Buffaloes roar past Wichita East
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Garden City, KS (westernkansasnews.com)-Not since the days when Dave Meadows was roaming the Garden City sidelines had there been a Buffalo team that was more hyped up in the preseason than this year’s edition.
And despite some early hiccups, the brown and white lived up to their billing in week one.
Jesse Nunez threw for 188 yards and three touchdowns while totaling 127 on the ground and one score as Garden City blew past Wichita East 43-19 in their regular-season opener Friday night at Buffalo Stadium.
“The game was very choppy,” Head Coach Brian Hill said. “At one point we moved forward five yards; then backwards five. But I thought we really calmed down, and the guys adjusted well.”
Nunez was one of those guys.
After delivering a beautiful rainbow pass down the right sideline to Brodie Stabel for a 40-yard score on the Buffaloes’ first play from scrimmage, the senior was largely inconsistent the rest of the first half. Nothing epitomized that more than a play late in the second quarter.
Garrett Lancelot’s 60-yard interception return for a touchdown off an errant Nunez throw pulled the Blue Aces to within two scores at the break. It was a pass that sailed five yards over the head of Peyton Hill on a screen.
“I was trying to do too much,” Nunez said afterwards. “I was a little jittery at the start of the game. But I eventually calmed down.”
His final numbers definitely reflected that.
But as good as Nunez was in the second half, the most eye-opening performance came from the special teams.
That unit was responsible for six points: two snaps went over the head of Wichita East (0-1) punter Nick Navarro and went out of the back of the end zone; the other was blocked by Christian Coreas before rolling across the end line for two points.
“I thought our special teams was exceptional,” Hill said. “They (Wichita East) helped us out with bad snaps, but the penetration that we got was incredible.”
It also helps to have an all-state punter in (Peyton) Hill, who averaged 41 yards per kick, including a 54-yard bomb in the second half.
“It’s great to be able to flip the field,” (Brian) Hill said. “We have that ability.”
The Buffalo defense, which gave up a few big plays, also responded by making a few. Leading 18-7, early in the second, Blue Aces sophomore quarterback Milan Jenkins threw a bullet over the middle that Zeke Herrera intercepted and returned 40 yards for a touchdown.
“That was a momentum changing play for sure,” Hill said. “We made some mistakes, but for the most part, we fixed them and moved on. We still have things to correct.”
The buffaloes put the clamps down in the second half. Nunez’s perfect fade pass to Jordan Herman for a 24-yard touchdown with 5:09 left in the third capped off an 11-play, 85-yard drive that put Garden City up 34-13. On the play, Herman grabbed the ball at its highest point in the back-left corner of the end zone while shielding Blue Aces nickel back Blazer Snell.
Following a safety, Nunez added one more scoring toss when he connected with Jason Yi on a 33-yard touchdown that extended the Garden City (1-0) lead to 43-14.
“It’s satisfying to get the first one out of the way,” Nunez said. There’s a lot of things I have to do better. But all the credit in the world goes to my offensive line. They gave me so much time to throw and opened up running lanes.”
East added a late 68-yard touchdown run by Jenkins, but other than that one play, the Buffalo defense held the Blue Aces to just 203 total yards.
Nunez finished 12-of-19 for 188 and three touchdowns. He rushed 15 times for 127 yards and a score. Herman caught five balls for 73 yards and a touchdown; Yee reeled in passes for 60 and a score. Coreas sparked the defense with seven tackles, a sack and a blocked punt.
Jenkens finished 4-of-12 for 51 yards and a touchdown (a 30-yard score that was deflected by Garrett Doll and hauled in by Elijah Kelly) but did not complete a pass in the second half. He rushed for a game-high 183 yards on 13 carries.
“It will be a good test now that we got this one out of the way,” Hill said. “Because this week, we go up against a team that we are unfamiliar with. It will be a great learning experience.”
Next up: Garden City at Castle View, CO-7:30 p.m. pregame; 8 p.m. kick on 99.9 FM; westenrkansasnews.com/kwkr; mobile app: KWKR and tuneinradio app: KWKR
