K-State rolls UL-Lafayette 40-20 behind 292 yards from Sproles

Saturday, September 18

Manhattan, Kan.

Kansas State University

Lousiana

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Louisiana-Lafayette	0	7	7	6	20
Kansas State	13	7	10	10	40

K-State rolls UL-Lafayette 40-20 behind 292 yards from Sproles

Sep 18, 2004 | Football

Box Score

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) - Darren Sproles rushed for a team-record 292 yards on 38 carries Saturday, leading Kansas State past Louisiana-Lafayette 40-20.

Running around and through a defense ranked No. 106 against the run, Sproles broke the Kansas State record of 273 yards he set against Missouri last year on 43 carries.

Held to just 37 yards the week before in a 45-21 loss to then-unranked Fresno State, Sproles shredded the Ragin' Cajuns for 195 yards on 23 carries as the Wildcats (2-1) took a 20-7 halftime lead.

Then the 5-foot-7 senior ripped off runs of 16, 11, 9 and 9 yards in an 80-yard TD drive on Kansas State's first possession of the third quarter.

The Ragin' Cajuns (1-2) gave up 257 yards rushing to Louisiana Tech's Ryan Moats in a 24-20 loss last week.

Sproles, who led the nation last year with 1,986 yards on 306 carries, had 221 yards in the opener against Western Kentucky. With eight games to go in the regular season, he is 1,078 yards short of the Big 12 record of 5,289 career yards held by Texas' Ricky Williams.

Darting through a big hole on the left side and getting a great block from fullback Victor Mann, Sproles dashed 35 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter. Then he went 44 yards around left end a few minutes later to set up a 34-yard field goal by Joe Rheem that put Kansas State on top 13-0.

Dylan Meier's 7-yard touchdown pass to tight end Brian Casey followed a darting, weaving 30-yard run by Sproles in the third period and gave the Wildcats a 20-7 lead.

Rheem kicked field goals of 41, 33 and 33 yards for the defending Big 12 champions. Meier scored on a 1-yard run in the third period and a 5-yard run that made it 37-20 with 6:38 left.

Louisiana-Lafayette quarterback Jerry Babb scored on a 9-yard run and had an 80-yard run to set up a 1-yard scoring burst by Chester Johnson. Babb also hit a wide open B.J. Criston a 39-yard TD pass.