•    The Washburn Ichabods will return to the road as they will take on Missouri Southern on Saturday in Joplin as part of the Lions' homecoming festivities with a 3 p.m. kickoff from Fred G. Hughes Stadium.
•    The Ichabods (3-2, 3-2 MIAA) are coming off a 45-27 loss to Pittsburg State last time out in Topeka while the Lions (1-4, 1-4 MIAA) picked up their first win of the season with a 24-14 win over Nebraska-Kearney.
•    The Ichabods lead the all-time series 22-21-1 after winning last season in Topeka 27-21 on Sept. 26 in Yager Stadium … the Ichabods lost in their last trip to Joplin in a 42-21 loss to the Lions on Sept. 27, 2014.
•    Ichabod head coach Craig Schurig will be going for win No. 100 in his career at Washburn … his 99 wins are the most by any coach at Washburn and tied for fifth all-time in MIAA coaching wins with Red Wade who coached at Truman from 1951-66.
•    Chuck Broyles from Pittsburg State is the all-time winningest MIAA coach with 198 wins followed by Mel Tjeerdsma from Northwest Missouri with 183 who have both retired. Current Missouri Western head coach Jerry Partridge has 147 win and former Missouri S&T (Rolla) coach Charlie Finley recorded 100, which is fourth all-time in the MIAA. With the win over Lindenwood two weeks ago Schurig passed former Central Missouri coach Willie Fritz who had 97.
•    The Ichabods have had 40 plays of longer than 20 yards this season including six more than 50 yards.
•  On the ground, the Ichabods are averaging 4.1 yards per carry on first down, 5.0 yards per carry on second down and 3.2 yards per carry on third down … on fourth down the Ichabods are averaging -3.0 yards per carry on three attempts.
•    When passing, Washburn is 16 of 38 on first down, 23 of 50 on second down, 28 of 61 on third down and 2 of 6 on fourth down.
•    The Ichabods are last in the MIAA in penalties with 40 averaging 74.2 yards per game … Washburn is 10th in opponent penalties at 32 for an average of 53.6 yards per game.
  Washburn Ichabod head coach Craig Schurig . . .
•    was named head coach of the Ichabod football program Dec. 28, 2001.
•    is 99-66 (.611) in his 15th season as the Ichabod head coach.
•    is 81-56 (.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 football coach with 99 wins.
•    is 10-2 against Missouri Southern … the 10 win are tied for the most against any other school along with Emporia State.
 
Missouri Southern head coach Denver Johnson . . .
•    was named the 13th head coach in Missouri Southern history on April 1, 2015.
•    is 2-13 in his second season as the Lions' head coach.
•    spent four seasons at the University of Tulsa as the Assistant Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator prior to landing at Missouri Southern.
•    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 0-1 against Washburn.
  •    This season, a different Ichabod senior will be wearing the No. 9 jersey which was worn last season by Brandon Bourbon, who passed away earlier this summer.
•    In the opening game against Northeastern State, Mickeel Stewart rushed for 53 yards on 10 carries and one touchdown.
•    Bryce Chavis wore No. 9 against Northwest Missouri.
•    Against Lindenwood, James Brania-Hopp wore No. 9 and had one catch for 25 yards and a tackle on special teams.
•    Long-snapper Zach Downing wore No. 9 this past week and recorded a tackle on special teams.
•    Against Pitt State, quarterback Derek McGinnis wore No. 9 and passed for 260 yards and two touchdowns.
• Anthony Daniels, Jr. will wear No. 9 against Missouri Southern.   
  •    Cody Heiman is tied for the team lead with 41 tackles with 22 solo stops adding 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks with an interception and seven passes defended … he needs nine tackles to reach 200 total tackles for his career.
•    Austin Tillman is tied for first on the team with 41 tackles after recording a career-high 13 against the Lopers two weeks ago.
•    Corey Ballentine had a career-high three pass break ups against Pitt State.
•  Spenser Matthews leads the Ichabods with 6.5  tackles for loss for 19 yards and has 2.5 sacks … he is ranked fifth in the MIAA in tackles for loss  and he is fourth in sacks at 2.5 total.
•    Ricardo Olivieri had a career-high four tackles against Pitt State.
•  The Ichabods have the fourth-best total defense in the league allowing 379.6 yards per game … Northwest Missouri leads the league with 223.4 yards per game and Fort Hays State is second allowing 348.4 yards per game … Missouri Southern's defense is 10th in the MIAA allowing 471.4 yards per game.
•    Washburn is fourth in the league in rush defense allowing 123.8 yards per game trailing Northwest Missouri (71.4 ypg)  and Missouri Western (78.6 ypg).
•  The Ichabods are third in the league in sacks with 12 for 54 yards … Fort Hays State leads the league with 18 sacks … Washburn is seventh in sacks allowed with nine for 49 yards.
  •    Mickeel Stewart is 10th in the MIAA in rushing averaging 53.4 yards per game and 10th in the MIAA in scoring averaging 7.2 ppg.
•    Jake Horner is ranked third in the MIAA in receiving averaging 87.0 yards per game.
•    Derek McGinnis went over the 3,000-yard passing mark against Lindenwood … he has 3,485 yards … which is ninth on the all-time passing chart at Washburn …he needs 356 yards to move into seventh all-time … his 36 touchdown passes are fifth all-time on the Ichabod chart.
•    Bryce Chavis recorded two touchdowns for the third time in his career against Lindenwood with the second one coming on a 25-yard rushing touchdown … he has 909  career receiving yards and 61 catches.
•    The Ichabods are sixth in scoring offense at 30.6 ppg in the MIAA rankings and seventh in total offense at 408.6 yards per game.
•    Washburn has the sixth-best rushing offense in the league at 163.2 yards per game and they are ranked ninth in passing offense at 245.4 yards per game.
•    Carey Woods recorded two catches with both going for touchdowns against Pittsburg State.
•    James Brania-Hopp had a career-long 39 yard reception against Pitt State.
•    Anthony Daniels, Jr., had a career-long reception of 54 yards against Pitt State.
•    Austen Hubert pulled down a touchdown pass from Logan Twehous for their first touchdowns of their Ichabod career against Pittsburg State.
  •  Perry Schmiedeler recorded is career-long with a 40-yard field goal against Pitt State.
•  Perry Schmiedeler is second in the MIAA in kick scoring at 7.4 points per game and ranked eighth overall.
•    Schmiedeler is fifth in the MIAA in punting with a 40.4 ypg average.
•    Schmiedeler tied a career-high with five extra points against the Lopers.
•    Kenyatte Harris, Jr., is ranked fifth in the MIAA in punt returns averaging 4.6 yards on nine returns.
•    Chris McGee, Jr., is ranked 12th in kickoff returns with a 17.9 yard per return average on 15 attempts … his 15 returns is tied for the league lead.
  •    Missouri Southern is 1-4 this season after topping Nebraska-Kearney for its first win of the season in a 24-14 road win against the Lopers.
•    The Lions are averaging 18.0 points per game while giving up 36.2 this season and have been outscored 118 to 43 in the first half this season.
•    On the ground they are averaging 89.8 per game and allowing 228.0 per contest giving up 14 rushing touchdowns.
•    Through the air, the Lions average 248.4 per game allowing 243.0 per game.
•    Josh Hadley leads the team with a 35.2 yard per game rushing average and TJ Fleeton is throwing for 183.2 yards per game with six touchdown passes completing 59.3 percent of his passes.
•    Scott Lathrop has a team-high 28 catches for 188 yards.
•    Defensively, Justin Legier leads the team with 43 tackles with 30 solo stops.
  Series Record: Washburn leads 22-21-1
Streaks: WU won the last one
First Meeting: Tie 21-21 (10/17/1970) in Joplin
Last Meeting: WU 27-21 (09/26/14) in Topeka
Last WU win: 27-21 (09/26/14) in Topeka
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
•    Washburn has won nine of the last 11 games played in Joplin and overall they are 11-12-1.
•    Washburn has won 14 of the last 16 overall in the series including 10 of the last 11.
  (09/26/2015) TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Washburn Ichabods scored two touchdowns in the final 3:44 for a come-from-behind win over Missouri Southern 27-21 in Yager Stadium on Family Day.
Down 21-13, Washburn scored on touchdown on a 3-yard run by Hayden Groves pulling the Ichabods within 21-19, but the 2-point conversion failed. After kicking off with 3:39 to go, the Lions were forced into a punt and Washburn took over at the Missouri Southern 45 with 2:41 to play.
Facing a fourth and 1, Washburn's Brandon Bourbon picked up the first down with a 2-run to the Missouri Southern 34. After two pass incompletions, Derek McGinnis found Anthony Daniels on a 29-yard strike to the Lion five yard line.
One play later McGinnis hit Chad Williams for the touchdown pass and the 2-point conversion from McGinnis to Adam Luthi was good putting Washburn up 27-21.
The Lions would then take possession with 76 seconds remaining and drove down to the Ichabod nine yard line, but three incomplete passes by TJ Fleeton including one to the back of the end zone was broken up by Zach Franklin sealing the win for Washburn.
Washburn scored first in the game on its opening possession when McGinnis hit Bryce Chavis for a 39-yard touchdown pass 2:23 into the game.
The Lions would tie the score with 2:37 to play left in the first quarter.
Washburn went up 13-7 with 16 seconds to play in the first half when Chavis caught a 30-yard pass from McGinnis.
The Lions scored a 2-yard run by Will Gregory with 10:33 to play taking the 14-13 lead and expanded it to 21-13 on a 6-yard touchdown pass from TJ Fleeton to Chad Nolan.
Washburn (3-1, 3-1 MIAA) was led defensively by Akhmad Abdul-Razzaq with 12 tackles including 1 for loss and a half sack. Cody Heiman had 11 tackles with six solo and Austin Tillman and Ardis Palmer each had eight.
Bourbon finished with 96 yards rushing on 27 carries and Hayden Groves had 41 yards on 10 carries.
McGinnis was 22 of 51 for 298 yards throwing three touchdowns in the game.
Connor Crimmins had a team-high five catches and Chavis had four catches for 145 yards and two touchdown receptions.
  (10/1/2016) Kearney, Neb. -- Josiah Bennett caught five passes for 159 yards and a touchdown, while the Lions defense forced two big turnovers as the Missouri Southern football team won 24-14 at Nebraska-Kearney.
Southern (1-4, 1-4 MIAA) was led by Bennett's huge performance. The true freshman caught five passes for 159 yards, a 31.8 yard per catch average, and a long of 56, while adding a receiving touchdown. TJ Fleeton threw 16-33 for 195 yards and two scores, while Anthony Cannon caught one pass for 23 yards and a score.
Fleeton also added a rushing touchdown, while Devin Chafin led the Lions with 11 carries for 33 yards. Braydon Scott went 3-4 passing for 60 yards, including a long of 52 yards.
It is the third win in a row over the Lopers (0-5, 0-5 MIAA) in the series. UNK quarterback Steve Worthing went 25-48 with two touchdowns and an interception, throwing for 213 yards. Lucas Quinn rushed for 117 yards on 30 carries.
Defensively, the Lions were led by Patrick Cheek and Justin Legier as the pair had 12 tackles each. Legier added a forced fumble and a fumble recovery for 28 yards. Romel Hill and Akel Beard had seven stops each, while Ricky Green had six tackles and a blocked field goal. Xavier Marsden had an interception return for 11 yards in the game.
Southern was forced to punt on its first possession, but the Lions' defense held strong as Marsden would end the UNK drive on its first possession with an interception, giving the Lions the ball at their own 28 yard line.
Neither team scored on their next possession, but the Lions got a touchdown pass from Fleeton to Cannon for 23 yards to go up 7-0 with 4:42 left in the first.
After a huge punt return from Scott Lathrop (41 yards to the UNK 19) the Lions made the score 13-0 on a one-yard rush from Fleeton. The initial point after was no good, but an offsides call gave the Lions another chance. This time, Lathrop pulled in a high snap and Brock Renken kicked it home to make the score 14-0 with 2:07 left in the first.
The Lopers got their first touchdown, a four-yard pass and score from Worthing to Malcom Moore to cut the lead to 14-7 with 4:46 left in the quarter and that's how the half would end.
Legier helped make a turnover count as he ripped the ball from a Lopers receiver giving the Lions the ball with 5:26 left in the third. He forced the turnover on the Southern 41, but returned it 28 yards to the UNK 31. That play set up a 20-yard field goal from Renken to make the score 17-7 with 2:40 left in the third.
Southern went up 24-7 after a 56-yard touchdown strike from Fleeton to Bennett, his second of the game of more than 50 yards, with 5:48 left in the fourth.
UNK added a late score, a pass from Worthing to Blake Holtmeier for ten yards to make the score 24-14, but the Lions' defense would keep it at that for the final tally.
Southern used the big play and key turnovers to win the game. Stetson Broce had a big game punting, averaging 42.1 yards per punt, with two inside the 20, one of over 50 and two touchbacks.
  (10/1/2106) TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Washburn Ichabod football lost for the first time at home this season in a 45-27 loss to Pittsburg State on Saturday in Yager Stadium.
Pittsburg State jumped on the board on the Ichabods' first play from scrimmage returning an Ichabod pass 15 yards for a pick-six.
Washburn came right back on its next drive to cut the lead to 7-3 after Perry Schmiedeler hit a 34-yard field goal with 10:54 left in the first quarter.
Washburn would go on to take the lead with 5:52 left in the opening stanza when Derek McGinnis found Carey Woods on a 29-yard pass play putting Washburn up 10-7.
Schmiedeler's second field goal of the afternoon on a 40-yard kick with 8:55 left in the first half stretched the Ichabod lead to 13-7 however back to back scores by the Gorillas ending the half sent the teams to the locker room with a 21-13 lead.
Another pair of Pitt State scores in the third quarter pushed the Gorillas' margin out to 35-13 before McGinnis and Woods hooked up on another 29-yard touchdown connection trimming the lead back to 35-20.
The Gorillas added a field goal and another touchdown going up 45-20 before the Ichabods' Logan Twehous hit Austen Hubert in traffic on a 21-yard touchdown pass for the Ichabods' final score of the day.
The Ichabods outgained the Gorillas 491 to 365, as the Ichabods were aided by a 93-yard kickoff return for a score and two pick-six interception returns.
Washburn (3-2, 3-2 MIAA) gained 24 first downs and 24 first downs overall compared to 18 and 102 respectively for the Gorillas (4-1, 4-1 MIAA).
Washburn passed for 316 yards overall holding the Gorillas to 263.
Individually, Mickeel Stewart rushed for 61 yards on 16 carries. McGinnis was 13 of 32 for 260 yards and two touchdowns and Anthony Daniels, Jr., had three catches for 72 yards.
Keaton Cofield and Corey Ballentine each had six tackles and Austin Tillman and Peter Pfannenstiel each had five.
  •    lift the Ichabods to 538-573-44 in their football history.
•    move the Ichabods to 4-2 on the season.
•    improve the Ichabods to 23-21-1 all-time against the Lions and be their 10th win in the last 12 games played in Joplin and their 15th win in the last 17 overall in the series.
•    be head coach Craig Schurig's 100th career win as the Ichabod head coach.
  •    drop the Ichabods to 537-574-44 in their football history.
•    drop the Ichabods to 3-3 on the season.
•    be the Lions' second-straight win over the Ichabods in Joplin.
  •  Washburn is 537-573-44 (.484) in the 125th year of Ichabod football.
•  The Ichabods are ranked 15th in NCAA Division II history in wins.
•  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.
  WACO, Texas -- The Ichabods did not receive votes in the first regular season poll of the 2016 season. Under head coach Craig Schurig, the Ichabods have been ranked or have received votes in the AFCA poll 55 times and have been ranked in the top 10 a total of 15 times.
  Washburn is back in Yager Stadium on Oct. 15 playing host to Fort Hays State.