Opening Notes
•     The Washburn Ichabods return to the field on Saturday, Sept. 27 to take on Missouri Southern for the first time since the 2011 season.
•    The Ichabods won the last meeting with the Lions 30-14 in Joplin on Sept. 17, 2011.
•     The Ichabods are coming off a 42-0 loss against No. 8 Pittsburg State while the Lions picked up their first win of the season in a 34-17 win at Nebraska-Kearney.
•    The Ichabods have won nine games in a row against Missouri Southern and 13 of the last 14 games overall.
•     Washburn is making its third-straight trip to Joplin and have won the last five played in Hughes Stadium.

 'Bods and Ends
•     The Ichabods are coming off a 42-0 loss against No. 8 Pittsburg State while the Lions picked up their first win of the season in a 34-17 win at Nebraska-Kearney.
•     The Ichabods and Lions have not met since a 30-14 Ichabod win over Missouri Southern on Sept. 17, 2011 in Joplin.
•     The shutout by the Gorillas over the Ichabods was the first time a Washburn team had been blanked in 174 games. Central Missouri topped the Ichabods 37-0 on Nov. 7, 1998 in Topeka.
•    True freshmen Bob Marco, who started at right guard against Nebraska-Kearney and Pittsburg State, along with defensive end Kastin Spencer, linebacker Austin Tillman, defensive tackle Cody Zeller have all seen action this season.
•     The loss to the Gorillas snapped a three-game winning streak over Pittsburg State in Topeka.
•     Forty-six of Washburn's opponents 93 points have come off turnovers. Washburn has scored six points of their 48 off opponents miscues.

 Coaching Staffs
Ichabod head coach Craig Schurig . . .
• was named head coach of the Ichabod football program Dec. 28, 2001. 
• is 88-53 (.602) in his 13th season as the Ichabod head coach. 
• is 70-43 (.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 88 wins.
• is 9-1 against Missouri Southern.

Missouri Southern head coach Daryl Daye . . . 
•    is in his third season as the head coach at Missouri Southern and has gone 14-10 in his third season. Overall he is 24-45 in his seventh season as a head coach.
•    came back to Southern after serving two seasons with the NFL's Buffalo Bills as Assistant to the Head Coach. He assisted Defensive Coordinator Dave Wannstedt in  coaching the inside linebackers and also helped to coach the special teams units. 
•     prior to his stint with the Bills, Daye served for four years with the Lions as the team's  defensive coordinator.
•     is 0-0 against Washburn.

 Ichabod Offensive Notes
•     Senior running back Vershon Moore needs 844 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. He has rushed for 2,572 yard in his career and 27 touchdowns.
•     Senior quarterback Mitch Buhler has made 23 starts at Washburn passing for 4,486 career yards and 45 touchdowns … his 45 TD passes are fourth all-time at Washburn and his 343 career completions are sixth.
•     Junior running back Sean McPherson has rushed for 1,071 yards in his career going over the 1,000-yard mark against Nebraska-Kearney.
•     Senior DaJuan Beard became the 12th Ichabod to catch at least 100 passes and he now has 138 catches which is fourth all-time at Washburn … his 2,012 yards is seventh all-time at well at Washburn … against Pitt State he became the seventh Ichabod to go over the 2,000-yard career mark in receiving yards.
•     Senior Dylan Ready has played in 35 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 25 games adding 26 catches for 387 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 … his seven receptions and 90 receiving yards were also career-highs against Lindenwood.
•     Junior Cameron Brown is moving back into the starting line up this season at center after starting 11 games at right guard in 2012. 
•     Junior Sam Eickhoff has started ten career games at fullback appearing in 19 games.
•     Junior wide receiver Jordan Hart is back after playing in pats of five games last season … he has 38 catches for 682 yards and seven touchdowns in his career.
•     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 nine 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 making two starts.
•    Senior Matt Buhler had a career-high four catches for a career-high 58 yards against Lindenwood.
•     Senior Brad Gourley had a career-long 87-yard reception for a touchdown against Nebraska-Kearney. He has 25 receptions for 339 yards and two scores playing in 22 games.

 Ichabod Defensive Notes
•     Senior safety Calvin Kenney has played in 38 games making 32 starts tallying 186  tackles with 110 solo stops with four interceptions …he tied a career high with 11 tackles against Pitt State last time out.
•     Sophomore defensive end Akhmad Abdul-Razzaq moves into a starting defensive end position after recording 23 tackles last season appearing in 11 games. This season he has recorded 18 tackles with a career-high 10 tackles coming against Nebraska-Kearney.
•     Senior defensive tackle Bryan Dale has appeared in 37 games … he has recorded 45 career tackles.
•     Senior defensive end Alex Dowty has appeared in 27 games with 43 tackles.
•     Senior defensive tackle Tyler Ewy has made 16 career starts including 11 in 2013. Overall he has appeared in 31 games with 56 tackles and 9.5 career tackles for loss.
•     Sophomore defensive back Zach Franklin had made three starts appearing in 14 games at Washburn … the nine tackles against Lindenwood was a career-high.
•     Sophomore linebacker Cody Heiman is back to the defensive side of the ball after rushing for 426 yards and 91 carries with six touchdowns in 2013 … his nine tackles against Lindenwood was a career-high … overall he has played in 16 games making five starts gaining 39 tackles with 24 solo stops.
•     Senior defensive back Dwayne Joseph has made nine starts recording 56 tackles with 40 solo stops and one interception in his career.
•     Junior linebacker Mark Kolmer is another Ichabod moving from offense to defense as he's played in 24 career games with eight starts adding 41 tackles … he made six starts at fullback in 2013 … his seven tackles against Lindenwood was a career high and he recorded his first career interception against Nebraska-Kearney returning it seven yards setting up the game-winning field goal.
•     Junior safety Jaime Myers has made 12 starts playing in 25 games with 69 tackles and three interceptions … he has 1,412 career all-purpose yards averaging 56.5 per game.
•     Junior safety Shay Wooten moves into a starting safety role recording 84 career tackles appearing in 25 games.
•    Redshirt freshman Peter Pfannenstiel has started the last two games at safety and  has recorded 16 tackles with 10 solo stops and a pass break up.

 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 … Linn is 2 of 3 this season with a season-long of 34 …his 59 PATs rank 10th all-time at Washburn and his 16 career field goals ranks eighth.
•     Senior Aaron Hummert has 149 punts for 6,050 yards averaging 40.6 yards per punt playing in 38 career games … his 40.6 career punting average is the best in school history and his 6,050 yards is seventh all-time … had a career-long run of 17 yards on a fourth down against Pittsburg State for a first down.

 Know the Foe
•     Missouri Southern is 1-2 this season after picking up its first win in 2014 over Nebraska-Kearney 34-17.
•    The Lions scored 27 of their 34 points in the second half while allowing 14 fourth quarter points to the Lopers.
•    Missouri Southern rushed for 364 yards on 64 carries while passing for 66 completing 4 of 12 passes.
•    The Lions had the ball for 38:45 of the 60 minutes in the game recording 76 plays in the game.
•    Michael Nelson leads the team with 182 rushing yards and Giresse Forchu has 57 yards a game rushing.
•    Jay McDowel leads the team with four pass completions for 132 yards averaging 44 yards per game.
•    As a team the Lions are 6 of 27 passing this season completing 22 percent of their passes with three interceptions.
•    Dalvin Taylor leads the team with 23 tackles.

 Series Notes with Missouri Southern
Series Record: WU leads 21-20-1
Streaks: WU has won the last nine
First Meeting: Tie 21-21 (10/17/1970) in Joplin
Last Meeting: WU 30-14 (09/17/11) in Joplin
Last WU win: 30-14 (09/17/11) in Joplin
Last MSSU win: 52-28 (09/28/2002) in Joplin
Largest WU win: 54-31 (09/12/2009) in Topeka
Largest MSSU win: 44-14 (10/03/1992) in Joplin 

 Last Meeting with Missouri Southern
(09/17/2011) JOPLIN, Mo. -- The Washburn Ichabods scored three fourth quarter touchdowns and twice rallied from four-point deficits to top Missouri Southern 30-14 at Fred Hughes Stadium. 
The game was game was delayed one hour and 19 minutes after lightning was in the area and each team had roughly 30 minutes to get warmed up on the field.
The Ichabods took the first lead of the game in the first quarter and Jeremy Linn connected of 29-yards with 7:16 to play capping a 11-play, 40-yard drive. Missouri Southern would then take the lead on a 99-yard, 11-play drive when Collin Howard hit Ne'Ronte Threat from 5-yards out as the Lions took a 7-3 lead into the half.
Halftime was reduced to from 20 minutes to 12 minutes to try to beat the potential thunderstorms which were coming into the area.
Washburn took the lead on a 19-yard touchdown from Dane Simoneau to DaJuan Beard with 1:05 to play in the third.
The Lions regained their lead on their next possession when Kyle Webster scored from 2-yards out putting the Lions back up 14-10 with 14:23 to play in the game. From that point on it was all Washburn as the Ichabods scored the next 20 points of the game.
The Ichabods took the lead for good on a Simoneau to Ronnell Garner 20-yard touchdown pass reception. After holding the Lions on a fourth down attempt, Simoneau connected on a 30-yard pass to Tore Hurst with 5:29 to play and then Simoneau threw for his third touchdown pass of the final quarter when he hit Beard for his second touchdown hook up of the night stretching the Washburn lead to 30-14.
Simoneau finished 23 of 41 from the field for 274 yards and four touchdown passes with one interceptions. Beard finished with 141 yards through the air with nine receptions. Matt Kobbeman had four catches for 37 yards. Justin Cooper had 83 yards on the ground on 19 carries.
Bryce Atagi led the Ichabods with 10 tackles with 2.5 tackles for loss. Willie Williams had nine tackles and Dakota Palan-Johnson with two for loss including two sacks.
Washburn had 26 first downs recording 367 total offensive yards while the Lions were held to 264.

 Last time out for Missouri Southern
(9/20/2014) Kearney, Neb. - The Missouri Southern football team scored 17 points in the third quarter and the Lions' defense held strong as Southern took out Nebraska-Kearney 34-17 inside Cope Stadium in Kearney, Neb. 
The Lions (1-2, 1-2 MIAA) rushed for 374 yards on the ground and held a 430-215 advantage in total offense, averaging 5.7 yards per play. Southern also held a 38:45-21:15 advantage in time of possession, where the Lions had over ten minutes of possession in each of the second and third quarters. 
UNK (0-3, 0-3 MIAA) scored two late touchdowns in the fourth quarter, but couldn't overcome the deep hole the Lions' total team effort put the Lopers in, trailing 31-3 at one time. 
The Lions forced the Lopers to punt on their opening possession, and Southern drove the length of the field with Giresse Forchu capping off a 10-play, 46-yard drive with a one-yard dive into the end zone. 
Kearney picked up a 32-yard field goal with 7:33 left in the second quarter and that would be all the scoring the two teams would account for in the first half. 
Southern came out of the locker room and started with a statement. The Lions took the ball on their own three and ran it out ten yards to start the second half on the Southern 13-yard line. After an injury to Jay McDowell left the Lions' starter on the bench, Scott Lathrop came out and ran the offense for the Green and Gold. He hit Michael Nelson for a 17-yard catch in the possession, while Forchu, Nelson, and Chris Jeffries had carries during the drive that culminated in a 35-yard touchdown pass from Lathrop to Anthony Cannon to put the Lions up 14-3. 
After the Southern defense forced a three-and-out, the Lions drove to the UNK 18 and Brock Renken hit the first of two field goals for the freshman on the day, this one from 35 yards to put the Lions up 17-3. 
Another three-and-out from the Lions' defense led to a score as Jeffries got in on the party and ran for a 27-yard score to put Southern up 24-3 with 3:24 left in the third quarter. 
The Lions started the fourth quarter with an 11-play, 72-yard scoring drive that saw Shannon Saunders pick up a five-yard touchdown run to make the score 31-3, Southern. 
The Lopers picked up two late touchdowns and Renken hit from 39-yards to make the final tally, 34-17. 
The Lions' defense forced five three-and-out situations in the game, including back-to-back in the second half that led to scoring drives on each possession. They held UNK to 0-3 on third down conversions in both the second and third quarters and 4-13 total in the game. 
Gaige Washington and Johnquavious McBride led the way with seven tackles each. McBride had a sack, one of four on the day for the Lions. Molik Slade, Dalvin Taylor and Erik McKinnon each had a sack for the Lions, while the team as a whole picked up 12 tackles for a loss. 
Offensively, Forchu ran for 110 yards and a score, while Lathrop went 2-8 with 52 yards passing and a touchdown and also rushed for 64 yards on the ground. The Southern offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage, allowing just ten yards lost on the day. 
Renken hit 2-3 on the day, connecting from 35 and 39, while going 4-4 on extra points and averaging 61 yards on kickoffs..

 Last time out for Washburn
(9/20/2014) TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn was shut out for the first time in 174 games as No. 8 Pittsburg State topped the Ichabods 42-0 in Yager Stadium. 
The Gorillas scored first with 7:02 left in the opening quarter when Jeff Seybold scored from 1-yard out capping a 5-play, 46-yard drive for the only score of the first quarter.
The Gorillas came back in the second quarter with 21 points in the frame on three touchdown passes by Anthony Abenoja of 50-, 19-, and 25-yards with the final one coming with six seconds left in the half. Washburn had the ball on the Gorilla 1-yard line trailing 21-0, but came up short on four straight runs turning the ball back to Pittsburg State as they drove 99 yards on 10 plays for the final score of the half.
Washburn was limited to 134 yards in the first half while the Gorillas gained 364 yards with 259 yards coming through the air.
After the Gorillas scored on their first drive of the second half pushing their lead to 42-0. The game was delayed for 75 minutes because of lightning in the area. After the teams came back out, no one would score until 7:54 left in the game when Skylarr Gatson picked off a pass and returned it 43 yards for a score putting Pitt State up 42-0.
Washburn finished with 259 yards of offense while Pitt State gained 552 with 338 coming through the air. Vershon Moore had 30 yards on 13 carries while Mitch Buhler was 13 of 29 for 149 yards. DaJuan Beard had five catches for 62 yards.
Pitt State's Jeff Seybold had 122 yards on 17 carries while Anthony Abenoja was 19 of 33 for 330 yards and four touchdowns. Marquise Cushon had seven catches for 119 yards. Defensively Calvin Kenney had 11 tackles and Shay Wooten had eight tackles for the Ichabods. Keeston Terry had six tackles as did Spencer Brown. 

 Washburn Football History
Washburn is 526-559-44 (.480) in the 124th year of Ichabod football. 

 A win for Washburn over Missouri Southern would . . .
• lift the Ichabods to 527-559-44 in their football history.
• be the Ichabods 10th-straight win over the Lions and the 14th in the last 15 meetings.
• be the sixth-straight win by the Ichabods over the Lions in Joplin.
• even the Ichabods' record at 2-2.
• make the Ichabods 22-20-1 all-time against the Lions.

 A loss for Washburn to Missouri Southern would . . .
• drop the Ichabods to 526-560-44 in their football history.
• snap a nine-game winning streak by the Ichabods over the Lions.
• be the Lions' first win over the Ichabods since a 52-28 win on Sept. 28, 2002 in Joplin.
• drop the Ichabods record to 1-3 for the first time since the 2010 season.

 Ichabods in the National Polls
WACO, Texas -- The Ichabods fell did not receive any votes this week after the loss to Lindenwood after receiving votes in the preseason poll released on Aug. 18.
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
Washburn will return home on Oct. 4 to face Fort Hays State with a 1 p.m. kickoff.