#19 Emporia State Football rolls to season opening 56-10 win over Lincoln

August 31, 2023-The #19 Hornets set a school record with 541 passing yards on the way to a 56-10 season opening victory over Lincoln. Harlon Hill candidate Braden Gleason threw for 442 yards with five touchdowns, connecting with Tyler Kahmann for four scores.
 
Emporia State won the toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff.  Gleason went five for five and added a rush on the drive as the Hornets went up 7-0 on a 13 yard pass to Kahmann with 13:06 left in the first quarter.  After a delay of game penalty on first down Xzavier Vaughn scrambled around the right side and found a seam before going 85 yards to tie the score 16 seconds later.
 
The Hornets answered with a 15 play, 75 yard drive that ate up 4:40 to take the lead for good.  Gleason would end up completing his first 11 passes before his first incompletion.  He capped the drive with his second touchdown pass of the night to Kahmann, this one for two yards as Emporia State took a 14-7 lead with 8:10 left in the quarter.
 
Both teams would slow down on offense for the remainder of the quarter and into the second.  Starting with 7:29 remaining in the half, Gleason would six straight passes on a six play, 55 yard drive capped by a 15 yard touchdown to Kahmann to give the Hornets a 21-7 lead with 5:18 left.  Gleason gave Emporia State a 28-7 lead with a three yard scramble on third and two with 1:42 left in the half.
 
Gleason would finish the first half 34 of 41 for 332 yards and three touchdowns while adding 25 yards and a touchdown on five carries.  Kahmann had eight catches for 71 yards and three touchdowns in the opening half.
 
After forcing a three and out to open the third quarter the Hornets went 68 yards in seven plays as Gleason and Kahmann connected for their fourth touchdown of the night with 10:47 left in period to give Emporia State a 35-7 lead.   Lincoln got back on the board thanks to a 43 yard field goal from Mo Alwaely with 7:06 left in the third to make it 35-10.    The Hornets answered quickly with a four play, 53 yard drive to take a 42-10 lead with 5:39 left in the quarter.  Gleason capped the drive with his fifth passing touchdown of the night on what might have been his most electric play.  After fumbling the snap from center, he was able to pick the ball up, scramble and throw a jump pass to Jordan Barnard who would waltz into the endzone for a 21 yard touchdown and give the Hornets a 42-10 lead with 5:39 left in the half.
 
It was the last play for Gleason who would end the day 42 of 49 for 442 yards with five touchdowns as   Chase Ricke would take over with 1:14 left in the third quarter.  Lincoln's first drive of the third quarter would stall out and the Hornets would take over at their own ten yard line with 9:56 left in the game.  On second and five from their own 26, Ricke would toss a shovel pass to true freshman Trenden Collins who started out going right, then cut back and would go 74 yards for a score to make it 49-10 with 7:06 remaining.  On the second play from scrimmage for the Blue Tigers, David Johnson would pick off a pass at the Lincoln 32 yard line.  Five plays later Ricke connected with Chris McGee for a two yard touchdown pass with 4:41 left to make the final score 56-10.
 
Ricke would go seven of eight for 99 yards and two touchdowns as he and Gleason would connect with 12 different Hornets on the way to a school record 541 passing yards.  Kahmann finished with eight receptions for 94 yards and four touchdowns while Jaylen Varner had ten catches for 106 yards. Collins had 99 yards on five catches and a touchdown and Zion Jones added six for 70 yards.  Kingsley Bennett was the leading rusher with 27 yards on six carries with Gleason adding 22 yards on six rushes.
 
Zach Dortch Jr was the leading tackler with eight stops while Jaaron Joseph and Caleb Mondi both had seven tackles.  Montrell Wilson four tackles, one for a loss and an interception.
 
The #19 Hornets will now hit the road to play at #6 Northwest Missouri on Thursday, September 7.  Kick-off from Tjeerdsma Field/Bearcat Stadium in Maryville, Mo. is set for 7:00 p.m.
 
NOTES
The 541 passing yards broke the school record of 522 set at Central Oklahoma in 2013.
Kahmann became the first Hornet with four touchdown catches in a game since Mitchell Foote had four against Central Oklahoma in 2016.
Gleason became the first Hornet to throw for five touchdowns in back to back games in Emporia State history after throwing for five against Southeastern Oklahoma in the 2022 Live United Bowl.