Setting the scene. . .
The Washburn Ichabods will look to avoid their first four-game losing streak since the 2002 season when they will travel to Hays, Kan., to face the Fort Hays State Tigers at 7 p.m. on Saturday at Lewis Field. The Ichabods are coming off a 55-45 loss at Central Missouri while the Tigers fell for the first time this season dropping a 19-6 decision at Emporia State. It will also be the Tigers' homecoming game.
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 55-40 (.575) in his ninth season as the Ichabod head coach and he is 42-32 (.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 4-2 all-time against Fort Hays State.
Fort Hays State head football coach Kevin Verdogo is 18-39 in his sixth year on the Tigers' bench. Verdugo came to FHSU from the University of Akron, where he served as an assistant coach. Prior to Akron, he was the head coach at Fort Scott Community College for three seasons. Verdugo was tabbed the 2001 Kansas Jayhawk Conference Coach of the Year while at FSCC. He led Fort Scott to a 5-4 record that season, including a victory over top-ranked Garden City Community College. He is 1-3 against Washburn.
Last time out for the Ichabods . . .
(Sept. 25) WARRENSBURG, Mo. -- The Washburn Ichabods and No. 21-ranked Central Missouri Mules combined for 100 points, 54 first downs, 1,071 offensive yards and 817 yards through the air in a 55-45 loss Saturday afternoon.
The Mules, who were second in the nation in passing yards per game, opened up the game scoring on their first possession when Eric Czerniewski connected with Jamorris Warren for a 29-yard strike. The lead was short-lived as
Travis Mosby pulled down a 51-yard touchdown pass from
Dane Simoneau capping a three-play drive.
Washburn took the lead at 14-7 as Toré Hurst recorded his first touchdown reception on a 21-yard pass from Simoneau. The Mules would score the next two touchdowns to take a 21-14. Before the half, the Ichabods'
Joe Hastings tied the score with 52 seconds to go in the stanza on a 19-yard catch from Simoneau.
In the third quarter, the Ichabods and Mules would trade touchdowns as 35 points were scored in 15 minutes. Tywon Hubbard, Warren and DeMarco Crosby had scoring plays for Central Missouri while
Vershon Moore had a 7- and 10-yard touchdown runs as the Mules took a 42-35 lead into the fourth quarter.
Steve Ivanisevic nailed a 22-year field goal cutting the lead to 42-38 for the Mules. Warren had his third score of the game with 11:46 to go in the game putting the Mules up 10 at 48-38.
Moore scored on a 19-yard pass reception from Simoneau for his third touchdown of the day and Simoneau's fourth touchdown pass of the game. The Mules put the game out of reach capitalizing on an Ichabod turnover with a 13-yard run by Hubbard for Mules and the 55-45 win.
Moore recorded 155 all-purpose yards with 125 yards rushing on 21 carries and two touchdowns on the ground while grabbing two catches for 30 yards and a touchdown. He also completed a 26-yard pass to Simoneau from a running back position. Hastings finished with 151 yards yards receiving and the first half touchdown reception. Simoneau was 20 of 40 for 344 yards with the four touchdown passes hitting seven different receivers in the game.
Defensively
Pierre Desir had seven tackles with a fumble recovery and an interception.
Luke Schuckman,
Jahmil Taylor,
Patrick Myrick,
Marty Pfannenstiel and
Bryce Atagi each had six tackles. Myrick had an interception as well.
Cameron Jackson had a sack for the Ichabods.
The Ichabods and Mules each had 27 first downs with 14 coming through the air for the Ichabods. Washburn had 518 yards of total offense while the Mules had 553. Washburn had 83 total plays in the game. A week after the Ichabods had 16 penalties against Missouri Western, the Ichabods were flagged for five penalties for 52 yards. The Mules had 10 penalties for 103 yards.
The Mules' Czerniewski was 32 of 42 for 447 yards and four scores while the Ichabods picking him off two times. Warren finished with 167 yards receiving on six catches.
About Fort Hays State . . .
The Tigers suffered their first loss of the season in a 19-6 defeat at Emporia State. The Tigers sport the second-best rush defense behind the Ichabods allowing 98.2 yards per game on the ground. The Tigers leads the MIAA in kickoff returns averaging 26.3 yards per game. In redzone defense the Tigers are last in the league as opponents have scored on all eight trips into the Tigers' redzone scoring six touchdowns with two field goals. The Tigers have the fifth-best scoring offense in the MIAA averaging 32.5 points per game while their defense is third allowing 17.8 ppg.
The Tigers' Mike Garrison is fourth in the MIAA in passing efficiency and is third in passing yardage with 269.8 yards per game. OJ Murdock averages 21.2 yards per catch for FHSU and 100.5 yards per game through the air.
Last time out for the Tigers . . .
(Sept. 25, 2010) The Tiger football team is no longer unbeaten as they fell 19-6 at Emporia State on Saturday afternoon. The Tigers could never gain any momentum in a game that had a 1-hour, 20-minute lightning delay right before the end of the first half and wet conditions the rest of the way. Fort Hays State is now 3-1 overall and 1-1 in the MIAA.
The only scoring the Tigers had was two field goals by Tyler Kimbrough of 43 and 39 yards in the second quarter, which brought the Tigers to within three points of ESU at 9-6. The rain and lightning came with 58 seconds remaining in the first half, causing the teams to clear the field for a little over an hour.
The Tigers surrendered a field goal right before the end of the half when play resumed and were still very much in the game. They just could not find any rhythm on offense in the second half and a 67-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Eckenrode to Shjuan Richardson proved to be the game sealer for the Hornets with 14:36 remaining.
The Tigers only had 203 yards of total offense in the game. Emporia State controlled the clock well throughout, keeping the potent Tiger offense off the field that averaged over 500 yards per game coming in. The Hornets had the ball for 35-minutes, 42-seconds, compared to just 24-minutes, 18-seconds for the Tigers.
Mike Garrison was 16-of-33 passing for just 148 yards and two interceptions. James Walker had only 35 yards rushing on 12 carries. O.J. Murdock led all FHSU receivers with seven catches for 70 yards. Brock Einspahr and Alex Whitehill led FHSU in tackles, each with 12.
Series Notes . . .
Saturday's meeting is the 65th meeting between the Ichabods and the Tigers. The Ichabods lead the all-time series 38-23-3. The Ichabods have won ten of the last 16 meetings and four of the last five contests. The largest victory margin for the Ichabods is 46 points set in a 46-0 win on Nov. 9, 1963 in Topeka. The largest Tiger's win came on Oct. 14, 1967 in a 35-0 win over the Ichabods in Topeka. Since 1961, the Ichabods are 14-7 and have won the last six games played in Topeka. The Ichabods are 6-10 in games played in Hays since the 1961 season and have not won at Lewis Field since Sept. 23, 2006. The last win for the Tigers in Topeka was on Oct. 25, 1985 in a 30-0 win. The Tigers won the last meeting in Hays, 17-7 on Sept. 23, 2008.
Series Record: WU leads 38-23-3
First Meeting: WU 7-6 in 1919
Last Meeting: WU 28-14 (10/3/09) in Topeka
Last WU win: 28-14 (10/3/09) in Topeka
Last FHSU win: 17-7 (9/13/08) in Hays
Largest WU win: 46-0 (11/9/63) in Topeka
Largest FSHU win: 35-0 (10/14/67) in Topeka
Last meeting with the Tigers . . .
(Oct. 3, 2009) TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Washburn Ichabods held the Tigers to 124 yards of total offense in the second half as the Ichabod defense pitched a shutout in the second half of their 28-14 win over Fort Hays State.
After the Tigers scored on a 30-yard touchdown strike from Mike Garrison to O.J. Murdock to take a 7-0 lead, the Ichabods responded with a 6-play 33 yard drive with
Steve Ivanisevic connecting on a 44-yard field goal with 31 seconds to play in the first half.
James Walker pushed Fort Hays State up 14-3 on a 1-yard run capping the Tigers' second 80-yard drive of the first half.
Washburn cut the lead to 14-10 on a 1-yard plunge by
Vershon Moore on a fourth and goal from the Tigers' one. Moore had 27 yards on the ground during the 10-play, 54-yard drive with 5:18 to play in the opening half.
The Tigers were forced punt leaving the Ichabods with 1:13 on the clock and
Dane Simoneau was 4 of 7 on the drive guiding the Ichabods from their own 20 to the Tigers' 2-yard line.
Ryan Mertz collected the final pass of the drive setting up a Ivanisevic 19-yard field goal to end the half with Washburn trailing 14-13.
The Ichabods took the first possession and turned the ball over on a pick by Michael Walker at the Tigers' 2-yard line. After two rushing plays for 1-yard each by James Walker, the Tigers Mike Garrison dropped back to pass and was sacked in the end zone by
Eric Lawrence for a safety with 11:14 on the third quarter clock and putting Washburn in front for good 15-14.
The Ichabods would add two more scoring strikes through the air - both from Simoneau to
Drameagon Powers. The first was a 5-yard strike with 9:46 to go in the third quarter. The second was a 51-yard connecting with 10:36 to go in the game.
Simoneau finished with 398 yards passing, the fourth-highest single-game total in Washburn history. He was 20 of 36 with two interceptions and two touchdowns. Powers recorded five catches for 109 yards with the two scores. On the ground, Moore had 23 carries for 89 yards and one score.
Zach Watkins had 16 total tackles to lead the Ichabod defense with eight solo stops and a tackle for loss.
Michael Krajicek had 13 stops. Lawrence finished with six stops and the sack and
Ben Bianchino had four stops with two sacks for 14 yards.
Washburn recorded 23 first downs in the game with 15 coming through the air. The Ichabods had 517 yards of total offense and averaged 7.0 yards per play. The Tigers had 320 yards of total offense with 221 coming through the air.
Washburn Football History . . .
Washburn is 498-548-44 in the 120th year of Ichabod football.
A win for Washburn would . . .
lift the Ichabods to 499-548-44 in their football history … move the Ichabods to 2-3 on the season and 1-2 in MIAA play … improve the Ichabods to 39-23-3 all-time against the Tigers … be the first win for the Ichabods in Hays since Sept. 23, 2006 in a 37-7 win … be the second straight win over the Tigers and the fifth in the last six games.
A loss for Washburn would . . .
drop the Ichabods to 498-549-44 in their football history … drop the Ichabods to 1-4 on the season … drop the Ichabods to 38-23-3 all-time against the Tigers … make Washburn 0-3 in the MIAA for the first time since 2002 … would be the first four-game losing streak for the Ichabods since the 2002 season … be the second straight loss for the Ichabods in Hays.
Central Missouri revisited . . . the loss
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 … pushed the Ichabods' losing streak to three games for the first time since the final three games of the 2008 season.
The Ichabods in the National Polls . . .
The Ichabods did not receive any votes in this week's (Sept. 27) American Football Coaches Association Poll and fell out of the d2football.com national media poll for the first time this season.
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 leads the MIAA lead in receptions per game with 8.0 and receiving yards per game with 146.2 yards per game averaging 18.3 yards per catch. This season he has gained 585 yards through the air on 32 receptions with four touchdown receptions, prior to this season his Washburn career numbers were 32 catches for 487 yards and one touchdown.
Quick Kicks - Washburn's
Steve Ivanisevic has connected on 23 of his 26 career field goal attempts and 64 of 67 extra point attempts … his 23 field goals made are third all-time at Washburn and the 64 extra points are seventh all-time at Washburn … his 89 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.
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 16 times on 20 trips into the redzone with 12 touchdowns and four 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 12 times in 14 trips inside the redzone scoring 10 touchdowns with two field goals.
Sima-Sima-Simoneau-now - Junior signal caller
Dane Simoneau has started the last 20 games … has passed for 4,977 yards averaging 226 yards per game in his career passing … he has thrown for 39 touchdowns completing 57.4 percent of his passing attempts … he has thrown for at least 300 yards in a game seven times at Washburn and coming off a season-high 344 yards against Central Missouri last time out. With 23 more passing yards, Simoneau would become 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.
Tell me Moore - Sophomore running back
Vershon Moore leads the team and the MIAA in rushing yards averaging 130.8 yards per game as the only conference running back averaging at least 100 yards per game while leading the MIAA in all-purpose yards with 148.2 yards per game … Moore is tied for second in the MIAA standings in scoring averaging 10.5 points per game … he has recorded 1,484 career rushing yards and 14 touchdowns averaging 6.1 yards per carry and 98.9 yards per game in 15 career appearances … he has moved into 14th 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.
Seeing Yellow - A week after setting a school record with 16 penalties for 115 yards against Missouri Western on Oct. 18, the Ichabods were flagged for a season-low five for 42 yards against Central Missouri last time out.
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 Ichabods picked off two passes last week at Central Missouri avoiding a four-game streak of not recording any interceptions … prior to the two picks against the Mules 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 18-19 all-time in MIAA road games under
Craig Schurig … against teams ranked in the top 25, the Ichabods are 8-22 against AFCA top 25 teams - since 2005 the Ichabods are 7-13 … the Ichabods are -3 in the turnover battle this season gaining nine fumble receoveries with two interceptions while giving the ball away 14 times with seven interceptions and seven fumbles lost … the 14 turnovers is the most in the MIAA this season … the Ichabods had 17 turnovers through all of the 2009 season … the 41 passing attempts by the Ichabods at Central Missouri was a season-high … the 83 plays ran by the Ichabods was the most by an Ichabod team since they ran 80 plays against Emporia State in 14-6 win on Oct. 11, 2008 in Topeka … in first half of games this season the Ichabods are 9 of 24 (.375) on third down conversions … in the second half the Ichabods are 13 of 28 (.464) … the Ichabods have been outscored 57 to 20 in the second quarter this season … Washburn is outscoring its opponents 59 to 35 in the third quarter and 91 to 73 in the second half … in the first half Washburn is being outscored 81 to 47 … the Ichabods have had 36 plays of more than 20 yards with 23 of them coming through the air …
Joe Hastings has 13 plays of more than 20 yards …
Terry Grimmett lads the Ichabods special teams with three tackles - all coming on kickoff coverage … the 45 points scored against Central Missouri was the most points scored in a loss since a 45-42 loss at Truman on Nov. 4, 2000 in Kirksville.
Schurig moving up the coaching ranks . . .
Ninth-year head coach
Craig Schurig has compiled a 55-40 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. 2 . . .
Since the 1961 season, the date of when games were available in media guides, 2-4 on Oct. 2. They have never faced Fort Hays State on that date.
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 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.
