Game 2
Washburn (1-0) vs  Missouri State (0-0)
Date: Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008
Time: 7 p.m. CST   
Site: Springfield, Mo.
Stadium: Plaster Field   
Opened: 1941
Surface: Field Turf   
Capacity: 16,300
Series History: Thursday's meeting will be the eighth in the series, MSU leads 4-2-1
WU Rankings (AFCA/D2football.com): WU (22/17)

Game Notes: Washburn | Missouri State

Broadcast Information:
Television: Mediacom - Channel 14 in Springfield, Mo. (tape delayed)
WU Radio:  AM580 WIBW with Bruce Steinbrock (play-by-play), Mark Elliott (color analyst), Jan Lunsford (sideline). The broadcast begins 30 minutes before kickoff.
Streaming Video: Live online through missouristatebears.com.
Internet: Live audio available through www.wusports.com
Live Stats: Available thought missouristatebears.com

Setting the scene. . .
The Washburn Ichabods will play their second straight Thursday night game as they travel to Springfield, Mo., to take on Football Championships Subdivision foe Missouri State on Sept. 4 at Plaster Field. The Bears, who were an original member of the MIAA in 1912, left the conference in 1981 for the NCAA Division I ranks. The Ichabods are looking for their first complete game as their opener with Colorado Mines on Aug. 28 was halted with 8:58 remaining because of lightning. It will be the season lid-lifter for the Bears.

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. Jan Lunsford will provide sideline insight for listeners on the field.

The Coaches . . .
Washburn head football coach Craig Schurig was named head coach of the Ichabod football program Dec. 28, 2001. Schurig is 41-29 (.593) in his seventh season as the Ichabod head coach and he is 32-21 (.491) against the MIAA. He has led the Ichabods to two NCAA Playoff appearances in the last three seasons and to the 2005 MIAA Championship.
Missouri State head coach Terry Allen is in his third season as the coach of the Bears. The former head coach at Kansas is 8-14 in Springfield and 103-73 overall entering his 16th season of coaching. Allen was also the head coach at Northern Iowa where he was 75-26 between 1989 to 1996 leading the Panthers to the playoffs each season with seven conference titles.

Last time out for the Ichabods . . .
After a one hour and 10 minute delay with lightning in the area, the Ichabod football game with the Colorado School of Mines has been called. By NCAA rules, a game is complete after three complete quarters of play and Washburn winning 27-3.
With 8:58 remaining in the fourth quarter, the teams and fans were cleared with lightning in the area. After 70 minutes, the game was called with the Ichabods taking the 27-3 win.
To open the game, the Ichabod defense held the Orediggers to a three-and-out on their opening drive, the Ichabods marched 56 yards in six plays as Jake Iverson making his first start at Washburn connected with Brad Cole on an 11-yard hook-up with 9:52 remaining in the clock.
On the ensuing possession, the Orediggers drove to the Ichabod 19, but the drive stalled and CSM missed a field goal from 36 yards out. The Ichabods then drove 80 yards on seven plays as Brandon Walker rushed 19 yards putting the Ichabods up 14-0 following the extra point.
The Ichabods took possession at the Orediggers 23 after Michael Krajicek blocked a punt after the Orediggers threw three straight incompletion. Washburn needed just three plays as Iverson hit Joe Hastings for a 31-yard touchdown strike with 1:10 remaining in the first quarter.
After trading drives, the Orediggers would score their only points of the night as Brian Harclerode hit a 32-yard field goal with 4:39 left in the second quarter. The Ichabods would wrap up the scoring in the half as Iverson hit Walker in the back of the end zone with an over-the-shoulder catch for 31-yards with 24 seconds left in the half.
In the third quarter, the Ichabods managed 92 yards of offense after rolling up 300 on 44 plays in the first half. The Ichabod defense held the Orediggers to 44 yards of offense in the third quarter.
For the game, Washburn had 24 first downs and 417 yards of total offense on 68 plays while the Orediggers were limited to 225 yards and 15 first downs.
Walker led the Ichabods with 88 yards rushing on 15 carries. Walker also added 134 in all-purpose yards. Iverson completed 17 of 38 passes for 277 yards and three touchdowns with Drameagon Powers collecting four catches for 69 yards.
Krajicek had led the Ichabod defense with 10 tackles including seven solo stops with the blocked punt and a tackle for loss. Casey Curran had nine tackles with eight solo stops and an interception for six yards. Xavier Beckford also had an interception. Brandon Jackson had a sack and one-half and two and one-half tackles for loss for 23 yards overall.
Corey Huck led the Orediggers on the ground with 50 yards on six carries. David Pesek was 21 of 34 with two interceptions for 157 yards. Tom Kastens had seven receptions for 157 yards.

About the opponents . . .
The Bears return 16 starters off a team which finished the 2007 campaign 6-5 and was 2-4 for fifth-place finish in the Gateway Conference.  This season, the Bears have 45 letterwinners returning as they enter play in the newly-formed Missouri Valley Football Conference with former Division II schools South Dakota State and North Dakota State gaining full Division I sponsorship.
Missouri State was tabbed seventh in the Missouri Valley Football Conference preseason poll with North Dakota State earning 13 of the 35 first-place votes and 289 total points overall in the preseason poll which was voted on by conference coaches, sports information directors and media.
Bears' sophomore quarterback Cody Kirby, junior tight end Clay Harbor and sophomore guard David Arkin were named to the preseason all-conference team.  Kirby was named to the All-Newcomer Team by the conference formerly known as the Gateway Football Conference in 2007. Harbor was a first-team all-league selection in 2007, while Arkin earned second-team all-conference honors a year ago.

Series Notes . . .
Thursday's meeting is the eighth in the series with Missouri State holding a 4-2-1 advantage … the two schools have not met since the 1992 season … Missouri State was a member of the MIAA from 1912 to 1981 … Washburn and MSU have never played each other as members of the same conference … the Bears are the first Football Championship Subdivision opponent for the Ichabods since the 1994 season when the Ichabods played Illinois State falling 47-16 … MSU played former MIAA school Missouri-Rolla (now Missouri Science and Technology) to open the 2007 season winning 62-17 … the one tie in the series was during the 1955 season when the teams were knotted at 21-21 in Springfield … Washburn has not topped the Bears since the 1954 season when they won in Topeka 14-6 … Washburn won the first meeting in the series 27-7 in Springfield.

Last Meeting with Missouri State . . .
(Sept. 12, 1992) Springfield, Mo. -- The Washburn Ichabods opened the 1992 season with a 66-15 loss to Southwest Missouri State (as they were known as then.) The Bears' quarterback Cleveland Antoine scored two touchdowns while passing for another in just over one quarter of action. The Bears scored on their first drive of the game and Washburn answered with a 55-yard run by Talmadge Graham with 10:20 left in the first quarter. But from that point on it was all Bears after they scored 59 unanswered points until Anthony Simpson scored on a 17-yard reverse rush. The Ichabods added a two-point conversion. The 66 points scored by the Bears was the most a Washburn team had allowed until that point since Mississippi Valley scored 77 points with the help of a receiver by the name of Jerry Rice in 1984 in Topeka against the Ichabods. The Ichabods had 292 yards of total offense while the Bears had 532 yards on 70 plays averaging 7.6 yards per play.
   
Washburn Football History . . .
Washburn is 484-540-44 in the 118th year of Ichabod football.

A win for Washburn would . . .
Lift the Ichabods to 485-540-44 in their football history … lift the Ichabods to 3-4-1 all-time against Missouri State … would be the first win over a football championship subdivision team in school history.

A loss for Washburn would . . .
Drop the Ichabods to 484-541-44 in its football history … drop the Ichabods to 5-2-1 all-time against Missouri State … would drop the Ichabods to 0-7 all-time against Football Championship Subdivision squads.

Oredigger Final Notes . . .
Washburn now leads the all-time series 12-4 … This year's game was the 16th in the all-time series and the fifth in a continuous series which has been signed through the 2013 season … the Ichabods have won four of the last five meetings since the series was continued in the 2004 season after being dormant since Oct. 3, 1964 …  the Ichabods are 5-3 in games against the Orediggers in Topeka and 7-1 in games played in Golden … the win makes CSM alum Craig Schurig 5-1 against his alma mater … the win was the second straight win over the Orediggers in Topeka.

The Ichabods in the National Polls . . .
The Washburn Ichabods made their season debut in the first regular season AFCA Coaches Poll at No. 22. The Ichabods were ranked 30th in the preseason poll after finishing last season's poll ranked 24th after reaching the NCAA Playoffs for the second time in the last three seasons. Washburn was No. 17 in the d2football.com media poll released on Sept. 1.

Ichabods vs ranked opponents . .
   The Ichabods are 8-36 vs ranked Division II opponents after their win over No. 18 Pittsburg State on Nov. 3, 2007. 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 8-15 against ranked opponents since 2002. They are 6-7 since the 2004 season including a 3-1 record in 2005 and an 1-3 record in 2007.

Bods and Ends . . .
• The last MIAA school to beat Missouri State was Pittsburg State on Aug. 28, 1997 infront of the largest crowd in Plaster Field history … current head coach Craig Schurig was an assistant coach on the Gorillas staff and defensive line coach David Trupp was a graduate assistant for Pittsburg State in the 9-8 win.
• Since the Gorillas' win in 1997, the MIAA is 0-2 against the Bears with Missouri Southern dropping a 48-3 decision in 2000 and Southwest Baptist falling 45-15 during the 2006 campaign.
• Former athletic director Rich Johanningmeier was the Bears' head coach from 1976 to 1985 compiling a 58-44-5 all-time record with two conference titles. He was the athletic director at Washburn from 1990 to 1995.
• Junior linebacker Zach Watkins is looking to lead the Ichabods in tackles for the third straight season. Since 1981, only Grant Gould led the team three straight times in tackles. Corey Phipps (1999-2000), Tony Scollieri (1996-97), Nolan Jeffery (1994-95), Todd McGhghy (1990-91) each led the team in tackles two seasons.

Ichabods against Football Championship Subdivision Schools . . .
The Ichabods are 0-7 against Football Championship Subdivision squads.
Date    Opponent    Score   
9/15/84    Mississippi Valley    L 15-77   
11/16/85    at Sam Houston State    L 7-51
9/29/90  at Missouri State L 3-38
9/4/91    at Western Illinois    L 3-42
9/14/91    at Tennessee-Martin    L 7-28
9/12/92    at Missouri State    L 15-66
9/11/93    at Southern Illinois    L 14-46
9/10/94   at Illinois State     L 16-47

Record Chasers . . .
Several Ichabods enter the 2008 season with top 10 career records on the line in different categories.
• Senior running back Brandon Walker is 11th on the career rushing chart with 1,627 yards trailing all-time leader Ra'Shawn Mosley with 3,416. To enter the top 10 all-time, Walker needs to pass Bill Baker (1951-53) who had 1,698 yards. Only five rushers have gone over the 2,000-yard mark in their career at Washburn.
• Walker is also tied for ninth on the all-time career touchdowns scored chart with 23 (19 rush, 4 receiving). The all-time leader is Trent Hearn (2002-06) with 49 (48 rush, 1 receiving).
• Junior linebacker Zach Watkins has 247 career tackles, which is eighth on the all-time Washburn chart … he trails Grant Gould (2002-05) who had 459 career tackles on the top of the charts.
• Watkins' 137 career assisted tackles is fourth all-time at Washburn trailing Gould's 254.
• Senior defensive end Eric Lawrence has 32.0 career tackles for loss trailing Tony Scollieri (1994-97) who had 37.0 tackles for loss.
• Lawrence is fifth in all-time sacks at Washburn with 13.5 trailing Jim Butler (1985-87) who had 29.5 in his career.
• Bruce Ringwood is eighth in career tackles for loss with 22.

Up next . . .
Following the game with the Bears, the Ichabods will continue a two-game road stretch opening the MIAA schedule on Sept. 13 against Fort Hays State and Central Missouri on Sept. 20 before retuning home on Sept. 27 to face Missouri Western on Family Day in Yager Stadium at 1 p.m.