WACO, Texas – Redshirt freshman running back Alex Barnes scored four second-half touchdowns, including three in a 21-point third quarter, as Kansas State reached bowl eligibility for the seventh consecutive season with a 42-21 win over Baylor before 43,581 fans at McLane Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The four rushing touchdowns were the most-ever by a Wildcat freshman, while 129 yards on the ground ranks third in school history among freshmen.

 

The win was Bill Snyder’s 199^th all-time, moving him into sole possession of 26^th place all-time in FBS victories. It was also K-State’s first win over Baylor since 2011 and the first win in Waco since 2002, as the Wildcats are now bowl eligible for the seventh consecutive season and 18^th time under Snyder.

 

K-State (6-4, 4-3 Big 12) held the high-powered Baylor offense scoreless for the opening 22 minutes before the Bears turned two K-State turnovers into a 14-7 halftime lead. The Wildcats put up a balanced 174 yards of total offense – 85 on the ground, 89 through the air –  on 36 plays before the break and held possession for nearly 18 minutes of action. Baylor (6-4, 3-4 Big 12), using quarterback Zach Smith for the injured Seth Russell, was held to 167 yards of offense, including 147 in the passing attack.

 

The game flipped on its head in the second half, as K-State took command behind its ground and pound attack. The Wildcats ran for 153 yards and five touchdowns after the half, while the defense came up with three interceptions to foil any Baylor comeback.

 

The Wildcats were led out of the huddle by junior quarterback Jesse Ertz for the 10^th time this season. Ertz finished 16-of-25 for 177 yards through the air and was K-State’s second leading rusher with 46 yards on 17 carries, including a long of 40 yards to set up the Wildcats’ first touchdown.

 

What started as a running back by committee early on, did not last in the second half. Barnes burst onto the scene with a series of bouldering runs in the third quarter – a quarter in which he found the end zone three times. Barnes led the Wildcats’ backfield with 19 carries for 129 yards and four touchdowns, marking his first 100-yard rushing game and first multi-touchdown game of his young career. K-State’s starting running back, senior Charles Jones, finished with six rushes for 46 yards, while sophomore fullback Winston Dimel aided the rushing effort with two touchdowns on his three carries.

 

At wide receiver, K-State was paced by three players with four or more catches on Saturday. Sophomore Byron Pringle led the way with five grabs for 46 yards. Senior Deante Burton pulled down four balls for 82 yards, including K-State’s longest pass of the day for 37 yards, while redshirt freshman Isaiah Zuber also hauled in four passes for 32 yards.

 

The Wildcats finished the day with 414 yards of total offense, including 237 on the ground, marking the fourth consecutive game K-State has rushed for 230-or-more yards. Baylor ran three more plays (79-76), but the Wildcats won the time of possession battle by a healthy 12 minutes.

 

On the defensive side of the ball, K-State held Baylor to just 368 yards of total offense, the fewest allowed to the Bears by any team this season. The Wildcats’ defense also posted shutouts in two quarters of play, the first and third, a feat that had yet to be accomplished against the Bears this season.

 

Sophomore corner Duke Shelley and senior linebacker Charmeachealle Moore paced K-State defenders with eight tackles apiece. Sophomore corner D.J. Reed was in on seven tackles and added four pass breakups, while sophomore safety Kendall Adams also made seven stops. Senior corner Donnie Starks had a career day by reeling in two interceptions, while senior safety Dante Barnett also snatched his first interception of the season. Juniors Tanner Wood and Elijah Lee were credited with a forced fumble before senior defensive end Reggie Walker came up with the recovery.

 

Special teams proved important in playing a role with field position throughout the day as junior punter Nick Walshpinned the Bears back inside their 20-yard line on two of his four punts. In the return game, Reed had the game’s longest play with his 76-yard return to the Baylor 23, setting up K-State’s fifth touchdown score.

 

To begin the game, the Wildcats won the opening toss and deferred until the second half. The defense spent 43 seconds on the field while holding Baylor to a three-and-out, before a punt allowed K-State to take over at its own 48-yard line. A penalty thwarted the Wildcats’ first possession and Walsh came on to punt.

 

Baylor’s ensuing possession went 80 yards in 15 plays, but didn’t change the scoreboard. The Wildcats extended the Bears’ drive with a roughing the kicker penalty on a botched block punt, one of five penalties on the drive. But, the K-State defense didn’t break, as Lee and Wood combined to strip Baylor receiver Ishmael Zamora at the 2-yard line to keep the game level.

 

The first quarter ended scoreless and would remain through five possessions for each team, but momentum sided with the Bears midway through the second quarter.

 

Despite being nudged by a blocker, Heath was unable to corral a Baylor punt and the Bears recovered deep in K-State territory. Smith found Blake Lynch two plays later for a 25-yard score to put Baylor ahead, 7-0, with 6:43 left in the second quarter.

 

Baylor’s score ignited the Wildcats’ offense, with a response coming in just under three minutes. The six-play, 90-yard drive was fueled by a 37-yard completion to Burton along with a Houdini-esque escape from Ertz on fourth down, as he looped away from defenders for 40 yards to the Baylor 2-yard line. Dimel pounded it in on the next play for his ninth touchdown of the season, knotting the game at 7-7 with 3:55 left in the half.

 

K-State forced another Baylor three-and-out, the third of the first half, on the next possession. The Bears had the ball again moments later, though, as Ertz lost control of the football at K-State’s 40-yard line. Smith found Chris Platt for a 24-yard touchdown pass with 10 seconds on the clock to give Baylor the halftime lead, 14-7.

 

The Wildcats wasted no time to begin the second half. The drive featured eight runs for 65 yards, including a 26-yarder from Ertz to put K-State on Baylor’s side of the field. Barnes scored from 11 yards out at the 10:41 mark to level the score, 14-14.

 

K-State earned its first lead with 2:41 left in the third quarter. A 13-play, 87-yard drive elapsed 5:59 from the clock as Ertz converted two third-and-long situations with a 20-yard completion to Zuber and a 24-yarder to Burton. The drive featured nine runs with Barnes taking care of the final 30 yards on five carries, including the 1-yard score to put K-State up 21-14.

 

On Baylor’s next possession, Starks stepped in front of a Bear receiver for his first career interception, which he returned to the Baylor 15-yard line. Barnes needed only three carries to cover the 21 yards, running to the right pylon for his third rushing touchdown of the quarter. The Wildcats led 28-14 as the third quarter wound down.

 

After Baylor found some offensive success to begin the fourth, Starks came up with his second interception, this time in K-State’s own end zone, but the Wildcats were unable to move the ball and punted.

 

Baylor answered for its first points of the second half when Smith found Pooh Stricklin for a 19-yard touchdown pass. K-State’s advantage was slimmed to 28-21 with 7:28 to play in the game.

 

The backbreaker for Baylor came on the ensuing kickoff as Reed brought it back 76 yards to the Bears’ 23-yard line. Ertz completed a 15-yard bootleg to Burton before Dimel scored his second of the day to push the scoreline to 35-21.

A Dante Barnett interception on the next Baylor drive was the Wildcats’ fourth takeaway. Barnett returned his first interception of the season to the Bears’ 23 before Barnes took care of the distance in just three runs for his fourth rushing touchdown of the game.

 

Down 42-21, Baylor ran out the remainder of the clock to give the Wildcats their first win in Waco since 2002.

 

K-State returns to Manhattan for Senior Day and the Sunflower Showdown next Saturday, Nov. 26, for an 11 a.m.kickoff on FS1 against Kansas.

– www.k-statesports.com —

TOM GILBERT

Associate Director for Athletics Communications | K-State Athletics

The idea of combining a sports complex on the west side of Junction City with a new high school has surfaced during JCHS Steering Committee discussion.

A member of the committee, Terrah Stroda, said there are four to five different groups of people in the community who have good ideas about getting more active and decreasing obesity, “and how to make sure we have a great sports complex that includes baseball, soccer and football. And I just keep sitting at all these different meetings and we’re all saying the same thing. So the gentleman that said are we thinking about perhaps coming together and making the high school our epicenter…and the answer is yes.”

Stroda added a new high school should be the epicenter for arts and complexes. “But there are enough of us that are saying the same thing that it just makes sense that the high school would be that place.”

The steering committee is looking at different concepts for a new high school ranging from a possible site on the west side of town near the city middle school to building a new high school on the current JCHS site. Renovation of the current building is also a possible option.

 

 

 

 

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Boasting 29 total honorees – including 18 on the first team – the Kansas State football team led the league in Academic All-Big 12 honors for a third-straight year as the conference office announced its list of 157 recipients on Thursday.

The 2016 Wildcats tied the 2014 squad with the most honorees in school history – a mark that is tied for sixth in Big 12 history – while the 18 first-team members were two shy of the school record. Since head coach Bill Snyder’s return to the sidelines in 2009, the Wildcats have totaled 144 Academic All-Big 12 recipients (18 per year), including 104 on the first team (13 per year).

Headlining this year’s list were two players that were nominated with 4.0 GPAs in wide receiver Zach Reuter (biochemistry) and defensive tackle Matt Seiwert (agribusiness), giving K-State the most players nominated with perfect GPAs this season. Seiwert, who earned first-team honors last year, is one of six Wildcats repeating as first-team honorees, joining linebacker Will Davis (2013-15; masters of accounting), place kicker Ian Patterson (2014-15; food science & industry), linebacker Trent Tanking (2014; mathematics/industrial engineering), tight end Dayton Valentine (2015; kinesiology) and defensive end Tanner Wood (2014-15; animal sciences & industry).

Other Wildcats earning first-team accolades this year include Dante Barnett (masters in counseling & student development), Brogan Barry (biology/pre-med), Deante Burton (mass communications), Scott Frantz (secondary education), Blaise Gammon (business), Nate Guidry (mass communications), Colby Moore (mass communications), Cameron Morgan (finance), Lucas Munds (management), Logan O’Dea (chemical engineering) and Dalton Risner (communication studies).

K-State’s second-team members were comprised of Alex Barnes (kinesiology), Colborn Couchman (finance), Winston Dimel (management), Denzel Goolsby (business), Joe Hubener (masters in educational leadership), Chase Johnston (kinesiology), Jayd Kirby (sociology/criminology), Jason Lierz (marketing), Mitch Lochbihler (construction science & management), Drew Scott (entrepreneurship) and Steven West (MBA).

Nominated by each institution’s director of student-athlete support services, the 2016 football academic all-league squad is comprised of 91 first-team members combined with 66 on the second team. First-team members consist of those who have maintained a 3.20 or better GPA, and the second team are those who have a 3.00 to 3.19 GPA.

To qualify, student-athletes must maintain a 3.00 GPA or higher either cumulative or the two previous semesters and must have participated in 60 percent of their team’s scheduled contests. Freshmen and transfers are not eligible in their first year of academic residence. Senior student-athletes who have participated for a minimum of two years and meet all the criteria except percent of participation are also eligible.

K-State travels to take on Baylor this Saturday at McLane Stadium in Waco, Texas. Kickoff is slated for 11 a.m., and the game will be shown to a national audience on ESPN2.

The Dillons Sunflower Showdown against in-state rival Kansas, a game that is also K-State’s Senior Day, is also scheduled for 11 a.m., on Saturday, November 26, and will be aired nationally on FS1. Fewer than 60 adjacent seats remain for the game against the Jayhawks, and those tickets can be purchase online at www.k-statesports.com/tickets, by phone at 1-800-221-CATS or at the ticket office inside Bramlage Coliseum.

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The Kansas State women’s rowing team welcomed 15 student-athletes to the program during the 2016 fall signing period, head coach Patrick Sweeney announced.

“This signing class looks to have good potential and we are looking forward to seeing their development,” Sweeney said about the fall signees. “I think the work coaches Hanna Wiltfong, Beth DeMars and Madi Haney have done this year has allowed us to invite such good prospects to our program.”

The team does most of its recruiting in Kansas, looking at athletes with no previous rowing experience and who want to continue their athletic careers as Division-I student-athletes. The incoming rowers will learn the fundamentals of the sport during their first season before taking part in high-level competition.

K-State’s 2016 fall class fits the mold, as 14 of the team’s 15 signees are Kansas natives, representing 13 cities across the state. The team also has one signee from the state of Missouri. Before signing with the Wildcats, the members of the class participated in 10 different sports.

The Wildcats open their fall season on March 4, 2017, as the team travels to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to square off against Big 12 conference foe Oklahoma on the Oklahoma River. Stay tuned to kstatesports.com for more information on the event.

For the latest on K-State women’s rowing, follow @kstatesports and @KStateROW on Twitter using the hashtag #KStateROW or on the team’s Facebook page.

2016 Fall Signing Class
Name Hometown High School Previous Sport(s)
Alex Clark Holton, Kan. Holton H.S. VB, BB
Anna Propst Saint Genevieve, Mo. Saint Genevieve H.S. T&F
Cassidy Haufler Centralia, Kan. Centralia H.S. VB, BB
Ellie Braly Prairie Village, Kan. Shawnee Mission East H.S. BB, ROW
Grace Kuenzi Sabetha, Kan. Sabetha H.S. BB, T&F, SWIM
Hannah Coates Pratt, Kan. Pratt H.S. GOLF, BB, T&F
Kaley Dalinghaus Baileyville, Kan. Nemaha Central H.S. VB, BB, T&F
Kirby Krumsick Wichita, Kan. Wichita Collegiate School VB, BB, T&F
Liberty Beat Kingman, Kan. Kingman, H.S. VB, TEN, BB, T&F
Marisa Rodriguez Valley Center, Kan. Valley Center H.S. VB, SB
Maya Morrow Kansas City, Kan. Piper H.S. BB, VB
Megan Kelly Norwich, Kan. Norwich H.S. BB, VB, SB
Paige Rohner Wichita, Kan. Northeast Magnet H.S. VB
Rebekah Cain Allen, Kan. Mission Valley H.S. XC, BB, DANCE

*VB-Volleyball; BB-Basketball; SB-Softball; T&F-Track and Field; ROW-Rowing; XC-Cross Country; TEN-Tennis

K-State plays football at Baylor on Saturday. Kickoff is at 11 a.m.

KSU coach Bill Snyder met with the media on Tuesday.

Head Coach Bill Snyder
On Baylor quarterback Zach Smith…

“Well, we have some tape to go on, but his high school background is significant for us as well and we have that tape. He is a good, young guy. I like the poise in which he seemed to handle himself, thrust into the situation he was in this past week. In the previous ballgames, it was substantial leads that put him on the field and he handled those fine, but under the pressure that existed in that ballgame, I thought he was as collected as anybody you can imagine.”

 

On Baylor running back Shock Linwood…

“I think he will be everything that he has always been. I do not think there has been any let up in that regard, and he is a very talented running back. I like the others that they have as well, three young guys that I think do quite well and they have proven that. That is not just me, I think that is what virtually anybody would say. To answer the question, I cannot knowledgably answer it, but I see no reason why he would not step in and be up to par with what he has been all season.”

 

On K-State’s offense being different than others in the Big 12 and how that impacts recruiting…

“I understand the significance of being different, not just for difference sakes, but the fact that people recruit to the type of offense they run. Recruiting is impacted by the nature of the offenses in our conference; it not only impacts the offensive recruiting, but it impacts the defensive recruiting. With the limited number of scholarships that everyone has, it sometimes can create some problems. You see an awful lot of people that do not have tight ends or do not have fullbacks for instance. You see a lot of people who do not recruit the stereotypical middle linebacker because they want all the speed guys out there. It has really impacted that aspect of it if you are going to be different. If you are going to be different, you had better be good at what you are different at, that is the significant thing. Just being different for difference sakes is not the answer, and we are still trying to make some headway in that regard. If you are different and good at what you do, then yes, it does create some problems in terms of not being able to prepare week in and week out for the same type of offense or defense.”

 

On the bye week…

“Well, as I have said so many recent times, open weeks can be different from time to time. Part of it has to do with who you are playing against, part of it is how the young people in your program – and the coaches – handle that period of time. Sometimes it has worked out great, and sometimes not as good as you would like. The downside is you can lose the continuity, to a certain degree, of playing every single week. Obviously, there are positive things like giving the players a peace of mind, so to speak, not that there are any real significant days off, but nevertheless the opportunity to not be under the gun constantly.”

 

On playing Baylor…

“Well I think, first and foremost, they have a great deal of talent. If you look across the board on either side of the ball, they have some young guys that are very prominent players. They are very good players at what they do, that is first and foremost. I cannot address the reasons behind the three losses; there is a lot of dialogue about that, but they have good players that can set them apart one way or the other. They have good coaches too. Obviously (Defensive Coordinator) Phil (Bennett) was on our staff, I know what kind of a coach he is, and I know Jim (Grobe) and I know what Jim’s capabilities are.”

 

On General Richard Myers being named President of Kansas State University…

“Well I am really pleased. I have known Dick for a long time. There is no doubt in my mind that the Board of Regents made the best possible choice that they could, and that is said knowing there were a number of extremely well-qualified, competent and good people on that list. I was pleased that General Myers made that decision to be a candidate for the position because that has not always been his stance. Over a period of time, he has enjoyed his time here as the interim, he has enjoyed the relationships, so I am glad he finally decided to do that and to have his hat in the ring. What I appreciate about it so much is that he is a Kansas State person, he is a Kansas person, and he understands the values and the nature in the people of Kansas State, of the community of Manhattan and of the state of Kansas. I think we are unique in our own right for the right reasons and in the right way, and I think he understands that. He is a product of it and that was important to me. I appreciate (his wife) Mary Jo for giving up her time. They were all prepared to have a life of leisure in retirement and to consent to do this, which is truly a full-time job, was big on her part as well. He is enjoying it. Dick is a people person, and you have heard me say it so many times that Kansas State is about people who truly care about people. He does and that is what makes him special for this University. I cannot put enough emphasis on being an individual that is a Kansas State person that knows and values what Kansas State University is all about.”

Senior Linebacker Charmeachealle Moore

On the bye week…

“We got to rest a little bit and we have been practicing basic stuff like running to the ball and tackling. I think we are just ready to play.”

 

On Baylor quarterback Zach Smith…

“He is a player. He is a college player and Baylor trusted him to give him a scholarship, so we are ready for him. Last week he did a very good job, so we need to treat it the same way.”

 

On expecting them to run the ball…

“We expect them to do what they do, which is throw the ball, run the ball and quick attachment plays. We expect them to do the same thing and like Coach Snyder said, everybody has to be ready to play.”

 

Junior Linebacker Elijah Lee

On Baylor’s offense…

“I think they are going to play their game. They did the same thing last year when they plugged in a freshman, and they did what they usually do. We need to go back to the film last year and try to correct our mistakes, as well as go off of what they have done this year.”

 

On Baylor running back Shock Linwood…

“There is a lot of motivation because we are going against a good rusher. Being in the box, that is something that excites you. You cannot always be a part of the pass game, but in the run game you have more of a role.”

 

Redshirt Freshman Running Back Alex Barnes

On the running game…

“We have four different running backs that can all run the ball. We have many different schemes that we can run up front, whether it is power plays or zone blocking plays. We have a lot of different stuff to use, so it is kind of hard to prepare for.”

 

On Baylor’s defense…

“They are another big, athletic team. They have moved some of their defensive ends down to defensive tackle, so they have a lot of speed up front. We will see if we can take advantage of them with our size.”

 

On the main bye week focus…

“Execution. We focused on getting to the line of scrimmage and making sure that we were getting the play off before the play clock ran out. The little things like running in the right gaps, reading zone blocks and stuff like that.”