Complete game notes

Setting the scene. . .
The Ichabods will play in their second straight homecoming game - this time on the road - as they travel to Maryville, Mo., to take on Northwest Missouri in a battle for first place in the MIAA. The Ichabods enter the game with a 6-2 overall record and a 5-1 mark in MIAA play.  The Bearcats are 6-0 in MIAA action and 6-1 overall. An Ichabod win would put the two teams in a tie for first place in the conference standings with two games to go in the regular season.

Quick Facts
Date: Saturday, Oct. 27, 2007
Time: 1:30 p.m. CST       
Site: Maryville, Mo.
Stadium: Bearcat Stadium       
Opened: 1917
Surface: Field Turf       
Capacity: 6,500
Series History: Saturday's meeting is the 28th all-time. The Bearcats leads the all-time series 21-6 … Washburn ended the Bearcats' 12-game home field winning streak the last time they played in Maryville in 2005.
Rankings (AFCA/D2football.com): WU (RV/NR), NWMSU (7th/5th)
WU Radio:  AM580 WIBW 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

Ichabods on Radio . . .
The game will be broadcast live on AM 580 WIBW. 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 38-27 (.578) in his sixth season as the Ichabod head coach and he is 30-20 (.600) 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 1-5 against the Bearcats.
Mel Tjeerdsma Northwest Missouri State coach Mel Tjeerdsma is in his 14th year as the head coach of the Bearcats. Tjeerdsma has a 138-37 coaching mark at NWMSU. Overall Tjeerdsma is 197-76-4 in his 24th season of being a head coach.

Ichabods last time out . . .
Oct. 20, 2007 • Washburn 71, Truman 35 • TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn Ichabods set a school record with 428 yards rushing placing three over the 100-yard rushing mark in a 71-35 win over Truman. Washburn (6-2, 5-1 MIAA) will travel to Northwest Missouri next weekend to take on the Bearcats in a battle for first place in the MIAA in Maryville.
The Ichabods took the opening kickoff and marched 50 yards in five plays as Brandon Walker scored the first of his four rushing touchdowns on the afternoon scoring from 18-yards out putting Washburn up 7-0.
After Truman's first drive stalled, the Ichabods took over at their own 4-yard line and put together a 96-yard drive in 14 plays as Ra'Shawn Mosley scored the first on a pass reception from Jordan Brill from 23-yards out doubling the lead to 14-0.
The Bulldogs got on the clock on their next possession as Mat Ticich hit Phil Kenney on a 53-yard strike cutting the Washburn lead in half.
Washburn scored on their next possession as defensive tackle Eric Butler was put in at fullback and carried from 1-yard out capping a 71-yard drive for the Ichabods. Washburn forced a three-and-out on the Bulldogs and took over at their own 49 yard line. Seven plays later and a Walker touchdown run from 1-yard out put the Ichabods up 28-7 with 11:06 remaining in the second quarter.
The Bulldogs tossed an interception on their next drive which was returned to the Truman 31 by Xavier Beckford. After an 18-yard rush by Brad Cole aided by a Bulldog personal foul, Mosley scored from 6-yards out putting Washburn up 35-7.
After a punt by the Bulldogs and a fumble by Washburn on their next possession, Truman scored on a 2-yard pass from Ticich to Ryan King cutting the Washburn lead to 35-15 after an unconventional 2-point conversion by the Bulldogs. Cary Williams blocked the extra point attempt, but Ticich scooped up the loose ball, rolled to his right and hit Les Hammers for the conversion.
After the Ichabods' drive was halted, Ben Boswell launched a 70-yard punt handing possession back to Washburn. After seven plays by the Bulldogs, Ticich was intercepted by WU's Williams at the Washburn 33 and returned it to 56-yards to the Truman 11 setting up a one-play, 11-yard drive as Mosley scored his second rushing touchdown.
With 34 seconds left in the half, Truman scored to cut the lead to 42-22 on a Ticich pass to Charlie Brunette. The Ichabods however drove 76 yards in seven plays after taking the kickoff as Brill hit Drameagon Powers for a 24-yard touchdown pass with three seconds remaining in the half putting Washburn up 50-22 after a two-point conversion from Brill to Jake Lebahn.
In the first half, Washburn recorded 472 yards in total offense on 63 plays.
In the second half, Butler picked up his second touchdown of the afternoon on another 1-yard plunge putting Washburn up 57-22.
Ticich would toss his fourth touchdown pass of the game hitting Steve D'Antonio on a 28-yard reception with 5:28 to go in the third quarter.
Walker added to the Washburn score hitting paydirt from 8-yards out with 4:17 left in the third quarter putting the Ichabods up 64-28.
Truman scored as Ticich hit Kenney for his fifth touchdown pass of the afternoon on a 15-yard completion with 12:54 remaining in the game.
Washburn would wrap up the scoring as Walker scored from 2-yards out to reach the final points of the game at 71-35.
Mosley finished with 147 yards rushing with the two touchdowns and he added 40 yards receiving on two catches and another touchdown. Walker finished with his second straight 100-yard output with 133 yards on 19 carries and four touchdowns – one shy of tying the school record of five set by Art Fletcher against Benedictine in 1948. Terrance Lowe had 11 carries for 117 yards to help the Ichabods have three 100-yard rushers in the same game in school history.
Brill was 10 of 15 for two touchdowns and 162 yards.
On defense, Washburn was led by Zach Watkins who had 11 tackles. Eric Butler had two sacks and five tackles overall to go with his two rushing touchdowns.
Jake Cunningham had 67 yards on 10 carries to lead the Bulldog ground attack. Ticich was 21 of 40 for 280 yards and five touchdowns overall to go along with two Ichabod picks.

About the opponents . . .
The Bearcats are 6-1 this season with their lone loss coming to future MIAA school Nebraska-Omaha. In conference play, the Bearcats are 6-0 this season. Northwest has won 18 straight games against MIAA opponents. That includes two playoff wins in 2005. The last MIAA foe to beat the Bearcats is Pittsburg State, who won the 2005 Fall Classic at Arrowhead, 56-35, Oct. 29, 2005.
The Bearcats are led by Senior running back Xavier Omon, who also leads the MIAA in rushing yards with 158.6 yarder per game and 20 touchdowns scored. Senior quarterback is seventh in the MIAA in pass yards per game with 156.7 per outting. He has completed 65.5 percent of his passes connecting on 72 of 110 attempts with six interceptions and eight touchdowns. Sophomore defensive end Sean Paddock has 4.5 sacks to lead the Bearcat defense.

Last time out for the Bearcats . . .
HAYS, Kan.—On a day when its offense struggled to get going, Northwest got a season-high six sacks from its defense and stopped a late drive to beat Fort Hays State, 17-10, Saturday at Lewis Field. It was the Bearcats first trip to Hays since 1979. Northwest (6-1, 6-0 MIAA) mains one game ahead of Washburn, who visits Maryville next weekend.
Xavier Omon extended his streak of consecutive 100-yard efforts to 12 games and became the seventh player in Divison II history to rush for 1,000 yards in four seasons. He carried 27 times for 151 yards and scored his 19th and 20th touchdowns of the season. He's tied the program's regular season mark for touchdowns scored during the regular season.
Josh Mathews threw for a game-high 161 yards but was intercepted twice. The Bearcats committed three turnovers on the day and committed 10 penalties for 85 yards. Northwest had a 51-yard touchdown pass called back in the first half and a fourth-quarter interception return for a touchdown wiped out by penalties.
Northwest still managed 200 yards rushing and 402 total yards of offense. The Tigers (3-5, 1-5) failed to run for 100 yards and were limited to 241 yards of total offense.
Josh Osborn was 4-for-5 for 41 yards in limited action for the Bearcats. He quarterbacked the team's third offensive series and led the Bearcats on a five-play, 53-yard touchdown drive. He completed passes to Josh Gannan for 10 yards and rolled out and found Mike Peterson for 22. A quick lateral to E.J. Falkner took Northwest to the 5-yard line and Omon went untouched through the left side for his first score.
The Tigers went three-and-out on their next possession and Northwest capitalized on a 25-yard field goal by Tommy Frevert. Gannan kept the drive alive with a third-down completion from Mathews. The Bearcats had 1st-and-10 from the 11-yard line before settling for three.
Another three-and-out by Fort Hays led to the Bearcats third score of the half. Omon capped an 11-play, 76 yard drive with a 4-yard run up the middle. It gave the Bearcats a 17-0 lead.
Fort Hays managed to score just before halftime. The Tigers converted a 4th-and-5 from the Northwest 38-yard line. Jordan Hickel later carried to the 1 before Ryne Salyer snuck in for a score. Hickel carried 21 times for 99 yards in the contest for Fort Hays.
The score was 17-10 when Fort Hays had the ball on its final drive of the game. Aldwin Foster-Rettig intercepted a tipped ball and raced 21 yards for what appeared to be the Bearcats fourth score. But a roughing-the-passer penalty gave the Tigers new life.
Caleb Dohrman recorded his second sack of the game on 3rd-and-10 moments later and Matt Robertson's open-field tackle on 4th-and-long sealed the win for Northwest. Omon carried five straight times for 23 yards to run out the clock.
In addition to its defense, Northwest got a great effort from freshman punter Michael Stadler. Stadler punted four times with a 41-yard average and twice pinned the Tigers inside their own 10-yard line. He booted a 52-yarder in the first quarter, which was one yard shy of his career long.
Robertson and Jared Erspamer each recorded nine tackles each. Chris Termini got his first career sack on a key third down in the fourth quarter. Brandon Clayton, Terry Bilbro and Dallas Flynn also recorded sacks for the Bearcats.

Series Notes . . .
Saturday's meeting is the 28th in the series between the Ichabods and the Bearcat. The Bearcats lead the all-time series 21-6. Overall, the Bearcats have won 15 of the last 17.
In Topeka, the Bearcats have won seven straight with the Ichabods' last win coming on Oct. 8, 1994, by a score of 48-14. Since 1984, the Ichabods are 3-9 against the Bearcats in Topeka. In their last meeting in Maryville, the Ichabods snapped a 12-game homefield win streak 31-28 on Oct. 8, 2005. Since 1984, the Ichabods are 2-9 against the Bearcats in Maryville.
Series Record: NWMSU leads 21-6
First Meeting: NWMSU 7, WU 6 (1940)
Last Meeting: NWMSU 31-26 (10/14/06) in Topeka
Last WU win: 31-28 (10/8/05) in Maryville
Last NWMSU win: 31-26 (10/14/06) in Topeka
Largest WU win: 48-14 (10/8/1994) in Topeka
Largest NWMSU win: 47-0 (9/8/1984) in Maryville

Last Meeting with Northwest Missouri . . .
(Oct. 24, 2006) TOPEKA, Kan. -- Zach Watkins returned a fumble 72 yards late in the fourth quarter to pull the Ichabods within five points of No. 2 Northwest Missouri State but came up short after the Bearcats ran the clock out and handed Washburn a 31-26 loss Saturday afternoon in front of 6,103 at Yager Stadium. Washburn fell to 4-3 and 3-2 in the MIAA while NWMSU stayed perfect at 7-0 and 5-0.
Beau Wofford, starting in his first game in place of injured Jordan Brill, was 5-of-12 for 69 yards in just his third game. Ra'Shawn Mosley was the leading rusher with 94 yards and a touchdown in 10 carries while Trent Hearn ran for 33 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Aaron Gardiner had 57 receiving yards in three catches.
After the Ichabods went three and out in their opening drive, the Bearcats had a 10-play, 87 yard drive that ended when quarterback Josh Mathews hit Mike Peterson on a 14-yard touchdown pass.
Washburn answered that score right away with a 53-yard run from Mosley, his firth touchdown of the year and longest rush. After a bad snap on the extra point attempt, holder Jarod Tetuan was tackled as he tried to get the ball in, making the score 7-6 NWMSU after a quarter.
The Bearcats scored two touchdowns to start the second quarter and then the Ichabods pulled to within 21-13 at halftime. Trent Hearn found a hole on the left side and darted in for a 28-yard touchdown, his seventh of the year.
Northwest Missouri State scored to open the second half but then threw interceptions on its next two drives. Adam Ewy picked off the first one at the NWMSU 26-yard line that set up a one-yard touchdown run for Hearn. The Ichabods could have closed the gap to eight points, but Connor Sabel missed his first extra-point attempt in 82 tries, making the score 28-19 with 4:35 left in the third quarter.
Tetuan then picked off a Mathews pass on the next Bearcat possession but the Ichabods offense couldn't capitalize on the turnover.
In the fourth quarter the Bearcats hit a 40-yard field goal to take a 12-point lead. Later they had the ball with under two minutes to go looking like they could hold on for a victory. Bruce Ringwood sacked Mathews at the Washburn 28 yard-line, forcing a fumble that Watkins returned 72 yards for the score with 1:53 left in the game. Sable's extra point was good but his onside kick attempt only went eight yards to his left before it bounced out of bounds.
The Bearcats got a first down on three rushes and then ran out the rest of the clock.
Ringwood and Aaron Neal led WU on defense with 12 tackles each. Ringwood had a pair of sacks while Ewy and Zach Watkins each had one.
The Bearcats had 25 first downs and allowed WU only eight. The Ichabods were able to stay in the game by taking advantage of two interceptions and a fumble.
  
The Ichabods on homecoming . . .
Saturday's game will be the Ichabods' second of two homecoming games this season. The Ichabods have won 18 of their last 24 homecoming match ups played on the road and in Yager Stadium. The Ichabods won their fifth straight homecoming games after beating Truman 71-35 on Oct. 20, 2007.  The last time the ichabods lost on WU's homecoming was Oct. 26, 2002 in double overtime to Missouri Western 34-28.

Washburn Football History . . .
Washburn is 481-539-44 in its 117th year of college football.

A win for Washburn would . . .
• lift the Ichabods to 482-539-44 in its football history.
• push the Ichabods to 7-2 on the season and 6-1 in MIAA play.
• push the Ichabods to 7-21 all-time against the Bearcats.
• be the second win in the last four games against the Bearcats.
• be the second straight win over the Bearcats in Maryville.
• would give the Ichabods their fifth straight win, their longest winning streak since winning six straight during the middle of the 2005 season when the Ichabods finished 9-3 with the MIAA championship.

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. 23rd poll after their win over Truman 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 . . .
• Eight 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 6,133 yards, as one of only two Ichabods to reach 6,000 yards in a career joining Tyler Schuerman (6,525) who was the other WU quarterback to hit the milestone.
• Brill needs 393 yards to become Washburn's all-time leading passer. The current record is 6,525 yards held by Tyler Schuerman.
• Brill also needs five touchdown passes to break Schuerman's TD passing record of 53. Brill enters this week's game with 49.
• Ichabod senior running back Ra'Shawn Mosley has pulled within 70 yards of breaking Trent Hearn's (2003-06) all-time rushing mark of 3,154 yards. Entering the game with the Bulldogs, Mosley has 3,085 career yards. 
• Zach Watkins moved into 11th on the Ichabod all-time tackles chart. He has 201 for his career after tallying 100 last season, Watkins has 101 this season with 49 solo stops and 52 assisted tackles.
• Jake Lebahn went over the 1,000 yard mark lifting his career total to 1,007.
• The Ichabods have had at least one interception in each game this season. Overall, Washburn has 14 interceptions. The school single-season team record is 22 set in 1983.

On this day in Washburn football History . . .
Oct. 27 - Since 1961, the Ichabods are 1-5 on this date with all of the games being played on the road.
2001 – Lost at Emporia State 38-19 in Tony DeMeo's final season at Washburn.
1990 – Lost at Pittsburg State 17-0 in Dennis Caryl's first season at Washburn.
1984 – Lost at Missouri Western 37-21 in George Tardiff's final year at Washburn.
1979 – Won at Missouri Western 23-21 in Gary Hampton's first year at Washburn.
1962 – Lost at Pittsburg State 27-0 in Ellis Rainsberger's first year at Washburn.
Other items from Oct. 27
• 1997 –  Stock markets around the world crash because of fears of a global economic meltdown. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummets 554.26 points to 7,161.15.
• 1984 – Cleveland Brown's first round pick Brady Quinn was born.
• 1923 –  The first night game involving a current NCAA FBS (I-A) member occurs in Chicago. It also signifies the first Big Ten Conference “day-night doubleheader.” Chicago downs Purdue 20-6 at Stagg Field in the afternoon, and Illinois tops Northwestern 29-0 at Soldier Field that evening as portable lights are set up at the venerable structure.

Up next . . .
The Ichabods will return home next weekend to host Pittsburg State on senior day. The Ichabods will travel to Bolivar, Mo. to take on Southwest Baptist in the final regular season game.