Opening Notes
• The Washburn Ichabods will open their 124th season of football on Sept. 4 when they will play host to Lindenwood at 6 p.m. inside Yager Stadium at Moore Bowl.
• The Ichabods are coming off their 10th-straight winning season after recording an 8-3 record last season.
• Washburn is 74-43-6 all-time in season openers and the Ichabods have gone 52-20-4 when their opening game was played at home.
• Washburn has won its last six season openers.
•  The last season-opening loss came to No. 5-ranked Chadron State on Aug. 25, 2007 in a 34-24 loss. 
 
Numbers to Know
•     4 - Number of new starters on offense.
•     6 - Number of new starters on defense.
• 88.1 - Percentage of rushing yards the Ichabods return from last season with 1,402 of 1,592 yards back from the 2013 season.
• 100 - Percentage of passing yards returning from last season's team which passed for 3,074 yards.
• 32 - The number of Ichabod scoring drives in 2013 which were under five plays .
• 68 - The number of Ichabod scoring drives  in 2013.
• 411:33 - The amount of time in minutes and seconds of 660:00 the Ichabods were in the lead in games in 2013.
• 15-0 - Washburn's record under head coach Craig Schurig when the Ichabods score at least 50 points.

'Bods and Ends
• The Ichabods are playing their first season of all MIAA games on the schedule since the 1989 season when the ichabods were in their first year in the league.
• Washburn was 3-7 that season picking up wins over Truman, Lincoln and Missouri Western.
• Washburn redshirt freshman Peter Pfannenstiel won a gold medal playing for Team USA in the 18-and-under World Football Championships in Kuwait this past summer.
• Former Ichabod all-American defensive tackle Trey Lewis is back at Washburn as a volunteer assistant coach for Washburn after playing four seasons in the NFL for the Atlanta Falcons.

Coaching Staffs
Ichabod head coach Craig Schurig . . .
• was named head coach of the Ichabod football program Dec. 28, 2001. 
• is 87-51 (.602) in his 13th season as the Ichabod head coach. 
• is 69-41 (.630) against the MIAA. 
• has led the Ichabods to three NCAA Playoff appearances and two bowl appearance championships.
• led the Ichabods to the 2005 MIAA regular season outright championship. 
• has recorded ten-straight winning seasons for the first time in the program's history. 
• led the Ichabods to the program's first 10-win season and their first NCAA or NAIA playoff game victory in school history with a win over Abilene Christian during the 2011 season.
• is Washburn's all-time winningest coach with 87 wins.
• is 2-0 against Lindenwood.

Lindenwood head coach Patrick Ross . . . 
•     is 99-39 overall in his 13th season as a head coach.
•     is 85-32 in his 11th season at Lindenwood.
• was 14-7 at Ottawa prior to moving to Lindenwood for the 2004 season.
•     he won three Heart of America Championships at Lindenwood.
• coached the Lions to five NAIA national playoff appearances reaching the championship game in 2009.
• is 0-2 against Washburn.

Ichabod Offensive Notes
• Senior running back Version needs 1,036 rushing yards to become the all-time leader …  has also rushed for 27 touchdowns and has two of the top three single-game totals in school history.
• Senior quarterback Mitch Buhler has made 20 starts at Washburn passing for 4,165  career yards and 40 touchdowns … his 40 TD passes are fourth all-time at Washburn and his 290 career completions are seventh.
• Junior running back Sean McPherson has rushed for 924 yards in his career.
• Senior DaJuan Beard became the 12th Ichabod to catch at least 100 passes as he enters 2014 with 125 catches which is eighth all-time at Washburn … his 1,891 yards is eighth all-time at well at Washburn.
• Senior Dylan Ready has played in 32 games on the offensive line and has started at left tackle, left guard and right tackle on the offensive line.
• Junior Connor Crimmins has appeared in 22 games adding 19 catches for 297 yards … Crimmins, who also plays baseball for the Ichabods, is switching from No. 14 to No. 19 to honor former Ichabod baseball coach Steve Anson.
• Junior Cameron Brown is moving back into the starting line up this season at center after starting 10 games at right guard in 2012. 
• Junior Sam Eickhoff has started seven career games at fullback appearing in 16 games.
• Junior wide receiver Jordan Hart is back after playing in pats of five games last season … he has 24 catches for 632 yards and seven touchdowns … he had three catches for 150 yards in the season opener against Nebraska-Kearney last season.
• Sophomore running back Donnie Lockhart III received a medical redshirt after recording 26 carries for 120 yards and three touchdowns last season.
• Junior Jordon McCallister is starting at left guard and made three starts in 2013 appearing in eight games overall.
• Sophomore Michael Miller was an honorable mention all-MIAA pick after starting 11 games at left guard … this season he is moving to right tackle.

Ichabod Defensive Notes
• Senior safety Calvin Kenney has played in 35 games making 30 starts tallying 158 tackles with 95 solo stops with three interceptions.
• Sophomore defensive end Akhmad Abdul-Razaq moves into a starting defensive end position after recording 23 tackles last season appearing in 11 games.
• Senior defensive tackle Bryan Dale has appeared in 34 games and will make his first start against Lindenwood … he has recorded 41 career tackles.
• Senior defensive end Alex Dowty is slated to start the season opener and has appeared in 25 games with 43 tackles.
• Senior defensive tackle Tyler Ewy has made 13 starts including 11 in 2013 appearing in 28 games with 46 tackles and 8.5 career tackles for loss.
• Sophomore defensive back Zach Franklin appeared in 11 games last season and is scheduled for the start on Thursday.
• Sophomore linebacker Cody Heiman returns back to the defensive side of the ball after rushing for 426 yards and 91 carries with six touchdowns in 2013 …he played the first four games on defense and has made two starts at linebacker.
• Senior defensive back Dwayne Joseph has made six starts recording 51 tackles with 36 solo stops in his career.
• Junior linebacker Mark Kolmer is another Ichabod moving from offense to defense as he's played in 22 career games with six starts adding 26 tackles … he made six starts at fullback last season.
• Junior safety Jaime Myers has made 11 starts playing in 22 games with 61 tackles and three interceptions.
• Junior safety Shay Wooten moves into a starting safety role recording 61 career tackles appearing in 22 games.

Ichabod Special Team Notes
• Sophomore Justin Linn returns after being honored as a first team all-MIAA kicker in 2013 … he was a preseason all-American selection for this season by D2Football.com.
• Senior Aaron Hummert has 132 punts for 5,385 yards averaging 40.8 yards per punt playing in 35 career games … his 40.8 career punting average is the best in school history.
• Junior returner Jaime Myers returned a punt for touchdowns against Northeastern State and Emporia State last season and against Northwest Missouri he returned a kickoff 98 yards for a score …  for his career he has 44 punt returns for 412  yards and two touchdowns averaging 9.4 yards per return for his career.

Know the Foe
Lindenwood returns nine starters on offense, including one at every skill position. The top position group is at wide receiver where the team returns the top five receivers from last year, including second-team All-MIAA Alex Robinson and team offensive MVP Jaron Alexander.  That duo combined for 88 receptions for 1,238 yards and nine touchdowns last year.
Dillon Miller returns at the quarterback position after starting the last 14 games for Lindenwood the last two years. Last year, he finished third in the MIAA with 259.3 passing yards a game, and set a school record for single-season completions average. Joining Miller in the backfield is tailback Marvin Byrd, who led the Lions with seven touchdowns last year.
The offensive line returns three starters, led by left tackle Jacob Heneisen who was an honorable mention All-MIAA pick last year.
On defense, the Lions return eight starters and will be led by their linebacking corp. Leading the way is Connor Harris who is averaging over 10 tackles a game in his career. Honorable mention All-MIAA picks Dillon Hawkins and Clint Koons are also among the returns at the linebacker position.
Up front, Lindenwood is looking to replace its top two defensive linemen. That effort will be led by honorable mention All-MIAA DeShawn Lawson and Xavier Warren.
The Lions have the huge task of replacing Pierre Desir in the secondary, but returners Roderick Ryles and Brian Hawthorne will lead the group looking to fill the void left by the fourth-round NFL pick.

Series Notes with Lindenwood
Series Record: WU leads 2-0-0
Streaks: WU has won the last two
First Meeting: WU 19-16 (10/20/2012)
Last Meeting: WU 44-35 (10/26/2013)
Last WU win: 44-35 (10/26/2013)
Last LWU win: n/a
Largest WU win: 44-35 (10/26/2013)
Largest LWU win: n/a  

Last Meeting with Lindenwood
(10/26/13) TOPEKA, Kan. -- The No. 10-ranked Washburn Ichabods trailed for the first time at the half, but rallied in the second half for a 44-35 Homecoming win over Lindenwood to improve to 8-0 for the first time since 1907. 
After forcing a Lion punt, the Ichabods, Washburn needed only five plays as Mitch Buhler hit Vershon Moore for a 7-yd touchdown pass putting the Ichabods up 7-0. It was the first of five touchdown passes on the day for Buhler.
The Lions wasted little time in tying the score as they used a 12-play, 75-yd drive knotting the score at 7-7 on their next possession when Marvin Byrd scored from 3-yards out. After the Ichabods turned it over on downs, Lindenwood took the lead with Byrd's second touchdown run of the day before the end of the half.
The teams traded the next eight drives and the Ichabods took advantage of a fumbled punt return at the Lion 10 and Cody Heiman scored the first of his two touchdowns of the day on the ground with 2:32 left in the first half tying the score at 14. But the Lions would go up 21-14 after a Dillon Miller to Alex Robinson touchdown pass from 16-yards out. 
The Ichabods did drive for a field goal before the end of the half when Justin Linn hit from 34 yards out cutting the Lion lead to 21-17 at the break.
In the third quarter, the Ichabods had the ball for 11:30 out of the 15 minutes. Washburn took the lead on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Buhler to Tore' Hurst with 7:26 to play putting Washburn up 24-21. But a 95-yard kickoff return by Tre' Roby put the Lions back up in front 28-24.
Washburn used a 13-play, 80-yard drive to regain the lead at 31-28 when Buhler connected with Matt Kobbeman for a 15-yard touchdown pass putting Washburn up for good. 
With 12:40 left in the game Buhler hit his brother Matt Buhler in the end zone for a 20-yard touchdown pass stretching the lead to 37-28, however the Lions came right back with a score by Sam Sealer from Dillon MIller trimming the Ichabod lead back to 37-35. 
The Ichabods came up short on a fourth-down conversion and the Lions took over, but went for it on fourth down from their own 15 and the pass was incomplete. Washburn then needed three plays to go up 44-35 to wrap up the scoring when Buhler hit Hurst for his second touchdown reception of the game with 3:34 left.
After allowing 245 yards in the first half, the Ichabod defense allowed only 108 yards in the second half with only eight in the third quarter on six plays. Calvin Kenney led the Ichabods with seven tackles and Ryan Macken had six tackles as did Bryce Atagi. Atagi added an interception in the end zone ending a Lion drive as well as two tackles for loss. Cameron Jackson had five tackles with two sacks for 18 yards and 3.5 tackles for loss for 23 yards.
Heiman led the Ichabods on the ground with 20 carries for 84 yards and a score. Buhler finished 25 of 39 with a career-high five touchdowns passes for 277 yards. DaJuan Beard returned to the line up with five catches for 69 yards. Hurst had five catches for 30 yards and two scores.

Last time out for Lindenwood
(11/9/2013) The Lindenwood football team ended its season on Saturday afternoon with a 41-6 loss to No. 6 Pittsburg State. 
The Lions had some success moving the ball during the afternoon with 384 total yards of offense. Lindenwood could not finish off many of its drives though with three turnovers and five turnovers on downs.
Pittsburg State took advantage of a Lindenwood turnover on the first drive of the game for a quick four-play, 22-yard touchdown drive. The Gorillas would score another touchdown later in the quarter to lead 14-0 after one quarter.
The Gorillas added three more points with a field goal early in the second quarter. The rest of the first half was a defensive battle with neither team scoring. Lindenwood got into Pittsburg State territory twice but turned it over on downs both times.
Pittsburg State essentially put the game away by scoring on its first three possessions of the second half. The Lions had a fumble and two more turnover on downs in the third quarter, including one on the Pittsburg State two-yard line.
Senior quarterback Ben Gomez finally got the Lions on the board in the fourth quarter as he led Lindenwood on a 16-play, 94-yard drive. The team converted three third-downs and one fourth-down on the drive. The drive ended when Gomez completed a four-yard touchdown pass to Tyrian Taylor. The Gorillas kicked a field goal on their next drive for the final points of the game.
Pittsburg State finished with 444 total yards of offense, including 250 on the ground. The Gorillas turned it over just one time. The Lions finished with 278 passing yards, nearly 85 more than Pittsburg State has been allowing through the air on the year.
Dillon Miller finished with 143 passing yards and Gomez had 135 passing yards. One of the longest plays of the game for the Lions was a 34-yard pass play from Gomez to Miller. Marvin Byrd was the leading rusher with 60 yards and Jaron Alexander led the wide receivers with 85 receiving yards. Tre' Roby had 17 offensive touches and finished with 35 rushing yards and 52 receiving yards.
Defensively, Clint Koons had a team-high eight tackles, including 2.0 tackles for loss and one sack. Pierre Desir forced a fumble for Lindenwood's forced turnover and A.J. Chappelle recovered the loose ball. Thomas Stubbs had six tackles and one tackle for loss. Desir and Koons both had a pass breakup.

Last time out for Washburn
(11/9/2013) EMPORIA, Kan. -- The Washburn Ichabod football season came to an end with a 34-23 loss at Emporia State. The Ichabods finish the season with an 8-3 record tying for fourth in the MIAA with a 7-3 record.
Washburn fell behind after the Hornets wrapped up a 13-play, 73-yard drive with a 19-yard field goal by Eli Kuhns. However the Ichabods took the lead with a 6-play, 64-yard drive going up 6-3 after a Vershon Moore 5-yard score. The extra point attempt was missed.
The Hornets then would roll up 21-straight points to go up 24-6 entering the break at halftime.
After the Ichabods held the Hornets to a punt on their first drive of the second half, Joel Piper hit Mark Fancher on a 61-yard touchdown strike cutting the lead to 24-13. The Ichabods would then go a 15-play drive, but it stalled deep in ESU territory and Justin Linn hit a 24-yard field goal pulling Washburn within eight at 24-16.
Emporia State scored the next 13 points to go up 34-16. 
Jaime Myers returned a punt 85-yards for a score with eight seconds to play trimming the lead back to 11 at 34-23.
Cody Heiman led the Ichabods with 65 yards on the ground while Piper finished 14 of 32 for 223 yard and one score. Moore led the Ichabods with five catches and Fancher finished with a team-high 69 yards receiving.
Calvin Kenney had 11 tackles with seven solo stops and Bryce Atagi finished his career with nine tackles with a 1/2 tackle for loss. He raised his career tackle tally to 355 stops and his tackle for loss total to 36 which are both third on the Ichabod all-time chart.
ESU's Brent Wilson passed for 362 yards completing 25 of 35 passes for two scores before leaving the game with an injury.

Ichabods in home openers
• Washburn is 52-20 when its first game of the season is at home.
• They have never faced Lindenwood in the first game of the season.

Washburn Football History
Washburn is 525-557-44 (.480) in the 124th year of Ichabod football. 

A win for Washburn over Lindenwood would . . .
• lift the Ichabods to 526-557-44 in their football history.
• be the Ichabods' third-straight win over the Lions and the second-straight in Topeka.
• move the Ichabods to 1-0 in MIAA play.
• be the Ichabods' seventh-straight season-opening win.
• snap a three-game losing streak dating back to last season.

A loss for Washburn to Lindenwood would . . .
• drop the Ichabods to 525-558-44 in their football history.
• be the first win by Lindenwood over the Ichabods.
• drop Washburn's record to 2-1 against the Lions.
• be the Ichabods' fourth-straight loss dating back to the 2013 season … the longest streak by an Ichabod team since the first five games of head coach Craig Schurig's coaching career at Washburn.

Ichabods in the National Polls
WACO, Texas -- The Washburn Ichabods received votes in the 2014 American Football Coaches Association Preseason Top 25 coaches poll which was released today by the AFCA. 
Under head coach Craig Schurig, the Ichabods have been ranked or have received votes in the AFCA poll 52 times and have been ranked in the top 10 15 times. Washburn has received votes in or been ranked in 10-consecutive AFCA preseason polls.

Up Next
The Ichabods will hit the road for the first time in 2014 as they will travel to Kearney, Neb., to face the Lopers away from Topeka for the second-straight season. The Ichabods won their 2013 season opener over Nebraska-Kearney 58-13 on Sept. 5.