Game Facts Date:  Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009 Time: 1 p.m. CST Location: Topeka, Kan. Stadium: Yager Stadium (7,200) Series History:     TSU leads 18-8 Streaks: WU has won the last two

Washburn Ichabods (6-3, 4-3 MIAA) Polls NR in AFCA Poll #24 in d2football.com Poll Leaders Rushing: Vershon Moore 126 att/580 yds/6 TD/64.4 ypg Passing: Dane Simoneau 156-259-8/2,516 yds/23 TD/279.6 ypg Receiving: Drameagon Powers 38 rec./672 yds/5 TD/74.7 ypg Tackles: Zach Watkins 90 TT / 8.5 TFL / 1 INT / 3 FF

Truman Bulldogs (1-8, 0-7 MIAA) Polls NR in AFCA Poll NR in d2football.com Poll Leaders Rushing: Vanness Emokpae 70 att/449yds/5 TD/49.9 ypg Passing: Phillip Davis 67-133-6/744 yds/5 TD/148.8 ypg Receiving: Anthony Brown 18 rec./249 yds/0 TD/35.6 ypg Tackles: Demetrius Lavant 87 TT/ 2.0 TFL / 1 INT

Radio: KTPK 106.9 FM Web Stream Live Stats: through wusports.com Live Video: Through b2tvlive.com Washburn Football Page Roster Statistics Schedule Game Notes Athletic Web Site Truman Football Page Roster Statistics Schedule Game Notes Athletic Web Site

Setting the scene. . .
The Washburn Ichabods will return to Yager Stadium for their final home regular season game as they play host to Truman on Oct. 31 starting with a 1 p.m. kickoff. The Ichabods (6-3, 4-3 MIAA) are coming off a 22-19 overtime loss to then-No. 4-ranked Northwest Missouri. The Bulldogs (1-8, 0-7 MIAA) are coming off an overtime game as well as they fell to Emporia State 30-24 in Kirksville last time out. Washburn will wrap up the regular season on Nov. 7 when they will face arch-rival Emporia State.

Ichabods on Radio . . .
The game will be broadcast live on KTPK 106.9. 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 52-37 (.575) in his eighth season as the Ichabod head coach and he is 40-30 (.580) against the MIAA. He has led the Ichabods to two NCAA Playoff appearances in the last four seasons and to the 2005 MIAA Championship. Schurig is 5-2 against Truman and 2-1 in games played against the Bulldogs in Topeka.
Truman head coach Aaron Vlcko is in his first season as the head coach of the Truman Bulldogs and fifth season overall with the program. As the team's offensive coordinator, the Bulldogs have averaged 345.7 yards per game with nearly 10,000 yards passing. He is 1-8 in his first season on the Bulldog bench. Truman has averaged 24.2 points per game under Vlcko calling the plays.

Last time out for the Ichabods . . .
(Oct. 24, 2009) MARYVILLE, Mo. -- The No. 16 Washburn Ichabods pushed the No. 4-ranked Northwest Missouri State Bearcats to overtime before falling 22-19.
Washburn opened the game taking a 6-0 lead on a pair of Steve Ivanisevic field goals. The first capped a 9-play, 71-yard drive with 5:39 to go in the first quarter. His second came with 14 seconds remaining in the opening stanza on a 47-yard boot putting the Ichabods.
Northwest jumped on the board as Blake Bolles hit Tyler Shaw on a 28-yard touchdown pass with 8:31 to go in the second quarter. Washburn then took a 13-7 lead into the halftime locker room as Justin Cooper carried it to pay dirt on a 1-yard touchdown run with 38 seconds to play.
Neither team scored in the third quarter. The Bearcats cut the lead to 13-9 after a Washburn fumble in the end zone which was recovered by Cooper. Following the free kick, Bolles put Northwest up 16-13 with 47 seconds to play.
The Ichabods then took a short kick by the Bearcats and drove 39 yards in seven plays as Ivanisevic connected on a 41-yard field goal as time expired sending the game to overtime.
In overtime, the Ichabods scored first on another Ivanisevic field goal, this time from 32-yards out putting Washburn up 19-16. The Bearcats went eight plays from their own 25 and LaRon Council scored from 1-yard out capping the game 22-19 for Northwest.
Cooper had 53 yards on 19 carries for Washburn. Dane Simoneau recorded 251 yards passing completing 20 of 38 passes. Drameagon Powers had eight catches for 131 yards.
Zach Watkins led the Ichabods with 16 tackles including 12 solo stops. Casey Curran had 12 tackles with one tacke for loss. Ben Bianchino had two sacks for Washburn to go with eight tackles and three total tackles for loss.
About Truman . . .
Truman is 1-7 overall and 0-6 in the MIAA. The Bulldogs lone win was a 54-7 home win over Panhandle State. Four quarterbacks have at least 22 attempts this season. Phillip Davis started the season and was 60 for 116 with five touchdowns in four games. Andy Mundwiller started at quarterback against MSSU after beginning the season as a linebacker.

Last time out for the Bulldogs . . .
(Oct. 24, 2009) KIRKSVILLE, Mo. — In a game that saw five lead changes, nearly 600 total yards of rushing and back-up quarterbacks for each team contributing, the Emporia State Hornets defeated the Truman Bulldogs 30-24 in overtime at Stokes Stadium on Saturday.
Kevin Smart's five yard touchdown run in overtime gave the Hornets their first road victory since 2006 and broke Emporia's seven game loosing streak.
Smart finished with 206 yards rushing on 30 carries as both teams relied on the ground game after injuries sidelined both starting quarterbacks.
Vanness Emokpae led the Bulldogs with 117 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
Dustin Andrews got the Hornets on the scoreboard first after Emporia recovered a Bulldog fumble in their own endzone.  Andrews converted a 22 yard field goal to cap off an 11-play 75 yard drive to open the scoring.
Albert Coker gave Truman the lead with his first punt return for a touchdown this season as he went in from 48-yards out.
Late in the second quarter, the Bulldogs turned the ball over with 17 seconds left in the half as Matt Rosenhamer picked off Phillip Davis and returned the ball to the Bulldog 25.
Two plays later, Andre SloanEl found Danny McEvoy for an 18-yard touchdown pass for the 9-7 lead.
It was short lived as Ryan Ploesser blocked the extra point attempt and Terrence Byrd returned it for the defensive two-point conversion to tie the score at nine.
SloanEl hooked up with Dominic Mirocke for a 41-yard touchdown pass early in the third but Andrews, who is also the point guard on the Hornet basketball team, hit the upright on the point-after attempt.
On the ensuing drive, the Bulldogs were facing a fourth and six from the Emporia 22 when Davis' pass fell incomplete to Phil Kenney.  However, Emporia was flagged for offsides giving Truman another shot but Davis was also injured on the no play.
Emokpae came in to run the wildcat formation on fourth and one and ran 17 yards to the endzone to give the Bulldogs a 16-15 lead.
The Hornets got great field position on a kickoff out of bounds and Smart took the ball on the first play and ran 53 yards down to the Truman seven.  Smart would take it the next two times to give Emporia the lead back 21-16 after the two-point try failed.
Using a combination of Emokpae and Caleb Roberts, Truman regained the lead with 6:02 to play.  Emokpae got the ball down to the ESU six and on third and goal got a pass interference call to give Truman a new set of downs at the two.
Emokpae scored from two yards out and again on the two-point try to give the Bulldogs a 24-21 lead.
Sheldon Smith became Emporia's third quarterback of the game when he took over with 4:06 to play at the Hornet 25 yardline.
Smart gained seven on a key third and five then Smith reeled off runs of 22, 10 and 15 to take the ball down to the Truman 16 yardline.  Smith then completed his only pass attempt to Adam Schiltz for 12 yards down to the four.
The Bulldog defense forced Emporia to try the tying field goal as Michael Elliott, Ja'Cobe Britt and Richie Schumacher made tackles behind the line of scrimmage to bring Andrews with 21 seconds left.
Andrews made the 26 yard field goal to tie the game at 24.
Truman got the ball first in overtime and Roberts' pass was picked off on third down by Chris Woods.
Emporia took possession and Smith moved the chains with a 10-yard run on third and nine.  Smart would take the ball the next three times before finding the enzone for the victory.
The Hornets move to 2-7 on the season and 1-6 in the MIAA while the Bulldogs fall to 1-8 overall and 0-7 in the conference.

Series Notes . . .
Saturday's meeting is the 27th in the series. Truman leads the all-time series 18-8. 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 five of the last seven meetings and six of the last ten overall. Since 1961, the Bulldogs are 8-5 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 18-8
First Meeting: TSU 26, WU 13 (1958)
Last Meeting: WU 31-17 (10/18/08) in Kirksville
Last WU win: 31-17 (10/18/08) in Kirksville
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 the Bulldogs . . .
(Oct. 18, 2008) KIRKSVILLE, Mo. -- The Washburn Ichabod football team improved to 6-2 and 4-2 in the MIAA with a 31-17 win over Truman State. The win was the second straight over the Bulldogs an
Washburn opened the scoring with a 36-yard touchdown strike from Dane Simoneau to Drameagon Powers with 9:15 left in first quarter. Truman tied the score with just over nine minutes to play in the half.
Over the next five series, neither team could move the ball and Washburn took over at their own 34 with 2:08 remaining. Simoneau hit Brandon Walker on a 40-yard pass down to the Truman 26. Simoneau then hit Powers for a 16-yard completion to the Bulldog 10. The Ichabods then were saddled with a false start, a rush for a loss of one and a sack back to the Truman 22. On a third and goal play, Truman was whistled with a holding call giving the Ichabods a first down at the Truman 12. The Ichabods took advantage of the call and Justin Cooper scored from 1-yard out three plays later pushing Washburn to a 14-7 lead.
The Ichabods had the first possession of the second half, but on the second play from scrimmage, the Ichabods coughed up the ball giving the Bulldogs the ball at the Washburn eight yard line. On the first play of the drive for the Bulldogs, Matt Ticich was picked off by Zach Watkins at the eight yard line and returned it 80 yards to the Truman 12. The Ichabods' drive stalled, but Garrett Cummings connected on a 21-yard field goal  stretching the lead to 17-7. Neither team scored the remainder of the quarter as Washburn took a 17-7 lead into the final quarter.
In the fourth, Truman's Mickey Masucci hit a 31-yard field goal cutting the Washburn lead to 17-10, but on the next drive for the Ichabods, Cameron Knox pulled down a 22-yard pass from Simoneau with 10:51 to go in the game putting the Ichabods up 24-10 capping a 5-play, 70-yard drive.
After the Washburn defense forced a punt on the Bulldogs' next possession, the Cooper rushed for his second touchdown on the afternoon completing a 9-play, 63-yard drive giving the Ichabods a 31-10 lead.
Truman added a score late to cut the lead to 31-17 when Ticich rushed for 31-yards for the final score of the game.
Cooper led the Ichabods with a game-high 112 yards on 30 carries with the two touchdowns. Simoneau finished the game 13 of 24 with two interceptions and 233 yards passing and two touchdown scores. Powers led the Ichabod receivers with 89 yards on five catches and the first quarter touchdown.
Bruce Ringwood led the Ichabod defense with 12 tackles including nine solo stops. Watkins finished with 10 tackles with seven stops, a sack and a tackle for loss with two pass break ups.
Overall, the Ichabods had 362 yards of total offense and 17 first downs with 129 net yards rushing. 

Washburn Football History . . .
Washburn is 495-545-44 in the 119th year of Ichabod football.

A win for Washburn would . . .
lift the Ichabods to 496-545-44 in their football history … move the Ichabods to 7-3 on the season and 5-3 in the MIAA … be the third straight win for the Ichabods in the series … improve Craig Schurig to 7-1 on senior days.

A loss for Washburn would . . .
drop the Ichabods to 495-546-44 in their football history … drop the Ichabods to 6-4 overall and 4-3 in MIAA play … snap a two-game winning streak over the Bulldogs in the series history.

The Ichabods in the National Polls . . .
Oct. 26 -- The Washburn Ichabods fell from No. 16 outside the top 25 to No 28th in the AFCA Top 25 coaches poll after the overtime loss to then No. 4 Northwest Missouri. The Ichabods are ranked No. 24 in the D2football.com media poll this week down from No. 19.

The Ichabods in the NCAA regional rankings . . .
As of Oct. 26 -- The top six teams reach the NCAA playoffs with the top two teams in the region receiving first round byes. The Ichabods dropped to sixth afte their overtime loss at No. 2 Northwest Missouri.
1. Central Washington 9-0 7-0
2. Northwest Missouri State 8-1 8-1
3. Missouri Western State 7-2 7-2
4. Midwestern State 7-2 7-2
5. Texas A&M Kingsville 8-1 8-1
6. Tarleton State 8-1 8-1
7. Abilene Christian 7-2 7-2
8. Washburn 6-3 6-3
9. Central Missouri 7-2 7-2
10. Angelo State 6-3 6-2

Bods and Ends . . .
Watkins climbing tackle charts - Ichabod senior linebacker Zach Watkins has a career tackle total of 452, which is second on the all-time Washburn chart as he trails Grant Gould (2002-05) by eight total tackles after he recorded 459 career tackles for the Ichabods. Watkins' 233 career assisted tackles is second all-time at Washburn trailing Gould's 254. Watkins' became the school's all-time solo tackles leader with his three against Pittsburg State giving him 219 for his career passing Gould's total of 205 solo stops.

No need for paper or plastic - This season, the Ichabods have allowed only nine sacks this season for 60 yards. The Ichabod offensive line allowed only 17 sacks last season including only three in the last three games against Northwest Missouri, Pittsburg State (which is when all three occurred) and Nebraska-Omaha.

Speaking of sacks - This season, Ben Bianchino has recorded seven sacks for 46 yards which is tied for third on the single-season yards from sack chart. The school record is 56 set by John Miller in 1992.

Record Breaker - Eric Lawrence has recorded 44.0 tackles for loss for his career breaking the previous record of 37 held by Tony Scollieri (1994-97). His 20 career sacks are tied for second with Dan Remboldt who recorded 20 from 1982-84 The school record is 29.5 by Jim Butler (1985-87).

Quick Kicks - Washburn's Steve Ivanisevic has connected on 16 of his 18 field goal attempts this season in his first eight games in an Ichabod uniform topping the most attempted by a Craig Schurig-led team at Washburn. He has twice tied the school's single-game field goal record hitting four in games against both Northwest Missouri and New Mexico Highlands. Prior to this season, the most field goals made under Schurig had been six in 2007 when the Ichabods were 6 of 10 that season. The school's single-season record for made field goals is 18 set by Nick Kresic in 1986. Kresic also holds the single-season attempt record with 24 set that same year. Ivanisevic has scored 88 points for the Ichabods this season, which is seventh on the school's single chart. His 88 points is the most scored by a kicker in school history.

Red Zone is Blue Zone for Ichabods - This season the Ichabods have scored in 42 of 46 trips inside their opponents redzone and have scored on their last 40 of 43 trips into their opponents 20 yard line.

Second quarter has been owned by the Ichabods - This season, the Ichabods have outscored their opponents 164 to 45 in the second quarter including out bursts of 28-0 against Missouri Southern and Pittsburg State; 37 to 7 against New Mexico Highlands and 20-0 against Central Missouri. Washburn outscored Colorado Mines 13 to 0 in the second quarter of the opening game of the season.

Odd years lead to successful seasons - In both the 2005 and 2007 seasons, the Ichabods reached the NCAA playoffs and they are looking to continue that trend in 2009.

Ichabods on Homecoming wrap up - Saturday's game against Northwest Missouri was the Ichabods' third of three homecoming games this season. The Ichabods have won 21 of their last 29 homecoming match ups played on the road and in Yager Stadium. The Ichabods had their eight-game homecoming road streak snapped at UNO. At home, the Ichabods have won their last seven homecoming games played in Topeka. The last time the Ichabods fell in a homecoming game in Topeka was on Oct. 26, 2002 in double overtime loss to Missouri Western 34-28.

Power Performances - Drameagon Powers has moved into 10th on the all-time receiving chart at Washburn with 1,580 yards passing Jake Lebahhn (2003-07) who had 1,384 yards. Powers' 15 career touchdown receptions is fifth on the all-time chart at Washburn and his 96 career receptions is 10th at Washburn. He needs 59 more yards to move into the nine which would pass Mike Keeley (1975-78) who recorded 1,638 yards on 104 catches.

Sizzlin' Simoneau - In his last three games, Dane Simoneau has passed for the fourth- and fifth- and sixth-highest single-game passing totals in school history with 398 against Fort Hays State on Oct. 3 and 392 at Nebraska-Omaha and 362 against Pittsburg State on Oct. 17. He has moved into seventh on the school's all-time career touchdown passing list with 28 and he is eighth on the career completions chart with 218 and ninth in attempts with 389. He currently leads the MIAA in total offense with 282.4 yards per game. Simoneau also needs 14 yards passing to move into second on the single-season chart and 260 yards in the final two games to break the Ichabod single season passing record of 2,775 held by Jordan Brill set in 2005. His 23 touchdown passes this season is fourth on the single-season chart trailing both Barry Griffiths (1988) and Jordan Brill (2005) who passed for 24. The single-season leader is Tyler Schuerman who passed for 28 in 2004. His 156 pass completions this season is fourth on the single-season chart needing four to move into third and 13 to move into second. Mike Atkins (1980) holds the single season record with 183. On the single-season total offense chart, Simoneau has 2,496 yards and the single season record is 2,691 yards needing 196 yards to set the record.

Ichabods in the national individual statistics . . .
Category    Name    National Rank    Statistic
Rushing    Vershon Moore    93    64.44
Passing Efficiency     Dane Simoneau    6    164.96
Total Offense    Dane Simoneau    21    277.33
Receiving Yards Per Game    Drameagon Powers    53    74.67
Interceptions    Pierre Desir    T-8    .67
Punt Returns     Casey Curran    42    8.94    Field Goals    Steve Ivanisevic    T-2    1.78
Scoring    Steve Ivanisevic    12    9.78
Sacks    Ben Bianchino    T-25    .78         Eric Lawrence    T-51    .61
Tackles    Zach Watkins    T-25    10.00         Casey Curran    T-48    8.89
Tackles For Loss    Eric Lawrence    T-73    1.22
       
Ichabods in the national team statistics . . .
Category    National Rank    Statistic    National Leader
Rushing Offense    T-51     162.44    Carson-Newman
Passing Offense    8     304.78    Eastern N.M.
Total Offense    7     467.22    West Liberty St.
Scoring Offense    11     39.56    North Ala.
Rushing Defense    56     126.11    Abilene Christian
Pass Efficiency Defense    77     124.80    Albany St. (GA)
Total Defense    97     371.67    Albany St. (GA)
Scoring Defense    44     21.56    Albany St. (GA)
Net Punting    13     35.09    Northeastern St.
Punt Returns    80     9.17    Fort Hays St.
Kickoff Returns    52     20.97    Stonehill    Turnover
Margin    12     1.00    Minn. St. Mankato
Pass Defense    123     245.56    Miles    Passing
Efficiency    5     166.20    Charleston (WV)
Sacks    T-70     2.00    Fayetteville St.
Tackles For Loss    107     5.78    Shaw
Sacks Allowed    T-14     1.00    Ouachita Baptist

Schurig moving up the coaching ranks . . .
Eighth-year head coach Craig Schurig has compiled a 52-37 all-time record at Washburn. He passed Ernest Bearg for fourth on the all-time win chart. Next on the coaching win chart is Larry Elliott who recorded 58 wins in two stints as the Ichabods' head coach from 1974-78 and 1984-89.

Ichabods on Oct 31 . . .
Since the 1961 season, the date of when games were available in media guides, the Ichabods are 2-3 on Oct. 31.
1964 - W 19-2 at Nebraska-Omaha
1970 - L 7-13 vs Pittsburg State (on WU's homecoming)
1981 - L 7-0 vs Fort Hays State
1987 - L 44-0 at Pittsburg State
1992 - W 21-17 vs Southwest Baptist

Up next . . .
Washburn will wrap up the regular season at arch-rival Emporia State at 1 p.m. in the 106th edition of the Turnpike Tussle in Welch Stadium.