Makenzie Mason | Round Up Photo Editor
Sports Writer
Usually athletes don’t cry after a win, but they do occasionally shed tears after a loss.
Baylor sophomore running back Lache Seastrunk was so overcome with emotion in the waning moments of Baylor’s 52-24 victory over No. 1 Kansas State that he shed a few tears of joy.
“I broke into tears,” Seastrunk said. “Thirty seconds left, I don’t even know. It just came out. So magical to see your dream unfold right before your eyes, what you wanted for two years.”
Seastrunk’s emotion is understandable. After leaving the University of Oregon, where he redshirted as a freshman and did not play, he transferred to Baylor in August of 2011 and had to sit out the entire season due to NCAA transfer rules.
In effect, Seastrunk hasn’t actually played in a football game in nearly two years.
Seastrunk had a breakout performance on Saturday against the Wildcats as he rushed for a career-high 185 yards.
A major chunk of Seastrunk’s yardage came on an explosive 80 yard touchdown run where he knifed through the center of the Kansas State defense and turned on the jets for a touchdown.
Because of his speed, Seastrunk has been named the “Lightning” of the Baylor backfield and bruising 6’1”, 220-pound junior running back Glasco Martin is the “Thunder” of the Baylor running backs.
Martin rushed for 113 yards and a career high three touchdowns against the Wildcats.
“Glasco brought the punch,” Seastrunk said. “He’s pure power. If he gets going, he’s a locomotive. He’s going to move you over, period. You’re either going to get hit with the loud thunder and your ears are going to start hurting, or just pure lightning and get stuck in place, get stunned.”
The running game was at its best Saturday against Kansas State.
Earlier in the season, the rushing attack might have been undervalued and overused, but Baylor is finding its stride with a balanced rushing attack.
“I feel like we should have been rushing the ball a lot from the beginning of the year,” Martin said. “I feel like we just kind of found the right mix of running backs and when to use who and when to utilize our skills. So I think it’s finally coming together.”
With 342 yards rushing against Kansas State, the Baylor rushing attack is on track.
Even senior quarterback Nick Florence got in on the rushing attack by contributing 47 yards on the ground.
“Really just the offensive line was making holes and we’ve got great running backs,” Florence said. Props go to the offensive line. They did a good job on the run game. They did a good job of protecting me. They did a great job. We’ve got to win up front if we’re going to win the ball game.”
Every facet of the Bears rushing attack delivered against Kansas State, and this bodes well for the rest of the Baylor season.
With thunder and lightning, the Bears are hoping to come up with some late season electricity in the rushing game.
