Setting the scene. . .
The No. 10-ranked Washburn Ichabods will kickoff their 120th season of football as they will travel to Golden, Colo., to take on the Colorado School of Mines on Aug. 28 with a 1 p.m. CST start time. It will be the sixth time in the last seven seasons the Ichabods and the Orediggers will match up for their first games of the year with the lone exception being the 2007 opener with the Ichabods played host to Chadron State. This season's game is the second straight opener for the teams in Golden. The Ichabods have won the last five meetings in the series and the last four in Golden.
Ichabods on Radio . . .
The game will be broadcast live on AM580 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.
The Coaches . . .
Washburn head football coach
Craig Schurig was named head coach of the Ichabod football program Dec. 28, 2001. Schurig is 54-37 (.575) in his ninth season as the Ichabod head coach and he is 42-30 (.580) 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 six straight winning seasons. Schurig is 5-1 against Colorado Mines, his alma mater.
Colorado Mines head coach Bob Stitt is in his 11th season as the Orediggers' coach. He is 67-46 overall record, including a 51-32 mark in the RMAC. Stitt's .593 winning percentage is the highest by a Mines football coach who has coached in at least 20 games and the highest for a modern day coach at CSM. He is a 1986 graduate of Doane College. He is 1-5 against the Ichabods.
Last time out for the Ichabods . . .
(Nov. 7, 2009) EMPORIA, Kan. -- The Washburn Ichabods wrapped up the regular season with an 8-3 record turning a tie game into 21-point win over Emporia State in the Turnpike Tussle. The win was the sixth in a row for the Ichabods over the Hornets.
The Ichabods jumped on the board early when
Brad Haug scored a 7-yard punt return touchdown off a
Michael Krajicek block putting the Ichabods up 7-0 at the 12:58 mark of the first quarter. On the ensuing kickoff,
Patrick Myrick forced a Hornet fumble, which was recovered by Haug at the ESU 14 yard line. Two plays later,
Dane Simoneau hit
Brad Cole in the back of the end zone for an 11-yard touchdown pass putting the Ichabods up 14-0 two minutes and 52 seconds into the game.
Emporia State cut the lead in half when Sheldon Smith connected on a 68-yard pass to Danny McEvoy with 6:28 to play in the opening period.
Cole pulled down his second touchdown reception of the first quarter - this time a 20-yard pass from Simoneau with 6:28 remaining putting Washburn up 21-7. The Hornets tied the score on their next possession with Smith scored from 4-yards out with 45 seconds to play in the first quarter.
Haug scored his second touchdown on the ground at the 11:09 mark capping an 11-play, 79-yard drive. ESU scored back to back touchdowns to knot the score at 28 going into the halftime break.
In the second half, the Ichabods took the opening kickoff and marched 76 yards in three plays - two on carries of 27- and 46-yards by
Vershon Moore with Haug rushing for his third touchdown of the afternoon on a 1-yard plunge.
Moore recorded a 4-yard touchdown run of hre own at the 10:13 mark of the third quarter stretching the Washburn lead to 42-28.
After forcing a punting situation for the Hornets, Washburn's Krajicek blocked his second punt attempt of the afternoon and scooped it up for a 5-yard touchdown return. Washburn wrapped up their scoring on a 55-yard pass reception from Simoneau to
Drameagon Powers putting the Ichabods up 5-28.
ESU scored a touchdown with 47 seconds to go in the game when Smith scored from 2-yards out.
Moore finished the game with 154 yards on 13 carries while averaging 11.8 yards per attempt to lead the Ichabod rushing attack.
Simoneau, who finished 18 of 26 with 324 yards and three touchdowns, became Washburn's single-season passing leader with 2,955 yards on the season. He also recorded a new single-season total offense record with 2,923 yards.
Receiving, Cole finished with 81 yards and two touchdowns with 81 yards and Powers had three catches for 79 yards. Ten different Ichabods recorded at least one reception.
Defensively,
Brandon Jackson and
Marty Pfannenstiel had 10 tackles. Krajicek along with his two blocked punts, recorded eight tackles with three tackles for loss.
The Ichabods racked up 528 yards in total offense and with the 56 points scored against Emporia State, the Ichabods set a school record for the most points in a season with pushing their total to 449 breaking the previous record of 430.
Ichabod season preivew. . .
The Washburn Ichabods return 20 starters overall with eight on both sides of the ball and four on special teams with 57 letterwinners coming back from last season's 8-3 team which finished 6-3 in the MIAA tying for second place. The Ichabods finished the 2009 season ranked No. 25 in the American Football Coaches Association top 25 poll and return a pair of All-American selections in sophomore defensive back
Pierre Desir and senior placekicker
Steve Ivanisevic as well as all-senior all-region picks in fullback
Brad Haug and offensive lineman
Ty Lewis as well as 10 players who earned all-MIAA honors in 2009 to this season's squad.
Offense
The Ichabods will return ten starters from the 2009 squad which set numerous school records and will add a player who missed the season with an injury. Up front, the Ichabods return four of the five offensive linemen who helped establish a new record for yards per rush (4.91) as well as single-season passing yards (3,214) and total offense (5,208). Seniors
Ian Vistine (left guard),
Ty Lewis (center) and
Bill Boyer (left tackle) and junior right tackle
Brian Folkerts will anchor the line looking to put up even better offensive numbers this season. Under center, junior
Dane Simoneau, all-MIAA quarterback returns after breaking school high-water marks for passing yards, passing percentage and pass completions en route to second team all-conference honors. In the backfield, sophomore
Vershon Moore who rushed for 961 yards and eight touchdowns including a 227-yard effort against Pittsburg State returns as well as junior
Justin Cooper who rushed for 412 yards. Moore is also the Ichabods' leading receiver coming back with 27 catches for 327 yards and two touchdowns out of the backfield. Senior fullback
Brad Haug is coming back as well after rushing for five touchdowns on 19 carries picking up third team all-region accolades. At wideout, senior
Joe Hastings returns after missing the 2009 season with an injury. He had four catches for 96 yards and one touchdown in his only appearance against Colorado Mines in the season opener. At tight end, the Ichabods return two starters in junior
Ryan Mertz who averaged a team-best 21.0 yards per catch with three touchdowns. Senior
Cameron Knox had 10 catches for 168 yards and two scores.
Defense
The Ichabods will return eight starters and two others who have started in their Washburn career to a defense which finished second in the MIAA in 2009 in scoring defense after allowing 21.5 points per game. Headlining the returners is sophomore All-American defensive back
Pierre Desir who led the MIAA with seven interceptions and with 13 passes defended while also forcing two fumbles. Senior free safety
Casey Curran also returns to the defensive backfield with 22 career starts earning second team all-MIAA honors in 2009. He recorded 87 tackles which was sixth in the conference one year ago. Sophomore
Terry Grimmett will also return after missing last season. He made two starts in 2009 before missing the final nine games of the season. Up front, the Ichabods return two players who have made at least seven starts in juniors
Ian Williams and
Victor Butler on the interior of the defensive line. Williams made 11 starts last season and Butler rotated in at both tackle positions during the season. At linebacker, juniors
Marty Pfannenstiel and
Jahmil Taylor return at outside linebacker positions. Also returning in the middle of the line is senior
Zach Falldorf who played in all 11 games during the 2009 season. Coming back after missing the 2009 season with an injury will be
Michael Wilhoite who has made 23 career starts. The Ichabods will have to replace the all-time leader in tackles in
Zach Watkins and three-year starter
Michael Krajicek. Watkins finished his career third on the all-time NCAA Division II tackles chart with 473 while earning All-American honors for the sixth time in his Ichabod career. Senior
Luke Schuckman and junior
Michael Hollins will look to fill the shoes left by the two seniors.
Special Teams
For the upcoming season, Washburn has all the returning parts to have one of its best special team units in school history. With senior All-American placekicker
Steve Ivanisevic and senior punter
Austin Hills returning along with return specialists - senior
Casey Curran returning punts and sophomore
Pierre Desir returning kickoffs, the Ichabods will have experienced parts in all facets of their special teams. As a team, the Ichabods tied a school record with seven blocked punts and kicks returning three for touchdowns including two against Emporia State in the season finale. Hills helped the Ichabods to lead the MIAA in net punting with a 35.5 per attempt average, which was the eight-ranked total in the NCAA national statistics. Ivanisevic finished second in the nation with his 1.73 field goals per game and was 14th in the nation in scoring averaging 9.91 points per game. He connected on a school record 19 field goals in 2009 while hitting 52 of 55 extra point attempts - which are both second on the Washburn single-season chart. Desir's 29.4 yards per kickoff return is fourth on the Ichabod single-season chart. The Ichabods will have to replace
Zach Watkins who handled both the long and short snapper duties for Washburn who went four years without a bad snap. Junior
Trent Snyder will move into those duties for the Ichabods in 2010.
Senior Leadership
Twenty Ichabod seniors have a combined 86 years experience and 443 games played and 13 of the group will be entering at least their fifth year in the program. “Our seniors are very important to the program,” head coach
Craig Schurig said. “They are the foundation of everything we are all about.”
Of the 20 seniors on the squad this season, 12 are on offense, six on defense and two are on special teams. On offense, the Ichabods have four seniors at wide receiver in
Lloyd Bias,
Jake Iverson,
Joe Hastings and
Brody Schuler as the quartet has more than 100 games in an Ichabod uniform. Five of the seniors play on the offensive line as
Ty Lewis,
Bill Boyer,
Otis Jones,
Ian Vistine and tight end
Cameron Knox lead the charge in the trenches with 112 games played. In the backfield,
Josh Torrez and
Brad Haug have played in 42 career games. Running back
Terrence Lowe has played in 33 games. On defense, the Ichabods have two defensive lineman in
Zach Falldorf and
Joe Ulmer who have played in 16 games entering their second season at Washburn.
Michael Wilhoite and
Luke Schuckman have each played in a combined 63 games and 11 years combined experience at linebacker. In the backfield, free safety
Casey Curran has played in 30 games and
Ben Vann has played in 11. Special teams will be led by punter
Austin Hills and placekicker
Steve Ivanisevic who have played in 33 combined games.
“We expect our seniors year-in and year-out to be the leaders of the team and this group is special and our coaching staff believes they are going to lead us to a tremendous season,” Schurig said.
About Colorado Mines . . .
The Orediggers were ranked No. 2 in the RMAC Preseason coaches poll and received three of the league's 10 first-place votes while putting seven players on the 2010 Preseason all-RMAC squad including landing the RMAC preseason co-defensive player of the year in defensive end Marc Schiechl. Joining Schiechl on the Pre-Season All-RMAC Team were Kyle Goracke, Cody Renken, Blaine Sumner, Alex Vigil, Robbin Vinnola and Evan Woody. CSM and Nebraska-Kearney tied for the highest amount of players named to the Pre-Season All-RMAC Team with seven apiece.
The Orediggers went 8-3 overall in 2009 (8-1 RMAC -- second place) to secure their eighth winning season in the past nine years. The 2009 season marked the sixth time in program history that CSM amassed eight-or-more victories, and three of those have come in the past six years (2004, 2008, 2009). The Orediggers, who placed nine student-athletes on last year's Academic All-RMAC teams, also had 11 National Football Foundation All-Colorado picks, five Super Region #3 honorees and four All-American selections last fall.
Last time out for the Orediggers . . .
Colorado School of Mines concluded its 2009 season with a 69-27 victory over N.M. Highlands University on Saturday afternoon, November 7th, in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) football action at Brooks Field.
Mines' Jahre Cheeseman opened the scoring with a 12-yard touchdown run at 11:33 in the first quarter. NMHU responded with Robert Grant's three-yard scoring run at 7:02 in the opening stanza. Adam Saur's two-yard touchdown reception from David Pesek at 4:56 put CSM up by seven, but the Cowboys answered again when Narcisco Diaz tossed a 17-yard scoring pass to Travis Lee just two minutes later (2:51) to knot the score at 14 apiece. Saur hauled in his second touchdown catch of the quarter from Pesek - this one from 49 yards out, to provide the Orediggers with a 21-14 lead after one quarter of play.
Pesek threw a 15-yard scoring pass to Robbin Vinnola early in the second period (12:04) to increase Mines' lead to 14 points (28-14), but the Cowboys scored on the opening play of their ensuing drive (11:48) when Kevon Williams caught a 60-yard touchdown pass from Diaz. Saur's 35-yard touchdown reception from Pesek (9:33), along with Cheeseman's 19-yard scoring jaunt (7:14), gave Mines a 42-21 lead at the half.
Midway through the third period, Ben Hahn found the endzone on a one-yard run (7:01) before Josh Geist returned a fumble 47 yards for a score (5:25; kick failed) to give the Orediggers a 34-point cushion at 55-21. NMHU's final score of the contest came with 2:25 remaining in the third quarter when Brandon Torres caught a 23-yard touchdown pass from Diaz (kick blocked). Pesek and Saur teamed up for yet another touchdown - this time fom 11 yards out - with two seconds remaining in the third quarter to bring the score to 62-27. Dominic Bravo hauled in a six-yard scoring pass from Pesek at the 11:05 mark in the fourth period to close out Saturday's scoring.
Pesek, established a career-high in completions while connecting on 36-of-48 passes (no interceptions). Pesek also established a career high with six touchdown passes while setting a new CSM individual single-game record for passing yards with 506. Pesek is the first single-game 500-yard passer in school history. Pesek concludes his career with the Orediggers ranked first in the CSM career record book in pass completions (799) and pass attempts (1,253), as well as second in school history in passing yards (9,159), touchdown passes (65) and completion percentage (63.8).
Saur, who finished the contest with 216 yards receiving, tied a CSM single-game record with 14 receptions. With four touchdown receptions on Saturday, Saur became CSM's career leader in that category with 32. Saur's 15 touchdown receptions in 2009 established a new single-season program record in that category, as well, eclipsing the mark of 13 that he set in 2008.
Cheeseman had 17 carries for 128 yards and two touchdowns while Vinnola concluded the afternoon with six catches for 106 yards and one score. As a team, the Orediggers amassed 677 yards of total offense, which was just nine yards shy of tying the all-time CSM single-game record of 686 (2004 vs. Western State).
Kyle Goracke led CSM with nine total tackles while Nick Haniszewski (two tackles for a loss) recorded six total stops. Blaine Sumner had five total stops, including three tackles for a loss and two sacks. Hunter Wardlaw picked off two NMHU passes and Ben Tiller added yet another interception for the Orediggers. NMHU finished the game with -33 yards rushing.
CSM's 69 points scored on Saturday was the highest single-game output for the Orediggers since a 69-0 shutout victory over Oklahoma Panhandle State University on October 30, 2006, in Golden.
Diaz completed 26-of-45 passes for 357 yards and three touchdowns (three interceptions) for the Cowboys (1-10 overall, 1-8 RMAC) while Williams caught eight passes for 145 yards and one score. T.J. Norris and Lavelle Riley finished with eight and nine total tackles, respectively, for NMHU.
Series Notes . . .
Saturday's meeting is the 18th in the all-time series and the seventh and final in a continuous series which has been played each year since the 2004 season after a 40-year gap of not matching up with one another. The Ichabods lead the all-time series 13-4. The Ichabods have won five of the last six meetings winning each of the last five meetings. The Ichabods are 5-3 in games against the Orediggers in Topeka and 8-1 in games played in Golden. The Ichabods have scored 27 points in each of the last three meetings.
Series Record: WU leads 13-4
First Meeting: WU 13, CSM 0 (1953)
Last Meeting: WU 27-14 (8/28/09) in Golden
Last WU win: 27-14 (8/28/09) in Golden
Last CSM win: 34-27 (8/28/2004) in Topeka
Largest WU win: 26-6 (1957); 41-21 (9/2/06), 27-7 (9/1/07)
Largest CSM win: 34-16 (10/6/1962) in Golden
Last Meeting with the Orediggers . . .
(Aug. 29, 2009) GOLDEN, Colo. -- The Ichabod football team opened the 2009 season with a 27-14 win over Colorado Mines topping the Orediggers for the fifth straight time. Washburn will open Yager Stadium next Friday as they take on New Mexico Highlands at 6 p.m.
A goal-line stand by the Ichabods which held the Orediggers outside the end zone on four plays from the one yard line preserved the 20-7 lead with with 4:33 to go in the game. Three players later,
Justin Cooper rushed 78 yards around the left end to put Washburn up 27-7.
The Orediggers would cut the lead to 27-14 after a seven-play 48-yard drive with 1:41 to go, but the Ichabods would run out the clock picking up the 13-point win.
Cooper led the Ichabods with 136 yards rushing on 13 carrries averaging 10.5 yards per carry.
Vershon Moore had 10 carries for 64 yards and a touchdown.
Dane Simoneau was 17 of 26 for 236 yards and one touchdown.
Joe Hastings had four catches for 96 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, the Ichabods were led by
Michael Krajicek who had nine tackles with three for loss and a sack.
Zach Watkins also had nine tackels with one for loss.
Jahmil Taylor had eight tackles.
The Ichabods recorded 493 yards of total offense and held the Orediggers to 270 overall.
Washburn Football History . . .
Washburn is 497-545-44 in the 120th year of Ichabod football.
A win for Washburn would . . .
lift the Ichabods to 498-545-44 in their football history … move the Ichabods to 1-0 on the season … be the seventh straight win for the Ichabods in the series … lift head coach
Craig Schurig to 6-1 against in alma mater … be the fourth straight win over the Orediggers in Golden … be the third straight season-opening win for the Ichabods and the fifth in the last nine years under Schurig … improve Washburn to 14-4 all-time against Colorado Mines.
A loss for Washburn would . . .
drop the Ichabods to 497-546-44 in their football history … drop the Ichabods to 0-1 on the season … be the first opening game loss to start the season since a 34-24 loss on Aug. 25, 2007 to No. 5 ranked Chadron State … snap the Ichabods' five-game winnin streak over the Orediggers … drop the Ichabods to 13-5 all-time against Colorado Mines.
The Ichabods in the National Polls . . .
The Washburn Ichabods were ranked No. 10 in the American Football Coaches Assocation Preseason Division II Coaches Poll released today by the AFCA. The Ichabods will open the season Aug. 28 at Colorado Mines. The ranking is the highest positioning the Ichabods have received in a preseason AFCA poll since receiving a No. 17 ranking prior to the 2006 season. The Ichabods were one of four MIAA squads who were ranked in the top 25 poll. Defending champion Northwest Missouri received 22 of 25 first-place votes with Grand Valley State collecting three and North Alabama garnering one vote. Nebraska-Omaha was picked 15th in the poll and Missouri Western was selected No. 20.
Bods and Ends . . .
Quick Kicks - Washburn's
Steve Ivanisevic has connected on 19 of his 21 field goal attempts this season in his first ten 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. Ivanisevic broke the previous single-season record for made field goals of 18 set by Nick Kresic in 1986. Kresic still also holds the single-season attempt record with 24 set that same year. Ivanisevic has scored 101 points for the Ichabods this season, which is third on the school's single chart and is the most points scored by a kicker in school history. His 44 PAT's are third on the WU single-season chart as well as his 47 attempts.
Red Zone is Blue Zone for Ichabods - In 2009 the Ichabods have 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.
Second quarter has been owned by the Ichabods - In 2009, the Ichabods outscored their opponents 188 to 59 in the second quarter.
Sizzlin' Simoneau - Junior signal caller
Dane Simoneau returns to the starting quarterback position where he has started the last 17 games … has passed for 3,743 yards averaging nearly 208 yards per game passing … has thrown for 31 touchdowns completing 56 percent of his passing attempts … ranks first all-time at Washburn in pass completion percentage, passing efficiency, total offense per play (7.64) … enters junior campaign sixth in career passing touchdowns, seventh in all-time passing yards and eighth in total offensive yards … holds the fourth (398), fifth (392) and sixth (362) best single game passing marks in school history.
Welcome back- The Ichabods have three sixth-year eligible student athletes who have gained another semester of eligibility for the upcoming season in
Brad Haug,
Joe Hastings and
Michael Wilhoite.
Returning Ichabods in the 2009 national individual statistics . . .
Category Name National Rank Statistic
Rushing
Vershon Moore 39 87.36
Passing Efficiency
Dane Simoneau 6 162.47
Total Offense
Dane Simoneau 23 3.09
Interceptions
Pierre Desir T-7 .64
Punt Returns
Casey Curran 43 9.43
Field Goals
Steve Ivanisevic 2 1.73
Scoring
Steve Ivanisevic 14 9.91
All-Purpose Runners
Vershon Moore T-55 118.27
Tackles
Casey Curran T-76 8.18
Ichabods in the 2009 national team statistics . . .
Category National Rank Statistic National Leader
Rushing Offense 33 181.27 Carson-Newman
Passing Offense 10 292.18 Eastern N.M.
Total Offense 7 473.45 West Liberty St.
Scoring Offense 4 40.82 West Liberty St.
Rushing Defense 62 133.73 Abilene Christian
Pass Efficiency Def 79 124.60 Miles
Total Defense 78 355.55 Bowie St.
Scoring Defense 43 21.45 Central Wash.
Net Punting 8 35.49 Northeastern St.
Punt Returns 68 9.64 Fort Hays St.
Kickoff Returns 53 20.94 Stonehill
Turnover Margin 16 .82 Wingate Pass
Defense 95 221.82 Miles
Passing Efficiency 5 161.30 Charleston (WV)
Sacks 91 1.73 Fayetteville St.
Tackles For Loss 90 6.18 Shaw
Sacks Allowed 11 1.00 Ouachita Baptist
Schurig moving up the coaching ranks . . .
Ninth-year head coach
Craig Schurig has compiled a 54-37 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 Aug. 28 . . .
Since the 1961 season, the date of when games were available in media guides, the Ichabods are 1-1 on Aug. 28 with both games coming against Colorado Mines. The Ichabods lost a 34-24 decision on that date in Topeka during the 2004 season and topped the Orediggers in 2008 27-3 in Topeka in the rain-shortened weather game.
Up next . . .
The Ichabods will return home on Sept. 4 to have their home opener against Abilene Christian at 6 p.m. in Yager Stadium. It will be the first game of the season for the Wildcats, who were ranked No. 7 in the AFCA preseason coaches poll.
