KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – A person familiar with Eric Berry’s plans tells The Associated Press that the All-Pro safety will report to practice Sunday, giving him one preseason game to prepare for the season. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Friday because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly.

Berry was given the franchise tag early in the offseason but has not signed the deal, which means he could skip all of training camp without being fined. Once he signs the one-year contract, he will make just over $10.8 million, making him the league’s highest-paid safety.

The Chiefs had hoped to sign Berry to a long-term deal in the offseason, but the two sides were never close to reaching an agreement by the July 15 deadline.

The Exira-EHK Spartans are healthy and ready for a new football season.  The Spartans dealt with some injuries to key players throughout the 2015 campaign but those players are back and ready to contribute for the Spartans again this year.

Senior Kyle Petersen missed the majority of last season with a knee injury but will get his shot now to lead the Spartan offense at quarterback.

Senior Drew Buckholdt is back after having a great 2015 campaign but had to fight through injuries at the end of the season.  The tailback racked up 1,123 yards and 21 touchdowns on 144 carries in 2015 and he’s also a huge part of the Spartans defense at middle linebacker.

The Spartans will face a tough test in week one with a match-up against an Audubon Wheelers team that made a playoff run last year in the 11-man ranks and now transitions to 8-man play. Coach Petersen said it’s hard to prepare for the Wheelers because they don’t know a lot about them as a new 8-man team.

We’ll have coverage of the Spartans and Wheelers from Exira Friday night on KJAN.  Pregame at 6:30pm, Kickoff at 7:00pm.

Audubon Co-Head Football Coach Sean Birks is excited about the new season and he knows there is a transition ahead for his team as the Wheelers drop from 11-man to 8-man Football this season.

Coach Birks has been pleased with his players work adjusting since last season and said the decision to transition to 8-man play was not one that was taken lightly.

The Wheelers did lose a very strong Senior class with the likes of Jake Mulford and Mitchell Nelsen gone but the top returners for the Wheelers are spread out across the field and have also been leaders in the weight room.

The Wheelers embark on their first 8-Man season with a trip to Exira on Friday night to face the perennially strong Exira-EHK Spartans.  Coach Birks said they will need to focus on themselves and getting better at how they want to play early in the season.

We’ll have coverage of the game on KJAN with pre-game at 6:30pm and kickoff at 7:00pm.

The Atlantic Football team kicks off a new era tonight as Mike McDermott takes over as Head Coach for his first game at home against Clarinda.

Coach McDermott has been pleased with the effort and work his team has put in during the offseason and says the kids have really responded positively to the changes they have put in place. There has been a lot of good competition for getting time on the field and Coach McDermott has been pleased that has carried over into game week.

Clarinda runs a unique spinnerback run offense and Coach McDermott knows they are tough to prepare for.  He wants the Trojan defense to try and slow down that rushing attack and get some three and outs to give them a chance to be successful. Ultimately in game one McDermott wants to see strong effort and discipline from his team.

Catch more with Coach McDermott every Friday afternoon on Trojan Preview at 4:45pm on KJAN! The Trojans and Cardinals will kickoff at 7:00pm at the Trojan Bowl tonight.