 7 p.m. Friday ( Nov.14 ) at Al Simpler Stadium in Junction City.

The other second Class 6A pairings Friday night include:

–Hutchinson ( 6-4 )  at Derby ( 9-1 )

–Overland Park – Blue Valley ( 9-1 )  at Olathe North ( 10-0 )

–Shawnee Mission West ( 6-4 ) at Shawnee Mission East ( 10-0 ).

 

Jovan Baldwin of Junction City rambled 64 yards for a touchdown on the second play from scrimmage for the Blue Jays, and they went on to a 17-6 Class 6A Regional postseason football playoff win over Wichita West Friday night at Al Simpler Stadium.

Each team scored one more touchdown before halftime, and then Wayne Shirley of Junction City kicked a 30-yard field goal with 2:49 remaining in the third quarter to cap off the scoring for the night.

The Blue Jay defense played strong in this game. Head coach Randall Zimmerman said he was proud of his team’s performance. “Especially defensively, just light out all night. Kids executed the scheme tremendously. Coach ( Dan ) Sell and that staff over there did a great job all week long getting them prepared.”

Junction City ( 8-2 ) advances in the Class 6A playoffs to round two next Friday. Zimmerman confirmed the Blue Jays will host Lawrence Free State ( 7-3 ) next Friday evening at 7 p.m. at Al Simpler Stadium.

 

PREP FOOTBALL
Class 6A State Tournament
Regional
Blue Valley Stillwell 48, SM South 7
Derby 39, Wichita East 7
Hutchinson 64, Topeka 46
Junction City 17, Wichita West 6
Lawrence Free State 27, Wichita Northwest 16
Olathe North 68, SM North 20
SM East 35, Lawrence 7
SM West 26, Olathe South 20

Class 5A State Tournament
Regional
Leavenworth 35, Topeka Seaman 6
Maize South 36, Liberal 0
Pittsburg 42, Mill Valley 21
Salina South 19, Kapaun Mount Carmel 14
Shawnee Heights 45, Lansing 7
St. Thomas Aquinas 23, Bonner Springs 15
Wichita Bishop Carroll 67, Goddard 0
Wichita Heights 10, Salina Central 7

Class 4A Div-I State Tournament
Regional
Andover Central 38, Augusta 33
Bishop Miege 63, Basehor-Linwood 0
Buhler 49, Ulysses 37
Fort Scott 24, Baldwin 12
KC Piper 33, Spring Hill 0
Mulvane 28, McPherson 25
Paola 27, Ottawa 21
Topeka Hayden 40, Coffeyville 16

Class 4A Div-II State Tournament
Regionals
Andale 49, Smoky Valley 18
Clearwater 14, Wamego 7
Columbus 35, Girard 12
Concordia 28, Pratt 20
Frontenac 48, Burlington 13
Holcomb 35, Colby 6
Holton 54, Osawatomie 8
Santa Fe Trail 24, Jefferson West 12

Class 2-1A State Tournament
Regional
Ell-Saline 28, Sedgwick 13
LaCrosse 34, Meade 0
Lyndon 61, Marion 40
Oakley 28, Elkhart 14
Olpe 56, Mission Valley 14
Onaga 26, Doniphan West 13
Phillipsburg 22, Salina Sacred Heart 15, 2OT
Troy 50, Valley Heights 6

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) – Gary Patterson wore a different color purple in his return to his alma mater.

“I think the glamour of being a Kansas State alumni has wore off a little bit after a couple of the names that I was called last year standing on the sideline,” the 14th-year TCU coach said. “Some of them forgot I was an alumnus of the place.”

Just imagine what K-State fans will call Patterson if his No. 6 Horned Frogs (7-1, 4-1 Big 12) win at home Saturday night against the conference-leading Wildcats. The game has huge implications on who could win the league title and in the race for a spot in the new four-team College Football Playoff.

Kansas State (7-1, 5-0) sits atop the Big 12, but the No. 9 Wildcats trail TCU in the AP poll and in the playoff rankings.

The Junction City Blue Jays host the Wichita West Pioneers Friday night in the first round of the Class 6A postseason playoffs.

The Blue Jays finished the regular season 7-2, and Wichita West went 2-7. But don’t let the Pioneers record fool you, since the team had to forfeit two wins earlier this season.

Blue Jay coach Randall Zimmerman stated about the Pioneers, “They’re very talented, disciplined. They’re going to run the ball right at us.”

Junction City entered postseason play after winning their district by sweeping Wichita Southeast, Wichita East, and Wichita North. The Pioneers finished second in their district behind Derby.

Kickoff is scheduled at 7 p.m. at Al Simpler Stadium in Junction City. You can hear the game on The Talk of JC, KJCK AM, and online at kjck.com. The broadcast begins at 6:40 p.m.

Shane Sieben will step down as the head coach of the Junction City Brigade summer collegiate

baseball team. But he will remain with the program as a Director of Player Development where he will help acquire players for the team.

Seth Wheeler is being promoted from assistant coach to head coach for the Brigade.

The announcements were made by General Manager Cecil Aska during a Brigade dinner in Junction City Thursday night.

Sieben told JCPost.com he will be around as much as possible next summer. “But the big thing for me, I’ve got a son now that’s seven playing a little baseball, football, basketball, doing it all. Last year when he played T-ball I think I made two of the nine games that he played in, and it was tough being away.”  Sieben will now be able to spend more time with his family.

Wheeler served as a catcher for the Brigade in their inaugeral season two years ago, and as

assistant coach in 2014.   He plans to take a positive approach for the Brigade. He feels the first step is to earn the respect of the players. “Really I just try to keep the energy up and stay positive with the guys, especially in summer ball because it’s an absolute grind over the summer. And these guys have been playing since February, it’s 100 degrees outside, so you just have to keep the energy up somehow and stay positive.

The Brigade won the championship in the first year of the Mid Plains League this past summer. In 2015 the conference will expand by one team to seven teams. A squad from Liberty, Missouri will join the Mid Plains League.

Junction City will be the host site for the League all-star game for the second consecutive year. Instead of playing the entire League tournament in Junction City, it will be moved to multiple locations with games played at the site of the higher seeded teams.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Perhaps it’s just a fluke, but the Kansas city Chiefs are halfway through the season and no wide receiver has caught a touchdown pass yet.

The previous time that happened was 2009, when the Cleveland Browns went their first nine games without a wide receiver catching a TD pass.

Still, nobody on the Chiefs sideline appears to be worried about it, especially considering they’re 5-3 and have won five of their past six games heading into Sunday’s game at Buffalo.

Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith pointed out that his running backs and tight ends have plenty of touchdown grabs, and it’s only a matter of time until the wide receivers get involved.

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State senior wide receiver Curry Sexton and sophomore fullback Glenn Gronkowski were named to the 2014 Capital One Academic All-District 7 first team, the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced Thursday.

 

It is the first designation for each player and the first by a Wildcat since Tysyn Hartman and Jordan Voelker were honored in 2011.

 

Sexton, who carries a 3.45 GPA in marketing and management, has had a breakout year by hauling in 49 receptions for 609 yards and three touchdowns, all career highs. He has topped the 100-yard barrier on three occasions this season, including a career-best 159-yard effort last week against Oklahoma State. He also carded 11 receptions against Auburn, which ranked as the 11^th-most in school history.

 

The Big 12 football schedule and the respective television networks showing the games on Saturday finds:

–Kansas State at TCU, 6:30 p.m. FOX

–Baylor at Oklahoma, 11 a.m. FS1

–Iowa State at Kansas, 2:30 p.m. FSN

–West Virginia at Texas, 2:30 p.m. FS1

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) – Scholarships don’t guarantee prominence or stardom at Kansas State. Hard work, perseverance and the right attitude mean much more to longtime coach Bill Snyder than the number of stars attached to a recruit’s name.

That’s why the walk-on program at Kansas State has been so successful.

Three of the six captains for the ninth-ranked Wildcats are former walk-ons, including defensive end Ryan Mueller and linebacker Jonathan Truman. And they’ve helped Kansas State to a 7-1 record, a 5-0 mark in the Big 12 and the seventh spot in the latest college football playoff ranking.

As Kansas State heads into Saturday night’s showdown at sixth-ranked TCU with a chance to make a big statement to the selection committee, they’ll be relying on a bunch of former walk-ons to get it done.