Setting the scene. . .
The No. 15-ranked Washburn Ichabods will face the No. 11-ranked Missouri Western State University Griffons in the MIAA opener for both teams. The Ichabods have not played since Sept. 4 in a 34-26 loss to then-No. 6-ranked Abilene Christian. The Griffons topped Lincoln on Sept. 11 81-14 in St. Joseph. The Ichabods fell 37-34 on a last second field goal last season to the Griffons to snap a three-game winning streak over Missouri Western.
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.
The Coaches . . .
Washburn head football coach
Craig Schurig was named head coach of the Ichabod football program Dec. 28, 2001. Schurig is 55-38 (.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 recording six straight winning seasons for the first time in the program's history.
Missouri Western head football coach Jerry Partridge is in his fourteenth season as the Griffons head coach. Partridge is 97-55 as the Griffons head coach. He led the Griffons to their first MIAA title and to the program's first DII Playoff appearance in 2006. He shared MIAA Coach of the Year honors in 2000 after leading the Griffons to an 8-1 MIAA record. Partridge has guided the Griffons to six postseason appearances in the last seven seasons. Overall he has guided Western to seven postseason appearances with six being in the Mineral Water Bowl.
Last time out for the Ichabods . . .
TOPEKA, Kan. -- The No. 9 Washburn Ichabods fell 34-26 to No. 6 Abilene Christian in front of nearly 6,900 fans on Saturday night in Yager Stadium.
The Ichabods jumped out to the early lead with 5:33 to go in the opening quarter on a 1-yard touchdown plunge by
Vershon Moore and the extra point attempt was missed after a bad snap. The Wildcats returned the ensuing kickoff 93 yards to the Ichabod seven, the Ichabod defense held as ACU kicked a 21-yard field goal cutting the Washburn lead in half at 6-3 with 3:31 to go in the opening stanza.
ACU would go up 10-6 after a 9-play, 67-yard drive capped by a 27-yard scamper by Daryl Richardson with 4:58 to go in the first half. ACU would add to the lead on a 51-yard touchdown strike from Mitchell Gale to Edmund Gates stretching the lead to 17-6. After a personal foul called on Gates pushing the kickoff back to the Wildcat 15, the Ichabods took advantage driving 65 yards in six plays on a
Dane Simoneau to
Joe Hastings touchdown hook up from six yards out as the Ichabods pulled to within five at 17-12 with 11 seconds to play in the half.
After tradiing posessions to start the second half, Abilene Christian went up 24-12 on a 4-yard pass from Gale to Emery Dudensign with 3:57 to go in the third quarter. But the Ichabods answered with a 44-yard touchdown catch by Hastings from Simoneau with 2:03 to go in the third quarter to cut the Wildcat lead to 24-19.
The Wildcats stretched the lead to 27-19 on a 33-yard field goal by Morgan Lineberry with 14:17 to play in the game and would pull out to a 15-point lead at 34-19 with 4:23 to go in the game. Washburn again answered with a toucdown drive of 80 yards capped by a Moore 1-yard run on a fourth and one from the ACU one yard line pulling the Ichabods within eight at 34-26.
The Ichabods forced a three-and-out on the Wildcats, but the punt was bobbled turning possession back to the Wildcats with seven seconds left and would then end the game with a single knee sealing the 34-26 win.
The Ichabods led the Wildcats in first downs (22 to 18), rushing (126 to 96) and passing (442 to 342). Moore led the Ichabods on the ground with 66 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries. Simoneau finished 19 of 25 for 316 yards and two scores - both going to Hastings who finished the game with seven catches for 156 yards.Defensively, the Ichabods were led by
Michael Hollins with 10 tackles including 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.
Marty Pfannenstiel had nine tackles.
Gale finished 24 for 30 for 247 and three scores with Richardson finished with 74 yards on 21 carries. Kevin Washington had 10 tackles with three tackles for loss and one sack.
About MIssouri Western . . .
The Griffons are 2-0 this season after beating Lincoln 84-14 last Thursday in St. Joseph. In their opener, the Griffons topped Mesa State 36-3. Saturday's game with the Ichabods will be the Griffons first road game of the year. Missouri Western has three running backs averaging more than 65 yards per game led by Dalton Krysa's 111.5 yards per game to go along with five rushing touchdowns. Drew Newhart has passed for 187.5 yards per game completing 65 percent of his passes for 374 yards and six touchdowns. The Griffons leading receiver has been Terrell Downing with seven catches for 113 yards and one score. Andrew Mead has six catches with three for touchdowns. Defensively Wallace Carter and Shane Simpson each have eight tackles.
Last time out for the Griffons . . .
(Sept. 9, 2010) ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The 8th ranked Missouri Western Griffons rolled past Lincoln University 81-14 in Spratt Stadium improving to 2-0 on the season. Western rushed for 322 yards on the ground with Dalton Krysa having a career night with 207 yards on the ground. Krysa also broke a school record with five rushing touchdowns in the contest. The Blue Tigers fall to 0-2 on the season.
Western broke or tied three more records in the contest which included: Brad Beckwith had 10 PATS which broke the old mark of nine, Western scored a career best 81 points breaking the old record of 72 which was set against William-Jewell in 1979 and Andrew Mead tied the school record for touchdowns in a game with three.
Western opened on the first drive of the game with a Brad Beckwith 22 yard field goal. Western scored once more in the quarter when Drew Newhart hooked up with Andrew Mead from two yards out for his first touchdown of the contest.
Western continued the domination in the second quarter putting up 28 points. Michael Hill blasted in from two yards out at the 9:47 mark of the quarter giving Western the 24-0 lead. Newhart threw for three more touchdowns in the quarter, one to Adam Clausen and two too Mead. Western took a 38-0 lead into the half.
Western had 260 yards of total offense in the frame. Newhart threw for 150 yards on 16-of-21 passing and four touchdowns. Mead caught five passes for 40 yards and three touchdowns. Thomas Hodges carried nine times for 45 yard leading the rushing attack. Defensively Western held the Blue Tigers to 99 yards of total offense. Shane Simpson led the charge with six tackles.
The second half belonged to Krysa and the Griffons putting up 43 second half points. Krysa scored five of the six Griffon touchdowns in the frame with the other coming on a 10 yard pass from Travis Partridge to Justin White.
The Griffons finished the night with 515 total yards of offense. Western had 322 on the ground with Krysa leading the charge with 207 yards on 21 carries. Western had 193 yards passing in the game.
The Blue Tigers had 252 yards of offense with 207 coming on the ground. Morris Henderson led the way with 113 yards on 11 carries. Sean Foster led the passing attack connecting on 2-of-3 with one touchdown and one interception for 46 yards.
The Griffons were led defensively by Wallace Cater and Shane Simpson as they both had six tackles. Western also blocked two punts and blocked an extra point which was returned by Jeremy Weston for two points.
Lincoln was led by Demakis Smith with 10 tackles all coming unassisted. Jerrod Moore finished the night with nine total tackles for the Blue Tigers.
Series Notes . . .
Saturday's meeting is the 39th meeting in the series between the Griffons and the Ichabods. The Griffons lead the all-time series 20-16-2. Washburn has won four of the last six meetings and three of the last four meetings. The Ichabods' longest winning streak was from 1986 to 1990 when they won five straight - only to lose five straight to the Griffons starting in 1991. The Ichabod snapped a five-game losing streak to the Griffons in Topeka during the 2005 season on Homecoming. The Ichabods won in St. Joseph 31-24 on Sept. 29, 2007 for their first win since Nov. 10, 1990 snapping an eight-game losing streak in Spratt Stadium. In Topeka, the Ichabods lead the all-time series 11-7.
Series Record: MWSU leads 20-16-2
First Meeting: WU 58-3 (9/16/72) in Topeka
Last Meeting: MWSU 37-34 (9/19/09) in St. Joseph
Last WU win: 21-17 (9/27/08) in Topeka
Last MWSU win: 37-34 (9/19/09) in St. Joseph
Largest WU win: 58-3 (9/16/1972) in Topeka
Largest MWSU win: 52-0 (11/7/1981) in St. Joseph
Last meeting with the Griffons . . .
(Sept. 19, 2009) 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.
Washburn Football History . . .
Washburn is 498-546-44 in the 120th year of Ichabod football.
A win for Washburn would . . .
lift the Ichabods to 499-546-44 in their football history … move the Ichabods to 2-1 on the season …improve the Ichabods to 17-20-2 all-time against Missouri Western … be the fourth straight win over the Griffons in Topeka … move the Ichabods to 1-0 in MIAA play.
A loss for Washburn would . . .
drop the Ichabods to 498-547-44 in their football history … drop the Ichabods to 1-2 on the season … drop the Ichabods to 16-21-2 all-time against Missouri Western … drop the Ichabods to 10-12 in MIAA openers … be the Griffons first win in Topeka since Oct. 26, 2002 in a 34-28 double overtime win snapping a three game losing streak.
Abilene Christian revisited . . . the loss
to the Wildcats dropped the Ichabods to 498-546-44 in their football history … dropped the Ichabods to 1-1 on the season and 0-1 against Abilene Christian … dropped the Ichabods to 5-4 in home openers under
Craig Schurig … snapped a six-game winning streak in Yager Stadium recording the first home loss since Nov. 8, 2008 to Nebraska-Omaha.
The Ichabods in the National Polls . . .
The Ichabods moved up remained at No. 11 in the AFCA poll which was released on Monday this week. Washburn moved from No. 13 to No. 11 in the d2football.com media poll which was released on Tuesday this week.
Bods and Ends . . .
Ordinary Joe? - Senior wide receiver
Joe Hastings tied a school record with 13 receptions against the Orediggers tallying 201 receiving yards in the process … he currently leads the MIAA in receptions per game with 10 and receiving yards per game with 178.5 averaging 17.9 yards per catch … he is the first Ichabod receiver to have back-to-back 100-yard receiving games since
Drameagon Powers recorded 109 yards against Fort Hays State and 142 yards against Nebraska-Omaha on Oct. 3 and Oct. 10 last season.
The Ichabods in MIAA openers - The Ichabods are 10-11 in MIAA openers since joining the conference. The Ichabods had their four-game MIAA opener streak snapped in 2008 at Fort Hays State. Under Schurig, the Ichabods are 5-3 in their first MIAA game of the season.
Quick Kicks - Washburn's
Steve Ivanisevic has connected on 21 of his 24 career field goal attempts and 56 of 59 extra point attempts … his 21 field goals made are tied for third all-time at Washburn and the 56 extra points are eighth all-time at Washburn.
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 eight times on 11 trips into the redzone with six touchdowns and two 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 five times in six trips inside the redzone scoring three touchdowns with two field goals.
Sizzlin' Simoneau - Junior signal caller
Dane Simoneau has started the last 19 games … has passed for 4,362 yards averaging nearly 215 yards per game passing … has thrown for 35 touchdowns completing 58.4 percent of his passing attempts … he threw for his sixth game with at least 300 passing yards against Abilene Christian last time out … overall Simoneau has thrown for at least 300 yards in each of the last three games dating back to the final game of the 2009 season against Emporia State and both games this season.
Give me some Moore - Sophomore running back
Vershon Moore leads the team and the MIAA in rushing yards averaging 142 yards per game … he has recorded 1,245 career rushing yards and 11 touchdowns averaging 6.2 yards per carry and 95.8 yards per game in 13 career appearances.
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.
Three dot ( . . . ) thoughts
The last time an Ichabod receiver had three straight 100-yard receiving games was back during the 1998 season when Marc Nardella recorded games of 140 against Truman, 219 against Missouri Western and 221 yards against Missouri Southern in back-to-back-to-back games …
Joe Hastings has had 100-yard receiving games in both games this season … junior signal caller
Dane Simoneau has thrown for three straight 300-yard games for the second time in his Washburn career on the heels of the last three games with the addition of passing for 398 yards against Fort Hays State, 392 yards against Nebraska-Omaha and 362 yards against Pittsburg State all last year … no one has thrown for at least 300 yards in four straight games in the program's history … the Ichabods have gone two straight games without an interception for the first time since back-to-back games against Fort Hays State and Nebraska-Omaha on Oct. 3 and Oct. 10 last season … the Ichabods have not gone three games in a row without an interception since the 2002 season when they failed to pick off a pass against Wisconsin-LaCrosse, Fort Hays State and Pittsburg State.
Schurig moving up the coaching ranks . . .
Ninth-year head coach
Craig Schurig has compiled a 55-38 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 Sept. 18 . . .
Since the 1961 season, the date of when games were available in media guides, the Ichabods are 4-3 on Sept. 18 … the Ichabods have never faced the Griffons on Sept. 18.
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 will travel to Warrensburg, Mo., to take on Central Missouri on Sept. 25 with a 1:30 p.m. start time. Washburn will return home on Oct. 9 to face Nebraska-Omaha.
