This is about what was expected out of Kansas University’s football team Saturday: some nerves, some mistakes, but some serious bright spots to get the fans really humming.
KU survived a few first-quarter blunders to wallop Division I-AA Northwestern State, 49-18, Saturday at Memorial Stadium. And while the season opener in college football always is a mysterious bag of tricks, it was one that ended up a pleasant surprise to the Jayhawks, thanks to occasional home runs whacked by the offense and special teams.
“I think we are about where I thought we would be,” KU coach Mark Mangino said. “You can see some really good, positive things that really excite me about this ball club.”
Particularly on a unit that Mangino always is worrying about. Moreso than some programs, KU puts added emphasis – and standout players – on special teams, and Saturday’s game is proof of what good can come of it.
After falling behind 6-0, Marcus Herford returned a kick 88 yards, Brian Murph returned a punt 70 yards for a score, and Dexton Fields blocked an NSU punt in the end zone – all in the first half. Those three plays directly led to 21 points, which helped Kansas cruise.
It was a needed turn of fortunes for the Jayhawks after two botched snaps on first-quarter punts led to Northwestern State’s first six points – and led many to think the specials teams would be a bugaboo Saturday.
“The special teams, all the time and effort we’re putting into it, is paying off,” Mangino said. “But the little things are important. Snapping the ball to the punter, the punter catching it, kicking the ball through the uprights. Those kinds of things.”
Even then, the bright side was right there.
Northwestern State started its first two drives within 30 yards of the end zone, yet couldn’t score on either of them. The young, untested KU defense passed its first two tests of the season.
Overall, Kansas survived without being flawless, which was expected against a I-AA team that was 5-5 last year. Jon Cornish ran for a career-high 140 yards on just 13 carries, including a 69-yard touchdown run and a 33-yard carry that was his last of the night.
Freshman quarterback Kerry Meier, meanwhile, settled down and passed for 110 yards and ran for 59 more, including a 31-yard touchdown scamper in the fourth quarter.
“He’s poised and focused,” Murph said of Meier. “I think we can go a long way with him.”
The offense as a whole didn’t put up great numbers or eat a ton of clock, but KU’s other units didn’t require the offense to be world-beaters. Besides Cornish’s big run, Kansas didn’t sustain a long scoring drive until the fourth quarter, when Meier’s one-yard touchdown dive finished a 74-yard procession.
KU had another 74-yard drive later in the fourth, but those two scores were touchdowns five and six for the Jayhawks. The first four required little, if any, offensive work.
“The thing that’s interesting is that we scored 49 points,” Mangino said, “and only had 51 offensive plays.”
KU’s defense played well enough, forcing two turnovers, making NSU kick four field goals and allowing only 62 yards rushing on 30 attempts – numbers that last year’s defense made normal en route to its great season against the run.
Nobody’s trying to compare the two, because that could be unfair. But the 2006 version had a respectable debut, to say the least.
6.7
KU’s average yards per rush against NSU
2.1
NSU’s average yards per rush against KU
2-14.0
Punts- average per punt for KU
2-9
Penalties-yards assessed against Kansas
“I think we’re a lot different,” defensive end Paul Como said. “Last year we had a few leaders, but this year everyone is capable of being a leader. I think different people need to step up at different times to do what we need to do.”
That really goes across the board for a team with no established star yet. The next 11 games on KU’s regular-season schedule are I-A teams that should present a greater challenge.
But for now, the Jayhawks are 1-0 with 11 to go. It’s all according to plan so far.
“It’s always good to get that first one under your belt,” Mangino said. “That can be a tricky one.”
Thad Allender/Journal-World PhotoPizza helped prompt Kansas University women’s basketball player Crystal Kemp to get more physical Tuesday night.
But first-year Jayhawk coach Bonnie Henrickson didn’t need to bribe the other nine KU players who were more than eager to show off the characteristics that are becoming known around Lawrence simply as “Bonnieball.”
Henrickson’s debut in crimson and blue and KU’s season started off with a bang at Allen Fieldhouse as the Jayhawks blew out Fort Hays State, 88-49, in an exhibition game highlighted by Kansas’ intense, physical and up-tempo style of play.
“She tells us that post players get pizza when they take charges,” joked KU’s Kemp, who led the Jayhawks with 22 points and 13 rebounds — but more importantly said she would hold Henrickson to her promise of pizza because she also took two charges.
The former Virginia Tech coach laughed when informed of Kemp’s joke, but said she might need to invest in a good pizza plan with a local company if the Jayhawks continue to wipe up the fieldhouse’s floor at their current pace.
Thad Allender/Journal-World PhotoHowever, KU freshman Taylor McIntosh probably rather would have had a floor burn than the shiner she’ll have today from taking a Tiger’s knee to her cheek.
“I was very happy tonight with the offense that came from our defensive pressure,” said Henrickson, whose squad’s in-your-face defense forced Fort Hays State to commit 27 turnovers while limiting the Tigers to a frigid 26.6 field-goal percentage.
“Our ability to get up and down the court like we did tonight will help us come the regular season.”
So, too, could the solid shooting the Jayhawks showed more than a few times against an undermanned Tigers team that KU tamed thanks in part to a 31-6 run to start the second half.
While Kansas — which also gained separation via a 13-2 first-half spurt — connected on 52 percent of its field goals in the first 20 minutes, the Jayhawks dialed in from downtown in the second half.
KU point guard Erica Hallman connected on three three-pointers, while Kaylee Brown, who scored a career-high 17 points, added two more trifectas in front of a crowd of 1,325 fans.
“I loved our unselfishness,” said Henrickson, whose team finished with 21 assists. “I thought we got uncontested shots because we used screens and penetrated and then kicked it.
“That’s what nice about this group, there’s a pretty good mix of kids who can penetrate, but they’ll get their head up and see if they got someone to play to and then kick it to them for an uncontested shot.”
Senior guard Aquanita Burras added 15 points and seven rebounds, while Hallman tallied nine. Senior Blair Waltz scored eight points.
One of KU’s few negatives Tuesday helped create a positive.
While there already is little room for error for an undersized KU squad that has only 10 players, Kemp played just five minutes in the first half because she collected three fouls.
But her departure opened the door for freshman Jamie Boyd.
Boyd, a 6-foot forward from Underwood, Iowa, may have helped her own campaign for moving into the other starting forward spot when she scored seven points and grabbed 11 rebounds.
  6Sports video: KU takes step into future with exhibition win Hear Bonnie: Fort Hays State postgame Get the stats: KU vs. Fort Hays State box score Area Tigers tickled to return home |
It was clear Tuesday night a KU team that endured the emotional departure of coaching legend Marian Washington last season was more than willing to welcome in a new era of women’s basketball at Kansas.
“I thought it was a good night for her and for us,” Burras said of Henrickson’s first KU victory. “We needed to show even with a new coach we’re behind her 100 percent. Just with all the effort we brought onto the court, I think we proved our point.
“She always says be competitive and compete. That’s our main focus every game. We just have to bring the same intensity to every game.”
