Game Facts Date:     Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009 Time: 1 p.m. CST Location: Topeka, Kan. Stadium: Yager Stadium (7,200) Series History: UCM leads 21-17-2 Series Streak: UCM has won the last two

Washburn (3-1, 1-1 MIAA) Polls RV in AFCA Poll NR in d2football.com Poll Leaders Rushing: Justin Cooper 33 att/221 yds/2 TD/70.3 ypg Passing: Dane Simoneau 57-90-3/876 yds/11 TD/219.0 ypg Receiving: Brad Cole 12 rec./232 yds/5 TD/58.0 ypg Tackles: Casey Curran 36 TT / 1.5 TFL / 1 INT

Central Missouri (4-0, 2-0 MIAA) 11th in AFCA Poll 13th in d2football.com Poll Leaders Rushing: Anthony Stewart 59 att/302 yds/4 TD/75.5 ypg Passing: Eric Czerniewski 78-119-1/973 yds/10 TD/243 ypg Receiving: DeMarco Crosby 16 rec./210 yds/2 TD/52.5 ypg Tackles: Cody Scribner 32 TT/ 2.0 TFL / 1 BU

Radio: KTPK 106.9 FM Web Stream Live Stats: wusports.com Live Video: Through b2tvlive.com Washburn Football Page Roster Statistics Schedule Game Notes Central Missouri Football Page Roster Statistics Schedule Game Notes

Setting the scene. . .
The Washburn Ichabods (3-1, 1-1 MIAA) will look to rebound from their first loss of the season as they play host to the University of Central Missouri Mules on Saturday, Sept. 26 at 1 p.m. in Yager Stadium. The Ichabods fell in a heartbreak at Missouri Western 37-34 as the Griffons hit a 53-yard field goal as time expired. The Mules topped Pittsburg State last time out 23-14 to improve to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in conference play. The Ichabods will be at home next week when they entertain Fort Hays State on Oct. 3 as part of Washburn Athletics Hall of Fame Saturday.

Ichabods on Radio . . .
The game will be broadcast live on KTPK 106.9 FM. 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 49-35 (.575) in his eighth season as the Ichabod head coach and he is 37-27 (.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 2-5 against Central Missouri.
Central Missouri head coach Willie Fritz is in his 13th season as head coach at Central Missouri. He is 93-44 as the Mules' mentor, 69-41 vs. MIAA opponents. His .676 winning percentage is fourth best in UCM football history, while his 93 career wins rank No. 1 in school history. A 1983 graduate of Pittsburg State University, he is now sixth in the MIAA in career wins, third among active MIAA coaches.

Last time out for the Ichabods . . .
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- The Washburn Ichabods fell in their first game of the season as  Missouri Western's Brad Beckwith hit a 53-yard field goal as time expired to top Washburn 37-34.
Washburn knotted the scored at 34 after the Griffons took a touchdown lead when Dane Simoneau drove the Ichabods 65 yards in nine plays in 1:37 leaving 27 seconds on the clock for the Griffons. In the drive, Simoneau was 5 of 7 including the tying strike to Brad Cole on a 5-yard reception.
The Griffons scored 17 points in the fourth quarter as they finished with 541 yards of total offense.
Washburn's Vershon Moore had 90 yards on the ground to go with one touchdown on 22 carries. Simoneau was 12 of 22 for 207 yards and three touchdowns with five completions going to Moore for 64 yards and one touchdown.
Defensively, Casey Curran recorded 22 tackles with 14 solo stops including a tackle for loss. Zach Watkins had 12 tackles with eight solo stops and Pierre Desir had two interceptions and five tackles.

About Central Missouri . . .
The Mules are 4-0 overall and 2-0 in conference play after defeating Pittsburg State last time out at home 23-14.
Junior quarterback Eric Czerniewski leads Central Missouri's offensive attack, averaging a league-high 244.8 yards of total offense per game early in the season.
Czerniewski has completed 78 of 119 passes (.655) for 973 yards (243.2 ypg) and 10 touchdowns with just one interception on the season. He also has rushed the ball 20 times for six yards and a pair of TDs.
Junior running back Anthony Stewart leads the Mules' ground gainers. He has carried the ball 59 times for 311 yards (5.1 ypc) and four touchdowns, averaging 75.5 yards per game. Stewart also has caught 12 passes for 165 yards (13.8 ypc) and two scores, accounting for 467 all-purpose yards (116.8 ypg).
Junior wide receiver DeMarco Crosby has been Czerniewski's favorite receiving target. Crosby  has caught a team-leading 16 passes for 210 yards (13.1 ypc) and two touchdowns. Junior wide receiver Adam Parks also has caught 14 passes for 115 yards.
As a team, Central Missouri is averaging 400.8 total yards (264.5 passing) and 34 points per game.
Defensively, the Mules are allowing 19.0 points and 418.8 total yards per game. The Mules enter Saturday's action ranked last in the league in total defense and ranked seventh against the run (132.0 ypg).
Junior linebacker Cody Scribner has logged a team-leading 32 tackles (13 solo) with 2.0 TFLs and one blocked kick.
Redshirt freshman kicker Aaron Jamieson has converted all three field goal tries and 13 of 15 PAT conversions, scoring 22 points on the season. Senior Jordan Hofer (5-10, 215) has punted 16 times for a 39.4-yard average with five kicks inside the opponent 20 yard line.
Parks has averaged 8.5 yards per punt return, while senior Bobby Guillory has averaged 41.7 yards per kickoff return.

Last time out for the Mules . . .
(Sept. 19, 2009) WARRENSBURG, Mo. – The No. 12 Central Missouri Mules defense did the job against the No. 11 Pittsburg State Gorillas on Saturday afternoon in front of 10,800 fans at Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field, upsetting the visitors 23-14.
It was the fewest PSU points allowed in a Mules win since 1940 in the series (UCM won that year 20-0), and only the seventh UCM win overall against the Gorillas (first since 83-21 win in 2005).
The Mules jumped out to a 23-0 halftime lead, and didn't allow a PSU score until 5:36 remained in the third quarter. The Mules also forced four Gorilla turnovers in the game, while committing none on offense, making them 9-0 under head coach Willie Fritz when going +4 in the turnover ratio.
The game got started with a bang for the Mules as junior Bobby Guillory returned the opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown. It was the first opening kickoff return for a TD since current San Francisco 49er Delanie Walker did it against Lincoln back in 2005.
Randy Shepherd in action After a couple punts by each team, the Mules got a huge play by senior free safety Randy Shepherd. He sacked quarterback John McCoy at the PSU 35, forcing a fumble that he recovered and returned 12 yards. The Mules used only two plays to punch it in from there as junior quarterback Eric Czerniewski tossed an 18-yard touchdown to Guillory.
In the second quarter, the Mules got another big play from their special teams when redshirt freshman Dan Boan blocked a Gorilla punt at the PSU 6-yard line (pictured below at right). UCM scored two plays later on another short field with a 6-yard rush by junior Anthony Stewart with 10:45 left in the half.Dan Boan blocks a PSU punt
Pittsburg State moved the ball into Central Missouri territory for the first time on the day during the ensuing possession, but PSU's backup quarterback, Mark Smith, had to come in midway through the drive after John McCoy was hurt. He moved it down to the UCM 20, but penalties and a sack pushed them back to the 50. Smith was intercepted two plays later by junior cornerback Kor'Ree Manson though, giving the ball back to the Mules with 6:41 left.
Central Missouri then took it down to the PSU 17 before the drive stalled and it was forced to kick a field goal. True freshman Aaron Jamieson drilled it from 43 yards out to make it 23-0 with 57 seconds left.
The Mules went into halftime with that lead, and allowed only 103 yards of offense in the stanza, while putting up 153 yards.
Pittsburg State tried to make it a game early in the second half, but the UCM defense held on its own one, forcing the Gorillas into a fourth-and-goal situation. Smith fumbled the ball in front of him on the play, and sophomore Calvin Patterson recovered it at the one-yard marker.
The Gorillas used good field position to punch in their first score of the day, going in from their own 44. It only took two plays though, thanks to a 53-yard Jon Thomas touchdown catch. PSU missed the two-point conversion though, making it 23-6.
The Central Missouri defense made another fourth down stop on the next possession as Cody Scribner made a tackle on the UCM 23 for no gain, PSU needed only a yard.
Pitt State made it 23-14 on the next possession in the final quarter, but it took 7:49 off the clock. It was a 16-play, 91-yard drive that was capped by a one-yard TD from running back Cardell Clemons. The two-point conversion was good on a carry by Smith, but there was only 5:04 left in the game.
The Mules sealed it on the next PSU possession though, as Shepherd picked off a Smith pass with 2:57 left at the Gorilla 48. The UCM offense took it down to the PSU 3, and then took a knee to run out the clock for the win.
Central Missouri went conservative and had only 74 yards in the final half with that lead (finished with 227 total). The Gorillas finished with only 370 total yards after averaging 442 against its other three ranked opponents on the season. More importantly, PSU was held 17 points below its average.
Patterson led the UCM defense with a career-high 14 tackles, while Shepherd had six tackles, a sack, a forced and recovered fumble, and an interception in the contest. UCM also had four sacks in the game.

Series Notes . . .
Saturday's meeting is the 41st meeting in the series. The Mules lead the series 21-17-2. The Mules have won the last two meetings after defeating Washburn 43-34 in Warrensburg.  
Series Record: UCM leads 21-17-2
First Meeting: WU 6, UCM 0 (1902)
Last Meeting: UCM 43-34 (9/20/08) in Warrensburg
Last WU win: 14-10 (9/16/06) in Warrensburg
Last UCM win: 43-34 (9/20/08) in Warrensburg
Largest WU win: 34-0 (9/28/1963) in Topeka
Largest UCM win: 37-0 (11/7/1998) in Topeka

Last Meeting with the Mules . . .
(Sept. 20, 2008) WARRENSBURG, Mo. -- The No. 25 ranked Washburn Ichabods lost 43-34 at No. 20 Central Missouri in a wild game in which the teams combined for 34 points in the fourth quarter.
After entering the fourth quarter trailing 29-14, the Ichabods rolled off 13 points in less than two minutes to cut the Mule lead to 29-27 after a two-point conversion failed. Jake Iverson had a pair of 1-yard plunges to cap the drives.
The Mules pushed their lead back to nine at 36-27 as Bobby Guillory scampered 41 yards on a reverse with 10:29 to go in the game. After the Ichabods were forced to punt, Guillory muffed a punt return and Xavier Beckford recovered for Washburn at the Central 28 yard line. On the next play from scrimmage, Dane Simoneau connected with Powers for a 28-yard touchdown strike and his first collegiate touchdown pulling Washburn within two at 36-34 with 8:32 to go.
On Central's next drive, Guillory rushed for a 25 yard touchdown run on a fourth and two to put Central up 43-34. Washburn would take possession and drive to the Central 49, but a pair of incomplete passes turned possession back to the Mules and they would run on the clock picking up the win.
Drameagon Powers had a career-high 156 yards receiving on seven receptions to go with touchdown receptions of 76- and 28-yards. Cameron Knox recorded his first touchdown reception of his career in the first half on a 2-yard reception from Jake Iverson.
Iverson was 15 of 33 for 266 yards and the two touchdown passes and had one interception on a deflected pass from an Ichabod receiver. Simoneau was 2 of 5 for 29 yards and the one touchdown pass to Powers in his first action as an Ichabod.
Brandon Walker led the Ichabods on the ground with 21 yards rushing as the team was held to 68 yards on 36 carries.
Bruce Ringwodd had 10 tackles in the game with one for loss. Michael Wilhoite and Zach Watkins each had nine tackles.
Each team had 17 first downs as Washburn had 363 yards of total offense.

Washburn Football History . . .
Washburn is 492-543-44 in the 119th year of Ichabod football.

A win for Washburn would . . .
lift the Ichabods to 493-543-44 in their football history … move the Ichabods to 4-1 on the season and 2-1 in the MIAA … snap a two-game losing streak to the Mules … be the first win over the Mules in Topeka since Sept. 10, 2005 in a 42-27 win … be Craig Schurig's 50th win on the Washburn sidelines.
A loss for Washburn would . . .
drop the Ichabods to 492-544-44 in their football history … be the third straight win by the Mules over the Ichabods … drop the Ichabods to 3-2 overall and 2-2 in MIAA play.

The Ichabods in the National Polls . . .
Sept. 22 -- The Washburn Ichabods fell from No. 22 in the American Football Coaches Association top 25 poll to No. 26 outside of the top 25 this week after their 37-34 loss at Missouri Western. Washburn has received votes in all of the polls this season.

Bods and Ends . . .
Watkins climbing tackle charts - Ichabod senior linebacker Zach Watkins has a career tackle total of 390, which is second on the all-time Washburn chart. Watkins trails Grant Gould (2002-05) who had 459 career tackles on the top of the charts. Watkins' 208 career assisted tackles is second all-time at Washburn trailing Gould's 254. Watkins' 182 solo tackles for his career is third all-time at Washburn trailing Gould's 205.

A one-sided coin?? - The Ichabods won the opening coin toss of the 2009 season against Colorado Mines and Missouri Western and deferred. The Ichabods lost the coin toss with New Mexico Highlands and Missouri Southern. Washburn was 1-10 last season and a combined 3-12 over the last two seasons. The only coin flip the Ichabods won last season was against Pittsburg State and they deferred to the second half.

No need for paper or plastic - This season, the Ichabods have allowed only three sacks with one in each of the last two games against Missouri Southern and Missouri Western. 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.

Record Breaker - Eric Lawrence has recorded 39.5 tackles for loss for his career breaking the previous record of 37 held by Tony Scollieri (1994-97). With his 2.5 sacks against the Lions, Lawrence moved into fourth on the all-time sack chart with 18.0 sacks. The school record is 29.5. He needs three total sacks to move into second place on the all-time chart.

Quick Kicks - Washburn's Steve Ivanisevic has connected on all seven of his field goal attempts this season in his first four games in an Ichabod uniform. The most attempts a Craig Schurig-led team at Washburn has attempted in a season has been 13 in 2004 and the most field goals made under Schurig has been six in 2007 when the Ichabods were 6 of 10 that season. Against Missouri Western, Ivanisevic connected on a 45-yard field goal, that was the longest made field goal by a Washburn placekicker since Jason Bowers hit a 45-yard field goal against Northwest Missouri on Sept. 29, 2001. The only field goal since that date that was made from at least 40 yards was a 41-yard attempt converted by Conner Sabel on Sept. 3, 2005 against Western Washington.

Red Zone is Blue Zone for Ichabods - This season the Ichabods have scored in 25 of 26 trips inside their opponents redzone and have scored on their last 23 straight trips into the redzone with 17 touchdowns and six field goals.

Second quarter has been owned by the Ichabods - This season, the Ichabods have outscored their opponents 92 to 17 in the second quarter including out bursts of 28-0 against Missouri Southern and 37 to 7 against New Mexico Highlands. 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 in the national individual statistics . . .
Category    Name    National Rank    Statistic
Rushing    Justin Cooper    90    70.33         
Passing Efficiency    Dane Simoneau    8    178.76    
Total Offense    Dane Simoneau    53    216.75         
Interceptions    Pierre Desir    T-6    .75
Punt Returns     Casey Curran    T-53    8.50    
Field Goals    Steve Ivanisevic    T-5    1.75
Scoring    Steve Ivanisevic    17    11.25         
    Brad Cole    T-76    7.50         
Sacks    Eric Lawrence    T-29    .88         
    Ben Bianchino    T-44    .75    
    Dakota Palan-Johnson    T-90    .62
Tackles    Casey Curran    T-51    9.00
Tackles For Loss    Eric Lawrence    T-38    1.63
     Michael Krajicek    T-50    1.50

Ichabods in the national team statistics . . .
Category    National Rank    Statistic
Rushing Offense    T-19     206.00    
Passing Offense    35     256.75    
Total Offense    12     462.75    
Scoring Offense    1     49.25    
Rushing Defense    80     147.00    
Pass Efficiency Defense    88     129.33    
Total Defense    80     364.25    
Scoring Defense    78     25.75    
Net Punting    7     37.82    
Punt Returns    68     9.54    
Kickoff Returns    86     19.13    
Turnover Margin    25     1.00    
Pass Defense    90     217.25    
Passing Efficiency    6     185.61    
Sacks    T-23     3.00    
Tackles For Loss    33     7.75    
Sacks Allowed    9     .50

Schurig moving up the coaching ranks . . .
Eighth-year head coach Craig Schurig has compiled a 49-35 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 Sept. 26 . . .
Since the 1961 season, the date of when games were available in media guides, the Ichabods are 4-1 on Sept. 26.
1964 - at Central Missouri - W 31-0
1970 - Wayne State - W 21-14
1987 - Northeastern State - W 23-21
1992 - Northwest Missouri - L 21-22
1998 - at Missouri-Rolla - W 24-7

Up next . . .
The Ichabods will have a second straight home game when they take on Fort Hays State on Oct. 3. It will also be Hall of Fame induction Saturday when former football players Gary Yager and Mark Brinker along with basketball player Rob Reilly and former golfer Mark Heitz will be inducted into the WU Athletics Hall of Fame.