KC Replay: Prep football hits full stride, KU slips past Coyotes, Chiefs set 53 + more
It was exactly overwhelming, but new head coach Lance Leipold’s first game with the Kansas Jayhawks had a jubilant ending Friday night against South Dakota.
And that’s just the beginning of a busy Friday night for sports teams around the region.
Sporting KC was not so lucky, falling short of beating LAFC for a third time this season. But no luck was needed for Kansas’ high school football teams, at least the victorious ones, as they joined their Missouri counterparts in getting this 2021 season underway.
Here’s a recap of the past week around the KC sports scene.
Joy for the Jayhawks
Jubilant Jayhawks fans stormed the Booth Memorial Stadium field and then took it to Mass Street after witnessing their team’s narrow victory over the visiting Coyotes in Leipold’s KU debut.
Final score: KU 17, South Dakota 14.
K-State and Mizzou also won their season-opening games over the weekend, but the Jayhawks batted leadoff and didn’t disappoint. And how often can we say that about KU football?
High school openers, Part II
If you’re not a fan of any particular high school team, just a fan of high school football in general (and believe us, there are more of you out there than one might suspect), late summer in Kansas City is pretty special. You get two season-opening weekends every year: one in Missouri, plus a second on the Kansas side.
The other half of the metro’s prep teams played their first games of the 2021 fall season, with three openers actually taking place Thursday night: Blue Valley North hammered Bishop Miege 51-24, Lawrence topped Olathe East 28-7 and Free State routed Shawnee Mission Northwest 49-21.
Third time no charm for SKC
The ol’ adage that it’s tough to beat an opponent three times in one season seemed to apply for Sporting Kansas City Friday evening in Los Angeles, where KC lost 4-0 to an LAFC side it had previously beaten twice this summer. Sporting KC’s winless streak reached four games with the loss.
Meanwhile, KC NWSL lost 3-0 on Saturday, Aug. 28, at Chicago.
If ever there was a week for Kansas City soccer fans to turn the page and just move on, this would be the one. (KC NWSL plays Sunday for the first time since that loss to the Red Stars, hosting its former captain Amy Rodriguez and the NC Courage. And yes, these two teams sure seem to play each other often.)
Rain, but Royals’ season continues
The Royals returned from a road trip to play host to the Cleveland Indians in three games at Kauffman Stadium ... and lost them all.
The news was better for Royals fans Friday evening, however, as KC beat the Chicago White Sox 7-2 on a soggy night to open a three-game weekend series at The K.
Michael A. Taylor had three RBIs and Adalberto Mondesi drove in two, while Carlos Hernandez (5-1) pitched strong six innings and got the win.
Chiefs set their 53-man roster
This will probably be the last time this year you’ll find the Chiefs listed last in our weekly rundown of area sports highlights. That’s the way it goes in the off-week leading into the regular season.
Not that the past week was without news for the Chiefs, mind you. Early in the week, the Chiefs unveiled their initial 53-player roster. The week also saw promising second-year linebacker Willie Gay Jr. land on the NFL’s injured list with a bum toe.
At this time next week, we’ll be settling in to watch the Chiefs’ season-opening game against Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns at Arrowhead Stadium.
This story was originally published September 5, 2021 at 5:00 AM.