Kansas State rolled up 519 yards in total offense, returned a punt for a touchdown, returned a kickoff 96-yards to set up a score, and intercepted a pass in a 55-19 win over Central Arkansas at Bill Snyder Stadium Saturday night.

Wildcat quarterback Jesse Ertz set a K-State single-game record for passer rating at 319.8 in the victory.

Those were all good things but one area where the Wildcats need to work to improve involved the defense against the option attack. After the game Coach Bill Snyder was not pleased with the play of the Wildcat defense against the Central Arkansas option. “For somebody to be able to continually run the same play over and over and over and over again and still get such positive yardage out of it that tells a bad story. We’ve got to get better playing the option. That’s my concern.”

Central Arkansas finished with 201 yards rushing and 198 yards passing for 399 yards of total offense. Snyder credited the Bears. “I’ve said this all along. Nobody ever wants to listen to these things. When they’re playing that’s a pretty good football team. They will have some success if they stay healthy.” Snyder added the Bears have some good physical players.

On defense the Wildcats reached Central Arkansas quarterback Hayden Hildebrand four times. Linebacker Trent Tanking led the K-State defense in tackles with nine, including seven solo tackles.

D.J. Reed opened the game with a 96-yard kickoff return to the Central Arkansas 4-yard line to set up the first Wildcat touchdown and later returned a punt 62-yards for a touchdown. He also intercepted a pass for the Wildcats in their 55-19 win over Central Arkansas at Bill Snyder Family Stadium Saturday night.

Reed certainly had a big game, noting just to make plays felt natural.  He referred back to his high school days. “I was kind of doing stuff like that in high school, punt return, kickoff return, same at my juco so it felt like I was playing back then.”

Reed returned two kickoffs for a combined total of 119 yards while teammate Byron Pringle returned two for 33 total yards. Pringle said the Wildcats’ return game can be deadly. “Oh man, it’s deadly. K-State always had a great return, special teams. If you kick it to either one of us we’re going to make to make you pay for it, some way somehow.”

Pringle also caught three passes from quarterback Jesse Ertz including one play that 55 yards for a touchdown with 5:38 remaining in the second quarter. That play started to open up the margin between the two teams. On that score the Wildcats went from leading 17-16 to 24-16. From there K-State tacked on two more scores before halftime to lead 38-16 at the break.

As for Jesse Ertz he completed 10-16 passes for 333 yards and four touchdowns in the win.

The Wildcats ( 1-0 ) host the Charlotte 49ers ( 0-1 ) at Bill Snyder Family Stadium next Saturday at 11 a.m.

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The K-State football captains led by example in the Wildcats’ 55-19 season-opening win over Central Arkansas at Bill Snyder Family Stadium Saturday night. Jesse Ertz set a K-State single-game record for passer rating (319.8), D.J. Reed picked off a pass and returned a punt for a touchdown, Trent Tanking led the defense in tackles and Dalton Risner helped anchor a 500-yard effort by the offense as K-State rolled to a win in front of a sold-out – the 34th straight – crowd.

On the opening kickoff of the 2017 season, Reed set up the Wildcat offense on the Central Arkansas goal line with a 96-yard return. The Wildcat offense took control at the four-yard line and handed the ball to sophomore running back Alex Barnes who punched it in for the first score of the game.

Following a field goal for each team, Central Arkansas marched 75 yards to tie the contest at 10. Led by sophomore Carlos Blackman and a pesky option attack, the Bears rushed for 158 yards in the first half, including a 37-yard touchdown run to even the tally.

Up just one in the second quarter (17-16), K-State responded by scoring 21 unanswered points, including a pair of passing touchdowns Ertz, its senior quarterback who threw four in the game, and a 62-yard punt return for a score by Reed. Kansas State went into the locker room at the half with a 38-16 lead and never looked back.

In the second half, the Wildcats continued to add to the lead, as Ertz connected with sophomore Isaiah Harris on a 69-yard pass to extend the lead to 48-19. Ertz exited the game entering the fourth quarter, setting a new K-State record for passing efficiency in a game (319.8), previously set by Allen Webb in 2005 (300.87).

K-State’s surge included scoring on five consecutive offensive possessions, outscoring Central Arkansas 45-9 after the first quarter.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Wildcats were led by Tanking, the senior linebacker, who recorded nine total tackles in the game. The K-State defense forced Central Arkansas into two turnovers – including an interception by Reed – both of which led to K-State touchdowns.

K-State racked up 519 total yards on offense, including 333 through the air. Highly efficient on offense, the team averaged 11 yards per play, and exhausted the Central Arkansas defense.

OFFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE GAME

In the second quarter, Ertz connected on three passing touchdowns on consecutive offensive possessions, including a 70-yard strike to sophomore Dalton Schoen. Ertz finished the game 10 of 16 passing for 333 yards and four touchdowns.

Regularly on the opposite end of Ertz’s throws was junior wide receiver Byron Pringle, who had a career day accumulating 121 receiving yards and a touchdown. Pringle was targeted by Ertz seven times and hauled in a 55-yard touchdown in the first half. Tonight’s showing marked his third straight 100-yard game, the fifth K-State wide receiver to accomplish such a feat.

Along with Pringle’s success, Harris recorded triple-digit receiving yards, totaling 118 yards and a touchdown. The duo of Pringle and Harris marks the first time since 2015 two K-State receivers had 100+ receiving yards in a game, last recorded by Tyler Lockett and Curry Sexton against UCLA.

DEFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE GAME

On defense the Wildcats reached Central Arkansas quarterback Hayden Hildebrand on four occasions in the game. Late in the second quarter, cornerback Duke Shelley reached Hildebrand for a loss of five, leading to a Reed interception on the following play. Reed returned the interception for seven yards, before being tripped up by a teammate.

Tanking led the Wildcats defense in tackles, totaling nine in the game, including seven solo tackles.

SPECIAL TEAMS STARS OF THE GAME

The Wildcats special teams was headed by Reed, who took the opening kickoff 96 yards to the Central Arkansas four-yard line. Reed’s opening return led to an opening drive touchdown, and marked the longest of his career, previously a 76-yard return recorded against Baylor in 2016. In the second quarter, Reed continued his special team success, returning a Central Arkansas punt 62 yards to give the Wildcats a 31-16 advantage. Reed accounted for 188 total all-purpose yards in the game.

With his punt return touchdown and interception, Reed is the first K-State player to return a punt for a touchdown and record an interception in the same game Terrance Newman in 2002.

On the Wildcat’s third offensive possession the drive stalled in Central Arkansas territory. Kicker Matthew McCrane was called upon and connected on a career long 53-yard field goal to give the Wildcats a 10-3 advantage. McCrane went 2-3 in the game, missing his first attempt of 50 yards.

STATS OF THE GAME

319.8. K-State quarterback Jesse Ertz recorded a new K-State record for passing efficiency in a game with 319.8. The record was intact since 2005 when Allen Webb recorded a 300.87 passing efficiency against North Texas.

SEASON RECORD UPDATE

Kansas State: 1-0 (0-0 Big 12)

Central Arkansas: 0-1 (0-0 Southland)