Complete Washburn game notes

Setting the scene. . .
The Washburn Ichabods will travel to Joplin, Mo., to take on the Missouri Southern State University Lions for homecoming festivities and a 2 p.m. kickoff from Hughes Stadium. The Ichabods (3-2, 1-2 MIAA) snapped a two-game losing streak with a 21-17 win over Missouri Western on Saturday. The Lions picked up a 19-18 win at Emporia State.

Game 6
Washburn (3-2, 1-2 MIAA) vs
Missouri Southern (3-2, 1-2 MIAA)
Date: Saturday, Oct. 4, 2008
Time: 2 p.m. CST   
Site: Joplin, Mo.
Stadium: Hughes Stadium   
Opened: 1975
Surface: SprintTurf(Artificial)  
 Capacity: 7,000
Series History: MSSU leads 20-17-1 - Washburn has won 9 of the last 10 meetings
WU Rankings (AFCA/D2football.com): WU (RV/NR), MSSU (NR/NR)

Broadcast Information:
Television: None
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.

Streaming Video: Live online through themiaa.tv (free)
Internet: Live audio available through www.wusports.com
Live Stats: Available at http://www.mssu.edu/athletics/football/live/xlive.htm

Ichabods on Radio . . .
The game will be broadcast live on KTPK 106.9 FM - the home of the Ichabods and Lady Blues. The game can also be heard on the internet at www.wusports.com by following the “Live Audio” link under football. 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 43-31 (.581) in his seventh season as the Ichabod head coach and he is 33-23 (.590) against the MIAA. He has led the Ichabods to two NCAA Playoff appearances in the last three seasons and to the 2005 MIAA Championship. Schurig is 5-1 against Missouri Southern and 2-1 in games played in Joplin against the Lions.
Missouri Southern head coach Bart Tatum is in his third season as head coach at Missouri Southern after spending 12 seasons as an assistant coach at Northwest Missouri State. Tatum has led the Lions to an 14-13 record and two sixth place finishes in the MIAA.

Last time out for the Ichabods . . .
TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Washburn Ichabods' Zach Watkins picked off his second pass of the afternoon on the very last play of the game on a batted ball from Xavier Beckford as time expired as the Ichabods held on for a 21-17 win over Missouri Western. The Ichabods snap a two-game slide improving their record to 3-2 and 1-2 in the MIAA.
With 12:54 left in the game, Missouri Western's Ferrell McGhee pulled in a 26-yard pass from Drew Newhart to take a 17-14 lead over the Griffons.
The Ichabods took possession following the extra point with 12:47go and converted two first downs on scampers of 10- and 8-yards to keep the drives alive. With Iverson sitting out a play following the second run, Brandon Walker took the snap and rushed 22-yards to the Griffon nine setting up Justin Cooper's first touchdown of his Washburn career - a 9-yard run putting the Ichabods up 21-17.
The Griffons took over and drove to the Ichabod 25 with just under three minutes to play and but Watkins picked off his first pass at the Ichabod 15 and returned it 22 yards to the Washburn 37.
Missouri Western forced a three-and-out and took possession after a 42-yard punt by Austin Hills putting the Griffons at their own 15 yard line.
Newhart completed three straight passes of 15-, 8-, and 9-yards with a 9-yard rush in between sending the line of scrimmage to the Washburn 25. After the Griffons spiked the ball to stop the clock, Newhart has two incomplete passes, but connected with Andrew Mead on a fourth and 10 down to the Washburn three. The Griffons called a timeout with six seconds left. From the 3-yard line, Newhart's pass to Zach Sharp fell incomplete. With two seconds left, Newhart pass attempt to Mead was batted by Beckford and grabbed by Watkins to seal the win for Washburn.
The Ichabods scored first in the game on an Iverson to Cameron Knox 2-yard touchdown reception with 5:17 to go in the first quarter. The Griffons tied the score up on a 13-yard pass reception from Newhart to Hodges with 11 minutes left in the first half. Iverson scored with 3:52 left in the second quarter putting Washburn up 14-7 heading into halftime.
The Griffons opened the scoring in the second half on a 32-yard field goal by Dustin Strickler.
Defensively for the Ichabods, Watkins finished with 16 tackles, including nine solo stops to go with his two interceptions. Casey Curran had 11 tackles and Bruce Ringwood had 10 tackles. Curran added an interception.
Washburn's Walker rushed for 106 yards on 12 carries including a 56-yard run. Iverson was 5 of 11 passing with one interception and one touchdown pass. Drameagon Powers led the Ichabods with 18 yards receiving on three catches.
Newhart was 31 of 47 for 349 yards and two touchdowns with three interceptions. Zach Sharp had 12 catches for 120 yards.
The Griffons had 32 first downs in the game compared to eight for the Ichabods. Washburn did outgain the Griffons on the ground 190 to 121. Overall, the Griffons had 470 yards of offense and the Ichabods had 228. Missouri Western had 38:45 in time of possession while Washburn had the ball for 21:15.

About the opponents . . .
Missouri Southern is 3-2 overall and 1-2 in the MIAA. The Lions opened the season with wins over Harding and Haskell, before falling to Pittsburg State and Neb.-Omaha in MIAA play while topping Emporia State last time out. Quarterback Adam Hinspeter became just the third quarterback in MIAA history to pass for over 8,000 yards. Against ESU, he raised his passing total to 8,076 in his career joining Missouri Western's Kasey Waterman and Truman's Eric Howe.
Toderick Hunt leads the Lions on the ground with 79 yards per game and six touchdowns. Hinspeter is hitting on 52 percent of his passes (72-139) with four interceptions and eight touchdown passes averaging 180.6 yards per game. His favorite target has been Mark Henderson who is averaging 69 yards per game receiving and 14.5 yards per catch with four touchdowns.
Defensively, the Lions are led by Jared Brawner, who has 48 tackles (31 solo) with two tackles for loss, two fumble recoveries and an interception.

Last time out for the Lions . . .
EMPORIA, Kan. -- Junior RB Toderick Hunt scored two of his three touchdowns in the third quarter to rally Missouri Southern from an eight-point halftime deficit, and the Lions held on for a 19-18 victory over Emporia State Saturday afternoon (Sept. 27) on Jones Field at Welch Stadium.
Hunt's rushing effort accounted for 133 of Southern's 239 yards of total offense on 24 carries. His 2-yard touchdown run with 8:32 left in the third put the Lions (3-2, 1-2 MIAA) within two points of the Hornets (3-2, 1-2 MIAA), but Southern missed on the two-point conversion try to keep it at 15-13.
A 43-yard return by junior DB Terrence Scott of a fumble by ESU senior RB Seville Ko set up MSSU at the Hornets' 2-yard line for the go-ahead score. Hunt put it in the end zone on the first try and the Lions again failed on the two-point try to keep it a four-point Southern margin, 19-15, with 25 seconds left in the third.
Emporia State tried to answer on the ensuing drive, with freshman QB Zach Rampy hitting senior WR Sean Partridge for a 29-yard completion and getting the Hornets to the MSSU 4. The Lions defense didn't allow ESU past the 2, and the Hornets had to settle on a 19-yard field goal by freshman K Matthew Perry.
It was Perry's fourth three-pointer of the game -- he spotted the Hornets a 9-0 lead with first-quarter field goals of 36, 29 and 39 yards.
Hunt made it a 9-7 game with his first TD, an 18-yard run with 12:25 remaining in the second quarter, but Emporia State took a 15-7 lead on the first play of the ensuing drive when Partridge scored on a 69-yard run.
Partridge had four rushes for 58 yards and a team-high four catches for 40 yards for Emporia State. The Hornets out-gained the Lions, 318-239, as Ko led the Hornets with 109 rushing yards on 15 carries.
Senior QB Adam Hinspeter had just 86 passing yards on 12-of-20 attempts, but he became just the third player in MIAA history to pass for 8,000 yards in a career. He now has 8,076 yards to join Missouri Western's Kasey Waterman (1998-2001 -- 10,025) and Truman's Eric Howe (1998-2001 -- 9,097) in that group.
Junior LB Jared Brawner had 15 tackles (10 solos, 1 for loss) and added an interception for Southern. Sophomore DB Justin Cowper added 11 stops (9 solos, 4 for loss) with a sack and a pass breakup. ESU senior DL Bryan Tarkington had eight tackles (4 solos, 2 for loss), including a half-sack and a fumble recovery.

Series Notes . . .
Today's meeting is the 39th meeting in the series. The Lions lead the all-time series 20-17-1. The Ichabods have won nine of the last 10 meetings. In games played in Joplin, the Ichabods have won four of the last five. In Topeka, the Ichabods have won the last five games. In the last 12 games in the series,  the average margin of victory has been 7.4 points with eight games being decided by seven or fewer points.
Series Record: MSSU leads 20-17-1
First Meeting: Tie, 21-21 (10/17/1970) in Joplin
Last Meeting: WU 26-20 (10/6/07) in Topeka
Last WU win: 26-20 (10/6/07) in Topeka
Last MSSU win: 52-28 (9/28/2002) in Joplin
Largest WU win: 25-7 (9/27/1986) in Joplin
Largest MSSU win: 44-14 (10/3/1992) in Joplin

Last Meeting with Missouri Southern . . .
TOPEKA, Kan. – Washburn's Cary Williams recorded 226 all purpose yards as he scored touchdowns on special teams and on offense and returning an interception in the endzone 36 yards to help the Ichabods top Missouri Southern 26-20 in Yager Stadium. The Ichabods improved to 4-2 overall and 3-1 in the MIAA while the Lions fall to 4-2 and 2-2 in conference play.
The Ichabods took the opening drive and marched 71 yards on 11 plays as Ra'Shawn Mosley scored from three yards out. Mosley would finish the game with 74 yards on eight carries before leaving the game with an ankle injury.
After the Lions' drive stalled, Washburn took over and Williams, playing at wide receiver for the first time this season scored on a 68-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Brill putting the Ichabods up 14-0.
Missouri Southern cut the lead in half as Adam Hinspeter hit Brandon McLaurin on a 16-yard touchdown pass.
Andrew Knight, seeing his first action this season for the Ichabods connected on a 31-yard field goal wrapping up a 67-yard, 12-play drive with 11:56 left in the second quarter.
After forcing a three-and-out for the Lions, Washburn fumbled the punt and the Lions took advantage scoring six plays later as Hinspeter hit Isaac Norman for an 8-yard strike. The extra point attempt was blocked by Ben Bianchino as the Ichabods would take a 17-13 lead into the halftime locker room.
After the Lions took the lead at 20-17 on an Alley Broussard 1-yard touchdown run, Williams scored his second touchdown on a 100-yard kickoff return putting the Ichabods back up 24-20 with 2:23 left in the third quarter. It was the second 100-yard touchdown in school history as Fletcher Terrell accomplished it against Central Missouri in 2005.
On the Ichabods' second drive of the fourth quarter failed to convert a third down, Washburn punter Ben Boswell boomed a 78-yard punt to the Missouri Southern two yard line. After a false start penalty on the Lions, a 1-yard rush by Renard Johnson and two incomplete passes, Missouri Southern knelt in the end zone for a safety taking the free kick from the 20 yard line and putting Washburn up 26-20.
The Ichabods' drive stalled forcing a punt by Washburn starting the Lions drive at their own 49-yard line. The Lions drove down to the Ichabod 15 before Williams intercepted a Hinspeter pass in the endzone and returned it to the Washburn 36 yard line.
Washburn picked up three first downs to seal the 26-20 win, taking their fifth straight win and their ninth win in the last 10 meetings.
Brandon Walker finished with 80 yards rushing on 19 carries and Brill was 9 of 21 for 196 yards and 1 touchdown pass. Walker also led the Ichabods in receiving yards with three catches for 87 yards.
Boswell averaged 48.2 yards per punt on five attempts.
Zach Watkins had 11 tackles with eight solo stops and Bruce Ringwood had 10 tackles. Eric Lawrence had nine tackles including four for loss.
Broussard led the Lions on the ground with 98 yards on 20 carries and Hinspeter was 21 of 35 for 191 with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Colin Bado had six receptions for 65 yards. Jared Brawner led the Lion defense with seven tackles along with B.J. Russow who also had seven stops.
Washburn finished with 363 yards in total offense with 167 coming on the ground. The Lions had 313 yards overall.
   
Washburn Football History . . .
Washburn is 486-543-44 in the 118th year of Ichabod football.

A win for Washburn would . . .
lift the Ichabods to 487-543-44 in its football history … be the 10th win in the last 11 games for the Ichabods over the Lions … improve the Ichabods to 4-2 on the season and 2-2 in MIAA play … give the Ichabods a 18-20-1 all-time record against the Lions … be the fifth straight win for the Ichabods in Joplin and the sixth straight overall in the series.

A loss for Washburn would . . .
drop the Ichabods to 486-544-44 in its football history … give the Ichabods a 17-21-1 all-time record against the Lions … drop the Ichabods to 1-3 in MIAA play … snap a five-game winning streak over the Lions.

The Ichabods in the National Polls . . .
The Washburn Ichabods fell out of the American Football Coaches Association Top 25 after losing to Central Missouri on Sept. 20. The Ichabods did receive votes in the poll. Washburn also fell out of the d2football.com media poll. The Ichabods have been as high as No. 18 in the AFCA poll this season and No. 13 in the d2football.com poll in 2008.

Ichabods vs ranked opponents . .
   The Ichabods are 8-37 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 8-16 against ranked opponents since 2002. They are 6-8 since the 2004 season including a 3-1 record in 2005 and an 1-3 record in 2007.

Bods and Ends . . .
• Brandon Walker became the first Ichabod running back to go over the 100-yard mark since Terrence Lowe had 177 and Ra'Shawn Mosley had 145 - both against Southwest Baptist on Nov. 10, 2007 - a streak of six games dating back to last season.
• Since 1961, the Ichabods are 3-3 on Oct. 4, but have lost their last three games on Oct. 4 with two coming against Northwest Missouri and one against Emporia State.

Record Chasers . . .
Several Ichabods enter the 2008 season with top 10 career records on the line in different categories.
• Senior running back Brandon Walker moved into seventh on the career rushing chart with 1,910 yards trailing all-time leader Ra'Shawn Mosley with 3,416. Walker needs 18 yards to move into sixth all-time passing Leroy Harmon (1945-49). Walker needs 90 yards to become the sixth Ichabod running back to go over 2,000 yards for a career.
• Walker is also ninth on the all-time career touchdowns scored chart with 24 (20 rush, 4 receiving). The all-time leader is Trent Hearn (2002-06) with 49 (48 rush, 1 receiving).
• Junior linebacker Zach Watkins has 290 career tackles, which is sixth on the all-time Washburn chart … he trails Grant Gould (2002-05) who had 459 career tackles on the top of the charts. To move into the top five, he needs six more to pass Wade Dennis (1986-89) who had 295 career tackles.
• Watkins' 162 career assisted tackles is third all-time at Washburn trailing Gould's 254. He needs 13 more assisted tackles to move into second passing Joe Corcoran (2000-04) on the career chart.
• Senior defensive end Eric Lawrence has 33.0 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 14.5 trailing Jim Butler (1985-87) who had 29.5 in his career.
• Bruce Ringwood is eighth in career tackles for loss with 24.

Up next . . .
Following the homecoming game at Missouri Southern, the Ichabods will return home to face Emporia State for Washburn's homecoming in a 1 p.m. kickoff in Yager Stadium in a continuation of the most active series in the NCAA Division II ranks for the 106th meeting.