Adam Teicher – ESPN Staff Writer

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — For better or for worse, the Kansas City Chiefs have the 53 players they will take to Thursday night’s regular-season opener against the Patriots in New England. This, of course, discounts any changes they might make between now and then, and there well could be at least one.

But general manager Brett Veach said he thinks the roster is strong enough for the Chiefs to achieve their goal of winning the Super Bowl.

“We’re excited about the roster,” Veach said. “We think we have a lot of talent. We think the roster we’ve been able to compile the last four years is definitely good enough to get to where we want to go, for sure. … We’re certainly excited about this team.”

Here’s a position-by-position look at the 53-player roster:

Quarterback (3): Alex Smith, Patrick Mahomes II, Tyler Bray. The Chiefs will go with the steady hand of Smith at quarterback for the fifth consecutive season. That should be good enough to win a bunch of regular-season games. The playoffs might be another story. They usually are.

Running back (2): Kareem Hunt, Charcandrick West. The Chiefs appear to have some quality at the top of their depth chart in Hunt, their third-round draft pick. The problem is quantity, and Veach said the club would probably add another back before Thursday’s game.

Fullback (1): Anthony Sherman. He made the team as much for special-teams ability as anything, but he’s useful on offense as a blocker.

Wide receiver (6): Tyreek Hill, Chris Conley, Albert Wilson, De’Anthony Thomas, Jehu Chesson, Demarcus Robinson. The Chiefs are hoping for, and perhaps planning on, some players to make a big step forward. They want Hill to be a No. 1 receiver, Conley and Wilson to make gains and Thomas to contribute more than he has in the past. All of that won’t happen, so the Chiefs could have left themselves short here.

Tight end (3): Travis Kelce, Demetrius Harris, Ross Travis. The Chiefs like their multiple-tight-end formations and will be able to use them as long as Kelce, Harris and Travis stay healthy. But the Chiefs have no insurance for injury after releasing veteran Gavin Escobar, who had some moments during training camp and the preseason. The Chiefs kept four tight ends last season.

Offensive line (9): Eric Fisher, Mitchell Schwartz, Bryan Witzmann, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, Mitch Morse, Zach Fulton, Parker Ehinger, Cameron Erving, Jordan Devey. The Chiefs like their starting group and kept four backups, including Erving, who was acquired from Cleveland last week. He’s the only reserve who has played tackle in a game.

Defensive line (6): Allen Bailey, Bennie Logan, Chris Jones, Roy Miller, Jarvis Jenkins, Rakeem Nunez-Roches. There’s a lot to like here. This is a veteran group. Jones is the baby of the bunch and he started 11 games as a rookie last season.

Linebacker (10): Justin Houston, Dee Ford, Derrick Johnson, Ramik Wilson, Tanoh Kpassagnon, Frank Zombo, Reggie Ragland, Kevin Pierre-Louis, Ukeme Eligwe, Terrance Smith. If Houston stays healthy, the Chiefs should be fine without Tamba Hali, who will begin the season on an injury list. But Houston has played a full season just once in the past four years, so perhaps the Chiefs are guilty of some wishful thinking in that regard.

Defensive back (10): Marcus Peters, Steven Nelson, Phillip Gaines, Terrance Mitchell, D.J. White, Kenneth Acker, Eric Berry, Ron Parker, Daniel Sorensen, Eric Murray. The Chiefs go six deep at cornerback, but somehow, other than Peters, that doesn’t feel like enough. That’s why they went after Joe Haden last week.

Specialists (3): Cairo Santos, Dustin Colquitt, James Winchester. The Chiefs will have the same kicker, punter and deep-snapper for the third consecutive season.

bartonsports.com

Taking the No. 6 ranked team in the country to an epic fifth set, the Barton Community College volleyball team finished 3-1 over the weekend with the lone loss coming to Western Nebraska Community College. The Cougars hosted the ten-team twenty-match Barton Classic, opening up play Friday winning 3-1 over Lamar Community College before winding up the first day of action holding off McCook Community College in five sets. On Saturday Barton took care of Casper College in four but had their four match win streak snapped in an epic 18-16 fifth set to Western Nebraska.

“It was a good weekend,” said Head Coach Brandon Stephenson. “Our last match (against Western Nebraska) we saw a team that will never quit. We didn’t hit the ball efficient enough but we picked it up in other areas.”

Barton will get a much needed rest on Sunday before returning to the court Monday evening in a 6:30 p.m. first serve against Colby Community College. The 8-3 Cougars will be searching for their first conference win after starting the season 0-2 while the Trojans roll into Great Bend 1-0 in Jayhawk play and 8-1 overall.

“We grew as a team and saw some good things we can take into Monday against Colby,” added Stephenson. “We are still growing and learning what areas we need to address but overall it was a successful weekend for us.

Barton Classic (Barton Results):
Barton defeated Lamar Community College 3-1 (25-16, 22-25, 25-16, 25-19)
Barton defeated McCook Community College 3-2 (25-18, 25-15, 21-25, 21-25, 15-10)
Barton defeated Casper College 3-1 (25-21, 25-23, 21-25, 25-22)
Western Nebraska Community College defeated Barton (23-25, 25-22, 23-25, 25-19, 18-16)

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) – Jesse Ertz threw for 333 yards and four touchdowns in only three quarters of work, sending No. 20 Kansas State to a 55-19 rout of overmatched Central Arkansas on Saturday night.

Byron Pringle had three catches for 121 yards and a score, and Isaiah Harris had three catches for 118 yards and a TD, as seven different Wildcats reached the end zone. That helped them overcome a shaky night by their rebuilt defense and give coach Bill Snyder another season-opening win.

Snyder, who underwent treatment for throat cancer in the offseason, looked as energetic as ever on the sideline in his familiar purple wind breaker, barking at players and officials alike all night.

The 77-year-old coach had plenty to bark about, too.

Hayden Hildebrand threw for 198 yards and a touchdown for Central Arkansas, one of the top teams in the Football Championship Subdivision. Carlos Blackman added 114 yards on the ground.

The Bears played the Wildcats to a 10-10 draw through the first quarter, but Isaiah Zuber’s TD reception and D.J. Reed’s 62-yard punt return score blew the game open. Dalton Schoen’s 70-yard TD made it 38-16 at halftime, and the high-flying Wildcats never looked back.

Snyder even emptied the benches in the fourth quarter, giving backup quarterback Skylar Thompson a chance to shine. He engineered a touchdown drive that Dalvin Warmack capped with a nifty run.

THE TAKEAWAY

Central Arkansas: The Bears returned 18 starters from a 10-win team, so it wasn’t a surprise that they made things tough on Kansas State early. But they didn’t have enough speed, size or depth to hang with a team that many think could contend for a Big 12 championship.

Kansas State: There were plenty of teaching points after this one, regardless of the score. The defense blew too many coverages and gave up too many yards, and the defensive line was often manhandled by the Bears up front. The offense stunned Central Arkansas through the air, but touted running back Alex Barnes was held to 29 yards and a touchdown on nine carries.

UP NEXT

Central Arkansas visits fellow FCS school Murray State next Saturday night.

Kansas State plays Charlotte next Saturday before hitting the road to Vanderbilt.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Joe Mauer went 4 for 4 with two RBIs and Eduardo Escobar hit two home runs while driving in six runs, as the Minnesota Twins erupted for a 17-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Saturday night.

Brian Dozier added a three-run homer and Byron Buxton went 3 for 5 with three runs, making starter Kyle Gibson (9-10) as comfortable as possible over six scoreless innings to help the Twins improve to 21-10 since Aug. 2. They took a 1 1/2-game lead for the second AL wild card spot into the night.

Dozier, Mauer, Buxton, Jorge Polanco and Escobar, the first five batters in the lineup, combined to go 13 for 21 with 13 runs and 15 RBIs.

The Royals, 11-20 since July 31, were shut out for the 15th time this season – fifth in the last nine games.

Royals starter Onelki Garcia (0-1) gave up four runs, four hits and a walk while getting just one out in the first inning in his first major league start.

JOPLIN, Mo. – Fort Hays State’s offense clicked on all cylinders on the first half of the season opener at Missouri Southern, leading to a 48-7 win. The Tigers ran their win streak over the Lions to five games by using a 41-point first half to run away with the game early.

The Tigers generated 305 yards of total offense in the first half with Jacob Mezera throwing for 213 yards and running backs Kenneth Iheme and Charles Tigner combined for just shy of 100 yards. That helped the Tigers build a substantial 41-7 lead by halftime. Mezera made good use of his receiving resources, finding five receivers for two or more receptions in the first half and completing 17-of-22 attempts. Layne Bieberle led the Tigers in first half receiving yards with 64, while Harley Hazlett and Monterio Burchfield each had touchdown receptions.

Fort Hays State also benefitted from several MSSU miscues to build the big lead. A poor punt deep in Lion territory set up a short field allowing Brandon Brown to convert a 39-yard field goal, putting FHSU up 10-0 in the first quarter. Missouri Southern chose to go for it on 4th-and-1 at the FHSU 26 and Kolt Trachsel had a tackle for loss that turned the ball over on downs. FHSU marched down field again and Brown converted another field goal from 36 yards to make it 13-0.

In the second quarter, a short kickoff by Brown was mishandled and recovered by the Tigers at the MSSU 41-yard line. Eventually Mezera found Burchfield from 10 yards out to push the Tiger lead to 27-0. The Lions then fumbled away a ball on their 22 yard line, giving the Tigers another short field as Kenneth Iheme scampered six yards to pay dirt, making it 34-7. The capper for the first half scoring was a bad snap on a punt that Jeron Caraway scooped and went 10 yards for another touchdown, making it 41-7 with under a minute to play before the half.

Mezera went on to complete 21-of-29 passes for a total of 245 yards. The big lead allowed Jacoby Williams to get reps at quarterback, and he did not disappoint completing 6-of-7 attempts for 80 yards. Williams found Andrew Jay from six yards out for the only Tiger touchdown of the second half. But another big offensive half was not necessary as the Tiger defense posted a second half shutout and limited the Lions to just 225 yards of total offense in the game. Connor Shedeed led the Tiger tackling effort, finishing with eight for the game, followed by Tevin Evans with seven.

Tiger quarterbacks distributed the ball to several targets as a total of 10 players recorded receptions for the Tigers. Bieberle finished with a team-best six receptions and 83 yards. Iheme was the top rusher with 68 yards on 14 carries. Isaiah Blackmon got plenty of reps in the second half and churned out 53 yards on the ground. Overall, the Tigers finished with 487 yards of total offense.

Shemar Coleman was the top rusher for the Lions with 51 yards, while Dante Vandeven threw for 138 yards. Alexander Wade was the top tackler for MSSU with 10, while Roc Robbins recorded two sacks.

The Tigers look to carry their momentum into the first home game of the season next week when they take on No. 21 ranked Central Missouri. The Mules edged Pittsburg State in the first week of play, so it will be a battle of unbeaten teams in Hays next Thursday (Sept. 7) at 7 pm.