Matt Tait’s football notebook: Center Jeremiah Hatch solid in return; penalties pile up for KU

By Matt Tait Oct 22, 2011

KU vs. Kansas State

Nick Krug

Kansas State quarterback Sammuel Lamur falls into the endzone for a touchdown during the fourth quarter on Saturday, Oct. 22, 2011 at Kivisto Field.

• Sunflower downer: Two-minute stretch seals KU’s fate in 59-21 loss to Kansas State

• KU athletic director Sheahon Zenger on football program: ‘We will get this thing fixed’

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• Kansas State coach, players gracious following blowout

• Jayhawks: Blown coverage at end of half ‘unacceptable’

• Box Score

One week after being carted off the field with a scary neck injury that left him temporarily unable to move his arms and legs, senior center Jeremiah Hatch started Saturday’s loss to K-State at his regular position.

“We went right up to gametime wondering if he was going to be ready,” offensive coordinator Chuck Long. “They cleared him and he did a nice job today. He really did.”

Penalties a killer

While tackling, scoring points and keeping up continued to be problems, the Jayhawks also contributed to their own demise Saturday.

KU finished with nine penalties for 105 yards. K-State, meanwhile, was penalized just twice for 25 yards.

It marked just the second time in Gill’s two seasons at KU that the Jayhawks had been penalized for more than 100 yards in a game.

This and that …

After losing the opening coin toss in each of the last two games, the Jayhawks won Saturday’s toss and elected to receive. … Junior wide receiver Kale Pick snagged a career-high six receptions for 51 yards. … Senior linebacker Steven Johnson recorded double-digit tackles (12) for the fifth time this season. … Sophomore defensive tackle Randall Dent recorded the first tackle-for-loss of his career. … Temperature at kickoff was 59 degrees, under partly cloudy skies with calm winds.

Sunflower downer: Two-minute stretch seals KU's fate in 59-21 loss to Kansas State

39106Matt Tait’s football notebook: Center Jeremiah Hatch solid in return; penalties pile up for KU

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.