Winning with Kansas Kids

By: D. Scott Fritchen

Kansas State Director of Football Recruiting Taylor Braet, arguably the most animated member of the Wildcat staff, quietly stands outside the visiting locker room holding the Governor's Cup Trophy in his arms like a baby.

Braet, in his 18^th season at K-State and his 11^th at his current position, is a native of Wichita, Kansas, and the son and grandson of Kansas natives, and about everything he owns is purple.

At the moment, Braet, wearing a purple windbreaker, gray slacks, and purple Nikes, isn't animated at all. He speaks slowly while peering at the trophy.

No. 21 K-State has just outlasted No. 25 Kansas, 31-27, in Lawrence, to win the Dillons Sunflower Showdown for a record 15^th straight time.

The trophy will be returning home with Braet and the Wildcats to Manhattan.

Braet is full of gratitude as eyes become somewhat watery.

"This," he says, "means the world."

"We're a blue-collar school in a blue-collar state, and our school is full of blue-collar kids," Braet continues. "There's a lot of pride that goes into that. Don't change the mold, just build on it. At one point, I looked out there and we had eight players from the state of Kansas on defense, and that means more to me probably than the trophy, just knowing the kids in the state have the ability.

"When you get to bring the trophy home to the place that plays the most in-state kids, that means the most."

There are 50 players from the state of Kansas on the K-State roster. There are 28 from the Sunflower State on the Kansas roster.

Here's 10 ways the Wildcats won the Sunflower Showdown with Kansas players:

• 22 Kansas natives, including seven starters, played in the game.

• Nate Matlack (Olathe) blocked a point-after attempt that was returned for a defensive extra-point by Keenan Garber (Lawrence).

• Ty Bowman (Chanute) recovered a muffed punt that the offense turned into a touchdown on the ensuing possession.

• DJ Giddens (Junction City) had 102 rushing yards and one touchdown. He rushed for 25 yards on the final drive as the Wildcats ran out of the final 5 minutes, 33 seconds of the game.

• Desmond Purnell (Topeka) had a team high-tying five tackles and a forced fumble.

• Austin Moore (Louisburg) had a team-high two tackles for loss.

• Beau Palmer (Overland Park) had a career-high four tackles, his first-career sack and pass breakup.

• The offensive line features Cooper Beebe (Kansas City), Hayden Gillum (Plainville) and Hadley Panzer (Lakin) that blocked for 191 rushing yards prior to K-State kneeling to run out the clock.

• Jacob Parrish (Olathe) had three tackles.

• Cody Stufflebean (McPherson) had three tackles.

Beebe, one of the most premier players in college football, is a product of Piper High School in Kansas City, Kansas. A lock for the 2024 NFL Draft, Beebe returned to school for a variety of reasons.

Standing outside of the visiting locker room after the hard-fought victory, Beebe casts a smile the size of Salina.

"This means everything," Beebe says. "Especially being a Kansas kid, this one is special for me. With it being my last season, I had to go out with a win, for sure.

"It was definitely different this year. This year we knew that they had a really good team, and we had to be on our Ps and Qs and there were no days off, for sure. Just putting in that little extra each day meant a lot, especially being a Kansas guy."

There are chips on the shoulders on several K-State players, for sure. Giddens, a redshirt freshman running back from Junction City, who earlier in the season became the first player in K-State history to rush for 200 yards and four touchdowns in a single game, has 21 carries for 102 yards and one touchdown against the Jayhawks.

He smiles while recalling his path.

"It means a lot being from the state of Kansas," he says. "K-State was really the only college that kind of recruited me, so it means a lot to come out here and show out against Kansas since I didn't get any looks."

K-State improves to 8-3 overall and 6-2 in the Big 12 Conference while Kansas drops to 7-4 and 4-4 in the powerhouse league. The Wildcats finish their regular season against Iowa State at 7 p.m. (FOX) Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.

Right now, caught in the emotion of the big win, all emotion turns toward the topic at hand: The Sunflower Showdown.

"We talked about it last night in our players' meeting about what kind of people are fans of K-State and what kind of people went to K-State," Moore says. "We talked about how it's a blue-collar, work-hard, earn-everything — nothing is given to you."

That's been K-State's mantra all along.

"It's just about trying to make sure you get the right guys and the right fit," Braet says. "The trophy comes with it. That's what makes it special and so great and why you must win the rivalry.

"I mean, it's a battle over the place you're from."

K-State had won the previous four games in the series by no fewer than 20 points. The Wildcats won 47-27 last season in Manhattan and 35-10 in Lawrence in 2021.

This one is close all along. In fact, K-State has to battle back from an 11-point deficit to come away with the Governor's Cup Trophy again. The Wildcats possess the ball for the final 5 minutes, 33 seconds. They drain the clock. Thousands of K-State fans go crazy in the stands in the waning moments. The K-State Marching Band blares "Happy Trails."

Then it is finally over.

K-State stands in front of their fans on the field and celebrates. One player holds the famous sign that reads in four bold words: "WE OWN THIS STATE."

Then the players disappear inside the locker room with their coaches to be formally presented with the Governor's Cup Trophy for a 15^th straight time.

"They've come a long way," senior quarterback Will Howard says. "All my respect to those guys. From when I played them in 2020 to now it's a completely different program.

"There's no better feeling than beating KU."

Kansas State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Cooper Beebe

Ty Bowman

Keenan Garber

DJ Giddens

Hayden Gillum

Will Howard

Nate Matlack

Austin Moore

Beau Palmer

Hadley Panzer

Jacob Parrish

Desmond Purnell

Cody Stufflebean

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