By Erik Stone
September 7, 2013
John Hubert scored two touchdowns and the Kansas State Defense and Special Teams each contributed a touchdown in the third quarter as the Wildcats notched their first win of the 2013 season with a 48-27 victory over Louisiana before 53,073 on a steamy Saturday evening at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
K-State after last week’s season-opening loss was looking to avoid its first 0-2 start in 24 years under hot conditions for the second straight week. The temperature at kickoff at 102 degrees.
The Wildcats and Ragin Cajuns traded field goals in the first quarter before John Hubert scored his first touchdown of the season on a seven-yard run to give K-State a 10-3 lead after one quarter. The Cats then added 10 more points before intermission on a Daniel Sams 13-yard run and the second field goal of the night by first-year kicker Jack Cantele, the younger brother of former standout Anthony Cantele sending the Wildcats into the locker room with a 20-3 halftime lead.
The second half got off to an explosive start when Tramaine Thompson nearly let the kickoff go out of bounds but decided to catch the ball. Thompson then got loose on the east sideline and ran 94 yards for a touchdown. Thompson then added 79 more on a punt return after the next Cajun drive stalled. He was tackled on the one-yard line but the play set up a one-yard plunge by Quarterback Jake Waters and K-State was in command 34-3.
However, Louisiana would not quit and the Cajuns scored 14 points in under two minutes on a 100-yard kickoff return by Darryl Surgent and a four-yard run by Quarterback Terrance Broadway following a K-State turnover. Any momentum Louisiana had from the two scores was wiped out on its next possession when Safety Ty Zimmerman scored the first touchdown of his career on a 32-yard interception return to give K-State a 41-17 advantage. After the Cajuns scored 10 unanswered points, Hubert put the game away with his second score of the night on a two-yard run with just over eight minutes remaining.
Waters ended the night completing 22 of 31 passes for 278 yards with two interceptions and no touchdowns. Back-up Quarterback Sams did his damage on the ground with eight carries for 63 yards and one touchdown. Tyler Lockett caught eight passes for 111 yards, all in the first half and Thompson racked up 173 on his two returns.
Kansas State (1-1) will return to action next Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium when they host Massachusetts. The Minutemen are in their second year as a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) school out of the Mid American Conference. Kickoff next Saturday is set for 6:10 p.m.
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