KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Max Scherzer and the Detroit Tigers won their appeal on a wild play, and Joe Nathan escaped a ninth-inning jam to hold off the Kansas City Royals 3-2 Saturday and boost their AL Central lead.

The Tigers increased their edge to 2 1/2 games over the Royals. Kansas City fell into a tie for the second wild-card spot with Seattle, which played later at Houston.

Detroit, seeking its fourth straight division title, has won 13 of 18 against the Royals this year, including eight of nine at Kauffman Stadium.

Scherzer (17-5) outpitched James Shields (14-8). The Royals put two runners on against Nathan, but he retired Nori Aoki and pinch-hitter Raul Ibanez on grounders for his 33th save in 40 tries.

It was 1-all in the sixth when a line drive and a wild throw led to an appeal toss and a pair of umpire discussions that wound up ruling a Royals runner had left third base too soon.

 

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) – Montell Cozart threw a 60-yard touchdown pass to Justin McCay to break a fourth-quarter tie, and Kansas pulled away for a 24-10 victory over Central Michigan on Saturday.

Tony Pierson ran 74 yards for a touchdown on the game’s opening play, and Cozart added a 30-yard touchdown pass to Corey Avery with about 2 minutes remaining to seal the win.

Cozart finished with 226 yards passing for the Jayhawks (2-1), a big part coming on the toss to McCay with 13:23 remaining. The third-down throw was caught underneath the coverage, and McCay slipped the grasp of safety Dennis Nalor and scooted untouched the rest of the way.

Martez Walker had 56 yards rushing and a touchdown for the Chippewas (2-2), who were trying to start 2-0 on the road for the first time since 1985. They won at Purdue on Sept. 6.

Abilene 13, Concordia 7
Andale 34, Wichita Collegiate 28
Andover 17, Arkansas City 14
Andover Central 28, Goddard 7
Atchison 27, KC Washington 26
Attica/Argonia 74, Central Burden 34
Axtell 26, Pawnee City, Neb. 22
Baldwin 35, Perry-Lecompton 14
Beloit 48, Salina Sacred Heart 6
Bennington 32, Moundridge 21
Bishop Miege 42, Blue Valley Stillwell 21
Blue Valley Southwest 49, Gardner-Edgerton 25
Bluestem 50, Belle Plaine 14
Bonner Springs 53, Basehor-Linwood 14
Buhler 50, Winfield 15
Burlingame 40, Frankfort 28
BV West 42, BV North 13
Cair Paravel 72, Independence Home School 34
Caldwell 54, West Elk 20
Caney Valley 40, Humboldt 7
Canton-Galva 50, Burrton 10
Cedar Vale/Dexter 40, South Haven 6
Central Plains 74, Macksville 0
Centralia 56, Onaga 14
Centre 30, Goessel 28
Chanute 24, Coffeyville 12
Chapman 13, Clay Center 0
Chase 76, Natoma 36
Cheney 42, Wichita Independent 0
Cherryvale 35, Burlington 7
Chetopa 70, Pleasanton 0
Cimarron 60, Sublette 7
Colby 27, Hugoton 12
Columbus 27, Galena 6
Conway Springs 25, Garden Plain 7
Council Grove 48, Herington 8
Derby 35, Mill Valley 14
Dodge City 21, Wichita Heights 13
Douglass 48, Medicine Lodge 7
Ellsworth 27, Republic County 0
Emporia 75, Topeka West 7
Flinthills 42, Elk Valley 8
Fredonia 52, Yates Center 0
Frontenac 37, Southeast 12
Garden City 28, Great Bend 21
Girard 57, Baxter Springs 13
Halstead 57, Hillsboro 27
Hanover 52, Wakefield 6
Hays 42, Liberal 28
Hesston 62, Sterling 6
Hill City 40, Quinter 20
Hoisington 21, Pratt 7
Holcomb 17, Ulysses 14
Holton 42, Sabetha 12
Hooker, Okla. 47, Syracuse 0
Horton 21, Valley Falls 6
Hoxie 50, Greeley County 0
Hutchinson Trinity 40, Inman 0
Independence 33, Parsons 0
Ingalls 34, Minneola 27
KC Piper 24, Louisburg 0
KC Schlagle 32, KC Wyandotte 0
KC Sumner 40, KC Harmon 0
Kingman 3, Larned 0
Kinsley 40, Ellinwood 34
Kiowa County 50, Ashland 34
Labette County 36, Iola 6
LaCrosse 33, Minneapolis 29
Lakeside 36, Sylvan-Lucas 6
Lakin 14, Elkhart 12
Lansing 37, Tonganoxie 12
Lawrence Free State 31, Lawrence 12
Lincoln 50, Clifton-Clyde 18
Logan 46, Stockton 34
Lyndon 47, Northern Heights 18
Madison 62, Hartford 14
Maize South 35, Goddard-Eisenhower 7
Manhattan 23, Topeka Hayden 20
Marais des Cygnes Valley 62, Southern Coffey 13
Marion 28, Remington 16
Maur Hill – Mount Academy 14, Ellis 6
McLouth 28, Jackson Heights 20
McPherson 32, Augusta 20
Meade 24, Southwestern Hts. 21
Mulvane 31, Clearwater 13
Nemaha Central 42, Hiawatha 0
Neodesha 40, Erie 8
Newton 26, Valley Center 21
Nickerson 28, Lyons 3
Northeast-Arma 26, Anderson County 14
Northern Valley 22, Rawlins County 20
Norton 35, Oakley 6
Oberlin-Decatur 52, St. Francis 34
Olathe East 14, SM South 6
Olathe North 27, Olathe South 26, OT
Olathe Northwest 15, Leavenworth 6
Olpe 48, Eureka 12
Osage City 30, Chase County 8
Osborne 60, Rock Hills 28
Oskaloosa 58, Immaculata 15
Oswego 36, Jayhawk Linn 14
Otis-Bison 72, Ness City 22
Ottawa 44, Spring Hill 43
Paola 48, Eudora 8
Peabody-Burns 22, Little River 12
Phillipsburg 27, Plainville 0
Pittsburg 41, Fort Scott 0
Pleasant Ridge 50, Jefferson North 30
Poteau, Okla. 66, Wichita Campus 26
Prairie View 55, Central Heights 6
Pratt Skyline 52, Pretty Prairie 34
Riverside 48, Atchison County 6
Rose Hill 46, El Dorado 14
Rossville 45, Rock Creek 0
Rural Vista 46, Solomon 30
Salina Central 29, Maize 28
Salina South 27, Hutchinson 21
Santa Fe Trail 55, Royal Valley 13
Satanta 36, South Central 24
Scott City 65, Goodland 12
Sedan 47, Marmaton Valley 0
Sedgwick 44, Ell-Saline 12
Shawnee Heights 41, Junction City 33
Silver Lake 42, Riley County 7
SM East 41, SM Northwest 6
SM West 36, SM North 6
Smith Center 30, Hays-TMP-Marian 22
Smoky Valley 29, Haven 26
South Gray 46, Fowler 26
Southeast Saline 46, Russell 17
Spearville 64, Bucklin 18
Springfield, Colo. 56, Rolla 6
St. James Academy 14, DeSoto 0
St. John’s Beloit-Tipton 66, Glasco/Miltonvale-Southern Cloud 20
St. Mary’s 27, Wabaunsee 0
St. Paul def. Altoona-Midway, forfeit
St. Thomas Aquinas 35, BV Northwest 7
Stafford 46, Hutchinson Central Christian 0
Sunrise Christian 20, Veritas Christian 8
Tescott 48, BV Randolph 8
Thunder Ridge 46, Pike Valley 0
Topeka 62, Highland Park 12
Topeka Seaman 21, Washburn Rural 14
Triplains-Brewster 46, Cheylin 0
Troy 42, Valley Heights 25
Udall 54, Oxford 6
Uniontown 58, Crest 22
Victoria 46, St. John 0
Wallace County 48, Trego 0
Wamego 55, Marysville 9
Washington County 52, Doniphan West 12
Waverly 58, Lebo 12
Wellington 54, Circle 32
Wellsville 46, Osawatomie 15
West Franklin 54, Mission Valley 18
Wheatland-Grinnell 56, Golden Plains 8
Wichita Bishop Carroll 49, Kapaun Mount Carmel 7
Wichita County 20, Johnson-Stanton County 8
Wichita Home School 47, St. Mary’s Academy 14
Wichita Northwest 53, Wichita North 7
Wichita South 24, Wichita Southeast 13
Wichita Trinity 53, Anthony-Harper-Chaparral 46
Wichita West 46, Wichita East 7
Word of Life 52, Deerfield 31

 

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Ian Kinsler hit a two-run homer, everyone in the Detroit starting lineup had a hit by the fourth inning and the Tigers pounded Jason Vargas and the second-place Kansas City Royals 10-1 on Friday night to add another game to their AL Central lead.

Justin Verlander (14-12) had all the support he needed by the end of the first inning, when the Tigers had shelled Vargas (11-10) for three runs on five hits. Detroit tacked on a run in the second, another in the fourth and then broke things open with a five-run fifth.

The Tigers (85-68), who now lead the division by 1 1/2 games, have forged their advantage by dominating head-to-head matchups. They are 12-5 against the Royals his season.

The Junction City Blue Jay cross country team finished second in the Hays Invitational on Thursday.

Junction City was led by Stephen Deveau who finished seventh in 17:51, and Anthony Deltufo was ninth in 17:57.

On the varsity girls side Brianna Paced led Junction City with an 11th place finish in 17:31.

With the nation watching on ESPN fifth ranked Auburn got out of a Manhattan with a close 20-14 win over No. 20 Kansas State Thursday night.

Auburn coach Gus Malzahn met with the media afterwards.

–“Very proud of our defense. I think we held them to 40 yards rushing. I thought that was a big thing. Forced some turnovers in the red zone. I thought that was huge. Second half our offense, I think we were 8 of 11 on third downs. We were able to have the ball and take some clock away.”

–“And so we learned a lot about our guys. And I told them in the locker room, very proud of them, to find a way to win. A lot of teams couldn’t win in this environment against a team that talented. They played their guts out ( Kansas State ). We knew they would. And it was good for us. So hope that’ll help us moving forward.

The attendance total at Bill Snyder Family Stadium was 53,046, the fifth largest ever at Kansas State. It was the 15th consecutive sellout at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.

 

The Kansas State defense came up big multiple times in the Wildcats’ 20-14 loss to Auburn Thursday night in Manhattan.

They nearly overcame other problems for the Wildcats including three missed field goals, an interception by Auburn in the end zone that stopped a potential K-State scoring drive, and even held Auburn to a field goal after an early fumble set Auburn up with a first down deep in Kansas State territory.

After the loss defensive end Ryan Mueller was asked about how difficult it is defend when there are missed field goals, dropped passes, and turnovers. Mueller said, “As far as missed opportunities it was a collective team loss.  ”

Mueller pointed to a play late in the fourth quarter with Auburn facing a third down in their own territory, and leading by six points. They converted that situation into a first down, and went on to run out the clock to preserve the win. “Fourth quarter, third down, if we get that stop it’s a different ballgame. Didn’t happen. There was a missed opportunity there.”

Had Kansas State gotten that final stop on defense, their offense would have had one more crack at trying drive down the field and put the ball in the end zone for a potential winning touchdown.

The Wildcats fell to 2-1 with the loss, while Auburn is 3-0.

 

Kansas State left too many opportunities on the field Thursday night in their 20-14 loss to 5th ranked Auburn at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.

The Wildcats left 16 points on the field including three missed field goals and an interception in the end zone. 

On the three missed field goals by Jack Cantele, Coach Snyder explained,”We had some bad snaps and bad holds on two of them.”

The missed field goals are not typical for Cantele who made 84.6% of his field goals in 2013 and was 4-5 going into Thursday nights game.

“When he get’s good snaps and good holds he looks fine,” said Snyder.

The loss is the first for the Wildcats on the season and Jake Waters called it extremely frustrating because he say’s that they beat themselves.

“We beat ourselves, for sure. You know they will probably say they didn’t play the best game, but you know that’s a credit to the way we played defensively. Offensively we just couldn’t finish in the red zone. That’s what we’re usually best at, to leave that many points on the field it’s just so frustrating,” says Waters.

Defensively Snyder said that he feels they took three steps forward and one step back, and they will have to wait for next week to tell if the team gained anything from the loss.

“I would like to think, I think we’ve got good young people. I think they care. I think it will be painful for them. You know if all of those things are really in place, then I think they will respond well,” explained Snyder.

Kansas State now has a long week to prepare for the University of Texas at El-Paso, who will be in Manhattan on September 27th. That game is scheduled for an 11 a.m. kickoff.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Kelvin Herrera and Wade Davis both gave up runs for the first time in nearly three months as the Kansas City Royals’ dominant bullpen was touched up Tuesday night in a 7-5 loss to the Chicago White Sox.

Davis replaced Herrera with two on in the seventh inning and walked Jose Abreu to load the bases for Conor Gillaspie, who cleared them with a triple to right-center on a 2-2 pitch to give Chicago a 7-5 lead.

That ended Herrera’s scoreless streak at 30 2-3 innings, dating to June 24. Also snapped was Davis’ shutout streak of 31 2-3 innings, a club record for a reliever, with the first run charged to him since June 25.

The rare bullpen failure prevented Kansas City from gaining ground on AL Central leader Detroit, which lost at Minnesota. The Royals remained 1 1/2 games behind the Tigers, but still lead Seattle for the second wild-card spot.

K-State Weekly Football Press Conference
September 16, 2014

Head Coach Bill Snyder
On quarterback run game…
“We’ve always been invested in it. I think you always have to fit the needs and the capabilities of the young people you have in your program at that position or any other position. We’ve been blessed to have those ‘dual threat’ guys over a period of time and we like to have that. It’s the way the system works for us. It plays to our advantage when you are doing something that people haven’t seen over a period of time. That is the nature of football – what goes around comes around. It’s a little bit different than what we have seen. Every week we see parts of team’s offense that equates to Auburn’s and the next week we will see something else that equates to some facet of Auburn’s offense. We see all of it, but they have it all in one package.”

On Nick Marshall…
“He’s a talented young guy and he can do both – he can throw it and he can run it. His numbers indicated exactly that. They say that (Auburn) is a team that likes to run the football and that is their first emphasis. They will throw the ball and try to cast it down the field because he has the ability to do that. He has a strong arm. They’ll see him running the ball and they’ll see him throwing it. He is a young, dedicated athlete and will play hard and compare well no matter who he plays.”

On Auburn’s defense…
“They are physical and fast – I think fast in the perimeter of people and physical and quick with the front people. They are a north and south football team defensively. Their defensive people, their front four are not necessarily readers, they are guys that get in their stance and get their pads down and get in the line of scrimmage and they make it a very physical game. And I would anticipate that’s what we will see.”

On similar coaching styles…
“At least we have some opportunities to present similar types of things to our defense because we have invested in them over a period of time; perhaps that helps. We do some similar things – we don’t do everything they do and they don’t do everything we do.”

On preparing for Auburn…
“You watch so many tapes and games and sometimes it kind of runs together. Certainly the base of their offense is in a specific package. They have run more frequently than they have others, and they dress it up with so many different formations and motions, but they are still a pretty broad package in regards to offense, which is similar to us. Your preparation has to be broad based as well and be prepared for all of it and get focused on the condensed package. To me, things get blown out of proportion. What is important is that we get better and that we prepare ourselves as well as we can. Any football coach in the country wants the players to honestly believe that they will win and can win, and I want our players to do exactly the same thing. You can expect to win and you should have that attitude and prepare yourself. If you don’t prepare yourself, well, you probably can’t be successful on what you are going to do and the whole element is preparing yourself day in and day out. This is the most valuable game we will play this season, and then the following week, that game will be the most valuable game we will play this season.”

On intensity…
“Our guys are seemingly focused on the task at hand. If you were to ask them, I think they would tell you that they are anxious to play. I like to think that the anxiousness is really excitement to play and I hope that indeed is the case, and I hope it carries into this afternoon and we practice with excitement about playing the game and still stay focused on the task at hand today. I’ve seen our guys have a legitimate focus. Our message is continual – a day doesn’t go by that I’m not going to address our players on taking care of today. I have no issue with enthusiasm and excitement. I’m all in favor of that. I try to promote that and I try to get our leadership to step up and promote that. I want to see spirit on the practice field and spirit on the game field. I want to see them play with emotion. If you can put emotion and execution and effort together, you have a great opportunity to succeed. I want those things to take place, but you have to make sure that it is legitimate and that it doesn’t interfere with your preparation because execution is a part of the preparation, emotion is a part of the preparation, everything goes hand in hand.”

On bi-weekly improvements…
“If your players are invested and your coaches are invested, then there should be improvements day in and day out, that’s the nature of athletics. That’s important to (Auburn) as it is important to us. If we hold true to what we believe in, then yes, we will get better. The extra time benefits us but it probably also benefits them. I just hope and pray that we are working on the things that we are going to see on Saturday, and, when you have that extended period of time, there is always a possibility that you could invest that time in things that you haven’t put on the field before, so your opponent has no earthly idea of what you are going to put on the field.”

On home-field advantage and the fan base…
“Just be who you are. Our fans have always been great and our students have always been great and they do it in a classy manner as well – I appreciate that a great deal. It can have an impact and it has had an impact here. Though we are small by numbers, comparatively speaking, it still has an impact. I know they have some concerns, they have indicated that, but they have had experience playing in those 80-90 thousand-seat stadiums and there is some noise in those as well.”

Senior Quarterback Jake Waters
On the excitement for the game…
“We are getting so excited and anxious to go out and play in the type of environment, type of game and the challenge that you live for as a player and while growing up. It is the games you dreamed of while lying in bed as a child. We are just so excited and ready to play Thursday.”

On operation of offense…
“It has been business as usual. It has been very normal. We have thrown in some tweaks here and there like we do for every opponent. We have just been focusing on executing our game plan the way that we do things. If you execute the way you have to play, then we will be able to move the ball the way that we want to and build the confidence of moving the ball against anyone in the country. It is all about execution though.”

On respecting Auburn’s play…
“We definitely respect them, but we also know that they are trying to come in here and smack us around and beat us. We have to have that same attitude and that confidence that we can play with anyone in the country if we go out and prepare the way that we have been this past week and execute. We respect them, but we are not scared of them.”

Sophomore Wide Receiver Deante Burton
On playing in the national spotlight…
“It is definitely something that you look forward to when you start playing the game, especially when you are younger. I think someone told me that we are the only game going on that day, so it is definitely all eyes on us. It is a game you dream about.”

On Auburn’s defense…
“They are a fast and physical defense. A lot of people talk about the SEC and how they are known for defense, and I think these guys fit that mold. They are very quick, talented and athletic, but I think if we play our game we should be alright.”

On his comfort level so far…
“I think I am doing alright. There is always room for improvement. Just as the games and practices go on, I get a little more comfortable every day. Hopefully as you get into a big game like this, if I can go out and conquer this game that it will be build my comfortableness and confidence going into the future games.”

Junior Offensive Lineman Boston Stiverson
On playing against an SEC defense…
“We prepare for everyone the same way. We want to go out there and play physical and tough. We have gone against big, strong, tough guys like these before, so I do not think there is any added pressure for us.”

On other defensive lines that are similar to Auburn…
“We play TCU that has big and strong athletic guys. We also play Oklahoma. There are teams in the Big 12 that are just as big and as good as these guys.”

On matching up with their defensive line…
“We have big and athletic guys on our offensive line. With our schemes, we will be okay. We are just going to play physical football, stay on our blocks and try to open up holes for our running backs and our quarterback or for whoever is running the ball.”

Senior Offensive Lineman Drew Liddle
On the offensive line…
“We want to show people that we are a tough group and that we can play with anybody. Their defensive line is talented with big and strong physical guys. We want to play our game, execute well and be tough.”

On playing in primetime…
“It is a great experience, but we are trying to approach it like we do every game. It is a great opportunity and to come away with a victory against a quality opponent would be good for our program and our team.”

On importance of starting the game well…
“Coach always talks about getting off to a great start. We need a great start and great finish in the first half. Coming out in the first five minutes of the third quarter is very important for setting the tone for who most likely is going to win the game. Getting off to that great start is vital, especially for our offense. The last two games we have gotten off to good starts and we would like to continue that.”

Senior Linebacker Jonathan Truman
On getting to play at home…
“We are just really excited. We are focusing a lot on our preparation for this week, and I think we are ready to go.”

On Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall…
“He brings a lot of things to their program and their team. He is very talented on his feet as well as through the air. We just have to be ready for everything that they have to throw at us.”

On the play of the defense…
“We just have to be assignment sound. We just have to know what we are doing and be in the right spots at the right time and make plays.”

Junior Defensive Back Morgan Burns
On Auburn’s offense…
“They have a great football team. We know they can run the ball really well. They have Nick Marshall, some great running backs, a big offensive line and some great wide receivers. I know they are more of a run-first offense, but they can also pass well. I think we just have to stay on our toes and try to stop the run but also be looking for the pass and when they throw it down the field.”

On being prepared for the game after going against his own team in practice…
“Our offense, they can run and pass the ball really well. Even the first two games they did a really good job. Jake (Waters), DeMarcus Robinson and Charles Jones can run the ball really well and they have shown that. We also have Tyler Lockett and some other good receivers. We get to practice against a good passing and running offense and it has been huge for our defense.”

————
RYAN LACKEY
Assistant Director | Athletics Communications

K-State