Complete Game Notes

Quick Facts
Date: Saturday, Oct. 20, 2007
Time: 1 p.m. CST       
Site: Topeka, Kan.
Stadium: Yager Stadium       
Opened: 1928
Surface: Sportexe Surface       
Capacity: 7,200
Series History: Saturday's meeting is the 25th all-time. Truman leads the all-time series 18-6 … Washburn has won 3 of the last 5 meetings.
Rankings (AFCA/D2football.com): WU (RV/NR), TSU (NR/NR)
WU Radio:  KTPK, 106.9 FM with Bruce Steinbrock (play-by-play), Mark Elliott (color analyst), Jan Lunsford (sideline). The broadcast begins 30 minutes before kickoff.
Internet: Live audio and stats available through wusports.com; video at www.themiaa.tv

Setting the scene. . .
It's homecoming for Washburn as the Ichabods play host to Truman at 1 p.m. in Yager Stadium. The Ichabods are alone in second place in the MIAA race with a 4-1 conference record and they are 5-2 overall. The Bulldogs are 4-3 overall and 2-3 in conference play. Washburn is looking to win their fourth straight game. The Bulldogs had their two-game winning streak snapped last time out 40-0 by Pittsburg State. Washburn topped Emporia State for the fourth straight time winning 31-21 in Emporia. A win on Saturday against the Bulldogs would guarantee the Ichabods their fourth straight winning season, the longest streak since the Ichabods teams from 1903 through 1907 finished with a winning record going five straight seasons with a winning record.

Ichabods on Radio . . .
The game will be broadcast live on KTPK, 106.9 FM. The game can also be heard on the internet at www.wusports.com by following the “LiveAudio” link under the football tab. Bruce Steinbrock will be the play-by-play voice of the Ichabods and former WU quarterback Mark Elliott will be the color analyst, while Jan Lunsford will be on the sidelines.

The Coaches . . .
Washburn head football coach Craig Schurig was named head coach of the Ichabod football program Dec. 28, 2001. Schurig is 37-27 (.578) in his sixth season as the Ichabod head coach and he is 29-20 (.592) against the MIAA. He led the Ichabods their first MIAA title since joining the league and the first conference title since the Ichabods won the CSIC in 1983 in 2005. He was the 2005 MIAA Coach of the Year after leading the Ichabods to their first NCAA Playoffs and MIAA Championship. Schurig is 3-2 against Truman. He collected his first win as a head coach against the Bulldogs in a 26-21 win on Oct. 12, 2002.
Shannon Currier is in his fourth season at the helm of the Bulldogs and has a 14-25 (.368) record. Coach Currier is in his eight year as a head coach, spending four years at Concordia-St. Paul. Currier is 46-37 (.560) overall. He is 1-2 against the Ichabods.
 
Ichabods last time out . . .
Oct. 13, 2007 • Washburn 31, Emporia State 21 • EMPORIA, Kan. -- The 104th meeting of the Turnpike Tussle went to the Washburn Ichabods as Brandon Walker rushed for 153 yards on 10 carries and two touchdowns in a 31-21 win. With the win, Washburn improves to 5-2, 4-1 in the MIAA. The Ichabods will return home next weekend as they play host to Truman for homecoming festivities.
The Ichabods scored first as Drameagon Powers pulled in a 44-yard touchdown reception from Jordan Brill at the 9:28 mark of the first quarter.
The Hornets answered on their next drive as quarterback Andre Sloan El rushed in from 3-yards out with 7:34 on the clock in the first quarter. On the Ichabods next possession, Ra'Shawn Mosley capped an 8-play, 54-yard drive to put the Ichabods up 14-7.
The Ichabods scored the only points of the second quarter as Andrew Knight connected on a 25-yard field goal with 3:22 left in the half putting Washburn up 17-7.
Neither team could put any points on the board in the third quarter, but it set up a wild fourth quarter with the team combining for 28 points.
ESU's Seville Ko scored on a 9-yard touchdown run with 14:12 left in the game, but his extra point was blocked by Ben Bianchino, leaving Washburn with a 17-13 lead.
Walker rushed for his first touchdown in the quarter as he went over right end for a 70-yard touchdown run putting the Ichabods up 24-13. The Hornets would come back on their next drive chewing up 7:04 off the clock going 68-yards in 16 plays cutting the lead to 24-21 after the two point conversion was successful after Sloan El's 2-yard run.
The Ichabods' Walker scored his second TD of the quarter going around left end this time galloping 68 yards putting Washburn up 31-21.
Washburn iced the game on ESU's drive final drive when, Bruce Ringwood caused a fumble and Eric Butler fell on it and the Ichabods ran out the clock for the 10-point win.
Walker led the Ichabods with his 153 yards on the ground and Mosley rushed for 93 yards on 21 carries and one touchdown while Washburn finished with 254 yards on the ground on 38 carries and three touchdowns. The Ichabods had 10 receivers with at least one reception and Trent Stepps had two. Ben Boswell had four punts for 178 yards including a 63-yard kick in the third quarter.
Ringwood and Zach Watkins each had 11 tackles to lead the Ichabods and Ray Trice had a career-high 10 tackles, including one for loss.
The Ichabods recorded 412 yards of offense while the Hornets had 435. Washburn was 0 for 10 on third down conversions, but were 3 of 4 on fourth down.

About the opponents . . .
The Bulldogs return 14 starters (5 offense, 6 defense, 3 special teams) from their 2006 squad, which posted a 6-5 overall record. The Truman offense is averaging 26.7 points and 370.4 total yards, while the Bulldogs defense is allowing 32.0 points and 465.4 total yards with 264 yards coming through the air.
Junior quarterback Matt Ticich has completed 152 of 265 passes (.574) for 1,659 yards (237 ypg) and 11 touchdowns with four interceptions. He's also rushed the ball 74 times for 253 yards (3.4 ypc) and a team-leading five touchdowns, accounting for 273.1 yards of total offense per game.
Senior running back Jake Cunningham has been Ticich's favorite target. Cunningham has caught a team-leading 30 passes for 207 yards and one touchdown. He's also rushed the ball 78 times for 289 yards and two TDs.
On defense, Kyle Supianoski and Jesse Cooper each have 61 tackles to lead the Bulldogs.

Last time out for the Bulldogs . . .
October 13, 2007-KIRKSVILLE, Mo. -- The defense of No. 23 Pittsburg State held Truman to 239 total yards and forced three turnovers, while the Gorillas collected 528 yards of offense en route to a 40-0 shutout of the Bulldogs Saturday (Oct. 13) at Stokes Stadium.
It was the 20th consecutive win by PSU (5-2, 3-2 MIAA) over Truman (4-3, 2-3 MIAA) since the Gorillas joined the conference in 1989.
Junior QB Mark Smith logged a career-high 108 rushing yards on 14 carries, and threw for 203 yards and a pair of touchdowns as he completed 11 of his 18 attempts. Nearly half of his yards through the air came on a 98-yard scoring pass to junior WR Harrison Kush in the third quarter after junior DB Bryan McMurtrey picked off a pass at the PSU 2.
Junior RB Caleb Farabi, who failed to reach triple-figure rushing yards for the first time this season, did score twice on the ground while collecting 83 yards. He also added 47 yards receiving on a team-high four catches and a third TD on the day for the Gorillas.
Sophomore FB Todd Hertzog scored Pitt State's first touchdown, capping the drive with a 1-yard plunge with 6:35 left in the opening quarter. Freshman K Jared Witter, who kept PSU's second scoring drive alive with a 25-yard run on a fake punt, added a field goal in the fourth quarter.
Truman junior QB Matt Ticich completed just 13 of 32 attempts passing for 156 yards and two interceptions. He logged 25 of the Bulldogs' 76 total rushing yards on the day, and had to fall on a bad snap in the end zone for a second-quarter safety.
Sophomore FB Phil Kenney had a team-high four catches for 30 yards and shared team rushing honors with senior RB Jake Cunningham -- each had 26 yards.
Senior DL Rashad Pittman and senior DB Nick Dellasega each logged eight tackles (three solos) and two pass breakups for the Gorillas. Freshman DB Alex Kuhlman added five stops, a forced fumble and an interception.
Junior DB Matt Burel had 16 tackles (six solos), while junior LB Michael Phillips added 13 (one solo, 1.5 for loss) for the Bulldogs.

Series Notes . . .
Saturday's meeting is the 25th in the series. Truman leads the all-time series 18-6. The Ichabods' win over the Bulldogs in 2002 gave head coach Craig Schurig his first collegiate win as a head coach. The Ichabods have won three of the last five meetings and four of the last eight overall. The Ichabods had their two game winning streak in Kirksville snapped last season. Since 1961, The Bulldogs are 8-4 against the Ichabods in Topeka. The Ichabods' 62-0 win over the Bulldogs on Sept. 18, 2004 in Kirksville was the fourth largest margin of victory in any game in school history.
Series Record: TSU leads 18-6
First Meeting: TSU 26, WU 13 (1958)
Last Meeting: TSU 21-7 (10/21/06) in Kirksville
Last WU win: 21-14 (10/15/05) in Topeka
Last TSU win: 21-7 (10/21/06) in Kirksville
Largest WU win: 62-0 (9/18/2004) in Kirksville
Largest TSU win: 39-0 (9/22/1962) in Kirksville

Last Meeting with Truman . . .
(Oct. 21, 2006) KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – The Ichabods turned the ball over on six of their seven second-half possessions, setting up two Truman touchdowns as Washburn lost 21-7 to the Bulldogs on a rain-soaked afternoon at Stokes Stadium. The Ichabods had their record evened at 4-4 overall and 3-3 in the MIAA as they lost their third straight while TSU went to 4-4 and 4-2.
The Ichabods kept the ball on the ground for most of the day with Trent Hearn, Ra'Shawn Mosley and Brandon Walker each rushing for over 50 yards. Mosley had the lone WU touchdown on a five-yard run in the first quarter. Quarterback Beau Wofford, who threw the ball just once in the first half, was 3-for-7 for 19 yards and an interception.
Truman scored first on a short rush from Mickey Masucci. WU had to punt on its next possession and then got the ball back as Fletcher Terrell recovered a TSU fumble on the return. Starting on the Truman 12-yard line, Mosley carried the ball three straight times to get the score.
The Ichabods fumbled on the opening drive in the second half and TSU's Terry Chandler returned it 30 yards for a touchdown to break the 7-7 tie. The Ichabods also fumbled their first drive in the fourth quarter that set up a three-play, 16-yards touchdown drive for the Bulldogs.
Both teams had trouble moving the ball throughout the game. Washburn had nine first downs while TSU had eight. The two teams combined for just 316 total yards of offense, including just 33 through the air.
  
The Ichabods on homecoming . . .
Saturday's game will be the Ichabods' first of two homecoming games this season. The Ichabods have won 17 of their last 23 homecoming match ups played on the road and in Yager Stadium. The Ichabods have won four straight homecoming games after beating Emporia State 37-6 last season in Yager Stadium last falling on Oct. 26, 2002 in double overtime to Missouri Western 34-28.

Washburn Football History . . .
Washburn is 480-539-44 in its 117th year of college football.

A win for Washburn would . . .
• lift the Ichabods to 481-539-44 in its football history.
• push the Ichabods to 6-2 on the season and 5-1 in MIAA play.
• push the Ichabods to 7-18 all-time against the Bulldogs.
• be the fourth win in the last six games against the Bulldogs.
• be the second straight win over the Bulldogs in Topeka.
• would clinch the Ichabods fourth straight winning season, the longest streak of winning years the Ichabods have had since the 1903 to 1907 seasons - five consecutive winning seasons.

A loss for Washburn would . . .
• drop the Ichabods to 480-540-44 in its football history.
• drop the Ichabods to 6-19 all-time against the Bulldogs.
• even the Ichabods 2007 record to 5-3 overall and 4-2 in MIAA play.

The Ichabods in the National Polls . . .
The Ichabods dropped out of the AFCA National Coaches Poll after their season-opening loss to Chadron State. The Ichabods dropped out of the D2football.com national poll after showing at No. 24 in their preseason poll. The Ichabods received votes in the Oct. 16th poll after their win over Emporia State in the AFCA poll.

Ichabods vs ranked opponents . .
   The Ichabods are 7-34 vs ranked Division II opponents after their win over No. 24 Missouri Western on Sept. 29, 2007. The Ichabods have beat the Griffons two straight times when they were ranked as they also be at No. 11 ranked Griffon squad in the 2006 season finale. The win over the then No. 14 ranked Colorado Mines in the 2005 opener was the first win over a ranked team on the road for the Ichabods and the win over then No. 5 Northwest Missouri was the Ichabods' highest win over a ranked opponent on the road.  The Ichabods' highest win ever over a ranked opponents is their 35-34 overtime win over Pittsburg State, who was ranked No. 4 before losing to the Ichabods on Oct. 1, 2005.Under head coach Craig Schurig, the Ichabods are 7-13 against ranked opponents since 2002. They are 6-5 since the 2004 season including a 3-1 record in 2005.

Bods and Ends . . .
• Seven games into his senior season, senior quarterback Jordan Brill is getting closer to putting his name atop the Washburn passing records as he has thrown for 5,971 yards, as one of only four Ichabods to reach 5,000 yards in a career joining Tyler Schuerman (6,525), Joe Schartz (5,527) and Mike Atkins (5,437). He passed Joe Schartz for No. 2 on the passing chart on Saturday against Missouri Western earlier this season.
• Brill needs 555 yards to become Washburn's all-time leading passer. The current record is 6,525 yards held by Tyler Schuerman.
• Ichabod senior running back Ra'Shawn Mosley has pulled within 217 yards of breaking Trent Hearn's (2003-06) all-time rushing mark of 3,154 yards. Entering the game with the Bulldogs, Mosley has 2,938 career yards. To break the record, Mosley needs to average 54.0 yards per game the remainder of the regular season to snap the record.
• Zach Watkins moved into 12th on the Ichabod all-time tackles chart. He has 190 for his career after tallying 100 last season, Watkins has 90 this season with 46 solo stops and 44 assisted tackles.
• Jake Lebahn needs 11 receiving yards to go over 1,000 yards for his career.
• The Ichabods have had at least one interception in each game this season. Overall, Washburn has 12 interceptions. The school single-season team record is 22 set in 1983.

On this day in Washburn football History . . .
Oct. 20 - Since 1961, the Ichabods are 2-2 on this date.
1979 – The Ichabods lost to Fort Hays State 20-6 in Topeka under first year coach Gary Hampton.
1984 – The Ichabods won at Fort Hays State 26-14 under Larry Elliott, in the first game of his second stint as the Ichabods' head coach.
1990 – The Ichabods won at Northwest Missouri 14-0 in Dennis Caryl's first season on the Washburn sideline.
2001 – The Ichabods lost at Missouri Western 27-6 in Tony DeMeo's final season at Washburn.
Other items from Oct. 20
• 1803 - The United States Senate ratifies the Louisiana Purchase.
• 1931 - Mickey Mantle was born
• 1977 - A plane carrying Lynyrd Skynyrd crashes in Mississippi, killing lead singer Ronnie Van Zant and guitarist Steve Gaines along with backup singer Cassie Gaines, road manager Dean Kilpatrick, pilot Walter McCreary, and co-pilot William Gray.
• 1988 - Ichabod redshirt freshman Jeremy Dillard was born.
• 2004 - The Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball become the first team in the history of the league to win a best-of-7 postseason series after trailing the series 3 games to 0, by defeating the New York Yankees in Game 7 the American League Championship Series.

Up next . . .
The Ichabods will take part in their second homecoming game, however this time it will be on the road as they travel to Maryville, Mo., to take on Northwest Missouri State at 1:30 p.m. The Ichabods will return home the following weekend to host Pittsburg State on senior day for the Ichabods.