Opening Notes
•     The Washburn Ichabods return home to Yager Stadium to face Missouri Southern on Family Day in a 1 p.m. contest with the Lions.
•    Washburn is coming off a 28-21 win over No. 4-ranked Pittsburg State on the road last time out.
•    Missouri Southern defeated Nebraska-Kearney last time out 24-14 for new Lions' head coach Denver Johnson's first win at Southern.
•     The teams have not played in Topeka since a 54-31 Ichabod win on Sept 12, 2009 - the largest Washburn win in the series.
•     The win in 2014 by the Lions snapped a nine-game winning streak by the Ichabods in the series.

 'Bods and Ends
•    The Ichabods received votes in this week's AFCA Top 25 coaches poll.
•    The Lions have not played in Topeka since a 54-31 win by the Ichabods on Sept. 12, 2008. The last three meetings (2010, 2011 and 2014) have all been played in Joplin.
•    The Lions' last win in Topeka came on Oct. 23, 1997.
•    Washburn has won 13 of the last 15 meetings with the Lions.
•    At halftime of Saturday's game against Missouri Southern, the Ichabods will honor the 2005 MIAA Championship football team at halftime.

 Coaching Staffs
Ichabod head coach Craig Schurig . . .
•    was named head coach of the Ichabod football program Dec. 28, 2001. 
•    is 93-59 (.611) in his 14th season as the Ichabod head coach. 
•    is 75-49 (.603) 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. 
•    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 92 wins.
•    is 9-2 against Missouri Southern all-time.

Missouri Southern head coach Denver Johnson . . . 
•    was named the 13th head coach in Missouri Southern history on April 1, 2015.
•    comes to Southern after serving four seasons at the University of Tulsa as the Assistant Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator.
•    in his four seasons at Tulsa, four of his offensive linemen earned first-team all-league accolades.
•    has spent a total of 30 years coaching college football. In the summer of 2012, Johnson was awarded the Merv Johnson Integrity in College Coaching Award by the Jim Thorpe Association.
•    has been the head coach at two Division I institutions garnering a 69-66 overall record in 12 seasons at Murray State and Illinois State.
•     was an All-Missouri Valley Conference offensive lineman as a senior for Tulsa, Johnson was an eighth round draft choice by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1981
•    spent two years (1981-82) with the Bucs and three seasons in the USFL, playing two years (1983-84) with the Los Angeles Express and the 1985 season with the Houston Gamblers.
•    is 0-0 against Washburn.

 Defensive Notes
•    Linebacker Alec Steuber has 23 tackles which is tied for the team lead while adding three tackles for loss with two quarterback hurries along with a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
•    Safety Shay Wooten is tied for first on the on the squad with 23 tackles (9 solo).
•     Defensive end Akhmad Abdul-Razzaq is third on the team with 22 tackles overall and is tied for the team lead with 5.0 tackles for loss for 13 yards. Nineteen of his tackles have coming on rushing plays.
•    Senior defensive end Spencer Matthews is tied for the team lead with 5.0 tackles for loss lead and his 4.0 sacks leads the team.
•    The Ichabods have four interceptions as Zach Franklin, Dwane Simmons, Jamie Myers and Cody Heiman all have one. Simmons returned his 56 yards against Nebraska-Kearney and Heiman returned one for 40 yards against Pittsburg State for his first career interception.
•    Washburn has 15 pass breakups this season and they are led by Franklin's seven after recording three at Pittsburg State.
•    Austin Tillman tied a career high with five tackles against Pitt State.
•    Defensive tackle Jalen Durham had a career-high four tackles against Pittsburg State.
•    As a team the Ichabods are ranked tied for fourth in scoring defense at 18.3 points per game and fourth in total defense at 356 yards per game.
•    On pass defense the Ichabods are ranked fifth in the MIAA allowing 252.3 yards per game while ranking sixth in rush defense at 140.7 yards per game.

 Offensive Notes
•    Derek McGinnis has completed 59 percent of his passing attempts connecting on 59 of 100 passing attempts with eight touchdowns and only one interception. He is averaging 252.3 yards per game passing … his eight passing touchdowns are second in the league and was named the MIAA Offenisve Player of the Week after the Pitt State game.
•    Jordan Hart has appeared in 27 games making five starts and leads the team with 12 catches for 237 yards and two scores while averaging 19.8 yards per reception and 118.5 yards per game. He is third in the MIAA in yards per game.
•    Bryce Chavis has a team-high 14 reception for 152 yards and two touchdowns and Connor Crimmins had 11 catches for 125 yards and two scores. Crimmins had his first career passing attempt against the Gorillas.
•    Brandon Bourbon has 60 carries for the Ichabods for 301 yards and two score averaging 97.3 yards per game and 4.9 yards per carry and Hayden Groves has 31 carries for 154 yards.
•    Senior fullback Sam Eickhoff had his first touchdown reception of his career against Lindenwood and his two catches against Pitt State was a career-high.
•    Will Hamilton had two catches for 22 yards against the Gorillas.

 Ichabod Special Team Notes
•    The Ichabods have yet to attempt a field goal this season. True freshman Perry Schmiedeler has 19 punts for 648 yards averaging 34.1 per punt. He is averaging 54.4 yards per kickoff attempt.
•    Bryce Chavis is averaging 8.0 yards per punt return on three attempts.
•    Zack Franklin leads the team on kickoff returns averaging 29 yards per attempt on five returns.
•    Freshman linebacker Derrick McGreevy leads the Ichabods with three special teams tackles with all of them coming on kickoff coverage.
•    Jake Horner had 40 all-purpose yards coming on two kickoff returns at Pitt State while also adding a special teams tackle.

 Know the Foe
•    Missouri Southern is 2-1 this season after picking up its first win of the year over Nebraska-Kearney 24-14 in Joplin.
•    The Lions scored 10 unanswered points in the second half leading to the win.
•    Will Gregory leads the team on the ground with 59.3 yards per game on 41 carries for 178 yards.
•    T.J. Fleeton is averaging 127.7 yards per game through the air completing 30 of 62 passes with four interceptions and one touchdown.
•    Terrell Crawford has a team-high nine catches for 70 yards.
•    Defensively Kyjuan Tate leads the team with 33 tackles with 12 solo stops and 2.0 tackles for loss.
•    Missouri Southern is 10th in the MIAA in scoring at 17.0 points per game and they are tied for 11th in scoring defense allowing 33.3 points per game.
•    The Lions are ranked 12th in the league in total offense at 270.7 yards per game and ranked seventh in total defense allowing 411.0 yards per game.

 Series Facts with Missouri Southern
Series Record: Series tied 21-21-1
Streaks: MSSU won the last one
First Meeting: Tie 21-21 (10/17/1970) in Joplin
Last Meeting: MSSU 42-21 (09/27/14) in Joplin
Last WU win: 30-14 (09/17/11) in Joplin
Last MSSU win: 42-21 (09/27/14) in Joplin
Largest WU win: 54-31 (09/12/2009) in Topeka
Largest MSSU win: 44-14 (10/03/1992) in Joplin

 Series Notes with Missouri Southern
Saturday's meeting is the 44th meeting in the series. The series is tied 21-21-1. The Ichabods have won nine of the last 10 meetings. In games played in Joplin, the Ichabods have won five of the last seven. In Topeka, the Ichabods have won the last five games. In games played in Topeka the Ichabods are 10-9 against the Lions and  in games played in Joplin the Ichabods are 11-12-1 all-time. 

 Last Meeting with Missouri Southern
(9/27/2014) JOPLIN, Mo. -- The Washburn Ichabods dropped to 1-3 after a 42-21 loss at Missouri Southern. 
The Ichabods took the opening kickoff and marched 57-yards on 10-plays in 4:09 taking the lead on Vershon Moore 2-yard run. The Lions would then come right back and tie the score scoring on a 29-yard rush capping a 10-play, 80-yard drive with 5:32 to play in the first quarter.
The Lions took the lead at 14-7 taking advantage of an Ichabod missed field goal attempt going one play for 80 yards with 12:18 to go. Washburn then drove to the Lion 1-yard line on its next drive but came up short on four attempts inside the 2-yard line returning the ball back to the Lions, who took the 14-7 lead into the break.
Missouri Southern opened the second half with a 4-yard score pushing the lead to 21-7. On the ensuing drive, the Ichabods cut the lead back to seven when Zeke Palmer hit DaJuan Beard on a 11-yard touchdown strike with 9:27 to play in the third quarter. However the Lions came back with a touchdown-scoring drive of their own going up 28-14 with 7:11 to play in the third quarter. The Lions added another score in the third taking the 35-14 lead into the fourth quarter.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, the Lions went up 42-14 prior to Washburn wrapping up the scoring with a 1-yard completion from Palmer to Jordan Hart pulling the Ichabods within 42-21.
Moore led the Ichabods with 109 yards on the ground on 22 carries and one score while Palmer finished 27 of 47 for 328 yards and two touchdowns. Twelve different Ichabods had at least one reception led by DaJuan Beard's 110 receiving yards on seven catches. Moore also had seven catches for 76 yards. Calvin Kenney led the Ichabods had 14 tackles to lead Washburn.
Washburn had 28 first downs compared to 18 for the Lions as the Ichabods had 533 yards of total offense while the Lions recorded 405. The Lions had 286 yards on the ground while Washburn had 152.

 Last time out for Missouri Southern
(09/19/15) Joplin, Mo. -- The Missouri Southern football team scored ten unanswered points in the second half and held on for a 24-14 victory over visiting Nebraska-Kearney in the Hall of Fame Game tonight at Fred G. Hughes Stadium inside the Robert W. Plaster Sports Complex. 
Southern (1-2, 1-2 MIAA) wins game number one under head coach Denver Johnson. The Lions picked up three touchdowns from TJ Fleeton as the quarterback rushed for two and threw for another. He had 15 yards on the ground and went 13-22 for 194 yards and a score in the air. Terrell Crawford caught five passes for 52 yards, but the big catch came from Chad Nolan as he busted open a screen pass for a 73-yard touchdown reception. Will Gregory rushed for 49 yards, while Jay Hadley added 37. 
Kearney (0-3, 0-3 MIAA) gained 180 yards on the ground, led by 116 from Romero Cotton. Quarterback Bronson Marsh went 16-41 for 96 yards and a touchdown and interception. 
Southern won the toss and deferred to the second half. The defense forced the Lopers to punt on their first possession and the Lions turned that punt into points as Fleeton completed a 10-play drive for 62 yards with a one-yard sneak into the endzone to put the Lions up 7-0 early on. 
The Lopers' next possession lasted just two plays as Marsh's pass on the second play was intercepted by Johnquavious McBride at the Southern 35 yard line. UNK, however, would get on the board as the first quarter ended when Marsh hit Tityus Mitchell for an eight-yard score. 
Fleeton added his second rushing touchdown of the half, this time with 8:54 left in the second quarter to end a scoring drive that went just three plays and 33 yards. The Lions went into the locker room with a 14-7 lead at the break. 
Southern went three-and-out on its first possession of the second half and Kearney scored quick as Cotton picked up a 33-yard score to tie the game at 14. 
Brock Renken added a 26-yard field goal on the Lions' next possession to put Southern up 17-14 and Fleeton found Nolan for a 73-yard catch and run to provide the final tally. 
Defensively, the star of the game was McBride. The junior had a game-high 14 tackles with an interception and two pass break-ups. Kyjuan Tate had eight stops, while Justin Tomlinson had seven tackles, a sack, two stops for a loss of 14 yards and a pass breakup. Chris Williams had two sacks for a loss of 20 yards, while David Smith and Laynce Sanders had a sack each. The Lions, as a team, had 12 stops for a loss of 50 yards, 13 pass break ups and ten quarterback hurries. 
Offensively, Southern passed for 194 yards and 296 total in the game. The Lions averaged 14.9 yards per completion and had five sacks for 37 yards lost. 

 Last time out for Washburn
(09/19/2015) PITTSBURG, Kan. -- The Washburn Ichabods picked up their second-straight regular season win in Pittsburg and the first since 2011 as they knocked off the No. 4-ranked Gorillas 28-21 on Saturday night in Pittsburg. Washburn improves to 2-1 on the season and 2-1 in the MIAA and will host Missouri Southern on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Yager Stadium as part of Washburn's family day.
The Ichabods took the opening kickoff of the second half and drove 75 yards in seven plays going up 21-7 with 12:33 to play in the third quarter.
The Gorillas responded with an 8-play 33-yard drive after an onside attempt by the Ichabods came up short with 9:58 to play in the third quarter cutting Washburn's lead to 21-10.
The Ichabods came back with a touchdown of their own on a 10-play, 82-yard drive on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Derek McGinnis to Connor Crimmins in the back of the end zone for a 28-10 lead with 6:04 to play in the third quarter.
Again the Gorillas came back with a score on an 8-play drive covering 78 yards trimming the Ichabod lead back to 28-18 after the 2-point conversion was completed.
After trading punts back and forth twice, the Gorillas cut the Ichabod lead back to seven at 28-21 after a 28-yard field goal with 7:12 to play in the game.
Washburn was forced to punt on its next drive and the Gorillas took over at the Pitt State 39. They completed a fourth and 22 for a first down moving the ball to the Ichabod 21 yard line. After a short rush to the Ichabod 18, the Gorillas had back to back incomplete passes and on a fourth down and six from the Ichabod 17, the pass was high and the Ichabods ran out the clock with a knee picking up the win.
The Gorillas took the early lead as they marched down the field after taking the opening kickoff going 68 yards on five plays needing only 2:06 to light the scoreboard for the home team infront of a Family Day crowd.
The Ichabods got on the board on a 1-yard touchdown leap by Brandon Bourbon with 3:20 to play in the first quarter tying the score at 7-7. The drive covered 10 plays and 76 yards and took 4:52 off the clock.
Neither team would score until the Ichabods took a 14-7 lead with four seconds to play in the first half on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Derek McGinnis to Anthony Daniels wrapping up the scoring in the first half.
Washburn had 13 first downs in the first half and recorded 232 yards of total offense with 147 coming through the air. The Ichabods were whistled for nine flags for 90 yards in the opening half compared to three for 14 for the Gorillas.
The win over the No. 4 Gorillas was the first since defeated a No. 2-ranked Gorillas in the last regular season meeting in Pittsburg on Nov. 5, 2011.
Bourbon led the Ichabods with 143 rushing yards on 18 carries averaging 7.9 per carry and one score. Hayden Groves finished with 48 on nine carries.
McGinnis finished 23 of 38 for 283 yards and three scores completing passes to seven different receivers led by Anthony Daniels and Bryce Chavis who each had six catches. Daniels finished with 107 yards and one score and Chavis had 80 and one score. Crimmins had 39 yards and one score.
Defensively the Ichabods were led by Alec Steuber who had eight tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. Shay Wooten, Peter Pfannenstiel and Cody Heiman all had seven. Heiman also had an interceptions return for 40 yards and a pass break up.
Washburn finished with 23 first downs and 457 total yards while the Gorillas had 22 first downs and 438 total yards.
The Ichabods were also whistled for 15 penalties for 140 yards and held an advantage in time of possession of 31:03 to 28:57.  

 A win for Washburn over Missouri Southern would . . .
• lift the Ichabods to 532-566-44 in their football history.
• move the Ichabods to 3-1 on the season and in the MIAA.
• move the Ichabods to 22-21-1 all-time against the Lions.
• make the Ichabods 11-9 all-time in games played in Topeka.

 A loss for Washburn to Missouri Southern would . . .
• drop the Ichabods to 531-567-44 in their football history.
• be the second-straight loss to the Lions.
• be the Lions' first win in Topeka since Oct. 23, 1997 in a 17-14 win - a streak of six-straight games.

 Washburn Football History
•    Washburn is 531-566-44 (.484) in the 125th year of Ichabod football.
•    The Ichabods have 12 conference titles with the last coming in 2005 in the MIAA.
•    Washburn has had 126 first team all-conference picks and 44 first team all-MIAA selections.
•    Washburn has had 78 all-American selections and 54 all-American picks since joining the NCAA Division II ranks in 1989.
•    Five Ichabods have been picked in the NFL Draft.

 Ichabods in the National Polls
WACO, Texas -- The Ichabods did receive votes in this week's poll after the win over Pittsburg State. Under head coach Craig Schurig, the Ichabods have been ranked or have received votes in the AFCA poll 53 times and have been ranked in the top 10 a total of 15 times. 

 Up Next
The Ichabods will travel to Hays, Kan., to face Fort Hays State on Oct. 3 for a 7 p.m. kickoff at Lewis Field against the Tigers. Washburn returns home on Oct. 10 to take on Central Missouri in the MIAA TV game of the week and for Hall of Fame Weekend with a kick time at 2:37 p.m.