First Look Date Saturday, Sept. 25 Time 1:30 p.m. CST Location Warrensburg, Mo. Stadium Walton Stadium (10,500) Series History UCM leads 21-18-2 Streaks WU - W1

Washburn Ichabods (1-2, 0-1 MIAA) Football Page Roster Statistics Schedule Game Notes Athletic Website

#21 Central Missouri Mules (3-1, 2-0 MIAA) Football Page Roster Statistics Schedule Game Notes Athletic Website

Radio: AM 580 WIBW Live Audio Live Stats: through UCM Live Video: b2networks.com

Setting the scene. . .
The Washburn Ichabods will face the No. 21-ranked Central Missouri Mules on the road in Warrensburg, Mo. on Sept. 25. The Ichabods are coming off a 36-33 loss to then-No. 11-ranked Missouri Western at home while the Mules topped Pittsburg State on the road 37-20 on Sept. 18. The loss to the Griffons knocked the Ichabods out of the AFCA top 25 poll for the first time since 10th week of the 2009 poll which the Ichabods were ranked No. 25. The Ichabods are ranked No. 20 in the d2football.com national media poll while the Mules are No. 24 in this week's ranking.

UCM tailgating information
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 55-39 (.575) in his ninth season as the Ichabod head coach and he is 42-31 (.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. Schurig is 3-5 all-time against the Mules.
Central Missouri head football coach Jim Svoboda has a 3-1 record at UCM and a 55-20 (.730) career mark in seven seasons as collegiate head coach. Svoboda came to UCM after three seasons as assistant head coach at Division I-FCS Montana State. Prior to that, he served as quarterbacks coach at UCLA from 2004-06 and offensive coordinator at MIAA rival NW Missouri State from 1994-2003. He served as head coach at NAIA member Nebraska Wesleyan from 1987-93, compiling a 52-19 record. This will be Svoboda's first meeting against Washburn.

Last time out for the Ichabods . . .
(Sept. 18) TOPEKA, Kan. -- The No. 15-ranked Washburn Ichabods mounted a furious comeback in the second half with an 82-minute lightning delay in the second half but came up short as the No. 11-ranked Missouri Western Griffons scored late sealing a 36-33 win. Washburn will be back in action next Saturday at Central Missouri with a 1:30 p.m. kick time in Warrensburg, Mo.
After the Ichabods scored the first points of the game on a 47-yard punt return by Ronnell Garner, the Griffons would score the next 28 points to take a 28-7 lead into the break at halftime.Coming out of the break, the Ichabods forced the Griffons into a three-and-out and would then go nine plays covering 36 yards capped by a 28-yard field goal by Steve Ivanisevic.
On the Griffons' ensuing possession, after a pair of incomplete passes, Missouri Western's Drew Newhart was sacked in the endzone by Michael Hollins a dropped the ball which was recovered by Cameron Jackson for an Ichabod touchdown. Again the Ichabod defense forced a Griffon turnover at the Ichabod 39 as Patrick Myrick forced a fumble by Michael Hill which was recovered by Bryce Atagi and the Ichabods would then go on a seven-play, 61-yard drive with Vershon Moore scoring from 3-yards out with 5:09 to go in the third quarter. Simoneau hit Cameron Jackson for the 2-point conversion pulling Washburn with three at 28-25.
Then with the Ichabods getting ready to kickoff, the game was suspended at 8:12 p.m. for lightning and would not resume for 82 minutes later at 9:34 p.m.
After the kickoff, the Griffons took possession and after Newhart hit Terrell Downing for a 12-yard completion, Pierre Desir knocked the ball from Downing and Hollins recovered at the Washburn 44. However the Ichabods were forced to punt and Austin Hills' attempt was downed at the Griffon 5-yard line. On the first play of the Griffon drive, Newhart was sacked by Dakota Palan-Johnson for a team safety cutting the Griffon lead to 28-27 with 3:06 to play in the third quarter. The Ichabods outgained the Griffons 120 to 39 with seven first downs to one.
Neither team would score in the fourth until the Ichabods went up 33-28 on a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Justin Cooper with 5:55 to play in the game. But the Griffons would go on for the go-ahead score on a 60-yard drive going eight plays on a 36-yard reception by Hill from Newhart with 1:54 to go with the Griffons adding the two-point conversion putting them up 36-33.
The Ichabods took possession at the Washburn 28 and reached the Griffons' 39-yard line before Simoneau's pass intended for Jake Iverson was picked off by Deondre Williams sealing the game.
The Ichabods outgained the Griffons 425 to 317 for the game as the Ichabod defense held Missouri Western to 118 yards of total offense in the second half. Washburn had 271 yards passing and 154 yards rushing while the Griffons had 260 yards through the air and 57 on the ground averaging 1.6 yards per rush.
Moore rushed for a game-high 114 yards while averaging 5.4 yards per carry. Simoneau finished 21 for 40 for 271 yards with three picks.Hastings had four catches for 77 yards and Moore added five catches for 40 yards.
Defensively for the Ichabods, Hollins led the Ichabods with 11 tackles with eight solo stops including 1.5 tackles for loss, one sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Michael Wilhoite had nine tackles. Jackson finished with five tackles, three of those tackles going for loss with a forced fumble and 1.5 sacks and the thrid quarter fumble recovery for a touchdown.
Newhart was 19 of 31 for 260 yards tossing four touchdown passes while being sacked six times. Hill finished with 130 yards receiving on five catches and the two touchdowns. Sean Whiters had nine tackles and Williams finished with six tackles and two interceptions including an 80-yard pick six for the Griffons.

About Central Missouri . . .
The Mules are 3-1 this season and 2-0 in conference play after winning at Pittsburg State last time out 37-20. The Mules have averaged 45.5 points per game which is second in the MIAA and ranks sixth in the nation.
The UCM passing attack is second in the nation as they are averaging 430.8 yards per game passing. The Mules also rank fifth nationally in total offense (525.3 ypg) and they are eighth in the nation in passing efficiency (162.1 rating). They are 114th in total defense allowing 385.3 yards per game.
Senior quarterback Eric Czerniewski is second NCAA Division II in total offense (398.8 ypg). He's completed 135 of 201 passes for 1,619 yards and 16 touchdowns with just three interceptions. Czerniewski has completed 67.5 percent of his passes on the year.
Senior wide receiver Jamorris Warren has been Czerniewski's favorite target, with 32 catches for 401 yards (100.2 ypg), while senior tight end Demarco Cosby has caught 17 balls for 246 yards (14.5 ypc, 61.5 ypg). Warren (five TDs) and Cosby (five TDs) have combined for 10 of UCM's 17 passing touchdowns.
Defensively, UCM has been led by senior defensive back Joseph Bangali with 25 tackles on the year (12 solo). Bangali was named the MIAA Defensive Player of the Week Monday (Sept. 13) for his efforts in the Mules win against Emporia State on Sept. 11. Sophomore linebacker Devin King is second on the squad in tackles with 21 (nine solo). Sophomore defensive end David Bax has 11 stops, including a team-leading 4.0 tackles-for-loss.
Sophomore placekicker Aaron Jamieson has converted seven of eight field goal attempts on the season with his lone miss a 40-yard attempt against ESU. Matt Jordan is averaging 40.1 yards per punt attempt.

Last time out for the Mules . . .
(Sept. 18, 2010) The Central Missouri Mules got their first win at Pittsburg State since 2002, and made it two in a row over the Gorillas for the first time in school history with a 37-20 win on Saturday at Carney Smith Stadium.
It was the most points Central Missouri has ever scored in Pittsburg, and it was the worst home loss for Pittsburg State since a 36-17 outing vs. Nebraska-Kearney in 1979.
The Mules (3-1, 2-0 MIAA) offense was stifled on its first two drives of the game, while Pittsburg State (2-1, 0-1 MIAA) took its first two possessions deep into UCM territory. The first one ended on a fourth down thanks to a stop by the Mules defense, but the second drive resulted in a 20-yard touchdown strike from quarterback Zac Dickey to tight end Bristan Kelley.
The Gorillas almost made it a 10-0 lead late in the first after recovering a surprise onside kick, but UCM linebacker Evan Knight blocked a field goal attempt from 22 out.
Central Missouri's offense got on track after that, taking the ensuing possession 79 yards in 13 plays, and capped it with a 27 yard field goal from sophomore Aaron Jamieson with 13:00 left in the second quarter.
After stopping PSU on a three-and-out, the Mules drove again, this time from 54 yards out. Quarterback Eric Czerniewski hit senior wideout Jamorris Warren in the corner of the endzone from six yards out to give UCM a 10-7 lead.
The Mules then stopped the PSU offense in six plays before getting the ball back with 5:14 remaining in the half. The Mules drove from their own 20 down to the Gorillas eight yard line before stalling, but they took 4:53 off the clock, and a Jamieson hit a 26-yard field goal to make it 13-7 at the break.
UCM gained 157 of its 198 yards in the period through the air, while the Gorillas had 103 of its 153 yards via the ground game.
The second half opened up for the UCM offense though, and the Mules took their first drive 86 yards in 4:01 for a touchdown, making it 20 unanswered points. Czerniewski completed five passes on the drive, and finished it with a three-yard strike to senior All-American tight end DeMarco Cosby. The TD was the 15th of Cosby's career, tying the all-time UCM mark for tight ends.
The Gorillas fought back though, starting a drive on the UCM 44 thanks to a 16-yard punt return from Jon Thomas. Six plays later, Briceton Wilson rushed it in from two yards out to make it 20-14 with 10:40 left in the fourth quarter.
The Mules needed an answer, and they got it on their next possession. Seth Mason returned the kickoff 33 yards to the UCM 44, then Czerniewski hit tight end David Cannon for 36 yards down to the PSU 20. The Gorillas held though, and Jamieson drilled a 33-yard attempt to make it 23-14 with 8:23 to play.
The Mules defense got another big stop on fourth down after the Gorillas drove it to their own 46 yard line. It was fourth and three, but linebacker Calvin Patterson met PSU running back Jason Spradling in the backfield on an option play for a one-yard loss.
The Mules turned that into points as well, thanks to a couple Czerniewski-Warren hookups. Warren went up and grabbed one on the sideline for 32 yards down to the PSU 10, then Czerniewski found him on a fade route on third and goal in the corner of the endzone for the score, essentially icing the game at 30-14 with 5:08 remaining.
The Gorillas tacked on a score with 2:34 left when Dickey tossed a 30-yard touchdown, but the two-point conversion was no good, and the Mules answered with a score 10 seconds later. After the Mules recovered the onside kick, senior running back Anthony Stewart took the first play from scrimmage 41 yards for the touchdown.
Czerniewski started the game 3-of-14, but completed 20 of his next 30 attempts to finish with 356 yards and three TD's, extending his school-record 300-yard game streak to four. Warren put up his second 100-yard game of the year with 140 on eight grabs with two scores.
UCM had 468 yards of offense, while PSU tallied 388 (192 on the ground). Dickey and five PSU running backs split the load, while the game's leading rusher was UCM's Stewart with 99 yards, along with his 41 though the air.
Safety Brett Ginn and defensive end Sosaia Taufa had seven stops apiece for UCM, while Gorillas linebacker Nate Dreiling piled up a game-high 11 tackles with one for loss.

Series Notes . . .
Saturday's meeting is the 42nd meeting in the series. The Mules lead the series 21-18-2. The Ichabods have won six of the last 10 meetings and five of the last seven encounters between the two teams.  Since the 1962 season, the Ichabods are 7-10 in games played in Warrensburg. Under Craig Schurig, the Ichabods are 1-3. 
Series Record: UCM leads 21-18-2
First Meeting: WU 6, UCM 0 (1902)
Last Meeting: WU 36-21 (9/26/09) in Topeka
Last WU win: 36-21 (9/26/09) in Topeka
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. 26, 2009)  TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Washburn Ichabods knocked off Central Missouri 36-21 on Family Day in Yager Stadium improving to 4-1 on the season and 2-1 in the MIAA.
The Ichabods led from start to finish as they scored on a 21-yard pass from Dane Simoneau to Brody Schuler to cap a 11-play, 66-yard drive. After the Ichabods forced a three-and-out, Washburn's Ryan Mertz pulled down a 74-yard reception from Simoneau over the middle to put Washburn up 13-0 after the extra point attempt was missed.
The Ichabods wrapped up the scoring in the first half after Simoneau dropped back to pass and with no one open, he tucked the ball and ran up the middle for 19 yards capping a five-play, 57-yard drive.
Washburn recorded 312 yards of total offense in the first half with 213 coming through the air, while the Ichabod defense held Central to 136 yards.
After the break, the Mules scored on the opening drive 54 yards in eight plays as Anthony Stewart rushed four yards to cut the Ichabod lead to 20-7.
On the ensuing possession, the Ichabods were forced to punt and Austin Hills' 51-yard effort was fumbled by Randy Shepherd and recovered by Casey Curran at the Central Missouri 18. Six plays later, Vershon Moore, carried the ball to paydirt putting the Ichabods up 26-7.
On the Mules' next possession, the Ichabods Zach Watkins forced a fumble on Eric Czerniewski which was recovered by Ben Bianchino at the Washburn setting up the Ichabods at the Washburn 40.
With the Ichabods facing a third and 30 from their own 40, Cameron Kasel's pass to Moore was complete and Moore carried the ball to the Central Missouri 47 before Deonte Ball forced a fumble which popped into the arms of Mertz who continued on the play to the end zone putting the Ichabods up 33 to 7 with 3:08 to play in third quarter.
Central Missouri's Stewart scored his second touchdown of the afternoon on a 1-yard run completing an 8-play, 79-yard drive.
The Ichabods' Steve Ivanisevic connected on a 29-yard field goal with 5:21 to go in the game. It was his eighth field goal of the season.
Central Missouri wrapped up the scoring with a Zain Gower touchdown with nine seconds to go in the game.
Moore and Justin Cooper each had 55 yards rushing. Simoneau finished 14 of 25 passing for 237 yards and two touchdowns. Mertz finished with 165 yards in receptions and two scores on five catches.
Watkins led the Ichabod defense with 13 tackles including nine solo stops with two tackles for loss and a forced fumble. Curran recorded 10 tackles with nine solo tackles and a fumble recovery.
Czerniewski was 32 of 52 for 283 yards. The 32 completions was a school record for the Mules.

Washburn Football History . . .
Washburn is 498-547-44 in the 120th year of Ichabod football.

A win for Washburn would . . .
lift the Ichabods to 499-547-44 in their football history … move the Ichabods to 2-2 on the season and 1-1 in MIAA play … improve the Ichabods to 19-21-2 all-time against Central Missouri … be the first win for the Ichabods in Warrensburg since Sept. 16, 2006 (14-10) … be the second straight win over the Mules in the series.

A loss for Washburn would . . .
drop the Ichabods to 498-548-44 in their football history … drop the Ichabods to 1-3 on the season … drop the Ichabods to 18-22-2  all-time against Central Missouri … be the Ichabods' second straight loss in Warrensburg … drop the Ichabods to 0-2 in the MIAA for the first time since the 2008 season.

Missouri Western revisited . . . the loss
dropped the Ichabods to 498-548-44 in their football history … dropped the Ichabods to 1-2 on the season … dropped the Ichabods to 16-21-2 all-time against Missouri Western … dropped the Ichabods to 10-12 in MIAA openers … was the Griffons first win in Topeka since Oct. 26, 2002 in a 34-28 double overtime win snapping a three-game losing streak.

The Ichabods in the National Polls . . .
The Ichabods fell out of the American Football Coaches Association top 25 poll for the first time since the 10th week of the 2009 poll. Washburn would re-enter the poll at No. 25 in the final ranking that season. This season, the Ichabods have gone from 10, 9, 15, 15 to No. 28 in this week's rankings. The Ichabods are ranked No. 20 in the d2football.com national media poll while the Mules are No. 24 in this week's ranking.

Bods and Ends . . .
Ordinary 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 … he is tied for the the MIAA lead in receptions per game with 8.0 and receiving yards per game with 144.7 yards per game averaging 18.1 yards per catch.

Quick Kicks - Washburn's Steve Ivanisevic has connected on 22 of his 25 career field goal attempts and 58 of 61 extra point attempts … his 22 field goals made are third all-time at Washburn and the 58 extra points are eighth all-time at Washburn … his 88 percent field goal percentage is first all-time at Washburn and tops in MIAA history as well among kickers who have at least 20 field goals made.

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 11 times on 15 trips into the redzone with eight touchdowns and three 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 seven times in eight trips inside the redzone scoring five touchdowns with two field goals.

Sima-Sima-Simoneau-now - Junior signal caller Dane Simoneau has started the last 19 games … has passed for 4,633 yards averaging nearly 221 yards per game passing … has thrown for 35 touchdowns completing 58.0 percent of his passing attempts … he threw for his sixth game with at least 300 passing yards against Abilene Christian last time out.
 
Give me some Moore - Sophomore running back Vershon Moore leads the team and the MIAA in rushing yards averaging 132.7 yards per game … he has recorded 1,359 career rushing yards and 12 touchdowns averaging 6.1 yards per carry and 97.1 yards per game in 14 career appearances.

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.

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.

Balanced and not so balanced - The Ichabods this season have used a play selection of 120 run plays to 97 passing plays for a 55 percent to 45 percent run/pass ratio … for Central Missouri they have ran 100 rushing plays to 205 passing plays for a 32 percent to 68 percent for a run/pass ratio.

Seeing Yellow - Against Missouri Western last time out the Ichabods were flagged for 16 penalties costing them 115 yards … two Ichabod penalties extended drives for the Griffons … the 115 yards were the most since the Ichabods recorded 135 penalty yards against Langston on Sept. 4, 2004 and the most penalties against since Washburn was called for 15 against Emporia State on Sept. 20, 2003.

Hello again ... hello - The Ichabods and Mules have 19 players who have played together either in high school and will now take on each other as opponents.
From Shawnee Mission Northwest High School: Bryce Atagi, Darion Hillman and Mark Fancer from Washburn and Bryce Murray from UCM.
From Lee's Summitt High School: Travis Mosby from Washburn and Kevin Johnson from Central Missouri.
From Raytown South: DaJuan Beard, Ronnell Garner, Terry Grimmett and Ian Williams for Washburn and Karl Parker from Central Missouri.
From Park Hill High School: Bryan Dale and Michael Hollins and from Washburn and Patrick Lewis from Central Missouri.
From McCluer North High School: Toré Hurst from Washburn and Ralph Watson, Hulas King, Reggie Dilworth and DaMonte Bell from Central Missouri.

Three dot ( . . . ) thoughts
The Ichabods have gone three straight games without an interception for the first time since the 2002 season when they failed to pick off a pass against Wisconsin-LaCrosse, Fort Hays State and Pittsburg State … the Ichabods are 18-18 all-time in MIAA road games under Craig Schurig … against teams ranked in the top 25, the Ichabods are 8-21 against AFCA top 25 teams - since 2005 the Ichabods are 7-12 … the Ichabods are -5 in the turnover battle this season gaining seven fumbles with no interceptions while giving the ball away 12 times with six interceptions and six fumbles lost … the 12 turnovers is the most in the MIAA this season … the Ichabods had 17 turnovers through all of the 2009 season.

Schurig moving up the coaching ranks . . .
Ninth-year head coach Craig Schurig has compiled a 55-39 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. 25 . . .
Since the 1961 season, the date of when games were available in media guides, the Ichabods are 2-4-1 on Sept. 25. Against Central Missouri on that date, Washburn is 0-1-1 tying a game in 1965 in Topeka 7-7 and falling 41-19 in Warrensburg during the 1993 season.

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 Hays, Kan., to take on Fort Hays State on Oct. 2 with a 7 p.m. start time before returning home on Oct. 9 to face Nebraska-Omaha as part of Washburn Athletics' Hall of Fame Saturday as former basketball, tennis and football player John Waltz, former basketball player Jordan Canfield and Pete Goering, a meritorious service inductee will all be enshrined in a breakfast the morning of the game and introduced at halftime of the football game.