Wildcats dominate SEMO as Howard has hand in 4 scores
Kansas State’s offense scored touchdowns on seven of eight first half possessions and its defense held SEMO to under a yard rushing per attempt in the opening 30 minutes as the Wildcats cruised to a 45-0 win to open the 2023 season.
Quarterback Will Howard threw for 297 yards, completing 18 of 26 attempts, Junction City’s D.J. Giddens ran for 128 on 15 carries and Ben Sinnott and R.J. Garcia eclipsed 100 yards receiving each as K-State nearly put up 600 yards of offense in the victory.
K-State’s intial points of the new season came on a Howard to Jadon Jackson 33-yd toss to finish off a 9 play, 67 yard drive that took only 4:03 off the clock.
DELIVERY
#KStateFB x @jadon_jackson1 pic.twitter.com/m25GXDhwQN
— K-State Football (@KStateFB) September 2, 2023
The drive came after the Wildcat defense forced a three-and-out on SEMO’s opening possession.
The SEMO offense began to gain momentum on its next drive, putting together an 11 play, 33 yard possession but a blind side block penalty ended up costing the Redhawks. A 4th and 8 pass from Paxton Delaurent to Ryan Flournoy came up two yards short, thanks to a one-on-one tackle by K-State’s Jacob Parrish.
The visitors would get the ball right back as, on second down, Will Howard’s first pass that wasn’t completed to a teammate was picked off by SEMO’s Antonio Taylor. Howard was hit as he threw for tight end Ben Sinnott.
K-State’s defense didn’t allow the mistake to become points as Uso Seuomalo’s first sack of the season effectively ended the drive at midfield on third down.
Sinnott would play a role in the next drive when he was left open in the middle of the field for what became a 40 yard completion from Howard. The Cats could go on to convert the drive into a 14-0 lead, with Howard going off the left side of the line for a one yard rushing touchdown.
Magician
#KStateFB x @whoward_ pic.twitter.com/3HXlOQGLU7
— K-State Football (@KStateFB) September 2, 2023
After turning SEMO’s next drive away in short order, K-State would drive 87 yards in 2:16, pushing the lead to 21-0 on R.J. Garcia’s first TD catch of the year, a 37 yard reception from Howard.
The K-State defense continued it’s dominance, forcing a third three and out of the half and the offense would take advantage with Treshaun Ward rushing three yards for his first touchdown in a Wildcat uniform.
First as a Wildcat#KStateFB pic.twitter.com/jQoEB29fnY
— K-State Football (@KStateFB) September 3, 2023
Howard would even get into the act as a receiver, finishing off the 28 point second quarter for K-State as Ward and he hooked up.
QB Will Howard had a Pass, Rush and Rec TD vs SE Missouri State today.
He's the 6th player in Big 12 history to do all of that in one game.
Howard did it in the 1st half. pic.twitter.com/T1d5tQp5Ba
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) September 3, 2023
Chris Tennant would add to K-State’s 35-0 halftime lead to finish the first drive after halftime. His first field goal attempt of the season was good from 51 to build the advantage to 38-0 with 12:17 remaining in the third quarter.
Sandwiched between two short SEMO possessions, K-State punted to end a drive, then took over with 3:12 to play in the quarter, bringing on true freshman quarterback Avery Johnson to helm the offense. After two handoffs, Johnson would scramble five yards for a first down, add a 15 yard rush, then complete a 16 yard throw to Xavier Loyd and a 24 yard toss to Tre Spivey to close out the third quarter.
Two plays into the fourth, Johnson would carry the ball seven yards, dancing around a defender to get to the end zone for the first time in his collegiate career.
A look at @avery2johnson's first touchdown as a Wildcat pic.twitter.com/eePonbJ5jK
— Mason Voth (@TheRealMasonV) September 3, 2023
Johnson went on to finish 3-of-4 for 55 yards passing and ran for 32 yards and a touchdown on five carries.
Final Stats:
Game Notes:
Game time temperature was 100 degrees, making it the 3rd hottest at kickoff in school history. The top mark was 109 degrees when the Wildcats hosted Louisiana Tech on Sept. 2, 2000.
The 2022 Big 12 Champions were honored during pre-game festivities. Seniors from last season’s team returned for the recognition and the unveiling of the additional title year on the face of the West Stadium.
Celebration for the ?????? @KStateFB
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@kstatesports | pic.twitter.com/ncydnzCbfF
— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) September 3, 2023
Kansas State will host Troy University next Saturday at 11 a.m. Powercat Gameday will begin coverage on Newsradio KMAN and 101.5 KRock at seven that morning.
