Opening Notes
•     The Washburn Ichabods will host Emporia State in the annual Turnpike Tussle, the most-played game in NCAA Division II history, as the two teams will meet for the 111th time on Nov. 1 in Yager Stadium.
•    The Ichabods are looking to snap a four-game losing streak overall and a two-game losing streak to the Hornets.
•    Washburn enters the game 2-6 coming off a 35-26 loss at Central Oklahoma last time out while the Hornets topped Missouri Western 30-10 on the road last time out.
•    The Hornets beat the Ichabods in the 2013 season finale in Emporia in the last meeting 34-23 on Nov. 16.
•     Washburn has won eight of the last 10 games.
•     Washburn is 29-26-4 all-time in games played in Topeka.

 'Bods and Ends
•    Calvin Kenney leads the Ichabods with 89 tackles and is nearly double the next Washburn defensive player..
•    True freshmen Bob Marco, who starts right guard, along with defensive end Kastin Spencer, linebacker Austin Tillman and defensive tackle Cody Zeller have all seen action this season.
•     Seventy-two of Washburn's opponents' 278 points have come off turnovers. Washburn has scored three points of its 136 off opponents miscues.
•    The Ichabods are 17 of 32 in the redzone this season scoring 11 touchdowns with four field goals totaling 95 points scoring 53 percent of the time inside their opponent's 20 yard line. The Ichabods have turned the ball over five times on downs and have had two interceptions and three fumbles with four missed field goals.
•    Opponents have scored 29 of 35 times inside the redzone against Washburn for an 83 percent scoring rate recording 178 points with 23 touchdowns and six field goals with three missed field goals and turning the ball over on downs three times.
•    The Ichabods are -16 in turnover margin this season which is 11th in the MIAA rankings and they forced their first fumble of the season against Missouri Western … four opponent turnovers have been on interceptions.
•    Washburn has not been shutout twice in a season since 1991 in shutout losses to Pittsburg State and Central Missouri. The last time the Ichabods have been shutout in three games during a season was in 1984.
•    Bryan Dale had a career-high four tackles against Central Oklahoma last time out.
•    The 51-yard kickoff return by Zach Franklin was a career-long and it was the longest kickoff return for the Ichabods this season.
•    Kastin Spencer had a season-high four tackles against the Bronchos.
•    The 154 rushing yards by Vershon Moore against the Bronchos were the most by any Ichabod running back this season.
•    The 244 yards rushing by the Ichabods as a team against UCO was a season-high as was the 5.7 yards per carry and the 28 first downs tied a season high (MSSU).
•    The Ichabods dropped to 33-3 when rushing for at least 200 yards in a game after rushing for 244 yards against UCO.

 The Most-Played Rivalries in NCAA Division II
Games Opponents Series First
(Series leader listed first)     Record     Game
110     Emporia St.-Washburn     53-51-6     1899
104     Virginia St.-Virginia Union     53-43-9     1900
102     Tuskegee-Morehouse     66-28-8     1902
97     Truman-Central Mo.     52-40-5     1905
95     Presbyterian-Newberry^     58-32-5     1913
93     Catawba–Lenoir-Rhyne     46-43-4     1907
92     Pittsburg St.-Emporia St.%     58-32-2     1915
91     Truman-Northwest Mo. St.%     54-33-4     1908
88     Colorado Mines-Colorado Col.#     46-37-5     1889
84     Central Ark.-Arkansas Tech@     41-40-3     1911
83        Virginia Union-Hampton#     41-39-3     1906
#Have not met since 2000. 
@ Have not met since 2005. 
^Have not met since 2006. 
%Have not met since 2011.

 Coaching Staffs
Ichabod head coach Craig Schurig . . .
•    was named head coach of the Ichabod football program Dec. 28, 2001. 
•    is 89-57 (.602) in his 13th season as the Ichabod head coach. 
•    is 71-47 (.630) against the MIAA. 
•    has led the Ichabods to three NCAA Playoff appearances and two bowl appearance championships.
•    led the Ichabods to the 2005 MIAA regular season outright championship. 
•    has recorded ten-straight winning seasons for the first time in the program's history. 
•    led the Ichabods to the program's first 10-win season and their first NCAA or NAIA playoff game victory in school history with a win over Abilene Christian during the 2011 season.
•    is Washburn's all-time winningest coach with 89 wins.
•    is 9-3 against Emporia State.

Emporia State head coach Garin Higgins . . . 
•     has compiled a career record of 93-53 in his 13th season as a head coach.
•     he led the Hornets to ten wins for just the second time in school history in 2012. 
•     he is 41-44 in his eight season at his alma mater.
•      he had a 51-9 career record as the head coach at Northwestern Oklahoma, including two trips to the national championship game
•     Higgins was a quarterback for Emporia State from 1987-90 and was on the 1989 national runners-up team. 
•      he is 2-5 against Washburn.

 Ichabod Offensive Notes
•     Senior running back Vershon Moore needs 420 rushing yards to become the all-time leader at Washburn …  has also rushed for 30 touchdowns and has two of the top three single-game totals in school history … he has rushed for 2,996 yards in his career … he has ten 100-yard rushing games and with four more yards will become the third Ichabod to go over the 3,000-yard rushing mark in a career at Washburn.
•     Junior running back Sean McPherson has rushed for 1,161 yards in his career going over the 1,000-yard mark against Nebraska-Kearney.
•     Senior DaJuan Beard became the 12th Ichabod to catch at least 100 passes and he now has 153 catches which is fourth all-time at Washburn … his 2,219 yards is fifth all-time at well at Washburn … he needs 17 catches to move into second on the all-time receiving chart to pass Michael Dritlein (1992-95) after passing Mike Odupitan (2002-05) for third against Missouri Western.
•     Senior Dylan Ready has played in 40 games on the offensive line and has started at left tackle, left guard and right tackle on the offensive line.
•    Junior Connor Crimmins has appeared in 30 games adding 42 catches for 609 yards …he had a career high 98 yards receiving against Missouri Western … Crimmins, who also plays baseball for the Ichabods, is switching from No. 14 to No. 19 to honor former Ichabod baseball coach Steve Anson.
•     Junior Cameron Brown is moving back into the starting line up this season at center after starting 12 games at right guard in 2012. 
•     Junior Sam Eickhoff has started 15 career games at fullback appearing in 25 games.
•     Junior wide receiver Jordan Hart is back after playing in parts of five games last season … he has 54 catches for 965 yards and nine touchdowns in his career and has averaged 17.9 yards per reception.
•     Sophomore running back Donnie Lockhart III received a medical redshirt after recording 26 carries for 120 yards and three touchdowns last season … this season he has played in four games.
•     Sophomore Michael Miller was an honorable mention all-MIAA pick after starting 11 games at left guard … this season he is moving to right tackle making eight starts.
•    Senior Matt Buhler had a career-high four catches for a career-high 58 yards against Lindenwood … this season he has 12 catches for 135 yards.
•     Senior Brad Gourley had a career-long 87-yard reception for a touchdown against Nebraska-Kearney. He has 34 receptions for 437 yards and three scores playing in 28 career games.
•     Senior quarterback Mitch Buhler has made 23 starts at Washburn passing for 4,486 career yards and 45 touchdowns … his 45 TD passes are fourth all-time at Washburn and his 343 career completions are sixth.

 Ichabod Defensive Notes
•     Senior safety Calvin Kenney has played in 42 games making 37 starts tallying 247 tackles with 146 solo stops with four interceptions … he had a career-high 17 tackles against Central Missouri and he has had double-digit tackles in six-straight games … he is 11th on the Ichabod all-time solo tackle chart and 13th on the total tackle chart.
•     Sophomore defensive end Akhmad Abdul-Razzaq moves into a starting defensive end position after recording 23 tackles last season appearing in 11 games last season … this season he has recorded 36 tackles with a career-high 10 tackles coming against Nebraska-Kearney.
•     Senior defensive tackle Bryan Dale has appeared in 42 games … he has recorded 51 career tackles.
•     Senior defensive end Alex Dowty has appeared in 29 games with 46 tackles including 14 tackles for loss.
•     Senior defensive tackle Tyler Ewy has made 21 career starts including 11 in 2013 … overall he has appeared in 36 games with 78 tackles and 9.5 career tackles for loss … he had a career-high eight tackles against Missouri Western on Oct. 4.
•     Sophomore defensive back Zach Franklin had made 10 starts appearing in 19 games at Washburn … the nine tackles against Lindenwood was a career-high and his 98 all-purpose yards against Missouri Southern was a career high … he has 22 tackles this season with 18 solo stops.
•     Sophomore linebacker Cody Heiman is back to the defensive side of the ball after rushing for 426 yards and 91 carries with six touchdowns in 2013 … his nine tackles against Lindenwood was a career-high … overall he has played in 21 games making nine starts gaining 61 tackles with 38 solo stops.
•     Senior defensive back Dwayne Joseph has made 14 starts recording 67 career tackles with 48 solo stops and one interception in his career appearing in 39 games overall.
•     Junior linebacker Mark Kolmer is another Ichabod moving from offense to defense as he's played in 30 career games with ten starts adding 57 tackles … he made six starts at fullback in 2013 … his nine tackles against Fort Hays State was a career high and he recorded his first career interception against Nebraska-Kearney returning it seven yards setting up the game-winning field goal.
•     Junior safety Jaime Myers has made 14 starts playing in 29 games with 91 tackles and three interceptions … he has 1,660 career all-purpose yards averaging 57.2 per game … he had a career-high 11 tackles against Central Missouri.
•     Junior safety Shay Wooten moves into a starting safety role and has recorded 108 career tackles appearing in 30 games … he had a career-high 12 tackles against Missouri Western last season.
•    Redshirt freshman Peter Pfannenstiel has started six games at safety and has recorded 36 tackles with 21 solo stops and a pass break up.

 Ichabod Special Team Notes
•     Sophomore Justin Linn returns after being honored as a first team all-MIAA kicker in 2013 … he was a preseason all-American selection for this season by D2Football.com … Linn is 6 of 10 this season with a season-long of 34 … his 69 PATs rank ninth all-time at Washburn and his 20 career field goals are tied for fifth … his four field goals against Central Oklahoma tied a school record and his six attempts were a school record.
•     Senior Aaron Hummert has 170 punts for 6,853 yards averaging 40.3 yards per punt playing in 43 career games … his 40.3 career punting average second in school history and his 6,853 yards is seventh all-time … had a career-long run of 17 yards on a fourth down against Pittsburg State for a first down.

 Know the Foe
•     The Hornets are 4-4 this season after winning 30-10 at Missouri Western last time out.
•    The Hornets are averaging 404 yards a game in total offense while allowing 446.6 yards a game by their opponents.
•    Antonio Brown leads the team averaging 73.1 yards per game on the ground.
•    Austin Willis has a team-high 47 catches for 699 yards and six touchdowns averaging 87.4 yards per game receiving.
•    The Hornets are down to their third quarterback this season after injuries to starter Brent Wilson and Ty Reasnor. Braxton Marstall started against Missouri Western and was 24 of 38 with two touchdowns passing for 233 yards.
•    Defensively Jason Tetuan leads the team with 56 tackles adding three tackles for loss. Eddie Vinson leads the team with three sacks and six tackles for loss.

 Series Notes with Emporia State
Series Record: ESU leads 53-51-6
Streak: ESU has won the last two
First Meeting: ESU 11-0 (11/4/1899) in Topeka
Last Meeting: ESU 34-23 (11/16/2013) in Emporia
Last WU win: 31-17 (10/1/2011) in Emporia
Last ESU win: 34-23 (11/16/2013) in Emporia
Largest WU win: 42-0 (11/6/2010) in Topeka
Largest ESU win: 45-6 (11/2/1928) in Emporia

 Last Meeting with Emporia State
(11/16/2013) EMPORIA, Kan. -- The Wasburn Ichabod football season came to an end with a 34-23 loss at Emporia State. 
Washburn fell behind after the Hornets wrapped up a 13-play, 73-yard drive with a 19-yard field goal by Eli Kuhns. However the Ichabods took the lead with a 6-play, 64-yard drive going up 6-3 after a Vershon Moore 5-yard score. The extra point attempt was missed.
The Hornets then would roll up 21-straight points to go up 24-6 entering the break at halftime.
After the Ichabods held the Hornets to a punt on their first drive of the second half, Joel Piper hit Mark Fancher on a 61-yard touchdown strike cutting the lead to 24-13. The Ichabods would then go a 15-play drive, but it stalled deep in ESU territory and Justin Linn hit a 24-yard field goal pulling Washburn within eight at 24-16.
Emporia State scored the next 13 points to go up 34-16. 
Jaime Myers returned a punt 85-yards for a score with eight seconds to play trimming the lead back to 11 at 34-23.
Cody Heiman led the Ichabods with 65 yards on the ground while Piper finished 14 of 32 for 223 yard and one score. Moore led the Ichabods with five catches and Fancher finished with a team-high 69 yards receiving.
Calvin Kenney had 11 tackles with seven solo stops and Bryce Atagi finished his career with nine tackles with a 1/2 tackle for loss. He raised his career tackle tally to 355 stops and his tackle for loss total to 36 which are both third on the Ichabod all-time chart.
ESU's Brent Wilson passed for 362 yards completing 25 of 35 passes for two scores before leaving the game with an injury.

 Last time out for Emporia State
(10/25/2014) Emporia State took advantage of four Missouri Western turnovers and posted a 30-10 win over the Griffons on Saturday afternoon in St. Joseph, Mo. Making his first start, true freshman Braxton Marstall was 24 of 38 for 233 yards with two touchdowns and an interception as the Hornets reached 30 points for the first time since a 37-22 win over Lindenwood.
Neither team scored in the first quarter.  The Griffons made it into the redzone twice but missed a field goal and A.J. West intercepted a pass in the endzone to end a second quarter threat. Missouri Western got on the board with a 38 yard field goal with 5:28 left in the half.  The Hornets responded with a ten play, 75 yard drive capped by a ten yard touchdown from Marstall to Mitchell Foote with 2:01 left for a 7-3 lead.  After Deveon Dinwiddie returned an interception 28 yards, Austin Morton hit a 32 yard field goal to send the Hornets to the locker room with a 10-3 lead.
After both teams traded punts to open the third quarter, Deveon Dinwiddie tackled Austin Burau for a loss of four yards on a fake punt deep in Griffon territory.  Three plays later Marstall found Jordan Tice for a five yard touchdown pass and a 17-3 Hornet lead with 7:10 left in the third.  Missouri Western answered with a seven play, 74 yard drive capped by a 24 yard touchdown pass from Skyler Windmiller to Dee Tolliver to pull within 17-10.  Emporia State came back with a 42 yard field goal from Morton to cap an eight play, 45 yard drive and go to the fourth quarter with a 20-10 lead.
The Griffons missed a 41 yard field goal on their first drive of the fourth quarter and the Hornets went on a ten play, 67 yard drive capped by another Morton field goal, this one from 26 yards for a 23-10 lead with 9:13 remaining.  Lyndell Johnson iced the game with a 48 yard interception return for a touchdown with 2:19 left that put the Hornets up 30-10.
Marstall connected with six different receivers led by Kavaski Ervin with nine catches for 100 yards and Austin Willis with nine receptions for 72 yards.  Antonio Brown gained 64 yards on 12 carries while Kai Callins chipped in 40 yards on 12 carries. Jason Tetuan had a game high ten tackles while Deshawn Dinwiddie had nien tackles and a forced fumble.  

 Last time out for Washburn
(10/25/2014) TOPEKA, Kan. -- EDMOND, Okla. -- The Washburn Ichabods started off with a 10-0 lead at Central Oklahoma but could not hold the lead as they struggled in the redzone in a 35-26 loss to the Bronchos. 
The Ichabods jumped out to a 3-0 lead on a 20-yard field goal by Justin Linn, the first of his single-game tying record of four on the afternoon, on Washburn's first drive of the game. Washburn stretched the lead to 10-0 when Zeke Palmer hit Jordan Hart on a 29-yard touchdown pass with 2:40 remaining in the first quarter.
UCO got on the board on its next possession after the Ichabods recovered an onsides kick, but were whistled for offsides. UCO took advantage and scored three plays later on a 19-yard run by Jake Gandara with 1:51 to play in the first quarter.
The Bronchos (6-2, 6-2 MIAA) took the lead for good with a 90-yard drive on an 11-yard rush by Clay McKenzie. The Ichabods drove down to the UCO eight on their next drive, but settled for a 25-yard field goal by Linn with 7:39 to play in the first half.
UCO pushed its lead out to eight on a 10-yard touchdown run by Gandara with 3:35 to play in the half. On the Ichabods (2-6, 2-6 MIAA) next drive down to the UCO 11, Linn hit a 28-yard field goal cutting the UCO lead to 21-16 before the half.
The Ichabods' blocked a UCO field attempt by Calvin Kenney on the Bronchos first drive of the half and the Ichabods drove down to the UCO 6-yard line, but settled for a 23-yard field goal by Linn tying the Washburn single-game record.
UCO came back on its next drive and went down to the Ichabod 5-yard line, but they missed a field goal which was partially blocked by Kenney. The Ichabods drove to the UCO 41 and the drive stalled after a fake punt came up short and UCO scored on a 7-yard touchdown pass taking a 28-19 lead with 9:33 to play in the game.
Washburn came back with a 6-play, 77 yard drive when Zeke Palmer hit Connor Crimmins on a 4-yard touchdown pass with 6:56 to play.
However UCO returned serve with a 60-yd touchdown run by Chas Stallard pushing the UCO lead to 35-26 with 3:40 remaining in the game.
The Ichabods tied a pair of long field goal of 41- and 52-yards needing two scores but came up short on both as UCO would run on the clock after the final one picking up the 25-26 win.
Vershon Moore led the Ichabods with 154 yards rushing as Washburn rushed for 244 overall. Palmer finished 24 of 40 with two touchdowns and 249 yards and rushed for 44 more on seven carries.
Moore also had six catches for 34 yards and Hart had five catches for 89 yards and one touchdown.
Stallard had 158 yards rushing and added 112 through the air to lead UCO.
Defensively Kenney had eight tackles to lead Washburn and Peter Pfannenstiel had seven tackles with six solo stops and Shay Wooten had seven tackles.
Washburn had 28 first downs in the game finishing with 493 yards of total offense while the Bronchos has 22 first downs and 450 yards of offense. 

 Washburn Football History
Washburn is 527-563-44 (.480) in the 124th year of Ichabod football. 

 A win for Washburn over Emporia State would . . .
• lift the Ichabods to 528-563-44 in their football history.
• snap a three-game losing streak by the Ichabods.
• snap a two-game losing streak to the Hornets.
• make the Ichabods 52-53-6 all-time against the Hornets.
• give head coach Craig Schurig his 90th win on the Washburn bench.

 A loss for Washburn to Emporia State would . . .
• drop the Ichabods to 527-564-44 in their football history.
• drop the Ichabods to 51-54-6 all-time against the Hornets.
• drop the Ichabods to 2-7 overall and 2-7 in the MIAA.
• be the Ichabods' third-straight loss to the Hornets.
• be the Hornets' longest winning streak over the Ichabods since winning 11 in a row between 1991 to 2001.

 Ichabods in the National Polls
WACO, Texas -- The Ichabods fell did not receive any votes this week after the loss to Central Oklahoma after receiving votes in the preseason poll released on Aug. 18.
Under head coach Craig Schurig, the Ichabods have been ranked or have received votes in the AFCA poll 52 times and have been ranked in the top 10 15 times. Washburn has received votes in or been ranked in 10-consecutive AFCA preseason polls.

 Up Next
Washburn will wrap up the home slate against Northeastern State on Nov. 8 and they will honor the Ichabod seniors before the game prior wrapping up the season against Northwest Missouri in the Fall Classic at Arrowhead Stadium on Nov. 15.