Click the links below to listen to Missouri Western’s 26-23 season opening victory at Central Missouri from Thursday, September 5 in Warrensburg.
1st Quarter – Part 1
1st Quarter – Part 2
1st Quarter – Part 3
2nd Quarter – Part 1
2nd Quarter – Part 2
2nd Quarter – Part 3
3rd Quarter – Part 1
3rd Quarter – Part 2
3rd Quarter – Part 3
4th Quarter – Part 1
4th Quarter – Part 2
4th Quarter – Part 3
Jerry Partridge Postgame Interview
The 6th ranked Missouri Western Griffons put together a last second drive scoring with 15 seconds remaining on a pitch and catch from Travis Partridge to Reggie Jordan coming away with a 26-23 victory over the Central Missouri Mules. With the victory the Griffons have won 10 of the last 11 games against the Mules. The Griffons improve to 1-0 overall and 1-0 in MIAA play.
Things did not go as planned in the first quarter for the Griffons as they did not get a single first down accumulating just 31 yards of total offense on 14 plays.
On the other side of the ball the Mules had 130 yards on 20 plays which included a 73 yard scoring strike from Hayden Hawk to Anthony Kirkwood with 1:55 to play in the quarter. A missed extra point by Zach Gebhardt kept the score at 9-0 Mules. UCM’s other score came on the first possession when the Mules went 43 yards on 10 playes with Gebhardt connecting on a 42 yard field goal.
The Griffons got the offense going a little bit in the second quarter getting five first downs. Missouri Western cut the Mule lead to 9-7 on an 11 yard run by Raphael Spencer capping a 70 yard nine play drive. Spencer had 35 yards on five carries in the half.
The Griffons struggled catching the ball with four dropped passes which included a would be touchdown. Despite the struggles the Griffons defense was able to hold the Mules to just nine points after Gebhardt missed a 42 yard field goal with under a minute to play.
In the half the Griffons had 64 yards rushing and 44 passing. Travis Partridge connected on just 5-of-13 passes with Crockom catching two for 24 yards. Defensively Stephen Juergens had six tackles with one being for a loss. Yomi Alli and Janis Matulis each had five tackles with Matulis getting one sack.
The Mules had 225 yards with 213 coming through the air. Hawk completed 17-of-21 passes with one touchdown. LaVance Taylor led the charge offensively with nine carries for 31 yards. Defensively Ramond Hunter had five tackles with two being for a loss.
In the second half both teams had numerous opportunities to take command with turnovers and mistakes.
Midway through the third quarter Tevin Teamer intercepted a Partridge pass and scampered 30 yards putting the Mules up 16-7 with 5:26 to play in the third quarter.
The young Griffon squad did not get rattled as they responded with a three play 72 yard drive which was capped by a 55 yard pitch and catch from Partridge to Stephon Weaver. The touchdown marked Weaver’s first of his career. The extra point was muffed by a bad snap cutting the Mules lead to 16-13 with 2:27 to play in the third.
The Griffons took their first lead of the game early in the fourth when Partridge hit Derek Libby from 56 yards out giving them the 20-16 lead with 14:47 to play in the game.
The Mules responded midway through the quarter putting together a 14 play 53 yard drive where they converted on three fourth down plays. Hawk connected with Cullen Rosine from 15 yards out giving the Mules a 23-20 lead with 4:32 to play.
Partridge then put together the drive where he completed three passes and rushed for 19 yards on the 62 yard seven play drive. Partridge connected with senior tight end Reggie Jordan from five yards out giving them the 26-23 victory.
The Griffons tallied 347 yards of total offense with 198 coming through the air and 149 on the ground. Spencer finished with 91 yards on 13 carries while Partridge rushed 14 times for 57 yards.
Partridge threw for three touchdowns with Weaver, Libby, Crockom and Jordan all getting three catches apiece. Weaver had 75 yards receiving while Libby had 66.
Griffon punter Scott Groner punted seven times for a 44.9 yards per kick with 59 being his long. Juergens finished with 14 tackles while Nick Williams finished with 10. The Griffons had four sacks with John Oglesby getting two.
The Mules finished with 362 total yards with 322 coming in the air and just 40 on the ground. Hawk connected on 28-of-42 passes for 322 yards and two touchdowns. Tristan McClelland caught eight passes for 87 yards while Ray Harris rushed 18 times for 40 yards.
Zach Quines led the way on defense with nine tackles while Ramond Hunter had eight tackles with two sacks and three tackles for a loss.
The Griffons return to action next week when they take on former offensive coordinator Tyler Fenwick and the Missouri S&T Miners on Saturday, September 14 in St. Joseph, Mo. Kickoff is set for 6:00 pm from Spratt Stadium.
— MWSU Sports Information —
Northwest Missouri State showed its mark of being a good team early in the third quarter Thursday evening in front of 6,821 fans at Bearcat Stadium in the season-opener against Saginaw Valley.
The Cardinals stopped Northwest in the first possession of the second half. Saginaw then went 74 yards in six plays for a touchdown with a 11:40 left in the third.
Even though the Bearcats still held an 11-point lead, the momentum had clearly shifted to Saginaw. One miscue or poor offensive series and Northwest was looking at a nail biter.
The Bearcats quickly took the suspense out of the game when senior quarterback Trevor Adams tossed a 70-yard touchdown pass to senior Clint Utter.
It took Northwest less than two minutes to regain an 18-point lead. Saginaw Valley never recovered as the Bearcats came away with an impressive 45-24 victory.
“The momentum switched our way and that is huge in football,” Utter said. “When that happened, everybody got hyped on the sideline and our crowd got hyped. When it gets loud, it can mess with some team’s head.
“They are a tough team and we kept playing harder and harder and got the victory.”
Adams completed 15 of 20 passes for 285 yards and a touchdown. Utter caught four passes for 160 yards.
“The offensive line did a phenomenal job,” Adams said. “The backs did a great job picking up blitzes. We prepared as a unit.”
While the Bearcats weren’t perfect, it was the perfect type of first game that the Northwest players and coaches can gain plenty from.
“I’m very proud of our kids effort,” Northwest head coach Adam Dorrel said.”We put a lot of preparation in this first game and it started in spring practice. I’d also like to thank our strength and conditioning coach. I try to give Joe Quinlin the game ball but he had already left. I thought our kids’ conditioning took over in the second, third and fourth quarters. That is a testament to our kids’ work ethic.”
Northwest showed signs of a potent offense in weeks to come and a defense that could make stops when it absolutely needs to.
But the Bearcats made enough errors on both sides of the ball that the coaches will use to get Northwest ready for an early-season showdown against Central Missouri on Sept. 14 at 6 p.m. In a shocking development, the game against the Mules will be played in Maryville. The previous three regular-season meetings with UCM have been in Warrensburg, Mo.
“It has been awhile since we played them at home,” Dorrel said. “The last time was in the playoffs in 2010. We are just excited to be home against a great conference opponent. Hopefully, we will have another great crowd at Bearcat Stadium.”
Against Saginaw Valley, the Bearcats showed another trait of a good team. Key players made big plays at important times.
Obviously, the long touchdown pass from Adams to Utter was huge in the third quarter.
But most of the game-changing plays by the Bearcats came in the second quarter when they needed to gain control of the game.
“The block punt for a touchdown and a block field goal for a touchdown were huge. Getting 14 points on special team is unbelievable,” Dorrel said. “I was proud of our kids there.
“We talked about winning the turnover battle. We didn’t turn the ball over once and got turnover on defense.”
Judging by Northwest’s sizeable 35-17 halftime lead, it is a bit hard to believe the score was so one sided unless you were there and witnessed Saginaw Valley’s gritty effort.
In fact, the Cardinals scored the first points of the game on a 28-yard field goal a little more than three minutes into the game.
The Bearcats answered four minutes later on a two-yard run by senior running back Billy Creason, giving Northwest its first lead of the season at 7-3.
Northwest, though, had to fight from another deficit when the Cardinals scored four minutes later. It was that type of first half. Northwest led 14-10 at the end of the first quarter and was clinging to a 21-17 lead with just under five minutes left in the second quarter.
Obviously, the Bearcats finished the half strong. With 2:32 left in the second quarter, junior running back Robert Burton scored his second touchdown of game on a 13-yard run that gave the Bearcats a 28-17 lead.
And just before the second quarter ended, the biggest play of the half occurred for the Bearcats when senior defensive back Brandon Dixon recovered a fumble and raced 70 yards for a touchdown with 10 seconds before halftime.
“I saw the ball, picked it up and ran for a touchdown,” Dixon said.
The late scores were important because the Cardinals demonstrated an explosive offense.
— Northwest Sports Information —
Mike Moustakas hit two balls that had chances to go deep.
The first one was just foul down the right-field line, but the second was fair as Moustakas homered to lead off the 13th inning, lifting the Kansas City Royals to a 7-6 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Thursday.
Moustakas homered to right on an 0-2 pitch from Chance Ruffin (0-1), who had not pitched in the majors since 2011.
”I knew it was going to get out, but I knew it was going to be foul soon as I hit it,” Moustakas said of the first shot. ”I got a little too out in front of it.
”The second one I knew was going to stay fair. I hit it pretty good. I kept my hands in pretty good. It was pretty special with the race we’re in right now.”
The Royals entered the game 5 1/2 back in the wild-card standings.
”Soon as Moose hit the first one, I was hoping it would stay fair,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. ”When it didn’t, I turned to Hos (Eric Hosmer) and said, ‘Why is fate tempting us, teasing us like this. Why?
”Normally when somebody hits a long foul ball homer and they’ve got two strikes on them that’s it. I can’t remember one time I’ve ever seen a guy back it up and hit one fair. So when he hit it fair, it was wow, pretty special.”
Ruffin retired the first five batters he faced, striking out three.
”I was trying to get the fastball down and in,” Ruffin said. ”He turned on it pretty good. The one he hit out was supposed to be in. I left it in the middle.”
Louis Coleman (3-0), the eighth Royals pitcher, retired the only batter he faced in the top of the 13th.
Kansas City led 6-5 in the ninth inning before Raul Ibanez homered off Greg Holland into the Mariners’ bullpen with two outs to tie the score. It was Holland’s first blown save since May 6 to end his streak of 31 consecutive saves.
”He throws 100 (mph) and he has a really good slider,” Ibanez said. ”I was trying to swing easy, thinking base hit, a single. He threw a slider and I got it in the air to right field. Sometimes if a guy is not throwing too hard you might look to do some damage, but when a guy is throwing that hard you can’t try to do too much.”
The Royals play their next 12 games against the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians, the two teams in front of them in the AL Central.
”Every game is crucial and extremely important,” Yost said. ”We’ve seen our players do this the majority of the year. They don’t believe if we’re down by five we’re out of it or we’re going to lose the game.”
Billy Butler went 5 for 5, matching his career high in hits for the Royals, while Emilo Bonifacio went 4 for 6 for his first four-hit game since July 4, 2009.
”It’s not easy to come back from a five-run deficit,” Butler said. ”That shows the resiliency of this team. Every game at this point is a must win.”
The teams combined to use 44 players, including 14 pitchers.
The Mariners threatened in the 11th when Dustin Ackley singled and Nick Franklin walked. Kelvin Herrera, the sixth Royals pitcher, replaced Tim Collins and struck out Franklin Gutierrez and Mike Zunino to end the inning.
Butler drove in the tying run with his fourth single in a three-run seventh. Justin Maxwell’s sacrifice fly scored Butler to put the Royals up 6-5.
Royals catcher Salvador Perez went 3 for 3 with a double and RBI, but left in the fifth with dizziness. He took a foul shot from Dustin Ackley off his mask in the top of the fifth.
Mariners left-hander Joe Saunders was staked to a 5-0 lead, but could not make it through the fifth inning.
Saunders gave up a two-run homer to Alex Gordon and an RBI single to Salvador Perez in the fifth. When Justin Maxwell walked to load the bases, Saunders was replaced by Brandon Maurer, who struck out pinch-hitter Carlos Pena on three pitches to end the inning.
Saunders allowed three runs and 11 hits and a walk in 4 2-3 innings. In his past six starts, he is 1-3, allowing 50 hits, including six home runs, in 31 2-3 innings.
Maurer, however, gave up four consecutive hits to start Kansas City’s three-run seventh.
Justin Smoak hit a two-run homer in the Mariners’ three-run first. It was Smoak’s third home run in 13 at-bats off Royals right-hander Jeremy Guthrie. Kendrys Morales singled home Abraham Almonte, who had doubled, with the first Seattle run.
Hosmer’s fielding error in the third allowed Kyle Seager to score another run. The Mariners made it 5-0 in the fourth on Brad Miller’s sacrifice fly.
Guthrie was pulled after six innings, allowing five runs and seven hits and two walks. He is 1-3 with a 5.11 ERA in his past six starts, yielding 53 hits and 21 earned runs in 37 innings.
— Associated Press —
Kendrys Morales had the big hit in the ninth inning, but the spotlight was on Taijuan Walker, the Seattle Mariners’ young right-handed starter.
Morales hit a two-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning to lift the Mariners to a 6-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night.
Morales hit his 18th home run to straight away center on a 1-2 pitch from Aaron Crow (7-5) with Franklin Gutierrez, who had walked, aboard.
The Royals used eight pitchers, tying a club record for a nine-inning game.
Walker, who became the youngest Mariners starting pitcher (21 years, 17 days) to pick up a victory in his major league debut on Friday at Houston, struck out two in the first inning, his fastball touching 97 mph.
The 6-foot-5 Walker, who was a basketball star in high school with a 21-point average, did not allow a hit over the first three innings, but yielded four runs, four hits, a walk and a sacrifice fly in the fourth to tie the score.
Manager Eric Wedge opted to send Walker out for the fifth and he responded with a 1-2-3 inning.
”In the fourth, he just came up in the zone a little bit,” Wedge said. ”I was glad to see him get through it. And then I was really happy to see him out there in the fifth and pitch another inning for us. I felt it was important to go out in the fifth. That proves something to him. We know he can do it.
”I love his repertoire of pitches and the way he works, his cutter and his breaking ball off his fastball. The changeup will continue to come, too.”
Walker was glad to get a chance to return for another inning.
”I thought the fifth inning was real big for me,” Walker said. ”I wanted to have a clean inning and keep my team in the game. I was a little shocked I was going back out because they are monitoring my innings and it was a close game. I’m glad he sent me back out and I’m glad to go out and have a clean inning.”
Walker threw 79 pitches.
”You can see what all the hype was about,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. ”He’s got a free and easy power arm. He’s a good talent.”
Lucas Luetge (1-2) worked two perfect innings to earn the victory. Danny Farquhar worked a perfect ninth for his 12th save in 15 opportunities.
”You’ve got different options there,” Yost said of Morales’ homer. ”You can go down and away, bust him inside or go back foot. You just don’t want to go there. But it wasn’t Morales as much as Gutierrez. That’s the guy you want to go for there so you don’t get to Morales.”
Crow had Gutierrez down in the count 1-2 before walking him.
”I’ve got to put him away there and Morales doesn’t get up,” Crow said. ”I just left it up to Morales and it hurts more so because the home run lost us the ballgame.”
Jarrod Dyson’s two-out, two-run single made it 4-4 in the fourth, but that was it for the Kansas City offense. Salvador Perez’s sacrifice fly scored Eric Hosmer, who had singled for the first Kansas City hit. Billy Butler singled home Emilo Bonifacio, who led off the inning with a walk, for the first run.
The Mariners, who had scored just four runs in losing their previous three games, scored four runs in the first four innings and chased Royals right-hander Ervin Santana.
Gutierrez’s single in the third scored Nick Franklin, who had doubled. Brad Miller’s sacrifice fly scored Mike Zunino with the first run.
The Mariners made it 4-0 in the third. Franklin laced an RBI-single to center, while Dustin Ackley scored on a wild pitch by Wade Davis.
Santana failed to make it through the fourth, charged with four runs, seven hits and three walks in 3 1-3 innings, his briefest outing of the year.
— Associated Press —
Matt Adams’ second homer sent St. Louis to a 5-4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds in 16 innings on Wednesday night, protecting the Cardinals’ hold on second place in the NL Central.
Adams broke an 0-for-17 slump by connecting in the 14th. After St. Louis let that lead get away, he homered again off Logan Ondrusek (3-1), ending the Reds’ longest game of the season.
The Cardinals had dropped the first two games in the series, letting the Reds get within a game and a half for second place. They finish their season series on Thursday. St. Louis leads it 11-8.
Carlos Martinez (2-1) escaped a threat in the 15th, when Shin-Soo Choo reached third with two outs but was caught in a rundown.
The Cardinals have dropped five of seven overall, costing them precious ground in the division’s three-team race. The Pirates, Cardinals and Reds are all in good shape to make the playoffs – one as a champion, the other two as wild cards.
St. Louis wasted a chance to put it away in the 14th inning.
Adams broke his deep slump by leading off with homer off Alfredo Simon. Speedy Billy Hamilton helped the Reds tie it with another stolen base in the bottom of the inning.
Hamilton ran for Ryan Ludwick after his single off Edward Mujica, who blew a save chance for only the third time in 38 chances. Hamilton stole second – he’s 2 for 2 against catcher Yadier Molina – and scored easily on Zack Cozart’s single.
Leadoff hitter Matt Carpenter had three hits and a walk, scoring twice. Carpenter has five of the Cardinals’ 14 hits in the last two games.
Bronson Arroyo broke with his history of subpar showings against the Cardinals. It was his 38th career start against St. Louis – more than against any other team – and he didn’t have a lot to show for it, going 0-3 against the Cardinals this season and 8-16 in his career.
He went seven innings and allowed three runs – two earned – giving the Reds chances that they squandered.
St. Louis scored twice in the fourth, when Matt Holliday hit a sacrifice fly and Carlos Beltran came around on a throwing error by first baseman Joey Votto on Allen Craig’s grounder.
Craig sprained his left foot while rounding the base on the play and left the game. He’ll be examined again on Thursday.
Brandon Phillips led off the fifth with his 18th homer, giving him 100 RBIs. He’s the first Reds second baseman to reach the mark since Hall of Famer Joe Morgan drove in 111 in 1976, when the Reds swept the Yankees for their second straight World Series championship.
— Associated Press —
Benedictine College Athletic Director Charlie Gartenmayer has announced the hiring of Dana Goss as the new Raven head softball coach.
Coach Goss previously served as the assistant softball coach at Rockhurst University and prior to that, she was the head softball coach at Maple Woods Community College in Kansas City, Mo.
“We are thrilled to have someone like Coach Goss join our staff at Benedictine,” Gartenmayer said. “We are confident that she will lead our softball program in a positive direction and accomplish the goals we wish for all of our programs – produce student-athletes who graduate and win championships along the way.”
As the assistant at Rockhurst, Coach Goss helped the program to its first appearance in the Great Lakes Valley Conference tournament in program history during the 2008 season.
“I’m really excited for the chance to lead my own program again,” Coach Goss said. “I’ve had the chance to see how much the campus has changed and grown and I’m really excited about the commitment that the school is showing to the students and to its athletic programs.”
While at Maple Woods, Coach Goss was named the 2005 NJCAA Region XVI Coach of the Year and was a finalist for the NFCA Midwest Coach of the Year in 2005 and 2006. She recruited and coached two NJCAA All-America selections and nine All-Region XVI players.
Her Maple Woods program was twice recognized for academic achievement in 2004 and 2005 by the NFCA as they earned NFCA Academic Top 10 Team GPA honors.
It was during her time at Maple Woods when she first became familiar with Benedictine.
“I was very surprised at how much the campus had changed since I was last here in 2006,” Coach Goss said. “Things look very different and I’m excited to get to campus and be a part of Benedictine.”
When it comes to expectations on the field for this season, Coach Goss is optimistic.
“I hope to make an immediate impact on the players, through their work ethic and the passion they have for softball,” Coach Goss said. “How quickly that translates to conference championships we’ll see.
“We’re going to go out and get great players who are also great students and great people. Those are criteria that won’t change as we look to move to the top of the conference.”
Coach Goss takes over a Raven softball program that went 21-20 in 2012 and qualified for the HAAC Postseason Tournament where they lost in the opening round. She will begin her duties as head coach immediately.
— BC Sports Information —
Missouri Western senior quaterback Travis Partridge received recognition from the Collegiate Development Football League (CDFL) preseason Division II All-America squad. The senior from St. Joseph received honorable mention honors.
The 2012 MIAA First Team All-MIAA quarterback, Partridge has also been tabbed a Preseason All-American by BSN and USA College Football.
He had an outstanding junior campaign helping the Griffons to their first MIAA Regular Season Championship and into the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II Playoffs. Partridge started all 14 games while throwing for 2,706 yards and 30 touchdowns.
He threw four touchdowns in three different games (Nebraska-Kearney, Northeastern State and Pittsburg State) while leading the Griffons to a single season record for wins with 12. He rushed for an MWSU single season record 18 touchdowns while being named First Team All-MIAA and MIAA Offensive Player of the Week for his performance against Northwest Missouri State.
The CDFL All-American team selections will be evaluated to comprise the 2013-14 USA National team for International competitions. Only graduating seniors in 2013 are eligible for preseason CDFL All-America team selectionThe USA team features players from the collegiate ranks who will compete against a team of European All-Stars in December. For more information, visit www.CDFLbowlgames.com.
— MWSU Sports Information —
Salvador Perez drove in Mike Moustakas with two outs in the eighth inning, and the Kansas City Royals survived after blowing a three-run lead to beat the Seattle Mariners 4-3 on Tuesday night.
Billy Butler had just grounded into a double play against Seattle reliever Yoervis Medina (4-4) when Moustakas legged out a double to center in the eighth. Perez followed with a single to left, and Moustakas had just enough time for a headfirst slide ahead of Endy Chavez’s throw to home.
Luke Hochevar (4-2) got two outs earlier in the eighth to leave runners stranded on second and third, and Greg Holland pitched a perfect ninth for his 31st straight save and 38th on the year.
Perez also homered and finished with three hits for the Royals, who have won three straight and eight of their last 10 to climb back into AL wild-card contention. Alex Gordon also hit a solo shot and Billy Butler drove in a run for Kansas City.
Kyle Seager hit a two-run shot for the Mariners, who have lost three straight.
The Royals took the lead on the first pitch of the game, which Gordon sent sailing over the outfield wall for the 12th leadoff homer of his career. The shot broke a tie with David DeJesus and Willie Wilson for the most leadoff home runs in franchise history.
Perez made it 2-0 with his solo shot in the fourth inning, and the Royals manufactured another run in the fifth. Emilio Bonifacio followed up his base hit by swiping second, and then came home when Butler hit a grounder through the left side of the infield.
That was all Seattle starter Erasmo Ramirez allowed in 6 1-3 innings. After getting recalled from Triple-A Tacoma, Ramirez scattered seven hits and three walks while striking out three.
Bruce Chen was just as stingy for the Royals early in the game.
The soft-tossing left-hander allowed four weak singles through the first five innings before Franklin Gutierrez ripped a crisp base hit to lead off the sixth. Seager followed with his home run to right field, which cleared the visiting bullpen and landed deep in the seats.
Seattle tied the game up in the seventh inning. Royals reliever Kelvin Herrera gave up a pair of singles, and Brad Miller’s groundout off relief pitcher Tim Collins knotted the game 3-all.
The Mariners threatened again when they put runners on second and third with one out against Collins in the eighth inning. Hochevar struck out Mike Zunino and got Chavez on a fly ball to center to end the inning, and walked off the field to a standing ovation.
— Associated Press —
The Kansas City Chiefs announced on Tuesday that the club has signed safety Bradley McDougald to the 53-man roster and placed safety Sanders Commings on injured reserve with a designation for return. Additionally, the team has signed offensive guard Rishawn Johnson to the practice squad roster.
McDougald (6-1, 209) originally entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Chiefs in 2013. He played in 47 games (33 starts) at the University of Kansas, seeing action on both sides of the ball. He recorded 194 tackles (148 solo), 16 tackles for a loss, 2.0 sacks, six interceptions and three forced fumbles. He also had 52 catches for 558 yards (10.7 avg.) with one touchdown and six rushes for 31 yards. He prepped at Scioto High School in Columbus, Ohio, earning second-team all-district honors.
Commings (6-0, 223) joined the Chiefs as the club’s fifth-round pick (134th overall) in the 2013 NFL Draft. He appeared in 54 games (35 starts) at Georgia, recording 154 tackles (113 solo), 1.0 sack (-7.0 yards), six tackles for loss, three QB pressures, one forced fumble and three fumble recoveries. He added eight interceptions and 17 passes defensed. Commings was a multi-sport standout at Westside High School in Augusta, Ga. While in high school, he was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 37th round of the 2008 MLB Amateur Draft.
Johnson (6-3, 313) originally entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Seattle Seahawks in April of 2012. He served primarily on the Seahawks practice squad during his rookie season before being released by Seattle on Aug. 31, 2013. He played collegiately at California University of Pennsylvania and was a teammate of current Chiefs center Eric Kush. Johnson was voted a team captain for the Vulcans and was a first-team All-American in 2011 after playing the previous three seasons at Ole Miss. He prepped at Hammond High School in Hammond, La.
— Chiefs Media Relations —
