Complete notes in PDF

Setting the scene. . .
The Washburn Ichabods, fresh off their a bye week will open the MIAA slate by playing host to Fort Hays State in the first conference game played between the two schools in Topeka since 1987 when the Ichabods won 49-12. The Ichabods are 1-1 this season and the Tigers enter Saturday's game with a 2-0 record.Both teams beat Colorado Mines last time out. The Ichabods won 27-7 in Golden on Sept. 1 and the Tigers topped the Orediggers 34-10 in Hays on Sept. 8.

Ichabods on Radio . . .
The game will be broadcast live on WIBW AM 580 - the home of the Ichabods and Lady Blues. The game can also be heard on the internet at www.wusports.com by following the “Listen to the Game” links. Bruce Steinbrock will be the play-by-play voice of the Ichabods and former WU quarterback Mark Elliott will be the color analyst.

The Coaches . . .
Washburn head football coach Craig Schurig was named head coach of the Ichabod football program Dec. 28, 2001. Schurig is 33-26 (.561) in his sixth season as the Ichabod head coach and he is 25-19 (.568) 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 2-1 against the Tigers. (Complete bio on page 2 of notes).
FHSU coach Kevin Verdugo has a 4-18 record in his career at Fort Hays State. This is his third season as head coach of the Tigers. He is 0-1 against the Ichabods.

Ichabods last time out . . .
Sept. 1, 2007 • Washburn 27, Colorado School of Mines 7 • GOLDEN, Colo. – The Washburn defense forced the Colorado School of Mines into five turnovers as the  Ichabods turned a close game at the half into a 27-7 win over the Colorado School of Mines to even its record at 1-1.
After a scoreless first half, the Ichabods jumped on the board with 1:10 remaining in the half on a 6-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Brill to Brandon Walker as the Ichabods took the 7-0 lead into the half.
The Orediggers knotted the score at 7-7 on their first drive of the second half as Derek Dykstra recorded a 47-yard reception for a touchdown with 8:56 remaining in the third quarter.
Washburn took the lead for good as Ra'Shawn Mosley scored the first of his two touchdown rushes with 1:01 remaining in the third capping a five-play, 36-yard drive in 90 seconds.
Mosley scored his second rushing touchdown of the game putting the Ichabods up 20-7 wrapping up a 63-yard drive.
Washburn closed out the scoring as Adam Ewy returned a 32-yard interception return finishing out the scoring 27-7.
However the story of the day many have been the Ichabod defense as they were on the field for 81 plays and picked off four interceptions and forced two fumbles, of which was recovered by the Ichabods.
Zach Watkins recorded 19 tackles for the Ichabods to lead the defense. His 19 tackles included eight solo stops and 11 assisted tackles, were the most by an Ichabod since Joe Corcoran recorded 19 stops against Northwest Missouri on Oct. 5, 2002. Watkins added a tackle for loss, a fumble recovery and a 29-yard interception return.
Also in double-figure tackles was Michael Krajicek, who recorded 15 tackles with six solo stops.
Eric Lawrence had nine tackles with three tackles for loss and two sacks for 18 yards. Cary Williams had his first interception of the season and Michael Wilhoite also picked off a pass.
Mosley finished with 95 yards on 15 carries and the two touchdown scores. Brill was 9 of 22 for 176 yards and was sacked two times.
Walker finished with three receptions for 53 yards and Jake Lebahn and Brad Cole each had two receptions.
Ben Boswell averaged 45.8 yards per punt including a 53 yard attempt.
As a team, the Ichabod defense held the Orediggers to 55 yards rushing on 34 attempts, while the Ichabods had 32 carries for 124 yards.

About the opponents . . .
The Tigers are 2-0 for the first time since the 2000 season after topping the Colorado School of Mines on Sept. 8th in Hays 34-10. The Tigers
Leading the Tiger rushing attack is Jordan Hickel who is picking up 88.0 yards per game per game to go along with six touchdowns leading the MIAA with 18 points scored per game.
Through the air, the Tigers are averaging 146 yards per game passing
FHSU's leading receiver is Trevor Zott, who has six receptions for 78 yards.
On defense, Zach Scruggs leads the Tigers with 7.5 tackles per game, which is 12th in the MIAA.
Overall, the Tiger defense is ranked second in the MIAA allowing 244.5 yards per game and their offense is ninth in the MIAA in yards per game with 318 yards per outting.

Last time out for the Tigers . . .
HAYS, Kan. -- The Fort Hays State Tigers scored the last 20 points of the game to claim a 34-10 win over the Colorado School of Mines Orediggers Saturday night (Sept. 8) at Lewis Field Stadium.
A 60-yard interception return for a touchdown by junior DB Adam Kotschwar gave the Tigers a 14-point cushion midway through the third quarter and FHSU (2-0) added 10 more points following to cruise to the 24-point win.
A pair of long field goals from senior K Justin Barr -- 46 and 47 yards -- sandwiched Kotschwar's pick six in the third, and senior QB Ryne Salyer finished an eight-play, 62-yard drive with a 1-yard run at the 2:02 mark in the fourth quarter to ice the game.
Salyer threw a pair of touchdown passes to senior RB Jordan Hickel in the second quarter, of 32 and 15 yards, to give the Tigers a 14-7 lead. CSM (0-2) cut the lead to 14-10 on a 34-yard field goal by Aaron Abel in the third period.
Salyer was 12-of-24 for 216 yards with no interceptions for the Tigers. Hickel made three catches for a team-best 63 yards and added 48 yards on 21 rushing attempts. Freshman WR Matt Brevi had four catches for 30 yards.
Senior LB Zach Scruggs had 11 tackles (nine solos), including a quarterback sack, and added a forced fumble for FHSU. The Tigers limited the Orediggers to 266 yards forced three turnovers.

Series Notes . . .
Today's meeting is the 61st meeting between the Ichabods and the Tigers. The Ichabods lead the all-time series 36-22-3. The Ichabods have won eight of the last 13 meetings. Today's meeting is the first conference game between the two schools in Topeka since the 1987 meeting on Nov. 7 when both teams were part of the CSIC when the Ichabods won 49-12.

Last Meeting with Fort Hays State. . .
(Sept. 23, 2006) HAYS, Kan. - The No. 22 ranked Washburn Ichabods moved to 2-0 in the MIAA and 3-1 overall with a 37-7 win over Fort Hays State. In the win, senior wide receiver Sam Sissom became Washburn's all-time career receptions leader with five and tied the MIAA record for touchdown receptions with his 38th.
Placekicker Connor Sabel opened the scoring for the Ichabods with a 25-yard field goal at the 2:54 mark of the first quarter. After forcing a Tiger three-and-out, the Ichabods' Jordan Brill hooked up with Jake Lebahn for a 40-yard touchdown pass to put Washburn up 10-0.
On the Tigers' next possession, Washburn's Jarod Tetuan picked off a deflected pass setting up a five-play, 32 yard scoring drive capped by Brandon Walker's 14-yard run around the right side putting the Ichabods up 17-0.
The Tigers jumped on the board on a 1-yard run by Jordan Hickel finishing off a 61-yard drive as neither team would score the rest of the way as Washburn led 17-7 at the break.
In the second half, Washburn added two more Brill touchdown passes. One on a 16-yard pass to Ben Ramsey with 5:56 remaining in the third quarter and the other to Sissom on an 11-yard strike tying Northwest Missouri's Jamaica Rector for the MIAA's all-game career touchdown reception record. Sandwiched between the two touchdown passes was a 5-yard run by Ra'Shawn Mosley.
Mosley led the Ichabods with 63 yards on the ground on 13 carries while Brill finished 13 for 24 for 162 yards and three touchdowns. Sissom finished with five receptions for 63 yards.
Defensively, Zach Watkins and Trey Lewis each had eight tackles to lead the Ichabods.
The Ichabods held the Tigers to nine first downs and 163 yards in total offense and an average of 2.4 yards per play. The Washburn defense also held the Tigers to 1 of 17 on third down conversions.
   
Washburn Football History . . .
Washburn is 476-538-44 in its 117th year of college football.

A win for Washburn would . . .
• lift the Ichabods to 477-538-44 in its football history.
• push the Ichabods to 2-1 on the season and 1-0 in MIAA play.
• push the Ichabods to 37-22-3 all-time against the Tigers.
• be the third straight win over the Tigers.
• be the fifth straight win over the Tigers in Topeka.

A loss for Washburn would . . .
• drop the Ichabods to 476-539-44 in its football history.
• drop the Ichabods to 36-23-3 all-time against the Tigers.
• snap the Tigers' four-game losing streak in Topeka, marking their first win over the Ichabods since Oct. 26, 1985 in a 30-0 win.

The Ichabods in the National Polls . . .
The Ichabods dropped out of the AFCA National Coaches Poll after their season-opening loss to Chadron State, but they have received votes each week since then. The Ichabods dropped out of the D2football.com national poll after showing at No. 24 in their preseason poll.

The Ichabods in MIAA openers . . .
The Ichabods are 8-10 in MIAA openers since joining the conference. The Ichabods have won their last three MIAA openers topping Emporia State 28-10 in the 2004, Central Missouri 42-27 in 2005 and the Mules again in 2006 14-10 in Warrensburg. Under Schurig, the Ichabods are 3-2.

Ichabods vs ranked opponents . .
   The Ichabods are 6-34 vs ranked Division II opponents after their win over No. 11 Missouri Western 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 6-13 against ranked opponents since 2002. They are 5-5 since the 2004 season including a 3-1 record in 2005.

Ichabods wrap up non-conference season. . .
With the win over Colorado Mines, the Ichabods improved their non-conference record since joining the MIAA to 14-15. The Ichabods are 9-4 at home and 5-11 on the road since joining the MIAA
1989: no non-conference games
1990: no non-conference games
1991: (0-2) Played two I-AA schools losing to Western Illinois (42-3) and Tennessee-Martin (28-7)
1992: (0-1) Lost at I-AA Southwest Missouri State (66-15)
1993: (0-1) Lost at I-AA Southern Illinois (46-14)
1994: (0-1) Lost at I-AA Illinois State (47-16)
1995: (1-0) Win against McPherson (61-0)
1996: (0-1) Lost at D2 Fort Hays State (21-6)
1997: (1-1) Lost to D2 Augustata (20-17), beat D2 Fort Hays State (31-14)
1998: (1-1) Lost at D2 Fort Hays State (24-12), beat D3 Wisconsin-River Falls (9-6)
1999: (2-0) Won at D3 Wisconsin-Lacrosse (24-21), beat D2 Fort Hays State (17-14)
2000: (2-0) Beat Wisconsin-LaCrosse (26-6), Won at NAIA Lincoln (63-21)
2001: (1-1) Lost at D3 Wisconsin-LaCrosse (37-18), beat NAIA Lincoln at home (31-20)
2002: (0-2) Lost at home to D3 Wisconsin-LaCrosse (31-17), lost at D2 Fort Hays State  (37-29)
2003: (2-0) Won at NAIA Langston (28-0), beat Fort Hays State at home (28-4)
2004: (1-1) lost to D2 Colorado Mines at home (34-27) and beat NAIA Langston at home (30-7)
2005: (1-1) Won at D2 Colorado Mines (28-17), lost at D2 Central Washington (48-42)
2006: (1-1) beat D2 Colorado Mines (41-21) at home, lost at D2 Western Washington (16-13)
2007: (1-1) lost to D2 Chadron State (34-24) at home and beat D2 Colorado Mines (27-7).

Bods and Ends . . .
• Second-year Washburn graduate assistant coach Oscar Rodriquez played two seasons for FHSU … he was a two-time all-RMAC pick for the Tigers. He is a 2005 graduate from FHSU and coached the safeties for the Tigers in 2004.
• The Tigers have not played a game in Topeka since Sept. 13, 2003, when Washburn celebrated the opening of Yager Stadium in a rain-drenched 28-4 Ichabod win.
• The Tiger's senior running back Jordan Hickel is a cousin of former Ichabod quarterback Dustin Hickel from Clafflin, Kan.
• Two games into his senior season, senior Jordan Brill is close to rewriting the Washburn passing records as he has thrown for 5,090 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).

Up next . . .
The Ichabods will contine its two-game homestand with Central Missouri on Sept. 15 in Yager Stadium at 1 p.m. Following the game with the Mules, the Ichabods will travel to St. Joseph, Mo., to take on Missouri Western on Sept. 22.