Iowa State opened the 2022 football season with a 42-10 win over Southeast Missouri on Saturday.
In his first game as the Cyclones starting quarterback, Hunter Dekkers went 25-31 and passed for 293 yards and four touchdowns. He added one interception.
It was a stellar performance for Dekkers, who has spent years waiting for his turn behind current 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy. Dekkers can credit a large part of his success to Xavier Hutchinson, who was the target on three of Iowa State’s four passing touchdowns. Hutchinson finished with over 120 yards receiving yards in the season opener.
Jirehl Brock jumped out to a late start as the Cyclones starting running back, finishing with over 100 yards rushing and one touchdown. Head coach Matt Campbell also shuffled in a few new faces on the roster like Cartevious Norton and Domonique Orange, both of whom played well in their first collegiate football game.
Fresh off the big win over SEMO, Iowa State will travel to Iowa City next week for the annual Cy-Hawk matchup against Iowa. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.
More: Iowa State football depth chart analysis: Is Jake Remsburg back soon?
FINAL — Iowa State 42, Southeast Missouri 10
The Cyclones picked up its first win of the season, taking down SEMO 42-10 in Jack Trice Stadium.
6:06/Q4 — Deon Silas adds another touchdown
Iowa State is now up 42-10 against Southeast Missouri, who seems to be running out of steam late in the game. The Cyclones are now shuffling in some younger players to give them some experience before heading into the Cy-Hawk game next wee
9:09/Q4 — A true freshman in at quarterback
Dekkers work is done for the day, and true freshman Rocco Becht has taken over quarterback duties for Iowa State late in the fourth quarter.
13:29/Q4 — Jirehl Brock picks up Cyclones first rushing touchdown
Iowa State’s starting running back couldn’t let Dekkers have all the glory on Saturday. After the Cyclones quarterback threw four passing touchdowns, Brock picked up the first rushing touchdown to give Iowa State a 35-10 lead.
End of 3rd quarter — Iowa State 28, Southeast Missouri State 10
Definitely not as high scoring as the first quarter, but Iowa State is still up by 18 points with 15 more minutes of football left to play. Cyclones still have the ball, and it’s currently 2nd and 5 on the 37-yard line.
2:08/Q3 — A game without replay?
Earlier in this game, one of Southeast Missouri State’s players was ejected for targeting, a call made with the help of replay. Then, for a brief period, the officials announced that replay was inoperable.
6:44/Q3 — Perkins with another solid punt for Iowa State
Jirehl Brock ran for a combined nine yards on the first two downs, but Hutchinson couldn’t grab a big pass from Dekkers. Iowa State was forced to punt, and Perkins sent a 42-yarder down field.
9:58/Q3 — Brock, DeShawn Hanika shine in Iowa State’s latest touchdown drive
So, someone other than Xavier Hutchinson scored for Iowa State. This time it was redshirt junior tight end DeShawn Hanika who reeled in a nine yard pass for the Cyclones’ fourth touchdown of the afternoon.
A lot of that was set up by Jirehl Brock, who picked up 39 yards rushing on Iowa State’s first drive of the second half. Brock had just five rushing yards in the first half.
11:39/Q3 — Cartevious Norton limps off
True freshman running back Cartevious Norton was playing well in his first game with Iowa State, and had just picked up an 11-yard gain before he remained down on the sidelines and limped off.
14:10/Q3 — Targeting call to start the second half
Southeast Missouri’s Bryce Norman was called to targetting and disqualified for the rest fo Saturday’s contest, giving Iowa State possession at the 49-yard line.
HALFTIME — Iowa State’s offensive stats after first half
Despite the interception, Hunter Dekkers is off to a hot start as Iowa State’s new leading man behind center. He was 18-23 in the first half, and threw for 238 yards and three touchdowns – all to Xavier Hutchinson.
Speaking of Hutchinson, he leads all Iowa State receivers at the half with 122 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 17.4 yards a reception. Darren Wilson, Jaylin Noel and Sean Shaw Jr. have all emerged as solid receiver options for Dekkers.
Now, for probably the biggest surprise on Iowa State’s offense: True freshman Cartevious Norton is the Cyclones leading rusher. He only has ten yards on two attempts, but that’s five more yards on one less attempt than Jirehl Brock.
HALFTIME — Iowa State 21, Southeast Missouri State 10
The Cyclones started off strong, with three touchdowns from Xavier Hutchinson on the first three drives. But Iowa State struggled toward the end of the second quarter, allowing Southeast Missouri State to put points on the board. Dekkers threw his first interception of the game.
1:23/Q2 — Redhawks back in scoring position after interception
Joedrick Lewis intercepted Dekkers late in the second quarter and took the ball 27 yards to the 7-yard line. Southeast Missouri couldn’t capitalize on the next three downs, and settled for a field goal. Iowa State holds a 21-10 lead with 28 seconds left to play
1:59/Q2 — Southeast Missouri gets on the board
With just under two minutes to play in the first half, Paxton DeLaurent sent an 11-yard pass to Damoriea Vick to give the Redhawks their first touchdown of the game. Iowa State still leads, 21-7.
2:50/Q2 — Tyler Perkins kicks 50 yards on his first punt
After scoring three touchdowns on its first three drives of the game, penalties and a strong Southeast Missouri defense forced Iowa State to punt. The Cyclones took a delay of game penalty before Perkins sent the ball 50 yards downfield on his first collegiate punt.
5:22/Q2 — Southeast Missouri State misses field goal
SEMO quarterback Paxton DeLaurent came with a couple of big plays, both in the air and on the ground, to put the Redhawks in good scoring position. But Southeast Missouri State couldn’t capitalize and settled for a field goal attempt. The Redhawks missed, and remain scoreless against Iowa State.
7:54/Q2 — Iowa State up by three touchdowns
Hunter Dekkers to Xavier Hutchinson has been the biggest constant in this game, and that connection is the reason for the Cyclones’ 21-0 lead over Southeast Missouri about halfway through the second quarter.
7:58/Q2 — Darren Wilson forces Southeast Missouri to take first timeout
At this point, it’s clear that Hunter Dekkers is comfortable lining up behind center, and he has no shortage of options. Dekkers just let off a 39-yard pass to Darren Wilson, putting Iowa State in scoring position – again – at the 8-yard line.
12:00/Q2 — DeLaurent has the arm, just not the targets
SEMO’s quarterback does have a solid arm, and he can throw deep almost effortlessly…but he seems to really lob the ball when his receivers are in heavy coverage. Not doing the Redhawks an favors, and Southeast Missouri State punts this one away again.
14:53/Q2 — Iowa State extends its lead early in the second quarter
That didn’t take long.
On the first play of the second quarter, Dekkers completed a 33-yard pass to Hutchinson, who fell into the end zone to give the Cyclones a two-touchdown lead.
End of 1st quarter — Iowa State 7, Southeast Missouri State 0
Iowa State’s true freshman running back Cartevious Norton made an appearance at the end of the first quarter, and ran the ball on back-to-back plays for ten total yards. Jirehl Brock was expected to be the starter – and did start – but Norton is making his case for playing time early.
1:02/Q1 — First punt of the game
SEMO fails to convert on its second offensive drive of the day, and the Redhawks are forced to punt. Southeast Missouri took a delay of game penalty, and Jaylin Noel calls for a fair catch at the 25-yard line.
2:29/Q1 — Dekkers finds Hutchinson for the early lead
After the turnover on fourth down, Iowa State fans got their first glimpse of Hunter Dekkers as the Cyclones starting quarterback, and he did not disappoint. On fourth down, Dekkers threw a 33-yard pass to Xavier Hutchinson, giving Iowa State a 7-0 lead in the first qua
6:41/Q1 — Paxton DeLaurent throws an interception on SEMO’s first drive
Southeast Missouri State had already converted on 4th and 1 once on the opening drive of the game, and Iowa State’s defense was tasked with stopping SEMO on 4th and 1 again. The Cyclones put pressure on DeLaurent, who tried to break a tackle and then throw the ball away.
Instead of finding his receiver, the ball ended up in the hands of Iowa State’s Tyler Oneydim. Cyclones take over at the 15-yard lin
1:05 p.m. — It’s time for football
Southeast Missouri State won the toss and elected to receive first. Here’s Jace Gilbert’s first test and kicker, and it’s a touchback. Iowa State football’s season is officially underway.
12:55 p.m. — Breece Hall and David Montgomery are in the house
While Jirehl Brock is expected to start at running back, he isn’t the most notable Cyclone running back at Jack Trice this Saturday. Breece Hall and David Montgomery – Iowa State’s last two big running backs – were spotted on the sidelines during pregame.
12:45 p.m. — Who takes over kicking duties for the Cyclones?
Well, it looks like the kicking and punting jobs will be in the hands of two true freshmen. Jace Gilbert will make his debut as Iowa State’s kicker, and Tyler Perkins will punt for the Cyclones.
12:35 p.m. — Jake Remsburg out for Iowa State
The Cyclones will be without redshirt junior Jake Remsburg for the season opener. He was listed as a starter on this week’s depth chart leading up to Saturday’s game, but it looks like Grant Treiber will take over instead.
Here’s what Matt Campbell said about Remsburg’s injury last Friday:
“Honestly, it’s been really week to week. I don’t think it’s something that’s going to mean (missing) an extended period of time. It’s something that I’ll know better as we get into each week, where he’s at, and how close he is to playing.”
Who stands out on offense for both Iowa State and Southeast Missouri State?
This will be the first big test for Dekkers since Purdy graduated, but as long as things go according to plan, Iowa State’s new starting quarterback shouldn’t have to play the entire game. Expect Jirehl Brock and Hutchinson to pick up where they left off last season.
As for Southeast Missouri, transfer quarterback Paxton DeLaurent could be a challenge, solely because Iowa State doesn’t have much tape of his to study. DeLaurent will surely be handing the ball off to running back Geno Hess, who recorded 1,116 yards last season.
More: For Iowa State running back Jirehl Brock, the long-awaited opportunity is here
Isaiah Lee takes on more than football in Ames
The Cyclones senior nose tackle’s journey from Chicago to Iowa State is pretty remarkable. His mother, Joanne Grimes, has an ailment that forces her to spend significant time in the hospital and on dialysis. To help his mother, Lee adopted his younger sister, who lives with him in Ames.
Despite the challenges and additional responsibility, Lee has found a way to succeed. He finished last season as a first-team Academic All-Big 12 selection and recorded 21 tackles, six quarterback hurries, 5.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.
Want to know more about why Lee is such an easy player to root for this season? Check out Joe Randleman’s feature on the Iowa State senior.
Familiar faces on opposite sidelines
Saturday will be a reunion of sorts for both head coaches.
In 2012, fresh off being hired as the head football coach at Toledo, Campbell found a solid candidate for his defensive coordinator: Tom Matukewicz. The pair spent two years coaching together before Matukewicz took another job after the 2013 season.
Two years later, Campbell left Toledo for the head coach position at Iowa State.
More: Xavier Hutchinson could finish his career as one of Iowa State football’s all-time best receivers
Now, for the first time since sharing a sideline in Ohio, the two former colleagues will meet on the football field again. This time, Campbell is head coach at Iowa State and his former defensive coordinator, well Matukewicz is SEMO’s head coach.
“We’re excited about the opportunity,” Matukewicz said Tuesday. “We have so much respect for Matt Campbell and his staff at Iowa State. I know a lot of those guys on his staff and they’re as fine of football coaches as you’ll find in this country.”
Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at [email protected] or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.
www.desmoinesregister.com
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism