Kansas State Athletics
MANHATTAN, Kan. — Sophomore Alex Barnes scored two touchdowns and Justin Silmon and Alex Delton each added another as the purple team rumbled for 179 yards and 38 unanswered points to win the 2017 Spring Game, 38-6, in front of 13,338 fans at Bill Snyder Family Stadium Saturday.
Delton, who also threw for a game-high 249, dove across the goaline as time expired for the game’s final score and to finish his game-best 78 rushing yards on 15 attempts. Barnes added 69 yards on 12 attempts, while Silmon posted 32 yards on 10 attempts.
K-State saw strong production from both starting quarterbacks as Delton completed 21-of-33 attempts with one TD strike to sophomore Isaiah Zuber for the Purple, while redshirt freshman Skylar Thompson threw for 112 yards on 10-of-17 passing for the White team.
Zuber led the charge for the Wildcat receivers in the game, hauling in eight passes for 96 yards and the score , while fellow sophomores and purple teammates Carlos Strickland II and Dalton Schoen each caught four passes to total 62 yards and 57 yards, respectively. On the opposite side, two white team wide receivers had multi-reception days with Corey Sutton snagging four passes for 61 yards and Isaiah Harris hauling in four balls for 40 yards.
Redshirt freshman Ian Rudzik led the White team and all defenders in the contest with seven total tackles, while senior linebacker Trent Tanking added six tackles for the Purple squad. Brock Monty, Brogan Barry and Denzel Golsby hauled in interceptions in the contest.
The White team opened the scoring in the game with a 43-yard field goal by Nick McLellan to take a 3-0 lead with 8:39 to play in the period, capping of a 10-play, 54-yard drive. He extended the lead on the White’s next possession, connecting on a 32-yard field goal to push the lead to 6-0 as the first quarter expired. The 11-play 33-yard drive began after an interception Barry, which he returned 27 yards.
But the Purple side wouldn’t go quietly. The first touchdown of the day, and the first points of a 38-0 run to close the game, came as Delton connected with Zuber on a 25-yard strike to take the lead with 11:30 to play in the first half.
Then the ground game took over.
Barnes scored the purple team’s second touchdown of the day, punching it in from one yard out to push the lead to 14-6 with 2:27 remaining until halftime. The purple team’s defense played a major role in the score, forcing a turnover on downs by the white squad on the previous drive.
The Pittsburg, Kansas, native scored the first points of the second half with 9:49 remaining in the fourth quarter, scoring his second touchdown of the day from four yards out to extend the purple team’s lead to 21-6.
McLellan connected on his third field goal of the day, this time for the Purple side, two minutes later, extending the advantage to 24-6 with 7:33 remaining. The drive was again keyed by stout defense after the Purple squad recovered a fumble on the white team’s 21 yard line.
Silmon was able to get on the scoresheet with 1:34 remaining in the game, sneaking into the endzone from one yard out to extend the lead to 31-6. Delton helped set up the score with passes of 18 yards and 16 yards to get the drive jump-started.
Delton went on to end the game with a bang, breaking outside and using his speed to race defenders to the pylon, scoring from 14 yards out as time expired to set the Purple’s final advantage at 38-6.
K-State, which returns 45 letterwinners and 18 starters from last year’s 9-4 squad, kicks off the 2017 campaign on Saturday, September 2, with the ninth-annual K-State Family Reunion against Central Arkansas in Bill Snyder Family Stadium. K-State then hosts Charlotte on September 9, followed by a trip to Nashville, Tennessee, to take on SEC foe Vanderbilt on September 16. K-State’s five-game Big 12 home slate opens on September 30, against Baylor.
A limited number of single-game tickets for the 2017 season go on sale online only at www.k-statesports.com/tickets on June 20, while fans can purchase by calling the ticket office at 1-800-221-CATS beginning June 21.