ONLY TAKES A SPARK

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider

TEMPE, Ariz. – Through the first four weeks of the season, Baylor's running backs had limited yards after contact and even fewer explosive plays.

But that changed in a hurry Saturday night at Mountain America Stadium, when freshman Ryelan Morris broke off left tackle and was off to the races for a 63-yard touchdown run that gave the Bears the spark they needed in a 55-19 blowout win over the Arizona State Sun Devils.

"Prior to this game, not a lot of broken tackles," said Baylor coach Dave Aranda, whose team rolled up 244 yards rushing and 564 yards total offense in improving to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in the Big 12. "We made a big point of that early in the week, that the first guy got us down too often. The key with that was the start, not so much the finish.

"The faster that we hit the line of scrimmage, the faster we could break a tackle. You saw that. I think a lot of those runs, those boys hit the line of scrimmage fast."

After going three-and-out on their opening series, the Bears scored touchdowns on their next three drives, starting with Morris's big run.

Quarterback DJ Lagway, who threw for 306 yards and a career-high four touchdowns, said Baylor was "kind of feeling out how they were going to play us."

"They had a bye week, so they were going to come with some new wrinkles," said Lagway, who also scored Baylor's last touchdown on a 10-yard run in the fourth quarter. "We kind of had an idea what they could do, but they came out in something different. I feel like (offensive coordinator Jake Spavital) and the offensive staff adjusted great. . . . The big run from Rylelan, man, that sparked it all. That was a huge play from him that got us going."

After limited touches in the first four games, the Honey Grove, Texas, freshman picked up 84 yards on nine carries (9.3-yard average) in the lopsided road win.

"He's going to be really good," Baylor coach Dave Aranda said. "He's really fast, he hits the line of scrimmage fast, and he's got great vision. And then, he's got really good instincts, and there's a toughness to him."

Early in fall camp, Aranda remembers the 5-foot-10, 185-pound Morris having to block linebackers Travion Barnes (6-0, 247) and Kedrick Walker (6-3, 236) in a pass-protection drill.

"Those dudes are rolling full speed into him," Aranda said. "And he was struggling, but he kept getting back up and kept staying in it. I think it was four or five times of staying in it till he was able to get a block. . . . You just saw that this boy was not going to go away defeated. He was going to fight to win. That shows in everything he does. That's just jump-started him into playing more and more."

Leading 24-13 at the half, the Bears created separation with Lagway's third-quarter touchdown passes to Hawkins Polley and Jadon Porter. And then, sophomore running back Caden Knighten essentially put the game away with a career-long 75-yard TD run that pushed the lead to 45-16.

Aranda said the offensive line of Kaden Sieracki, Nate Kibble, Koltin Sieracki, Asher Hale and Logan Moore "played confident, they played with an edge."

"I thought that Arizona State was a pretty static front," Aranda said. "Prior to this game, a lot of movement. Every team we're playing was moving, twisting, stunting. The majority of our issues was that. To play a team that was more static allowed us to get more confidence. And then, they're still twisting and blitzing and stunting, and we were able to pick it up better."

Coming in averaging 150 yards rushing per game and 3.7 per carry, the Bears used those big runs by Morris and Knighten to pile up 244 yards on 36 carries for a healthy 6.9-yard average.

Even late in the game, Baylor was able to run clock with runs by Michael Turner and Dawson Pendergrass, who combined for 80 yards on 18 attempts. Morris and Knighten had nine and six carries, respectively, and each had a game-high 84 yards.

Riding a four-game winning streak, the Bears will have a bye this week before hosting TCU (2-3, 0-2) on Oct. 17 at McLane Stadium, with kickoff time and TV selection still to be determined.

"We've got to keep feeding them the negative stuff, because that's energy. I think that's them," Aranda said. "There are so many dudes in there that have been doubted. In the past, I probably didn't use the negative stuff enough. I would just absorb it and take it and carry it. But to turn it into energy is something that we're doing, and the guys are feeding into it."

ONLY TAKES A SPARK

Players Mentioned

Travion Barnes

Asher Hale

Nate Kibble

Caden Knighten

DJ Lagway

Logan Moore

Ryelan Morris

Dawson Pendergrass

Hawkins Polley

Jadon Porter

Kaden Sieracki

Koltin Sieracki

Michael Turner

Kedrick Walker

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