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Sep. 8—PULLMAN — Early in the second half of Washington State’s second straight victory to open the season, a 37-16 shellacking of Texas Tech Saturday evening, the hosts almost lost their best running back.
True freshman Wayshawn Parker, who posted 69 yards and a touchdown, hobbled off the field. He strolled over to a bench and used a tool to roll out what looked like a cramp in his leg. He had to take a moment to gather himself.
The Cougars never wobbled again the rest of the way. In the program’s second straight home win over a power conference nonconference opponent, WSU tallied four takeaways and five touchdowns, including a 27-10 stretch to take control of the game for good.
It registered as one of the best games on the ground in some time for WSU, which totaled 301 rushing yards, including 197 from quarterback John Mateer, the most by a WSU QB in school history. He completed 9 of 19 passes for 115 yards, one touchdown and one iterception, including a scoring pass right before halftime to Kyle Williams, who returned from an injury to snatch the catch off a deflection.
But Mateer and the Cougs’ offense were at their best on the ground. They averaged 6.5 yards per rush. Power back Djouvensky Schlenbaker surged in for a pair of touchdowns, the second of which handed WSU a a 34-10 lead in the third frame, totaling 27 rushing yards on the night.
In that way, it added up to quite the encouraging night for the Cougs, whose rushing attack eluded them in a major way last season, so much so that it played a major role in the six-game losing streak that cratered their season. Defenses didn’t find their running game credible, so they committed more defenders to coverage, hampering Washington State’s passing game in turn.
This WSU season is only two games old, but it’s possible those days are in the past for the Cougs, whose…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/recap-highlights-washington-state-leans-150100668.html
Author : The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.
Publish date : 2024-09-08 15:01:00
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