KC Replay: Chiefs on bye on a roll, Mizzou will go bowling, and ‘Wader? Check please’
The Chiefs won their fourth game in a row after a 3-4 start to the season, beating the Dallas Cowboys 19-9 last Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium.
Missouri beat Florida in overtime at Faurot Field to become bowl eligible, and Rockhurst earned the eighth state soccer championship in the high school program’s history.
Here’s the recap of big events around the KC-area sports scene over the past week.
Winning with defense
The Chiefs didn’t have their most productive outing offensively last Sunday in beating the Cowboys 19-9, but no matter — defense carried the day.
The Chiefs shut down Dak Prescott and the highly ranked Dallas offense to the tune of 276 total yards. The Cowboys converted only five of 15 third-down opportunities, and Prescott threw for just 216 yards, two interceptions and no touchdowns. The Chiefs weren’t better on third downs — converting four of 12 — but their defense was relentless. Defensive lineman Chris Jones racked up 3.5 sacks.
Another bit of Chiefs news: Their Sunday, Dec. 5 game against the Denver Broncos at Arrowhead will now be played at night. The NFL flexed the Chiefs into the prime-time spot in place of Seahawks-49ers.
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Bowls and honors for Mizzou
The Missouri Tigers football team became eligible for postseason play with a 24-23 win in overtime against Florida at Faurot Field last weekend.
The Tigers’ defense rose to the occasion, stymieing the Gators’ rushing attack and limiting UF to just five third downs in 18 attempts. Harrison Mevis was also integral to MU’s victory, hitting a trio of field goals.
Mizzou had a harder time Friday in Fayetteville, falling to Arkansas 34-17.
Also, Mizzou running back Tyler Badie made it to the final round of consideration for the annual Doak Walker Award as the nation’s top running back. The other finalists are Wichita native Breece Hall of Iowa State and Michigan State’s Kenneth Walker III. The winner will be announced Dec. 9.
On Friday, Badie became MU’s all-time single-season rushing leader. His 219 yards against the Razorbacks gave him 1,604 this season.
Wader? Check please
A hero of the Royals’ World Series season in 2015 and former member of that team’s vaunted bullpen, pitcher Wade Davis retired this past week at age 36.
Davis arrived in KC as part of the trade with Tampa Bay that sent James Shields to the Rays. The 13-year MLB veteran posted a 1.18 ERA in 2014-16, allowing just three homers in 182 2/3 innings and striking out 234.
“Wade will forever be remembered by our fans, his teammates and our organization as an elite competitor and a very classy person,” Royals president of baseball operations Dayton Moore said in a statement.
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College hoops goes nationwide
The Kansas Jayhawks won their opening game at the ESPN Events Classic in Kissimmee, Florida (just outside Orlando), beating North Texas 71-59. They advanced to play (and get upset by) Dayton 74-73 on Friday.
Kansas State had a disappointing showing in KC, losing both of its Hall of Fame Classic tourney games to ranked opponents at the downtown T-Mobile Center. On Monday, the Cats lost 72-64 to Arkansas. The next night, KSU fell 72-64 to coach Bruce Weber’s former school, Illinois. Yep, same score in both games.
Missouri, meanwhile, lost 81-58 to Florida State in the Jacksonville Classic finale in Florida. They were back in action Friday night against Wichita State, losing at home to the Shockers, 61-55.
Hawklets soccer scores
Rockhurst won its eighth Missouri state championship in boys soccer last weekend, beating defending champion Jackson 2-0 for the Class 4 title at the World Wide Technology Soccer Complex in Fenton.
Noah Higbie broke the scoreless tie with a header and Luke Stephenson netted another header off a corner kick about six minutes later. The victory puts a fitting exclamation point on a season in which the Hawklets went 24-2-0. It’s the first state championship for Rockhurst soccer since 2017.