CLEVELAND (AP) — Rookie C.J. Kayfus hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning as the Cleveland Guardians rallied for a 3-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Thursday night.

Cleveland (75-71) has won six of seven and took three of four in the series against its AL Central rival as it tries to stay in contention for the final AL wild card spot.

The Guardians trail Seattle by three games with 15 games remaining.

Kansas City's Vinnie Pasquantino became the fourth left-handed batter in Royals history to record 30 home runs in a season with a two-run drive in the first inning. The last Royals lefty batter to reach the mark was Mike Moustakas with 38 in 2017. The others were John Mayberry (34 in 1975) and Hall of Famer George Brett (30 in 1985).

The Royals (74-73) have gone 4-6 in their last 10 games and are 4 1/2 games back for the final wild card.

Guardians' catcher Bo Naylor led off the eighth with a base hit to right field. Kayfus followed with a towering 425-foot drive to right-center on a low fastball on a 1-0 count from John Schreiber (3-3) for his third homer of the season.

Matt Festa (4-3) got the win with a scoreless eighth inning. Cade Smith hit Jonathan India with a fastball to lead off the ninth and then retired the next three batters for his 13th save.

The Royals were 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position. They had runners at the corners with two outs in the sixth, but Guardians starter Gavin Williams struck out India with a sweeper on a full count to end the frame.

In 30 games since Aug. 10, Pasquatino leads the majors with 33 RBIs and is tied with the Mets’ Juan Soto at 11 home runs.

Royals: Open a three-game series at Philadelphia on Friday with RHP Michael Lorenzen (5-10, 4.63 ERA) on the mound.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Rookie C.J. Kayfus hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning as the Cleveland Guardians rallied for a 3-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Thursday night.Cleveland (75-71) has won six of seven and took three of four in the series against its AL Central rival as it tries to stay in contention for the final AL wild card spot.The Guardians trail Seattle by three games with 15 games remaining.Kansas City's Vinnie Pasquantino became the fourth left-handed batter in Royals history to record 30 home runs in a season with a two-run drive in the first inning. The last Royals lefty batter to reach the mark was Mike Moustakas with 38 in 2017. The others were John Mayberry (34 in 1975) and Hall of Famer George Brett (30 in 1985).The Royals (74-73) have gone 4-6 in their last 10 games and are 4 1/2 games back for the final wild card.Guardians' catcher Bo Naylor led off the eighth with a base hit to right field. Kayfus followed with a towering 425-foot drive to right-center on a low fastball on a 1-0 count from John Schreiber (3-3) for his third homer of the season.Matt Festa (4-3) got the win with a scoreless eighth inning. Cade Smith hit Jonathan India with a fastball to lead off the ninth and then retired the next three batters for his 13th save.<h2>Key moment</h2>The Royals were 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position. They had runners at the corners with two outs in the sixth, but Guardians starter Gavin Williams struck out India with a sweeper on a full count to end the frame.<h2>Key stat</h2>In 30 games since Aug. 10, Pasquatino leads the majors with 33 RBIs and is tied with the Mets’ Juan Soto at 11 home runs.<h2>Up next</h2>Royals: Open a three-game series at Philadelphia on Friday with RHP Michael Lorenzen (5-10, 4.63 ERA) on the mound.

⚾ Kayfus' homer in 8th propels Guardians to victory over Royals

LAWRENCE, Kan. –&nbsp;Kansas football’s game against Cincinnati on Sept. 27 has officially sold out, Kansas Athletics announced on Thursday. The game is Kansas’ second sellout of David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium this season.

Kansas previously sold out its season-opener vs. Fresno State on Aug. 23 in the grand opening of David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. Kansas has sold out at least one game in each of the last four seasons, including its 11th&nbsp;over that span. The Jayhawks have nine sellouts at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium since the start of the 2022 season and two sellouts at Children’s Mercy Park during the 2024 season.

Fans who purchased tickets for the Cincinnati game on September 27th are encouraged to download their mobile tickets prior to arriving to the stadium. Fans still looking to attend are encouraged to visit SeatGeek, the official secondary ticket partner of Kansas Athletics. Those interested can also click&nbsp;<a href="https://kuathletics.evenue.net/events/football-single-game-tickets" target="_blank">here</a>&nbsp;to view tickets available for upcoming home games, including the Big 12 Home Opener against West Virginia on September 20th. Fans can visit the&nbsp;<a href="https://kuathletics.com/feature/the-booth" target="_blank">David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium fan guide</a>&nbsp;for important game information, including where to park and tailgate, stadium maps and much more.

Kickoff time for the Sept. 27 game against Cincinnati will be announced by the Big 12 Conference in the next week.

LAWRENCE, Kan. –&nbsp;Kansas football’s game against Cincinnati on Sept. 27 has officially sold out, Kansas Athletics announced on Thursday. The game is Kansas’ second sellout of David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium this season.Kansas previously sold out its season-opener vs. Fresno State on Aug. 23 in the grand opening of David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. Kansas has sold out at least one game in each of the last four seasons, including its 11th&nbsp;over that span. The Jayhawks have nine sellouts at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium since the start of the 2022 season and two sellouts at Children’s Mercy Park during the 2024 season.Fans who purchased tickets for the Cincinnati game on September 27th are encouraged to download their mobile tickets prior to arriving to the stadium. Fans still looking to attend are encouraged to visit SeatGeek, the official secondary ticket partner of Kansas Athletics. Those interested can also click&nbsp;<a href="https://kuathletics.evenue.net/events/football-single-game-tickets" target="_blank">here</a>&nbsp;to view tickets available for upcoming home games, including the Big 12 Home Opener against West Virginia on September 20th. Fans can visit the&nbsp;<a href="https://kuathletics.com/feature/the-booth" target="_blank">David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium fan guide</a>&nbsp;for important game information, including where to park and tailgate, stadium maps and much more.Kickoff time for the Sept. 27 game against Cincinnati will be announced by the Big 12 Conference in the next week.

Kansas Athletics Announces Sellout vs. Cincinnati on Sept. 27

ASSISTANT HEAD COACH/SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR DAVE TOUB

Q: Can you talk about the field goal in the first half and how do you coach that?

TOUB:&nbsp;“There’s a lot of things that are involved in that. I mean, we have (Statistical Analysis Coordinator) Mike Frazier our analytics guy, he talks to us all the time about what happens if you get tackled and you get knocked back and the clock keeps running. He talks about the timing stuff all the time with the whole team. (Head Coach Andy Reid) Coach gives me a lot of time in training camp and OTAs to work on those little things and the situational stuff that can come up, and we practice fast-field-goal, we call it ‘Mayday’, we practice that a lot and it doesn’t happen very often. It’s a situation – I mean, there’s a lot of things that have to happen, for that to happen. When he (Noah Gray) got knocked back and didn’t get out of bounds going forward, we knew right away. Everybody was on the same page, everybody knew, including Noah, that we had to go – we had to go ‘Mayday’. And everybody did a great job with it, including the guys that had to report. And (with) Noah (Gray) running the ball out and putting it down and us not changing the ball, not getting the ball changed. We kicked a quarterback ball, we didn’t kick a kicking ball (and) that might have kept us from getting a shot at it. A whole lot of credit to everybody, the operation went smoothly and (Harrison) Butker nailed it. It was good to get three points right there.”&nbsp;

Q: What are the Philadelphia Eagles special teams like?

TOUB:&nbsp;“We do have a game coming up (laughter). The (Philadelphia) Eagles are good, I mean obviously, they’re World Champions. They play really hard, (they’re) very well-coached. (Special Teams Coordinator) Coach (Michael) Clay does a great job with them. They (have) got a lot of guys back when you look at them. (Eagles RB Will) Shipley was a returner, (but) we don’t know about him. He was injured yesterday so we’re not sure (that) he’s going to play. They did sign (Eagles RB/KR) Tank (Bigsby), so he’s a returner, so we think we’re going to get him back there in kick return. The punter, (Eagles P Braden) Mann is excellent, (and) the kicker (Eagles K Jake) Elliot, he’s got good range. (They’re) just a well-coached group that we’ll have to get ready for.”

Q: What did you see from the kick returners in Week 1?

TOUB:&nbsp;“I really liked Tyquan’s (Thornton) return, and then obviously (Xavier) Worthy got hurt, so we had to take him out of that, (and) now he’s like the third or second wide receiver, so it’s going to be tough to use him back there now. So, we’re going to have to dig down into our depth a little bit this week and have some different guys back there. Brashard (Smith), he had a couple nice returns. He had a nice one (where) he probably should have stayed in the endzone, fake the ball up the 35 (yard-line) but he got it out to the 35 (yard-line), so that was nice.”

Q: How do you establish the run game?

NAGY:&nbsp;“Well, the simple (and) obvious answer is being able to be better when we run it whether it’s the scheme or the execution, you tie it together. It’s a credit to their (Los Angeles Chargers) defense, they did a good job in some of the stuff that they wanted to do. Really in football in general, the more balanced you are, and especially when you look at a team like Philadelphia, it’s always going to help. But if we’re throwing the ball well, we’ll stick with it (or) if we’re running it well. And then there’s that balance of mixing the two, but you’re right, we want to be able to be more balanced when we can, but we also want to continue to just trust each other and use what’s best in that game.”

Q: What makes Tyquan Thornton ready for his role?

NAGY:&nbsp;“What tells me he’s (Tyquan Thornton) ready is what he’s done in training camp. The whole entire time he’s been ready. For the guys that we have in that room right now, I said it in training camp, ‘the depth that we have from top to bottom is one of the best I’ve ever been around’, from top to bottom, one through six with all the guys when they’re there. It starts to get depleted a little bit with the injuries and other stuff that’s going on but that said, we have guys, they’re on our roster for a reason, and they’ve done a great job. And so now they get their opportunity to show who they are, and I think the biggest thing is the trust. We (have) got to keep working that trust and then when you get an opportunity, you make a play. Tyquan (Thornton) did that on that one corner route. You know he made a great play with the ball in the air, so we want to keep that going.”

Q: From an execution, discipline and mentality perspective, what do you need to see from this offense on Sunday?

NAGY:&nbsp;“All of that from the very first play. The energy (and) the execution is very, very simple. The energy is organic. It can’t be fake energy and it’s not going to need to be in this game. (Philadelphia Eagles Defensive Coordinator) Coach (Vic) Fangio, we all have a ton of respect for and what he does. He does what he does and he’s going to have some curveballs and changeups that he throws at you. But in the end, it’s about playing football fast and whoever does that better, and I think a fast start, playing fast (and) being able to be aggressive (while) mixing all that together, you’ll have good results. And so we’re really looking forward to the challenge.”

DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR STEVE SPAGNUOLO

OPENING STATEMENT:&nbsp;“I just wanted to open today is September 11th, and (it is) a monumental day in this country. So, we haven’t forgotten about that, and (when) I get a chance (I’ll) mention it to the players this afternoon because none of them were born around then. I remember, I was in Philadelphia. It was a pretty traumatic day. With that, I’ll just kind of open it up. I mean, I’m only going to go back real quick in saying none of us defensively were real happy with the way we played last week and certainly hope to be much better this week and the whole focus of this week is to chase improvement, which is what we do, win, lose, or draw. But especially this week when you don’t perform real well in the previous week. With that, I’ll just open it up.”

Q: The defense had a hard time with pressure early on. Was it because you were looking for the running game?

SPAGNUOLO:&nbsp;“You might have hit on something right there because quite frankly going into the game we all felt like they were going to establish the run first. To their credit, they kind of shifted gears right from the beginning. Maybe it threw us off a little bit but that’s football. We did talk a lot about in the first game of the season or in the first quarter of the season, it’s going to be about adjusting in game. Maybe we could’ve adjusted a little bit quicker. I thought we did a nice job coming out of the locker room in the second half where we needed a three and out and we got that. Actually, the second drive we kind of got a second, three and out. But there wasn’t enough good plays. When we talked after the game in the locker room and I think our guys are great. We all felt like everybody took a turn making a mistake, myself included. There was about four or five calls I would have liked to have had back. I think every player to a man said the same thing. So, if we can eliminate those, we’ll be better off.”

Q: On the challenge of playing the Eagles.

SPAGNUOLO:&nbsp;“Yeah, I wish the other part of it was a little bit better. I always look at the point total and I certainly didn’t like the point total. We did play them pretty good for three and a half quarters, here in (GEHA Field at) Arrowhead (Stadium) the last time we played, (there) were different people (and a) different offensive coordinator. I got a great deal of respect for this team, the organization, the quarterback, all the skill they have and the running back. There’s a lot of pieces there to defend and we didn’t have a good game last week, so it’s time for us to put us all together too.”

SPAGNUOLO:&nbsp;“Yeah, it seems like we play one of these quarterbacks every week. I mean, the guy (Chargers QB Justin Herbert) we just got done playing he’s a really good athlete. I give him a lot of credit for what he did with his legs. The guy (Eagles QB Jalen Hurts) we are getting ready to play this week is elite at that. We’ll talk till we’re blue in the face about pass rush lanes and containing and we’ll have some things that we hope will take that away. Part of the whole, you know in football, with the spy, however (or) whatever you want to call it. You got to get them in those situations, when you’re in first and second down you can’t be spying people because they’re going to run the ball right at you. So, we got to try to dictate it somehow by having some negative plays on first and second down and get things kind of steered in our direction.”

Q:&nbsp;What should the response be from the defense this week?

JONES:&nbsp;“Listen, I think the energy in the building is great. Everybody (is) excited to be back in (GEHA Field at) Arrowhead (Stadium) (and) to be back at home. The energy is good. The energy is good, everybody has a positive mind frame of (the) Philadelphia Eagles coming into town. We still have a bad taste in our mouth from the Super Bowl. So, everyone is in a good space.”

Q:&nbsp;What do you have to be mindful of when playing against Jalen Hurts?

JONES:&nbsp;“Just our lanes in rushing the passer. Got to be aggressive on rushing the passer, more aggressive than we were the first game of the season. We (are) going to put that behind us, and we got a lot of skillset guys in our room that we got to be aggressive in rushing the passer and making sure we take the quarterback down.”

Q:&nbsp;What is it like playing against the defending Super Bowl champions and how is your energy higher going into the game?

Chiefs Coordinator QuotesSeptember 11, 2025ASSISTANT HEAD COACH/SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR DAVE TOUBQ: Can you talk about the field goal in the first half and how do you coach that?TOUB:&nbsp;“There’s a lot of things that are involved in that. I mean, we have (Statistical Analysis Coordinator) Mike Frazier our analytics guy, he talks to us all the time about what happens if you get tackled and you get knocked back and the clock keeps running. He talks about the timing stuff all the time with the whole team. (Head Coach Andy Reid) Coach gives me a lot of time in training camp and OTAs to work on those little things and the situational stuff that can come up, and we practice fast-field-goal, we call it ‘Mayday’, we practice that a lot and it doesn’t happen very often. It’s a situation – I mean, there’s a lot of things that have to happen, for that to happen. When he (Noah Gray) got knocked back and didn’t get out of bounds going forward, we knew right away. Everybody was on the same page, everybody knew, including Noah, that we had to go – we had to go ‘Mayday’. And everybody did a great job with it, including the guys that had to report. And (with) Noah (Gray) running the ball out and putting it down and us not changing the ball, not getting the ball changed. We kicked a quarterback ball, we didn’t kick a kicking ball (and) that might have kept us from getting a shot at it. A whole lot of credit to everybody, the operation went smoothly and (Harrison) Butker nailed it. It was good to get three points right there.”&nbsp;Q: What are the Philadelphia Eagles special teams like?TOUB:&nbsp;“We do have a game coming up (laughter). The (Philadelphia) Eagles are good, I mean obviously, they’re World Champions. They play really hard, (they’re) very well-coached. (Special Teams Coordinator) Coach (Michael) Clay does a great job with them. They (have) got a lot of guys back when you look at them. (Eagles RB Will) Shipley was a returner, (but) we don’t know about him. He was injured yesterday so we’re not sure (that) he’s going to play. They did sign (Eagles RB/KR) Tank (Bigsby), so he’s a returner, so we think we’re going to get him back there in kick return. The punter, (Eagles P Braden) Mann is excellent, (and) the kicker (Eagles K Jake) Elliot, he’s got good range. (They’re) just a well-coached group that we’ll have to get ready for.”Q: What did you see from the kick returners in Week 1?TOUB:&nbsp;“I really liked Tyquan’s (Thornton) return, and then obviously (Xavier) Worthy got hurt, so we had to take him out of that, (and) now he’s like the third or second wide receiver, so it’s going to be tough to use him back there now. So, we’re going to have to dig down into our depth a little bit this week and have some different guys back there. Brashard (Smith), he had a couple nice returns. He had a nice one (where) he probably should have stayed in the endzone, fake the ball up the 35 (yard-line) but he got it out to the 35 (yard-line), so that was nice.”OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR MATT NAGYQ: How do you establish the run game?NAGY:&nbsp;“Well, the simple (and) obvious answer is being able to be better when we run it whether it’s the scheme or the execution, you tie it together. It’s a credit to their (Los Angeles Chargers) defense, they did a good job in some of the stuff that they wanted to do. Really in football in general, the more balanced you are, and especially when you look at a team like Philadelphia, it’s always going to help. But if we’re throwing the ball well, we’ll stick with it (or) if we’re running it well. And then there’s that balance of mixing the two, but you’re right, we want to be able to be more balanced when we can, but we also want to continue to just trust each other and use what’s best in that game.”Q: What makes Tyquan Thornton ready for his role?NAGY:&nbsp;“What tells me he’s (Tyquan Thornton) ready is what he’s done in training camp. The whole entire time he’s been ready. For the guys that we have in that room right now, I said it in training camp, ‘the depth that we have from top to bottom is one of the best I’ve ever been around’, from top to bottom, one through six with all the guys when they’re there. It starts to get depleted a little bit with the injuries and other stuff that’s going on but that said, we have guys, they’re on our roster for a reason, and they’ve done a great job. And so now they get their opportunity to show who they are, and I think the biggest thing is the trust. We (have) got to keep working that trust and then when you get an opportunity, you make a play. Tyquan (Thornton) did that on that one corner route. You know he made a great play with the ball in the air, so we want to keep that going.”Q: From an execution, discipline and mentality perspective, what do you need to see from this offense on Sunday?NAGY:&nbsp;“All of that from the very first play. The energy (and) the execution is very, very simple. The energy is organic. It can’t be fake energy and it’s not going to need to be in this game. (Philadelphia Eagles Defensive Coordinator) Coach (Vic) Fangio, we all have a ton of respect for and what he does. He does what he does and he’s going to have some curveballs and changeups that he throws at you. But in the end, it’s about playing football fast and whoever does that better, and I think a fast start, playing fast (and) being able to be aggressive (while) mixing all that together, you’ll have good results. And so we’re really looking forward to the challenge.”DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR STEVE SPAGNUOLOOPENING STATEMENT:&nbsp;“I just wanted to open today is September 11th, and (it is) a monumental day in this country. So, we haven’t forgotten about that, and (when) I get a chance (I’ll) mention it to the players this afternoon because none of them were born around then. I remember, I was in Philadelphia. It was a pretty traumatic day. With that, I’ll just kind of open it up. I mean, I’m only going to go back real quick in saying none of us defensively were real happy with the way we played last week and certainly hope to be much better this week and the whole focus of this week is to chase improvement, which is what we do, win, lose, or draw. But especially this week when you don’t perform real well in the previous week. With that, I’ll just open it up.”Q: The defense had a hard time with pressure early on. Was it because you were looking for the running game?SPAGNUOLO:&nbsp;“You might have hit on something right there because quite frankly going into the game we all felt like they were going to establish the run first. To their credit, they kind of shifted gears right from the beginning. Maybe it threw us off a little bit but that’s football. We did talk a lot about in the first game of the season or in the first quarter of the season, it’s going to be about adjusting in game. Maybe we could’ve adjusted a little bit quicker. I thought we did a nice job coming out of the locker room in the second half where we needed a three and out and we got that. Actually, the second drive we kind of got a second, three and out. But there wasn’t enough good plays. When we talked after the game in the locker room and I think our guys are great. We all felt like everybody took a turn making a mistake, myself included. There was about four or five calls I would have liked to have had back. I think every player to a man said the same thing. So, if we can eliminate those, we’ll be better off.”Q: On the challenge of playing the Eagles.SPAGNUOLO:&nbsp;“Yeah, I wish the other part of it was a little bit better. I always look at the point total and I certainly didn’t like the point total. We did play them pretty good for three and a half quarters, here in (GEHA Field at) Arrowhead (Stadium) the last time we played, (there) were different people (and a) different offensive coordinator. I got a great deal of respect for this team, the organization, the quarterback, all the skill they have and the running back. There’s a lot of pieces there to defend and we didn’t have a good game last week, so it’s time for us to put us all together too.”Q: On defending Jalen Hurts.SPAGNUOLO:&nbsp;“Yeah, it seems like we play one of these quarterbacks every week. I mean, the guy (Chargers QB Justin Herbert) we just got done playing he’s a really good athlete. I give him a lot of credit for what he did with his legs. The guy (Eagles QB Jalen Hurts) we are getting ready to play this week is elite at that. We’ll talk till we’re blue in the face about pass rush lanes and containing and we’ll have some things that we hope will take that away. Part of the whole, you know in football, with the spy, however (or) whatever you want to call it. You got to get them in those situations, when you’re in first and second down you can’t be spying people because they’re going to run the ball right at you. So, we got to try to dictate it somehow by having some negative plays on first and second down and get things kind of steered in our direction.”Chiefs Player QuotesSeptember 11, 2025DT CHRIS JONESQ:&nbsp;What should the response be from the defense this week?JONES:&nbsp;“Listen, I think the energy in the building is great. Everybody (is) excited to be back in (GEHA Field at) Arrowhead (Stadium) (and) to be back at home. The energy is good. The energy is good, everybody has a positive mind frame of (the) Philadelphia Eagles coming into town. We still have a bad taste in our mouth from the Super Bowl. So, everyone is in a good space.”Q:&nbsp;What do you have to be mindful of when playing against Jalen Hurts?JONES:&nbsp;“Just our lanes in rushing the passer. Got to be aggressive on rushing the passer, more aggressive than we were the first game of the season. We (are) going to put that behind us, and we got a lot of skillset guys in our room that we got to be aggressive in rushing the passer and making sure we take the quarterback down.”Q:&nbsp;What is it like playing against the defending Super Bowl champions and how is your energy higher going into the game?

Chiefs Quotes: 9-11-25

Four different players scored a goal for the Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes in Wednesday's final non-conference tune-up as KWU routed the Midland University Warriors 4-0 at JRI Hospitality Stadium at the Graves Family Sports Complex.

The Coyotes will head into next week's conference opener with a 2-2-1 record.

The first goal of the match came in the 12th minute as <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/ed4b7b8c-0d36-4334-8cb0-dd105ec3df2e?elinkdata=28840">Talia Walsh</a> took a tap pass from <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/6d36929b-706f-4e05-bd59-be1c6ba208cf?elinkdata=28840">Alexandra Muro</a> and shot from about 25 yards out on the left side sliding it high inside the far post to get the Coyotes on the board.

Wesleyan had plenty of other chances in the first half, outshooting Midland 11-1 in the first 45, but could not get one home.

The next two Wesleyan goals came less than a minute apart. \

The first of the second half came as <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/1b566c86-e402-4d99-9916-ea1fb8e8f78d?elinkdata=28840">Brooklyn Velotta</a> took an initial shot that deflected off the back of a Midland defender and ended up at the feet of <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/19aeb82c-67a4-4463-a8f6-05e8103d1a7c?elinkdata=28840">Emma Gervy</a> near the penalty spot. Pressured by a Midland defender, she had to make a pair of moves to create space for her own shot and scored inside the near post in the 52nd minute.

Less than a minute later, the Coyotes were in goal again. This time Walsh got control of a loose ball in the box after a direct kick and found <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/99a22e3a-abd0-471e-bbf0-7ca016e981af?elinkdata=28840">Adriyanna Botello</a> for the goal making it 3-0.

The Coyotes capped the scoring in the 61st minute on a long goal from 43 yards out on the right side by <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/e226540a-89fc-4fb3-a83d-b19190871126?elinkdata=28840">Valeria Lara</a>. Lara's shot into the box landed in the box and found its way inside the far post for the goal.

Wesleyan dominated the match outshooting Midland 23-6. Velotta had six shots to lead the Coyotes, while Gervy had four. <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/bd7b85eb-4e83-47e8-a129-7ac5e731bb08?elinkdata=28840">Isabella Galvan</a> had a clean sheet in goal for the Coyotes, recording three saves.

The rugged KCAC schedule starts next week for the Coyotes. Wesleyan has its first two tilts on the road at Bethel on Wednesday and at Friends on Saturday before coming back home on September 24 to face York.

Four different players scored a goal for the Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes in Wednesday's final non-conference tune-up as KWU routed the Midland University Warriors 4-0 at JRI Hospitality Stadium at the Graves Family Sports Complex.The Coyotes will head into next week's conference opener with a 2-2-1 record.The first goal of the match came in the 12th minute as <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/ed4b7b8c-0d36-4334-8cb0-dd105ec3df2e?elinkdata=28840">Talia Walsh</a> took a tap pass from <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/6d36929b-706f-4e05-bd59-be1c6ba208cf?elinkdata=28840">Alexandra Muro</a> and shot from about 25 yards out on the left side sliding it high inside the far post to get the Coyotes on the board.Wesleyan had plenty of other chances in the first half, outshooting Midland 11-1 in the first 45, but could not get one home.The next two Wesleyan goals came less than a minute apart. \The first of the second half came as <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/1b566c86-e402-4d99-9916-ea1fb8e8f78d?elinkdata=28840">Brooklyn Velotta</a> took an initial shot that deflected off the back of a Midland defender and ended up at the feet of <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/19aeb82c-67a4-4463-a8f6-05e8103d1a7c?elinkdata=28840">Emma Gervy</a> near the penalty spot. Pressured by a Midland defender, she had to make a pair of moves to create space for her own shot and scored inside the near post in the 52nd minute.Less than a minute later, the Coyotes were in goal again. This time Walsh got control of a loose ball in the box after a direct kick and found <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/99a22e3a-abd0-471e-bbf0-7ca016e981af?elinkdata=28840">Adriyanna Botello</a> for the goal making it 3-0.The Coyotes capped the scoring in the 61st minute on a long goal from 43 yards out on the right side by <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/e226540a-89fc-4fb3-a83d-b19190871126?elinkdata=28840">Valeria Lara</a>. Lara's shot into the box landed in the box and found its way inside the far post for the goal.Wesleyan dominated the match outshooting Midland 23-6. Velotta had six shots to lead the Coyotes, while Gervy had four. <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/bd7b85eb-4e83-47e8-a129-7ac5e731bb08?elinkdata=28840">Isabella Galvan</a> had a clean sheet in goal for the Coyotes, recording three saves.The rugged KCAC schedule starts next week for the Coyotes. Wesleyan has its first two tilts on the road at Bethel on Wednesday and at Friends on Saturday before coming back home on September 24 to face York.

⚽️ KWU WSOC caps non-conference play with 4-0 win over Midland

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (September 10, 2025)—Harry Genth and Ricardo Olivar put the first and finishing touches on a two-out, two-run rally in the top of the ninth with a solo shot and a run-scoring single in the 2-1 win for the Wichita Wind Surge over the Corpus Christi Hooks at Whataburger Field. The Wind Surge are now one game back of the Tulsa Drillers for the playoff spot with four games left in the regular season. &nbsp; The Wind Surge do own the tie-breaker.

C.J. Culpepper fired five frames of two-hit baseball with four walks and two strikeouts in his 15th start of the season. Wichita loaded the bases against Corpus Christi’s starter Nic Swanson in the top of the sixth, but a groundout to short kept the game scoreless. Michael Martinez and John Stankiewicz each followed to face the minimum in the sixth and seventh innings out of the bullpen.&nbsp;

Orlando Martinez doubled to the wall in right-center, tagged up to third after a flyout, and then came in to score on a wild pitch in the home half of the eighth to give the Hooks a 1-0 lead.&nbsp;

After the Wind Surge found themselves down to their final out in the top of the ninth, Genth yanked a game-tying solo home run to left field. Olivar provided the go-ahead run on a single that dropped into shallow center, which scored Hendry Mendez.&nbsp;

Kade Bragg earned his third win with Wichita after retiring the last six men he faced between the eighth and ninth innings. Besides giving up an earned run on a hit, the southpaw struck out two men in the 2-1 win.&nbsp;&nbsp;

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (September 10, 2025)—Harry Genth and Ricardo Olivar put the first and finishing touches on a two-out, two-run rally in the top of the ninth with a solo shot and a run-scoring single in the 2-1 win for the Wichita Wind Surge over the Corpus Christi Hooks at Whataburger Field. The Wind Surge are now one game back of the Tulsa Drillers for the playoff spot with four games left in the regular season. &nbsp; The Wind Surge do own the tie-breaker.C.J. Culpepper fired five frames of two-hit baseball with four walks and two strikeouts in his 15th start of the season. Wichita loaded the bases against Corpus Christi’s starter Nic Swanson in the top of the sixth, but a groundout to short kept the game scoreless. Michael Martinez and John Stankiewicz each followed to face the minimum in the sixth and seventh innings out of the bullpen.&nbsp;Orlando Martinez doubled to the wall in right-center, tagged up to third after a flyout, and then came in to score on a wild pitch in the home half of the eighth to give the Hooks a 1-0 lead.&nbsp;After the Wind Surge found themselves down to their final out in the top of the ninth, Genth yanked a game-tying solo home run to left field. Olivar provided the go-ahead run on a single that dropped into shallow center, which scored Hendry Mendez.&nbsp;Kade Bragg earned his third win with Wichita after retiring the last six men he faced between the eighth and ninth innings. Besides giving up an earned run on a hit, the southpaw struck out two men in the 2-1 win.&nbsp;&nbsp;POSTGAME NOTES<ul>
 <li>The Wind Surge are a game behind the Tulsa Drillers for the playoff spot with four games left this season.</li><li>Wichita wins their sixth game of the year when trailing after eight innings.</li><li>Harry Genth’s game-tying home run was his second long ball of his pro career.</li><li>C.J. Culpepper throws for five innings in a start for the fourth time in 2025.&nbsp;</li><li>Maddux Houghton and Kala’i Rosario each finish the night with multiple hits.</li><li>Amarillo clinched the South and will play Midland in the playoffs for South Division.</li>
 </ul>

Wind Surge Ride Two-Out, Two-Run Rally Toward Comeback Win Over Hooks

CLEVELAND (AP) — Nick Loftin singled in the tying run and scored on Maikel Garcia’s double in the seventh inning, sending the Kansas City Royals to a 4-3 victory over the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday night.

Kansas City snapped a three-game losing streak and moved within 3 1/2 games of Seattle, which holds the third and final American League wild-card position. The Guardians are three behind the Mariners.

Cleveland led 3-2 after six before Loftin drove in Tyler Tolbert, then came around on Garcia’s liner off the wall in left against Hunter Gaddis. Tim Herrin (5-4) was charged with both runs.

Luinder Avila (1-0) worked two scoreless innings for his first career win and Carlos Estévez pitched the ninth for his major league-leading 39th save.

Kyle Manzardo hit a two-run homer in the first and Bo Naylor had an RBI single in the fourth for Cleveland, which had won five straight. Manzardo’s 432-foot shot off Jonathan Bowlan was the longest of his career and his 26th homer of the season.

Vinnie Pasquantino and Jonathan India both singled in runs for Kansas City. Pasquantino reached 100 RBIs for the first time.

Guardians starter Logan Allen gave up two runs in five innings, remaining winless in seven outings since July 29.

Jac Caglianone walked with one out in the seventh and was replaced by pinch-runner Tolbert, who scored on Loftin’s pinch-hit single off Herrin. Gaddis entered and gave up Garcia’s RBI double.

Kansas City used six pitchers with Bowlan logging the first two innings. Michael Wacha was slated to start before suffering a concussion as a result of what manager Matt Quatraro termed “an off-field accident.”

Royals RHP Stephen Kolek (5-5, 3.88 ERA) faces Guardians RHP Gavin Williams (10-5, 3.17 ERA) in the four-game series finale on Thursday.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1757555342258.png" alt="Photo Kansas City Royals" />
 <figcaption>Photo Kansas City Royals</figcaption>
 </figure>CLEVELAND (AP) — Nick Loftin singled in the tying run and scored on Maikel Garcia’s double in the seventh inning, sending the Kansas City Royals to a 4-3 victory over the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday night.Kansas City snapped a three-game losing streak and moved within 3 1/2 games of Seattle, which holds the third and final American League wild-card position. The Guardians are three behind the Mariners.Cleveland led 3-2 after six before Loftin drove in Tyler Tolbert, then came around on Garcia’s liner off the wall in left against Hunter Gaddis. Tim Herrin (5-4) was charged with both runs.Luinder Avila (1-0) worked two scoreless innings for his first career win and Carlos Estévez pitched the ninth for his major league-leading 39th save.Kyle Manzardo hit a two-run homer in the first and Bo Naylor had an RBI single in the fourth for Cleveland, which had won five straight. Manzardo’s 432-foot shot off Jonathan Bowlan was the longest of his career and his 26th homer of the season.Vinnie Pasquantino and Jonathan India both singled in runs for Kansas City. Pasquantino reached 100 RBIs for the first time.Guardians starter Logan Allen gave up two runs in five innings, remaining winless in seven outings since July 29.<h2>Key moment</h2>Jac Caglianone walked with one out in the seventh and was replaced by pinch-runner Tolbert, who scored on Loftin’s pinch-hit single off Herrin. Gaddis entered and gave up Garcia’s RBI double.<h2>Key stat</h2>Kansas City used six pitchers with Bowlan logging the first two innings. Michael Wacha was slated to start before suffering a concussion as a result of what manager Matt Quatraro termed “an off-field accident.”<h2>Up next</h2>Royals RHP Stephen Kolek (5-5, 3.88 ERA) faces Guardians RHP Gavin Williams (10-5, 3.17 ERA) in the four-game series finale on Thursday.

⚾ Royals snap 3-game skid with victory over the Guardians

Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid Quotes

OPENING STATEMENT:&nbsp;“Alright, as far as injuries go, we got Jalen (Royals) (and) Xavier Worthy. Those two won’t practice today. Both are doing better, they’re (Jalen Royals and Xavier Worthy) working on it and making progress but not ready to go today for sure. Look forward to the challenge of playing the Eagles. Good football team, obviously, and they know us, we know them and it should be a heck of a game. With that, time’s yours.”

Q: Is surgery under consideration for Xavier Worthy?

REID:&nbsp;“No, not right now.”

Q: What about short-term injured reserve for Xavier Worthy?

REID:&nbsp;“He’s (Xavier Worthy) just rehabbing here.”

Q: Is there still some optimism that Jalen Royals might be available this week?

REID:&nbsp;“Yeah, probably not. It’d be a stretch.”

Q: How do you think the receiver group responded to Xavier Worthy’s injury, specifically Tyquan Thornton stepping into a bigger role?

REID:&nbsp;“Listen, I thought all the guys did a good job. They kept us in the game there. I thought they did well catching the ball a few yards after the catch and JuJu (Smith-Schuster) included in that bunch. Hollywood (Brown) had a big day, it was good to get him back in the swing.”

Q: Does Super Bowl LIX hold any strategic benefit at all in terms of what you study?

REID:&nbsp;“I think we know them (Philadelphia Eagles), and they know us. There are going to be wrinkles in there (for) both teams, but (we’re) pretty familiar with each other. They have a lot of guys coming back and we have a lot of guys coming back so you have that part of it.”

Q:&nbsp;What were the things that had to go right for the field goal fire drill at the end of the first half to succeed?

REID:&nbsp;“Normally you say it’s about 20 seconds that you need. At camp, we normally work it right in that area, and we work on it. The thing that gets under looked like I mentioned after the game, was Noah (Gray) exploding back with the football, so that was saving seconds there which were important in that situation and that part won’t be talked about. Obviously, the kick and the hold and the snap and all that, and getting guys off the field and guys on the field. But Noah getting that ball back kind of made the whole thing work. And then (Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator) Dave (Toub) was on top of it on the sideline, and he and (Assistant Special Teams Coach) Porter (Ellett) were working the sideline and getting ready for it.”

Q:&nbsp;On the team being flat to start the game.

REID:&nbsp;“Yeah, there are no excuses for any of us on what took place. We’ve got to do better. Energy is one of the things, for sure.”

Q:&nbsp;Did you feel like you had momentum after executing that field goal at the end of the first half and then lost it due to halftime?

REID:&nbsp;“No, I didn’t think we lost that part of it. It was emotional, that’s an exciting thing to do in this game, to be able to pull one of those off, especially when it’s less than what you think you can get done with or at least in that danger zone there of not getting it off. No, halftime ended. We just need to play better.”

Q:&nbsp;Is it tough to evaluate your running game at this point? Is there something that you saw that you want to expand on for this upcoming week?

REID:&nbsp;“Not right here, no (laughter). We need to do better in that starting off.”

Q:&nbsp;What did you and General Manager Brett Veach like in Tyquan Thornton last year that influenced you to get him here?

REID:&nbsp;“Yeah, so (General Manager) Brett (Veach) liked him (Tyquan Thornton), and then I mentioned before that Bill Belichick called me and talked to me about him, (he) thought that he was a good football player. Brett was bringing him (Tyquan Thornton) in and Bill (Belichick) kind of said, ‘hey, this guy’s really got great potential.’”

Q:&nbsp;What has led to Tyquan Thornton’s chemistry with Patrick Mahomes?

REID:&nbsp;“Well he’s (Tyquan Thornton) fast. He’s a big target, so he runs good routes.”

Q:&nbsp;As you watched tape on the left side of the offensive line, what did you like/not like about what you saw?

REID:&nbsp;“I liked the effort they (Josh Simmons and Kinglsey Suamataia) put in and there were more good plays than there were bad plays. (There’s) some great things to learn from. There were some things that they did, I thought, very well. It was progress, and they’ll keep growing as we go on here.”

Q:&nbsp;On the emotion on the sidelines.

REID:&nbsp;“It’s an emotional game. That’s all part of it. Guys they pull for each other (and) they get after each other, I mean that’s all part of it. When guys do good, they jump around and tell them how good they did. It’s all part of it. Time and a place for everything.”

Q:&nbsp;Does one side of the ball have an advantage in the opening game?

REID:&nbsp;“It seems like it’s normally the defensive side, but as you look at this past weekend with all the teams it looked like it was more of the offensive side throughout the league. Normally it’s the other way around.”

Q:&nbsp;How many adjustments happen when a player like Xavier Worthy goes down with an injury?

REID:&nbsp;“It’s just making sure guys are in the right positions. We’re lucky that we (have) got a pretty smart group that stepped in there. (General Manager) Brett (Veach) has done a good job at bringing guys in that we feel comfortable playing with, most of all that the quarterback feels comfortable with. So, it’s been a plus and then they work all the situations and the substitutions all the time. They do it during training camp. Everybody gets a chance to play during training camp that’s in that first group, per se. I thought they handled that well. We have a lot of different formations we run.”

Q:&nbsp;Were the amount of quick throws against the Chargers in the game plan, or was that just how things played out?

REID:&nbsp;“Some of both, probably. I’ll tell you I thought that we had an opportunity there, at the same time we had a couple of shots in there too. But the way it played out, there were some opportunities there, yeah.”

Q: On moving on from the last game and getting prepared for the Philadelphia Eagles.

MAHOMES:&nbsp;“Yeah for sure. I mean I think that's with every single game that you play. But this is a really good football team. I mean, there's no way around it. They're good at every aspect on defense and obviously on offense as well. And this will take our best football. And so, you learn from the mistakes that you make. That's a part of playing the game is you learn from your failures. It’s like you learn from the positive things that you do, and you try to come back and play better football this week. And it’s going to take our best football to go out there and get a win.”

Q: Do you feel like Xavier Worthy going down early impacted what you guys wanted to do on offense?

MAHOMES:&nbsp;“I think it's more just getting guys into the right spots. I mean, obviously you try to rep and give guys opportunities at every single receiver position, but there's only limited reps. And so, when you have an injury, you have guys going in different spots that they haven't got those reps in before. But I thought the guys did well as the game went on of adjusting to that, stepping up and making plays, and I thought they did really good in the second half of giving us a chance to go out there and try to get a win.”

Q: How much on your own did you watch the Super Bowl in the weeks afterwards, if at all?

MAHOMES:&nbsp;“Yeah, I mean, I’ll watch every game after, so you have to learn from it. I mean it sucks that you lose the game, but in order to progress and to be better next time, you have to watch and learn from it. And so, I don't know the exact amount of times, but you watch it, and then you watch it in the offseason with the team and with the coaches, and then you watch it obviously this week as well. And so, they had a great game plan. They (Philadelphia Eagles) played hard and did a great job of disrupting my timing, and so I have to learn from that (and) find ways to get the ball out of my hand. And then when the opportunities are there, I think that's something I did miss early in the game, is there was opportunities to make plays, and you got to make those plays because if you don't, they're not going to allow those opportunities again.”

Q: When you’re watching it, is it informational or is it emotional?

MAHOMES: “I think it's just more informational. I mean, the emotion kind of happens for about a week after the game, but I mean, at the end of the day, you're going to have failures in this league. It’s about how you respond from those failures. And that's something that's important to anyone's career. But for me, I got to continue to push to be even better so that I don't make those same mistakes whenever I get the opportunity to again.”

Q: Is one of your biggest takeaways being bolder earlier in games?

MAHOMES: “I think just, you got to pick and choose the right spots. I mean, I think you can't be too much one way or another. And so, finding that right balance of attacking downfield but still keeping the chains moving and not putting the ball in harmful situations is something that's important to every quarterback. And so, I think at the end of last year, at certain points, I wasn't taking those chances that I could have. And so, I try to do better of that going into this season and try to do better at that, this last game. And obviously I'll keep working with that throughout my career, but it'll be important this week as much as any, because they (Philadelphia Eagles) have good players everywhere on that defense. And so, it's about accepting that challenge and going out there and executing at a high level.”

Q: How do you assess that deep ball in the first game?

MAHOMES: “I thought I did a good job for the most part. Obviously, they did good in the first half and missed a couple shots. But once I hit that one to Tyquan (Thornton) down the sideline towards halftime, I thought from then on I did a good job of kind of recognizing when to take shots, when to hit the stuff underneath and just getting the ball out to guys and letting them make plays. And so just trying to do that faster so that we're not in that deficit. It will be important this week, especially with how they play football and how they can run the ball and throw the ball as well on their side of the football. So being better from the beginning and not just kind of as the game goes on.”

Q: How did your offensive line play as you look back at the tape from last week’s game?

MAHOMES:&nbsp;“So they did a good job. You know, it's always tough when you're behind because the defensive line gets the pass rush and do their games and stunts and stuff like that. But I thought throughout the game they did a really good job against a really good defensive line, and that does a lot of good things. And so, they'll continue to get better and better. They're young. They got a lot of experience to kind of gain from that first game. But now they'll have another challenge with a really good defensive line in their face this week.”

Q:&nbsp;The team came out flat, much emotion comes from having successful plays on both sides of the ball?

MAHOMES:&nbsp;“Yeah, I mean, that's part of it, but I think in order to be great, you have to be able to bring that emotion when things aren't going well. I mean, anyone can be hyped whenever a big play happens, that’s part of life in general. But whenever things (are) not going your way, how are you going to respond? And I think that's important for championship teams is being able to bring that energy whenever things aren’t going your way, because it's not always going to be great, it's not always going to be winning by big scores it’s about responding to that moment and what that moment needs.”

Q:&nbsp;What's the attitude of the team like right now with a big game ahead of you?

MAHOMES:&nbsp;“Yeah, I think (the) guys are ready to go. You know, it's football. It's passionate. We love the game. I’d rather have guys that are passionate about it and want to win than the other way around. And we hold each other accountable. And I think at the end of the day, we know that we love each other. And then when you have that, you can hold each other accountable and then push forward to be even better the next time you step on the football field. And so, there's no ill will anywhere. It's just a bunch of guys that want to win and want to do whatever they can to win. And so, whenever that happens, sometimes passionate moments, outbursts and stuff happen. But at the end of the day, we love each other, and we're going to push each other to be even better.”

Q:&nbsp;Does anything add up to why guys were getting chippy? Do you feel the need to speak to it this week to the guys?

MAHOMES:&nbsp;“No, I think guys understand.&nbsp; I don't know if you can pinpoint one reason or another. At the end of the day, that's in the past now, it's how can you just learn from it and be better the next time. And so, we will have that mindset going into practice this week (and) try to prepare ourselves to play a good football team. And I mean, what better challenge in playing the reigning Super Bowl champions to see where we're at. And so, I think guys will be ready to go. And knowing that we all got to play our best if we want to find a way to win.”

Q:&nbsp;You’ve played a few of these Super Bowl rematches now. How are they different than a regular game?

MAHOMES:&nbsp;“I think you just, we know the opponent, you know, even with the Super Bowl and the Super Bowl before and the games we’ve played in the regular seasons, we know that this is a really good football team, and we know that they have a lot of great football players. And so, when you play the best of the best, you have to take your game to another level. And so, it's not different in the sense of it's a Super Bowl rematch or anything like that, I think it’s different in the sense is you're playing the best of the best. And so how are you going to respond? How are you going to be even better and take your game to another level? And so, I always think it's fun, you know, playing the best and getting to see where you're at.”

Q:&nbsp;Is there a little extra juice in a game like this?

MAHOMES:&nbsp;“I think if you're playing your first game at (GEHA at) Arrowhead (Stadium) against the reigning Super Bowl champions, there’s got to be some extra juice. I mean, it's our first home game, I’m sure there will be a cool flyover, you know, you get everything you need. So, there's no reason you should come out flat this game.”

Q:&nbsp;At the end of the game against the Chargers you were locked in. Where does that mindset come from?

MAHOMES:&nbsp;“I think you just know you have to score whenever you're playing good football teams and you're down, you have to make the play now and you take a little bit more risk. You do a little bit different things that you might not do early in the game. And so, it's about finding that earlier, you know, finding that earlier so that we don't get in that deficit. And so, I just like winning. So, whenever you're not winning it’s like you sometimes focus in even more because you want to try to find a way to do whatever you can to win.”

Q:&nbsp;How do you feel like your guy’s temperament is going into this game?

MAHOMES:&nbsp;“Yeah, I think guys are definitely locked in. I mean, I thought they were locked in last week. So, I mean, we have we have a lot of leaders on this team, guys that don't like losing. And it's about finding a way now of bringing that energy, bringing that right mindset so that we can play our best football. And I thought we did good things in the second half on the offensive side of the ball this last week. But how can we be even better to start the game and carry that throughout the entire game?”

Q:&nbsp;How was getting reps with Hollywood Brown in game one?

MAHOMES:&nbsp;“Yeah, I think you saw in the game that Hollywood (Brown) just kind of got more and more comfortable as the game went on, and we asked him to do a lot of things. He kind of had to run his routes (and) Xavier's (Worthy) routes and kind of all the in between. And so, I thought he did a good job of recognizing what he needed to do, recognizing coverages and making plays happen. And so, he'll be big these next couple of weeks as we try to get Xavier back and get Rashee (Rice) back and everything like that. But it's something I think he's ready for.”

Q:&nbsp;Did you train your physicality and aggressiveness for this season? Did you know you have to be more aggressive because teams know how you operate near the sideline?

MAHOMES:&nbsp;“Yeah, I always brace for impact. I mean, I think you have to protect yourself, but I think in this last game, I think we just needed the yards. We needed ways to score the football, especially at that time of the game. That's why I think people highlighted the one I got hit on the side. I really wasn't running out of bounds really the whole second half. And so, it's a long season. So, I try to get back to running out of bounds as much as possible. But that's stuff that I usually do in the playoffs. I'm just gonna try to manage that throughout the season so I can be there for the playoffs.”

Q: How do you prepare for the un-scouted looks of any NFL team?

BOLTON:&nbsp;“Yeah, especially in the first couple of weeks of the season man, like, everybody has their own, new identity. (They) spent the whole offseason kind of changing stuff, scouting, (and) doing those things. So, I think one of the biggest things (for) us going forward is second-half adjustments. It’s going to be big for us. First half, they might change up completely what they did, based off a year prior. And just making adjustments and making a whole unit, like, be on time and on target. I think that’s going to be big for us these next couple weeks.”

Q: How hard is it to have positive emotion when your team’s not having success?

BOLTON:&nbsp;“Yeah, I think for us it’s even bigger than just that part. So, when your teammates make a good play, I was celebrating with them. I think there was a couple of plays, we like, (had) negative plays on defense and I didn’t think our energy and our excitement was where it needed to be. So, I think it’s more of that type of stuff more so than the other thing, kind of just us kind of having fun with our teammates, celebrating, and doing things that we’ve always done. And (Head Coach Andy) Reid’s big on showing your personalities and letting them show. It’s kind of just that message. We make good plays, make splash plays, make the crowd (excited and) make adjustments, like, everybody gets involved. Love on your teammates, man, (and there’s) eleven guys celebrating for you.”

Q: Is it challenging for you to get excited for a regular season knowing how many big playoff games you’ve played in?

BOLTON:&nbsp;“Honestly, I don’t think it should be much of a challenge for anybody in this profession. We’ve got an opportunity of a lifetime to play a kids’ game (and) making good money for it and (you have) got your family and fans in the stands. So honestly, (it’s) just another opportunity to go out there and showcase what you’re made of, what your team’s made of, what’s your identity, and what you’ve been spending the last five, six months (on) that I’m talking about. So, I just think energy just was flat a little bit, and I just want the coaches (and) captains as well just kind of making sure that we change that this week.”

Q: When you see Patrick Mahomes make a big play, what does that do for you?

BROWN:&nbsp;“I mean, for us, we see it every day in practice. We always know what type of quarterback we (have) got. We always know the play is never over. He (Patrick Mahomes) brings that fire and we just try to go out there and make plays for him (and) play hard.”

Q: Are you focusing more on how the Eagles played you in Super Bowl LIX or how they played in Week 1?

BROWN:&nbsp;“Oh, a little bit of both. I mean, you (have) got a game plan. You don’t know. When you get out there you could be preparing for something and get out there (and) it’ll be totally different. But, just game plan, take it as this week and go from there.”

Q: You’re tied for the league lead in receptions after your performance against the Chargers last week. What does that do for your confidence?

Chiefs Quotes: 9-10-25

It was four days shy of one year since <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/b429646d-6b84-47ad-995b-fd3b696c3027?elinkdata=28808">Quatama Massaquoi</a> had scored for his Kansas Wesleyan team.

Last Wednesday Massaquoi took a long, perfectly placed pass from teammate <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/a163a0a8-1d27-4d40-8261-227d0c16c4e6?elinkdata=28808">Skyler Denny</a> and headed it into the goal on a set piece in the 87th minute of the Coyotes' soccer match against Central Christian. The goal propelled KWU to a 2-1 victory on Bissell Field at JRI Hospitality Stadium and Graves Family Sports Complex.

The clutch effort was nothing new for Massaquoi who was in the limelight on Bissell Field 361 days earlier, albeit in a wholly different endeavor. Playing free safety for the football team, he thwarted a Bethany drive deep into KWU territory when he intercepted a pass and returned it 95 yards for a touchdown late in the second quarter.

It extended the lead to 26-16 in a game Wesleyan won 54-16.

Massaquoi had a superb season finishing with 70 tackles, two interceptions, two fumble recoveries and was named First Team All-Gene Bissell Division in his final year of football eligibility.

Fortunately for the soccer team Massaquoi wasn't finished with his classroom work and had a semester of competition remaining.

A conversation with coach <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/948a77e2-dc0e-44ce-895f-6824cab22d39?elinkdata=28808">Ryan Palmbaum</a> in April sparked the notion of joining the team. After pondering it further this summer Massaquoi decided to give it a shot.

"Over the summer I'm like, 'should I still do it?'" he said. "I hit (Palmbaum) up in another email, and we got on a call, and we made it happen."

The decision was aided by Massaquoi's fond memories of playing soccer as a youngster in Pittsburg, California. He started playing the game in the first grade and twice earned all-conference honors while playing for Pittsburg High School for four seasons.

"Honestly, soccer is my first sport," he said.

Massaquoi played soccer and football at PHS but decided to focus on football in college, first at Los Medanos College in his hometown for two years then two more years at Wesleyan.

Walking onto the pitch was easy. Getting in playing shape and adjusting to the elevated competition at the college level was another matter.

"Endurance was my problem, especially in preseason. I was just gassed," he said. "Everybody's constantly moving; I'm over there, hands on knees. It was kind of hard over summer trying to get conditioned because you're better off to get endurance while playing with others. I was running a lot of miles, and it didn't really correlate.

"But we got to the conditioning test and I kind of surprised myself. Luckily, it wasn't hot that day."

Palmbaum, who replaced his father Bruce as KWU's head coach in February, said Massaquoi could try out for the team with no promises. They had established a California bond - Palmbaum is from Sacramento which is about an hour from Pittsburg.

"I saw something in him," Palmbaum said. "He was willing to do whatever it took to be on the team and for me that's really important because a lot of guys who grow up playing the sport sort of feel entitled to a spot. For him he was just grateful for a spot, and I think that really shows on the field. "

It didn't take long for Massaquoi's temporary status to evaporate.

"We were on a trial basis and after two days I said, 'don't worry about the tryout, you're on the team,'" Palmbaum said.

Massaquoi's athleticism is what separates him from many others. Playing football didn't hurt.

"He's a freak athlete," Palmbaum said. "He is what everyone strives to be athletically. He's low to the ground, great change of direction, great speed. A lot of his success comes from his mentality to never back out of a challenge, never back out of a header, never back out of chasing down a ball that other people might not get to, and he does. In his mind it's 'I'm going to go no matter what.' I wish every single player had that mentality."

"He's one of the fastest guys in the (Kansas) Conference," Palmbaum said. "Q is the center point to our press, and he wins the ball back. His defensive ability from the striker position is unmatched by anyone on our team and anyone in the conference."

Massaquoi began the summer weighing 185 but is down to 171 thanks to conditioning. Now it's a matter of learning the college game.

"I feel like right now it's more understanding the IQ of the game rather than ball work and stuff like that," he said. "Ball work is always going to be there; it's how to play with a team again because it's been so long since I've played organized soccer. But game by game, week by week every practice is getting a little easier where I understand my role and my part on the team."

"If you've got good feet, you'll never forget how to play soccer," he said.

Massaquoi announced his arrival in KWU's opening match when he scored in a 7-0 victory over Central Christian College of the Bible.

"The first game was honestly a fever dream," he said. "I was trying to shoot a lot, I had a lot of shots with one goal, so I was kind of relieved to finally have that goal in the first game."

"I got a good ball from Skyler," he said. "I was just tracking it and trying to get my head on it and saw in go in. I wanted to go celebrate, it felt amazing. That's a feeling for sure."

Massaquoi relishes how he has been accepted by his teammates.

"I'm so grateful that everybody was open arms for me to come in," he said. "I was very appreciative. There's no selfishness within the team; it's all family oriented."

"We have such a good group of guys that do welcome all different walks of life, sports, people, nationalities, anything," Palmbaum said. "I think on paper at face value you say a football player is going to come in and be on varsity for the soccer team and some eyebrows might get raised. But everyone was super open to it and ready.

It was four days shy of one year since <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/b429646d-6b84-47ad-995b-fd3b696c3027?elinkdata=28808">Quatama Massaquoi</a> had scored for his Kansas Wesleyan team.Last Wednesday Massaquoi took a long, perfectly placed pass from teammate <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/a163a0a8-1d27-4d40-8261-227d0c16c4e6?elinkdata=28808">Skyler Denny</a> and headed it into the goal on a set piece in the 87th minute of the Coyotes' soccer match against Central Christian. The goal propelled KWU to a 2-1 victory on Bissell Field at JRI Hospitality Stadium and Graves Family Sports Complex.The clutch effort was nothing new for Massaquoi who was in the limelight on Bissell Field 361 days earlier, albeit in a wholly different endeavor. Playing free safety for the football team, he thwarted a Bethany drive deep into KWU territory when he intercepted a pass and returned it 95 yards for a touchdown late in the second quarter.It extended the lead to 26-16 in a game Wesleyan won 54-16.Massaquoi had a superb season finishing with 70 tackles, two interceptions, two fumble recoveries and was named First Team All-Gene Bissell Division in his final year of football eligibility.Fortunately for the soccer team Massaquoi wasn't finished with his classroom work and had a semester of competition remaining.A conversation with coach <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/948a77e2-dc0e-44ce-895f-6824cab22d39?elinkdata=28808">Ryan Palmbaum</a> in April sparked the notion of joining the team. After pondering it further this summer Massaquoi decided to give it a shot."Over the summer I'm like, 'should I still do it?'" he said. "I hit (Palmbaum) up in another email, and we got on a call, and we made it happen."The decision was aided by Massaquoi's fond memories of playing soccer as a youngster in Pittsburg, California. He started playing the game in the first grade and twice earned all-conference honors while playing for Pittsburg High School for four seasons."Honestly, soccer is my first sport," he said.Massaquoi played soccer and football at PHS but decided to focus on football in college, first at Los Medanos College in his hometown for two years then two more years at Wesleyan.Walking onto the pitch was easy. Getting in playing shape and adjusting to the elevated competition at the college level was another matter."Endurance was my problem, especially in preseason. I was just gassed," he said. "Everybody's constantly moving; I'm over there, hands on knees. It was kind of hard over summer trying to get conditioned because you're better off to get endurance while playing with others. I was running a lot of miles, and it didn't really correlate."But we got to the conditioning test and I kind of surprised myself. Luckily, it wasn't hot that day."Palmbaum, who replaced his father Bruce as KWU's head coach in February, said Massaquoi could try out for the team with no promises. They had established a California bond - Palmbaum is from Sacramento which is about an hour from Pittsburg."I saw something in him," Palmbaum said. "He was willing to do whatever it took to be on the team and for me that's really important because a lot of guys who grow up playing the sport sort of feel entitled to a spot. For him he was just grateful for a spot, and I think that really shows on the field. "It didn't take long for Massaquoi's temporary status to evaporate."We were on a trial basis and after two days I said, 'don't worry about the tryout, you're on the team,'" Palmbaum said.Massaquoi's athleticism is what separates him from many others. Playing football didn't hurt."He's a freak athlete," Palmbaum said. "He is what everyone strives to be athletically. He's low to the ground, great change of direction, great speed. A lot of his success comes from his mentality to never back out of a challenge, never back out of a header, never back out of chasing down a ball that other people might not get to, and he does. In his mind it's 'I'm going to go no matter what.' I wish every single player had that mentality."Speed is Massaquoi's greatest attribute."He's one of the fastest guys in the (Kansas) Conference," Palmbaum said. "Q is the center point to our press, and he wins the ball back. His defensive ability from the striker position is unmatched by anyone on our team and anyone in the conference."Massaquoi began the summer weighing 185 but is down to 171 thanks to conditioning. Now it's a matter of learning the college game."I feel like right now it's more understanding the IQ of the game rather than ball work and stuff like that," he said. "Ball work is always going to be there; it's how to play with a team again because it's been so long since I've played organized soccer. But game by game, week by week every practice is getting a little easier where I understand my role and my part on the team."The bicycle analogy is in play as well."If you've got good feet, you'll never forget how to play soccer," he said.Massaquoi announced his arrival in KWU's opening match when he scored in a 7-0 victory over Central Christian College of the Bible."The first game was honestly a fever dream," he said. "I was trying to shoot a lot, I had a lot of shots with one goal, so I was kind of relieved to finally have that goal in the first game."His second goal was pivotal."I got a good ball from Skyler," he said. "I was just tracking it and trying to get my head on it and saw in go in. I wanted to go celebrate, it felt amazing. That's a feeling for sure."Massaquoi relishes how he has been accepted by his teammates."I'm so grateful that everybody was open arms for me to come in," he said. "I was very appreciative. There's no selfishness within the team; it's all family oriented.""We have such a good group of guys that do welcome all different walks of life, sports, people, nationalities, anything," Palmbaum said. "I think on paper at face value you say a football player is going to come in and be on varsity for the soccer team and some eyebrows might get raised. But everyone was super open to it and ready.

⚽️ Former football standout Massaquoi making his mark on the pitch for the Coyotes

MANHATTAN, Kan.&nbsp;– K-State Athletics and Athletics Director Gene Taylor have announced a new annual fundraising effort, Fighting Ever Fighting, to position K-State Athletics in this new era of college athletics and enhance the world-class student-athlete experience through philanthropic giving via the Ahearn Fund, K-State's National Fund for Student-Athlete Excellence.&nbsp;

The recent court settlement in the House vs. NCAA&nbsp;class action lawsuit, which allows athletics departments to share revenues with student-athletes for use of their name, image, and likeness, signals a transformative era in college athletics. Beyond&nbsp;revenue sharing, the settlement will also provide new scholarship opportunities, as well as changes to roster limits.

This historic settlement will have a monumental impact on college athletics, leveling the NIL playing field by creating a new structure with a uniform spending cap across all Power 4 institutions.

“At K-State, we are committed to fully funding our opportunity to share revenues with our student-athletes across all of our sports,” Taylor said. “We will never take for granted what we have at K-State: a&nbsp;loyal fanbase, world-class facilities, and unwavering donor support that is the envy of other schools. Change is never easy, and we know this is a monumental shift in college athletics. I truly believe that K-State will rise through this and prove to be a leader in the national landscape. We have witnessed championship moments, created lasting memories, and we will continue to do so by providing championship-level support that aligns with our championship-level expectations.”

With schools across the country facing new challenges to find a creative and diligent approach for new revenue streams, the Fighting Ever Fighting campaign will focus on the continued philanthropic support from Ahearn Fund members.

"Fighting Ever Fighting is much more than just the new world of revenue sharing. It goes far beyond that,” Taylor added. “The core mission of what we do has&nbsp;not changed. We want to provide the best collegiate experience, in competition and in the classroom,&nbsp;for our student-athletes when they come to K-State. We want to put them in a position to compete for championships. Fighting Ever Fighting is also about the new opportunities we are providing our student-athletes through additional scholarships; the importance of the economic impact K-State Athletics provides to the city, region and state and the role athletics plays in higher education when it comes to publicity and potential increases in enrollment. Whether donors are long-time supporters, or first-time givers, it takes a collective effort and your support to our Ahearn Excellence fund&nbsp;is more important than ever."

MANHATTAN, Kan.&nbsp;– K-State Athletics and Athletics Director Gene Taylor have announced a new annual fundraising effort, Fighting Ever Fighting, to position K-State Athletics in this new era of college athletics and enhance the world-class student-athlete experience through philanthropic giving via the Ahearn Fund, K-State's National Fund for Student-Athlete Excellence.&nbsp;The recent court settlement in the House vs. NCAA&nbsp;class action lawsuit, which allows athletics departments to share revenues with student-athletes for use of their name, image, and likeness, signals a transformative era in college athletics. Beyond&nbsp;revenue sharing, the settlement will also provide new scholarship opportunities, as well as changes to roster limits.This historic settlement will have a monumental impact on college athletics, leveling the NIL playing field by creating a new structure with a uniform spending cap across all Power 4 institutions.“At K-State, we are committed to fully funding our opportunity to share revenues with our student-athletes across all of our sports,” Taylor said. “We will never take for granted what we have at K-State: a&nbsp;loyal fanbase, world-class facilities, and unwavering donor support that is the envy of other schools. Change is never easy, and we know this is a monumental shift in college athletics. I truly believe that K-State will rise through this and prove to be a leader in the national landscape. We have witnessed championship moments, created lasting memories, and we will continue to do so by providing championship-level support that aligns with our championship-level expectations.”With schools across the country facing new challenges to find a creative and diligent approach for new revenue streams, the Fighting Ever Fighting campaign will focus on the continued philanthropic support from Ahearn Fund members."Fighting Ever Fighting is much more than just the new world of revenue sharing. It goes far beyond that,” Taylor added. “The core mission of what we do has&nbsp;not changed. We want to provide the best collegiate experience, in competition and in the classroom,&nbsp;for our student-athletes when they come to K-State. We want to put them in a position to compete for championships. Fighting Ever Fighting is also about the new opportunities we are providing our student-athletes through additional scholarships; the importance of the economic impact K-State Athletics provides to the city, region and state and the role athletics plays in higher education when it comes to publicity and potential increases in enrollment. Whether donors are long-time supporters, or first-time givers, it takes a collective effort and your support to our Ahearn Excellence fund&nbsp;is more important than ever."

K-State Athletics and Ahearn Fund Announce “Fighting Ever Fighting” Initiative

BALDWIN CITY - Kansas Wesleyan Women's Volleyball rallied from a 2-1 match deficit to come away with a 3-2 win over the Baker University Wildcats on Tuesday night at the Collins Center.

The Coyotes won the opening set 25-22, but dropped the second 25-23 and the third 25-21, before making a comeback at the end, winning the fourth 25-18 and the deciding fifth set 16-14.

Baker had a 14-10 lead in the first set but a later 4-0 spurt by the Coyotes made it 19-18 KWU. It was 21-all when the Coyotes got three straight points to have a set point at 24-22. Baker saved set point once before <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/a4fcc513-89bc-4f3a-8c20-05192c743fa8?elinkdata=28776">Kate Bebout's</a> kill ended the set in favor of the Coyotes.

After trailing early in the second, a 6-0 run by the Coyotes gave KWU a 15-11 lead in the set off back-to-back kills by <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/69f97cd7-6d14-4cd6-acd0-29948da356a9?elinkdata=28776">Joey Pennington</a>. Wesleyan led the set 21-18, but Baker made a run down the stretch scoring seven of the last nine points to win the set.

In the third set, every time KWU made a little run to get close to Baker, the Wildcats responded with a little spurt of energy to keep the Coyotes at bay. Baker led 21-16 but the Coyotes got back within two at 23-21 but the Wildcats got the last two points of the set to take it 25-21.

Wesleyan came out to an early 7-3 lead in the fourth and extended the lead to 13-5 at one point. KWU led 19-12 but Baker got within five at 20-15. KWU scored the next three to take a 23-15 lead would close out the set with on a <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/fc7745f7-6e4c-4afd-88fd-09a6bf7bc179?elinkdata=28776">Madelyn Wolf</a> kill.

In the deciding set, Baker took an early 3-1 lead, but the Coyotes answered right back to lead 7-4 on a <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/5897ae73-e50e-4554-b7e9-7ad91eddec3b?elinkdata=28776">Kylee Harris</a> and <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/692ff391-eb49-421d-9077-6b9435ac44be?elinkdata=28776">Avery Conner</a> block. Baker scored the next five points to take a 9-7 lead in the set. Three straight from the Coyotes gave KWU a 10-9 lead. Baker got the next three to take a 12-10 lead in the race to 15. The Wildcats had a 13-11 lead when the Coyotes got two big points to tie things up at 13. Baker got a kill to set up a potential match point, but KWU went to work on a kill by <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/3412e66d-6880-4d5c-ad9f-aa8baac3a041?elinkdata=28776">Kate Bebout</a> and then two Baker hitting errors to give the Coyotes the set and match.

BALDWIN CITY - Kansas Wesleyan Women's Volleyball rallied from a 2-1 match deficit to come away with a 3-2 win over the Baker University Wildcats on Tuesday night at the Collins Center.The Coyotes won the opening set 25-22, but dropped the second 25-23 and the third 25-21, before making a comeback at the end, winning the fourth 25-18 and the deciding fifth set 16-14.Baker had a 14-10 lead in the first set but a later 4-0 spurt by the Coyotes made it 19-18 KWU. It was 21-all when the Coyotes got three straight points to have a set point at 24-22. Baker saved set point once before <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/a4fcc513-89bc-4f3a-8c20-05192c743fa8?elinkdata=28776">Kate Bebout's</a> kill ended the set in favor of the Coyotes.After trailing early in the second, a 6-0 run by the Coyotes gave KWU a 15-11 lead in the set off back-to-back kills by <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/69f97cd7-6d14-4cd6-acd0-29948da356a9?elinkdata=28776">Joey Pennington</a>. Wesleyan led the set 21-18, but Baker made a run down the stretch scoring seven of the last nine points to win the set.In the third set, every time KWU made a little run to get close to Baker, the Wildcats responded with a little spurt of energy to keep the Coyotes at bay. Baker led 21-16 but the Coyotes got back within two at 23-21 but the Wildcats got the last two points of the set to take it 25-21.Wesleyan came out to an early 7-3 lead in the fourth and extended the lead to 13-5 at one point. KWU led 19-12 but Baker got within five at 20-15. KWU scored the next three to take a 23-15 lead would close out the set with on a <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/fc7745f7-6e4c-4afd-88fd-09a6bf7bc179?elinkdata=28776">Madelyn Wolf</a> kill.In the deciding set, Baker took an early 3-1 lead, but the Coyotes answered right back to lead 7-4 on a <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/5897ae73-e50e-4554-b7e9-7ad91eddec3b?elinkdata=28776">Kylee Harris</a> and <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/692ff391-eb49-421d-9077-6b9435ac44be?elinkdata=28776">Avery Conner</a> block. Baker scored the next five points to take a 9-7 lead in the set. Three straight from the Coyotes gave KWU a 10-9 lead. Baker got the next three to take a 12-10 lead in the race to 15. The Wildcats had a 13-11 lead when the Coyotes got two big points to tie things up at 13. Baker got a kill to set up a potential match point, but KWU went to work on a kill by <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/3412e66d-6880-4d5c-ad9f-aa8baac3a041?elinkdata=28776">Kate Bebout</a> and then two Baker hitting errors to give the Coyotes the set and match.Wesleyan hit .200 as a team in the match and were led by <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/095e91fb-6b5d-4d18-b9b4-77699b2f37db?elinkdata=28776">Rylee Serpan's</a> 17 kills. <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/59be2c5a-bddd-4430-900d-beee99401ab9?elinkdata=28776">Joey Pennington</a> had 14, Wolf 11 and Harris 10. <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/90515365-2688-4813-a5a5-d7e49dae0b00?elinkdata=28776">Blair Pennington</a> had 23 assists and <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/46eff093-29c7-4a7d-aee2-868d74833aaf?elinkdata=28776">Sara Bebout</a> had 34. Conner and <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/f58546a0-98e7-4f6e-a3be-25cd67b792a0?elinkdata=28776">Kate Bebout</a> had four blocks each. <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/c0e02861-96fd-485f-b324-759b7107c416?elinkdata=28776">Kori Arnold</a> led the back row defense with 23 digs, while <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/a70ec534-ebb0-440c-9bb8-7fda765b12c6?elinkdata=28776">Tristyn Hedman</a> had 17, <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/ad2a28e4-ffa5-4cdf-bbc2-29a3a82037d6?elinkdata=28776">Sara Bebout</a> 14 and <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/6c4da1dd-b470-473a-a97c-295e5b26f9b2?elinkdata=28776">Blair Pennington</a> 11.