Setting the scene. . .
The Washburn Ichabods are looking for their third straight win as they travel to face the Pittsburg State Gorillas on Saturday, Oct. 16 with a 2:20 p.m. kickoff. The game will be broadcast live on television on Cox Kansas 22 as part of the MIAA game of the week. It will be the first of two appearances for the Ichabods on the game of the week as the final regular season game in Yager Stadium will also be the featured game on Nov. 6. The Ichabods (3-3, 2-2 MIAA) are coming off a 40-28 win over Nebraska-Omaha. The Gorillas (3-3, 1-3 MIAA) fell to Emporia State 17-14 last time out. Saturday's game will also be homecoming for the Gorillas. The Ichabods are looking for their first win in Pittsburg since a 28-21 victory on Oct. 29, 1977 - a streak of 17 games. Washburn has won the last three game played in Topeka including a 55-3 win last season - the most-lopsided victory for the Ichabods in the series.
Ichabods on Radio . . .
The game will be broadcast live on AM 580 WIBW. 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.
Ichabods on Television . . .
Saturday's game against Pittsburg State will be the first of two for the Ichabods to appear on the MIAA's Game of the Week. The will be broadcast live on Cox 22 in Topeka. Mark Ewing will provide play-by-play and Rich Baldinger will handle color commentary duties.
The Coaches . . .
Washburn head football coach
Craig Schurig was named head coach of the Ichabod football program Dec. 28, 2001. Schurig is 57-40 (.588) in his ninth season as the Ichabod head coach and he is 44-31 (.579) against the MIAA. He has led the Ichabods to two NCAA Playoff appearances in the last five seasons and to the 2005 MIAA Championship as well as recording six straight winning seasons for the first time in the program's history. Schurig is 3-5 all-time against Pittsburg State.
Pittsburg State head coach Tim Beck is 3-3 in his first season as the Gorillas' head coach. Beck assumed the helm of his alma mater (PSU, '88) after serving for 22 seasons as an assistant coach for the Gorillas, including the previous 16 years as the team's offensive coordinator.
He was named the school's 14th all-time head football coach at a press conference on Dec. 9, 2009. Beck previously served as Assistant Head Coach for two years, after being named to that role on the Pitt State staff on December 13, 2007.
Last time out for the Ichabods . . .
(Oct. 9, 2010) TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Washburn Ichabods won their second straight game and picked up the program's 500th win in a 40-28 win over Nebraska-Omaha in Yager Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Ichabods scored early only three plays into the game as
Dane Simoneau hit
Joe Hastings on a 27-yard pass play putting Washburn up 7-0 with the extra point by
Steve Ivanisevic. However the Mavericks responded with a seven-play, 73-yard drive of their own capped by a 21-yard run by Levi Terrell tying the score at 7-7 with only 3:35 worth of play in the first quarter.
On the ensuing drive by the Ichabods, Hastings pulled down his second touchdown of the afternoon on a 17-yard strike from Simoneau wrapping a drive which covered 89 yards and 13 plays and 6:31 off the clock putting Washburn up 14-7.
After the Ichabod defense forced a punt, Washburn then marched 80 yards in 13 plays as Hastings notched his third touchdown of the day - this time on a 13-yard pass play from Simoneau staking the Ichabods to a 21-7 lead with 11:04 to play in the opening half. Again the Ichabod defense held and the Ichabods' drive stalled a the UNO 31, but a 48-yard field goal by Ivansevic put Washburn up 24-7 with 3:50 to go in the half.
Washburn's
Pierre Desir picked off his second pass of the season and the 10th of his career on the Mavericks' next drive at the Washburn 28 and returned it to the UNO 41 setting up Hastings' fourth touchdown reception of the day on a 30-yard play.
Hastings finished the first half with eight catches for 122 yards and four touchdow receptions tying Washburn's single game record with Troy Slusser who had four scores in a 59-46 win over Emporia State on Nov. 12, 1988 in Topeka.
UNO took the second half kickoff and cut into the Ichabod lead as John Teigland hit Mike Higgins for 16 yards pulling UNO with 31-14. Washburn responded with a 49-yard field goal by Ivanisevic on the 'Bods' next drive with 8:40 to go in the third quarter.
UNO's next drive stalled at their own 47 yard line and on the punt attempt, it was blocked by
Brody Schuler setting up a 39-yard field goal by Ivanisevic stretching the Ichabod lead to 37-14. After the Mavericks turned the ball back to the Ichabods on downs on a sack by
Dakota Palan-Johnson, Ivanisevic connected on his fourth, a school-record tying, field goal of the day - this time from 33 yards with 9:38 to go putting the Ichabods up 40-14.
UNO added touchdowns on a John Teigland pass to Mike Higgins with 5:41 to go in the game and Terrell scored from five yards out with 55 seconds to go in the game to round out the scoring.
Simoneau finished 21 of 26 for the game with four touchdown passes (all to Hastings) for 278 yards.
Vershon Moore led the Ichabod ground game with 83 yards on 16 carries.
Terrell finished with 130 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Mavericks while Teigland was 19 of 28 for 218 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. Higgins finished with 73 yards on seven catches and two scores.
Defensively for the Ichabods,
Jahmil Taylor had 12 tackles and
Michael Wilhoite recorded 11 with two tackles for loss. Shaquil Barrett had eight tackles and two sacks for the Mavericks.
Each team recorded 397 yards of total offense.
The win was the first for the Ichabods over the Mavericks since Oct. 25, 1969 in a 24-21 win in Topeka. Since then the Ichabods were 0-5-1 in six meetings covering a 25-year gap between games.
About Pittsburg State . . .
The Gorillas are 3-3 overall and 1-3 in MIAA play after falling to Emporia State 17-14 on a last-minute field goal by ESU. Pitt State's conference win came in a 24-21 win over Missouri Southern on Oct. 2. The other two MIAA loses for the Gorillas came from Central Missouri 37-20 and to a then-No. 8-ranked Missouri Western squad 42-25. PSU opened the season with back-to-back wins over Central Oklahoma 31-20 and Chadron State 14-3.
The Gorillas are averaging 21.3 points per game while allowing 23.3 per contest. The Gorillas are eighth in the MIAA in total offense at 367.5 yards per game, but lead the league in rushing offense at 224.8 yards per game. Defensively, the Gorillas are third in rush defense allowing just over 126 yards per game overall and ranked sixth in total defense allowing 377 yards per game.
Briceton Wilson leads the Gorilla ground game with 64 yards per contest averaging 5.6 yards per carry. Through the air, Zac Dickey is averaging 121 yards per game completing 52 percent of his passes for 730 yards with six touchdowns and three interceptions. Dickey is eighth in the MIAA in total offense averaging 185 yards per game. Punt returner Jon Thomas leads the MIAA with a 19.3 yards per punt return average including an 84-yard return earlier this season. Jared Witter leads the conference with a 41.1 yards per punt average.
Nate Dreiling leads the MIAA with 13.7 tackles per game with 41 solo and 41 assisted tackles while sitting on top of the tackles for loss chart with 2.42 per game with 12 solo tackles for loss.
Last time out for the Gorillas . . .
(Oct. 9, 2010) EMPORIA, Kan. -- Emporia State's Julian Dozier blocked a 57-yard field goal attempt on the game's final play to help secure a 17-14 victory over Pittsburg State Saturday (Oct. 9) at Welch Stadium.
The Hornets (5-2, 3-2 MIAA) overcame a 14-0 halftime deficit, holding the Gorillas (3-3, 1-3 MIAA) scoreless over the final half of play.
ESU, which tied the game on a pair of Tyler Eckenrode touchdown passes in the third quarter, converted a crucial interception into the game's final points. Wayne Burgess intercepted an errant Zac Dickey pass at the PSU 28 yard line with 2:30 to play in the game.
Four plays later, Zak King snuck a 38-yard field goal try through the uprights to put the Hornets in front for the first time on the day with 1:07 to play in the game.
The Gorillas drove the ball to the ESU 38, but a costly blocking penalty pushed Pitt State back and forced a long field goal attempt in the game's waning seconds.
Pitt State scored first in the game when Nate Dreiling tackled ESU's Dasor Horton in the end zone for a safety with 9:19 to play in the first quarter.
The Gorillas added a 29-yard touchdown run by Dickey with 13:57 to play in the second quarter. PSU elected to try a 2-point conversion, but Dickey was stopped short of the goal line to leave the Gorillas with an 8-0 advantage.
Dickey also tossed a 14-yard touchdown pass to Gavin Lutman with 45 seconds remaining in the first half to make it a 14-0 lead. PSU's extra point attempt failed following a bad snap.
Dickey finished the game 14-for-28 passing for 116 yards. He also carried the ball 17 times for 54 yards.
Briceton Wilson rushed 18 times for 85 yards for Pitt State, which finished the game with 273 total yards in the contest (157 rushing, 116 passing).
Ryan Holt had a team-leading six catches for 71 yards for the Gorillas.
Eckenrode completed 11 of 24 passes for 134 yards, including a 32-yard TD pass to Shjuan Richardson and a 41-yard scoring pass to Charleston Johnson.
Defensively, Nate Dreiling led Pitt State with 11 tackles, including four behind the line of scrimmage. Chas Smith added nine tackles, with 3.0 TFLs.
Series Notes . . .
Saturday's meeting is the 83rd meeting in the series. The Gorillas lead the all-time series 60-21-1. In 2005, the Ichabods snapped a 25-game winning streak by the Gorillas with their 35-34 overtime win. The last win for the Ichabods in Pittsburg was Oct. 29, 1977 when the Ichabods won 28-21. The Ichabods have won three straight games over the Gorillas in Topeka. The last time the Ichabods beat PSU in back-to-back games was during the 1976 and 1977 seasons when the Ichabods topped PSU 28-16 on Oct. 2, 1976 in Topeka and 28-21 on Oct. 29, 1977 in Pittsburg.
Series Record: PSU leads 60-21-1
First Meeting: WU 7, PSU 0 (1920)
Last Meeting: WU 55-3 (10/17/09) in Topeka
Last WU win: 55-3 (10/17/09) in Topeka
Last PSU win: 48-17 (11/1/08) in Pittsburg
Largest WU win: 55-3 (10/17/09) in Topeka
Largest PSU win: 61-0 (10/28/1989) in Pittsburg
Last meeting with the Gorillas . . .
(Oct. 17, 2009) TOPEKA, Kan. -- The No. 20-ranked Washburn Ichabods held Pittsburg State to their lowest point total in an MIAA game in a 55-3 win over the Gorillas on Homecoming Saturday in Yager Stadium.
The Ichabods (6-2, 4-2 MIAA) opened the game with a 73-yard kickoff return by
Pierre Desir to the Pittsburg State 18, but the drive stalled and
Steve Ivanisevic connected on a 31-yard field goal putting the Ichabods on the board. After the teams traded interceptions, The Ichabods drove 38 yards on five plays with
Drameagon Powers recovering a Washburn fumble in the end zone putting the Ichabods up 10-0.
On the first play of the second quarter,
Dane Simoneau hit
Cameron Knox on a 4-yard touchdown pass wrapping up a 45-yard, six-play drive increasing the Washburn lead to 17-0.
After forcing a Gorilla punt, Simoneau hooked up with
Brad Cole for a 22-yard touchdown reception. On PSU's ensuing drive, the Ichabods held the Gorillas on a fourth-and-one from the Washburn 33. Washburn would then take over possession and drive 66 yards in six plays capped by a Simoneau pass to
Vershon Moore from 26-yards out.
The Ichabods would wrap up the scoring in the half on another Simoneau touchdown pass to
Greg Schoenberg from 12-yards with 55 seconds to play in the half. Washburn outgained the Gorillas 249 to 96 in the second quarter only.
The lone points for the Gorillas came on a 26-yard field goal by Jared Witter with 11:11 to go in the third quarter.
Ivanisevic responded with a 32-yard field goal of his own wrapping up a 47-yard drive in eight plays with 8:51 on the clock.
After forcing a Gorilla punt, the Ichabods took possession and Simoneau hit Powers on a 31-yard completion putting the Ichabods up 48 to 3 with 4:55 to play in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Simoneau wrapped up the Ichabod scoring with a record-breaking pass to Cole on a 77-yard touchdown pass. Simoneau's touchdown pass was his sixth of the afternoon tying both the MIAA's and Washburn's single-game record. He tied the school record of six set by Barry Griffiths, who recorded six against Emporia State in 1988.
Simoneau finished 20 of 28 for 362 yards with the six touchdown passes playing into the first drive.
Cameron Kasel came in the game was completed three of seven passes for 16 yards.
Cole led the Ichabods receivers with six catches for 149 yards and two touchdowns.
Casey Curran led the Ichabods with 11 tackles with five solo stops.
Zach Watkins had nine with 1.5 tackles for loss.
Eric Lawrence had eight tackles with a sack and two tackles for loss.
Pierre Desir recorded two interceptions, a pass break up and three tackles.
Washburn recorded 26 first downs gaining 588 total yards averaging 8.4 yards per play. The Ichabod defense held the Gorillas to 266 total yards.
Washburn Football History . . .
Washburn is 500-548-44 in the 120th year of Ichabod football.
A win for Washburn would . . .
lift the Ichabods to 501-548-44 in their football history … move the Ichabods to 4-3 on the season and 3-2 in MIAA play … improve the Ichabods to 22-60-1 all-time against the Gorillas … be the first win for the Ichabods over the Gorillas in Pittsburg since Oct. 29, 1977 when the Ichabods won 28-21 … be the first time the Ichabods have beaten PSU in back-to-back games since Washburn topped PSU 28-16 on Oct. 2, 1976 in Topeka and 28-21 on Oct. 29, 1977 in Pittsburg … snap a 17-game losing streak in Pittsburg.
A loss for Washburn would . . .
drop the Ichabods to 500-549-44 in their football history … drop the Ichabods to 3-4 on the season … drop the Ichabods to 61-22-1 all-time against the Gorillas … be the 18th straight loss to the Gorillas in Pittsburg.
Nebraska-Omaha revisited . . . the win
lifted the Ichabods to 500-548-44 in their football history … moved the Ichabods to 3-3 on the season and 2-2 in MIAA play … improved the Ichabods to 14-16-1 all-time against the Mavericks … was the first win for the Ichabods over the Mavericks since Oct. 25, 1969 (0-5 since then) … snapped a five-game losing streak to the Mavericks.
The Ichabods in the National Polls . . .
The Ichabods received one vote in the AFCA Coaches top 25 poll this week.
Bods and Ends . . .
Average Joe? - Senior wide receiver
Joe Hastings tied a school record with 13 receptions against the Orediggers in the season opener tallying 201 receiving yards in the process … against Nebraska-Omaha he tied another school record with four receiving touchdowns … he leads the MIAA lead in receptions per game with 7.7 and receiving yards per game with 138.8 yards per game averaging 18.1 yards per catch. This season he has gained 833 yards through the air on 46 receptions with nine touchdown receptions … prior to this season his Washburn career numbers were 32 catches for 487 yards and one touchdown … he is also tied for second in the MIAA in scoring averaging 9.0 ppg.
Quick Kicks - Washburn's
Steve Ivanisevic has connected on 28 of his 32 career field goal attempts and 73 of 76 extra point attempts … his 28 field goals made are third all-time at Washburn and the 73 extra points are sixth all-time at Washburn … his 87.5 percent field goal percentage is first all-time at Washburn and tops in MIAA history as well among kickers who have at least 20 made field goals … against UNO he tied his own school record for the third time converting four field goal attempts in the same game … others were NWMSU on 10/24/09 and MSSU on 9/12/09.
Red Zone is Blue Zone for Ichabods - This season again the Ichabods are making the most of the opportunities inside the opponent's 20 yards line scoring 24 times on 28 trips into the redzone with 18 touchdowns and six field goals. In 2009, the Ichabods scored in 54 of 59 trips inside their opponents redzone and have scored touchdowns on 39 of those trips with 22 coming on the ground. Opponents have scored 20 times in 22 trips inside the redzone scoring 16 touchdowns with four field goals this season.
Sim-City - Junior signal caller
Dane Simoneau has started the last 22 games … has passed for 5,477 yards averaging 228 yards per game in his career passing … he has thrown for 46 touchdowns completing 58.2 percent of his passing attempts … he has thrown for at least 300 yards in a game seven times at Washburn … against Fort Hays State, Simoneau became the fifth Ichabod signal-caller to go over 5,000 passing yards in a career joining Jordan Brill (7,041), Tyler Schuerman (6,525), Joe Schartz (5,527) and Mike Atkins (5,437) in that category … in the last three games (at UCM, at FHSU, UNO) Simoneau has completed 60 percent of his passes (52 of 87) for 844 yards (281.3 ypg) with 11 touchdowns and one interception.
Tell me Moore - Sophomore running back
Vershon Moore leads the team and the MIAA in rushing yards averaging 129.5 yards per game as the only conference running back averaging at least 100 yards per game and he is second in the MIAA in all-purpose yards with 144.0 yards per game … Moore is tied for the league-lead in scoring averaging 9.0 points per game … he has recorded 1,738 career rushing yards and 16 touchdowns averaging 6.0 yards per carry and 102.2 yards per game in 17 career appearances … he has moved into 11th all-time on the Ichabod rushing charts.
Curran on the charts - Senior free safety
Casey Curran has recorded 214 career tackles putting him No. 15 on the all-time list … his 594 career punt return yards are fourth and his 63 punt returns are fourth all-time as well.
Hanging with Mr. Cooper - Junior running back
Justin Cooper has rushed for 233 yards this season and two touchdowns while going over the 1,000-yard mark for his career … he is 16th on the all-time rushing chart with 1,184 yards … against Fort Hays State he also played at outside linebacker recording two tackles.
Rare air - Senior punter
Austin Hills is averaging 37.3 yards per punt this season on 17 attempts, a total which would rank sixth in the MIAA this season if he had the NCAA minimum of 3.6 attempts per game … his net punting average of 34.4 yards per punt is fifth in the MIAA … the Ichabods have not allowed any punt return yards since the season opener against Colorado Mines, which went for 10 yards covering a span of 16 straight kicks without any punt return yards.
Ichabods and the non-conference - Since joining the NCAA ranks, the Ichabods are 20-17 in non-MIAA games. Under head coach
Craig Schurig, the Ichabods are 12-6 in non-conference games since the 2002 season during the regular season following the loss to Abilene Christian. In non-conference regular season away games under Schurig, the Ichabods are 6-2 and in home games during the regular season against non-MIAA foes, the Ichabods are 6-4.
Washburn/Pittsburg State connections ...
There are four current coaches on the Ichabod coaching staff with ties to Pitt State. Other than head coach
Craig Schurig's nine years on the Gorilla staff, four other coaches also have ties to the Gorillas' program.
• Assistant head coach and defensive coordinator Chris Brown was a three-time all-American who recorded 470 tackles in 43 starts and was named the CNN/Division II National Player of the Year. He is one of only four Gorillas to be named all-American three times. He was also inducted into the Pittsburg State Athletic Hall of Fame on Sept. 9, 2007.
• Co-Defensive Coordinator and Linebacker's coach Cooper Harris played for the Gorillas from 1992 to 1994 where he recorded 295 tackles in 31 games, seventh on the all-time chart. He won the Joe Murphy Award twice as the team's most valuable defensive player.
• Offensive coordinator coach Rob Robinson spent one season as a graduate assistant with the Gorillas after wrapping up his playing days at William Jewell.
• Defensive line coach
David Trupp was the defensive line and offseason strength and condition coordinator for the Gorillas from 1996 to 1998.
• On the field, Washburn's redshirt sophomore running back
Vershon Moore is the nephew of PSU all-American and 2005 NCAA DII Football Hall of Fame inductee Ronald Moore, who rushed for 2,585 yards as a senior in 1992 with 41 touchdowns winning the Harlon Hill Trophy. Moore played for the Gorillas from 1989-92.
Three dot ( . . . ) thoughts
The Ichabods are 19-19 all-time in MIAA road games under
Craig Schurig … the Ichabods are -2 in the turnover battle this season gaining nine fumble recoveries with three interceptions while giving the ball away 14 times with seven interceptions and seven fumbles lost … the 14 turnovers is the third-highest total in the MIAA this season ahead of Missouri Southern who has 15 and Central Missouri who has 16 turnovers … the Ichabods had 17 turnovers through all of the 2009 season … in first half of games this season the Ichabods are 20 of 38 (.526) on third down conversions … in the second half the Ichabods are 17 of 39 (.435) … the Ichabods and their opponents have each scored 102 points in the the first half of games this season … Washburn is outscoring its opponents 79 to 48 in the third quarter … the Ichabods have had 54 plays of more than 25 yards with 31 of them coming through the air …
Joe Hastings has 18 plays of more than 25 yards,
Pierre Desir has 10 with nine coming on kickoff returns … the 51-yard touchdown pass from
Dane Simoneau to
Brody Schuler at Fort Hays State tied the Ichabods' season-long scoring pass of Simoneau to
Travis Mosby against Central Missouri …
Patrick Jean's 58-yard kickoff return against Nebraska-Omaha was the longest play for the Ichabods this season …
Payton Iverson,
Brad Haug and
Terry Grimmett each have five special teams tackles to lead the team … Ichabod offensive coordinator Rob Robinson was 34 days old the last time the Ichabods topped the Gorillas in Pittsburg.
Ichabods on homecoming both home and away. . .
Saturday's game against Pittsburg State will be the Ichabods' second of three homecoming games this season. The Ichabods have won 22 of their last 29 homecoming match ups played on the road and in Yager Stadium. 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. Washburn topped Fort Hays State on its homecoming earlier this season on Oct. 2 by a score of 38-27. Washburn returns home next week to face Northwest Missouri on the Ichabods' homecoming day.
Schurig moving up the coaching ranks . . .
Ninth-year head coach
Craig Schurig has compiled a 57-40 all-time record at Washburn. He passed Ernest Bearg to move into third on the all-time wins chart last season. 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. Dick Godlove, who coaches from 1946 to 1958, is the Ichabods' all-time victories leader with 67.
Ichabods on Oct. 16 . . .
Since the 1961 season, the date of when games were available in media guides, the Ichabods are on 1-4 Oct. 16. They lost a 38-14 game in Pittsburg on Oct. 16, 1982.
Game Changer
With the Ichabods hosting Emporia State on Nov. 6 as part of the MIAA TV Network, the game time will be pushed back from 1 p.m. to a 2:20 p.m. kickoff time. It will be a busy day in Yager Stadium as 22 seniors will be honored before the game as well as it being Washburn's family day. The Ichabod football game schedule at Pittsburg State on Oct. 16 is also going to be a 2:20 p.m. start time back from the scheduled time of 2 p.m.
Up next . . .
The Ichabods return home to face Northwest Missouri on Homecoming Saturday in Yager Stadium on Oct. 23 with a 1 p.m. start time.
