•      The Washburn Ichabod football team will wrap up the 2016 regular season hosting Emporia State on senior day up in Yager Stadium where 13 seniors will play their final game at home with postseason implications on the line for both teams on Nov. 12 in Yager Stadium.
•    The Washburn Ichabods will face Emporia State in the 113th meeting between the two schools.
•    The series is the most-played in NCAA Division II ahead of the 107 all-time meetings between Virginia State and Virginia Union and the 103 games between Tuskegee and Morehouse.   
•       The Ichabods (7-3, 7-3 MIAA) are coming off a 31-28 win at Central Oklahoma on UCO's Homecoming last time out.
•      The Hornets (9-1, 9-1 MIAA) rolled off 24 unanswered points in a 27-14 win at Missouri Western.
•      Washburn is in fourth place by itself in the MIAA standings …  Northwest Missouri is 9-0 and Emporia State is 8-1 followed by Central Missouri at 8-2.
•      Washburn received votes this week for the second-consecutive week in the AFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll ranked 28th overall.
•      With the win over Missouri Western, the Ichabods clinched their 11th winning season under head coach Craig Schurig in his 15 seasons.
•      The Ichabods picked up their first win in three tries at Central Oklahoma's Wantland Stadium last time out.
•      The Hornets lead the all-time series with the Ichabods 54-52-6 while the Ichabods lead all-time in games played in Topeka 30-26-4.
•      Washburn won the last meeting in Topeka 36-10 on Nov. 1, 2014.
•      The Ichabods have had 75 plays of longer than 20 yards this season including 19 more than 40 yards.
•  On the ground, the Ichabods are averaging 4.3  yards per carry on first down, 4.1 yards per carry on second down and 4.0 yards per carry on third down … on fourth down the Ichabods are averaging 0.5 yards per carry on 13 attempts.
•      When passing, Washburn is 44 of 83 on first down, 40 of 80 on second down, 47 of 108 on third down and 3 of 9 on fourth down.
•      This season, Washburn has ran the ball on first down 215 times compared to 92 passing attempts … on second down its 150 to 86 run to pass and on third down its 111 to 47 pass to run.
•      The Ichabods are 12th in the MIAA in penalties with 78 for 736 yards averaging 73.6 yards per game … Washburn is 10th in opponent penalties at 62 for an average of 55.3 yards per game.
  Washburn Ichabod head coach Craig Schurig . . .
•      was named head coach of the Ichabod football program Dec. 28, 2001.
•      is 103-67 (.611) in his 15th season as the Ichabod head coach.
•      is 85-57 (.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 101 wins.
•      is 10-4 against Emporia State.
 
Emporia State head coach Garin Higgins. . .
•      has compiled a career record of 112-60 in 15 seasons as a head coach.
•      is 61-51 in his 10th season at his alma mater and is 51-27 since the start of the 2010 season.
•      led the Hornets to the NCAA playoffs in 2013 and 2015.
•      had a 51-9 career record as the head coach at Northwestern Oklahoma, including two trips to the national championship game.
•      was a quarterback for Emporia State from 1987-90 and was on the 1989 national runners-up team.
•      is 3-6 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. wore No. 9 against Missouri Southern and had one catch.
•      Saul Monteon wore No. 9 against Fort Hays State.
•      Cody Heiman wore No. 9 against Central Missouri and recorded four tackles and a tackle for loss.
•      Akhmad Abdul-Razzaq wore No. 9 against Missouri Western and recorded five tackles against the Griffons.
•      Spencer Matthews wore No. 9 against Central Oklahoma and had a tackle. 
  •      Cody Heiman leads the team with 84 tackles with 41 solo stops adding 6.0 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks with two interceptions and 10 passes defended adding a 60-yard fumble recovery against Missouri Southern for a touchdown … he went over the 200 career tackle mark against Missouri Southern and now has 234 at Washburn … Heiman is eighth in the MIAA in tackles … he needs 10 tackles to move into the top 15 on the Ichabod all-time chart.
•      Austin Tillman is second on the team with 77 tackles recording a career-high 13 against the Lopers earlier this season and ranks 15th in the MIAA in tackles.
•      Akhmad Abdul-Razzaq is seventh in the MIAA in sacks and ranks 16th in tackles for loss for 8.5 for 50 yards and … he is fourth on the Ichabods with 51 tackles … he is fifth in tackles for loss all-time at Washburn with 30.5 and his 12.5 sacks is eighth all-time as an Ichabod … his 75 yards from sacks is fourth all-time at Washburn.
•  Spenser Matthews leads the Ichabods with 12.0 tackles for loss for 30 yards and has 4.0  sacks for 15 yards … he is ranked sixth in the MIAA in tackles for loss and he is 10th in sacks … for his Ichabod career he is seventh in sacks (14.5) and tied for sixth in tackles for loss (29.5) … his 79 yards for tackles for loss is third all-time at Washburn.
•      Corey Ballentine is third on the team with 54 tackles and has 6.5 tackles for loss for 21 yards and had a career-high nine tackles against Missouri Western.
•      Peter Pfannenstiel is fifth in tackles on the Ichabods with 51 stops including four tackles for loss with a team-high three fumble recoveries.
•      Trevin Wiens is sixth on the team with 47 tackles including eight pass break ups and 11 deflections … he is tied for the team lead with three interceptions this season.
•      Jalen Durham had a career-high two tackles for loss against Central Oklahoma.
•      Zach Frankling had a career-high 2.5 tackles for loss against Central Oklahoma.
•  The Ichabods have the fourth-best total defense in the league allowing 388.9 yards per game … Northwest Missouri leads the league allowing 257.7 yards per game … Central Oklahoma has the eighth-best overall defense allowing 464.9 yards per game.
•      Washburn is second in the league in rush defense allowing 114.0 yards per game trailing Northwest Missouri (70.4 ypg) … Emporia State is third in the MIAA in rush defense allowing  124 yards per game.
•       The Ichabods are fourth in the league in sacks with 23 for 116 yards … Fort Hays State leads the league with 31 sacks … Emporia State has recorded 25 sacks for 143 yards ranking third in the league.
•      Washburn's scoring defense is sixth in the MIAA allowing 28.5 points per game while Emporia State is third in the MIAA in scoring defense at 24.2 ppg.
  •      Mickeel Stewart is ninth in the MIAA in rushing averaging 55.9 yards per game … he had a career-high 21 rushes for a career-high 108 yards against Missouri Southern.
•      Jake Horner is ranked 12th in the MIAA in receiving averaging 65.4 yards per game.
•       Derek McGinnis went over the 4,000-yard  career passing mark against Central Missouri becoming the eighth Ichabod to pass for at least 4,000 yards in a career (4,500) … he needs 279 yards to move into sixth all-time … his 40 touchdown passes are fifth all-time on the Ichabod chart … he tied a career-high with 298 passing yards against Central Oklahoma and had a career-high 318 total offensive yards (298 passing/20 rushing) … his 4,511 total offensive yards is eighth all-time at Washburn.
•      Bryce Chavis recorded two touchdowns for the fourth time in his career against Fort Hays State … he has 1,368 career receiving yards and 87 catches … he had career-highs of 10 receptions and 176 yards against Central Oklahoma this season … he needs 17 receiving yards to pass for Ichabod wide receiver and current radio color analysts Jake Lebahn who had 1,384.
•      Jace Williams completed his first pass of his career from a wide receiver's position hitting Anthony Daniels, Jr., on a 37-yard pass play against Central Oklahoma.
•      Senior offensive left tackle Michael Miller will be making his 44th consecutive start for the Ichabods … he started 11 games at left guard as a freshman, 11 games at right tackle as a sophomore, 11 games at left tackle as a junior and has started all 10 games so far this season at left tackle.
•      The Ichabods are sixth in scoring offense at 30.2 ppg in the MIAA rankings and seventh in total offense at 389.3 yards per game … Emporia State is sixth in total offense at 442.4 ppg.
•      Washburn has the sixth-best rushing offense in the league at 161.4 yards per game and it is ranked 11th in passing offense at 227.9 yards per game … Emporia State is fourth in passing offense at 279.0 yards per game.
  •  Perry Schmiedeler is second in the MIAA in kick scoring at 7.8 points per game and ranked fourth overall in the MIAA in scoring.
•      Schmiedeler is second in the MIAA in punting with a 41.4 ypp average … Washburn is second in the MIAA in net punting at 38.1 ypp.
•      Schmiedeler's 41.4 ypp average this season would rank third on the Ichabod single-season punting average … the single-season record is 42.49 by Eric Roth set in 2002.
•      Schmiedeler set a career-high with six extra points against Missouri Southern … his 66  career extra points is 10th on the all-time chart at Washburn.
•      Schmiedeler tied a career-high with three field goals against Missouri Western including a career-long make of 50 yards en route to MIAA Special Teams Player of the Week honors.
•      Josh Wright is fourth in the MIAA in kickoff return average at 26.4 ypr and Chris McGee, Jr., is 13th at 17.9 ypr.
•      Corey Ballentine leads the Ichabods with seven special teams tackles with six coming of kickoff coverage.
  •      Emporia State enters the game ranked No. 9 in the AFCA Top 25 coaches poll after beating Missouri Western 27-14 on Saturday.
•      ESU is fourth in the MIAA in scoring at 34.3 points per game and sits third in scoring defense, allowing 24.2 points per game.
•      The Hornets are sixth in total offense (442.4 ypg) and sixth in total defense (399.2 ypg allowed). They rank fifth in rushing (163.4 ypg), third in rushing defense (124.5 ypg allowed), fourth in passing (279.0 ypg) and eighth in passing defense (274.7 ypg allowed) and third in passing defense efficiency (121.2).
•      Braxton Marstall leads the team with 261.1 passing yards per game completing 68.5 percent of his passes (252 of 368) with 21 touchdowns and only six interceptions.
•      Justin Brown has 59 receptions for 540 yard and six touchdowns and Mitchell Foote has 58 catches for 801 yards and 10 touchdowns.
•      Landon Nault leads the team with 524 yards and three touchdowns on 145 carries averaging 52.4 ypg.
•      Defensively, Kole Schankle leads the team with 57 tackles adding five interceptions and four tackles for loss.
•      Eddie Vinson has a team-high 11 tackles for loss for 56 yards and leads the team with five sacks for 39 yards.
•      As a unit, the ESU defense has 69 tackles for loss, 25 sacks and 17 interceptions.
•      The Hornets are plus 14 in turnover margin this season.
•      Kicker Austin Morton is 10-of-16 in field goal attempts with a season-long of 44 yards.
  Series Record: ESU leads 54-52-6
Streak: ESU won the last meeting
First Meeting: ESU 11-0 (11/4/1899) in Topeka
Last Meeting: ESU 47-21 (10/31/2015) in Emporia
Last WU win: 36-10 (11/01/2014) in Topeka
Last ESU win: 47-21 (10/31/2015) in Emporia
Largest WU win: 42-0 (11/6/2010) in Topeka
Largest ESU win: 45-6 (11/2/1928) in Emporia   
  (10/31/2015) EMPORIA, Kan. -- The No. 17-ranked Emporia State Hornets scored the first 30 points of the game and the Ichabods could not recover in a 47-21 loss on Saturday at Welch Stadium.
The Hornets scored 13 points in the first quarter outgaining the Ichabods 242 to 18 running 33 plays compared to nine for the Ichabods. After increasing its lead to 30-0 with 6:40 to play in the first half, Washburn got on the board on its next possession on a 15-yard touchdown run by Hayden Groves trimming the Hornet lead to 30-7.
ESU (8-1, 8-1 MIAA) would score prior to the end of the first half going up 37-7 as the Hornets took the lead into the break.
In the second half the Ichabods held the Hornets to three and out on their first three possessions of the half and Will Hamilton pulled down a 7-yard touchdown reception from Derek McGinnis with 10:12 to play in the third quarter capping a 3-play, 48-yard drive in 48 seconds.
ESU added a touchdown and a field goal going up 47-14 before Riley Davis pulled in a 26-yard touchdown reception wrapping up the scoring for both teams with the Hornets holding a 47-21 lead.
It was the 112th meeting in the series with the Hornets now holding a 54-52-6 lead in the series.
Washburn (4-5, 4-5 MIAA) was outgained 445 to 291 in the game with the Hornets collecting 307 yards through the air compared to the Ichabods' 120 passing yards. Washburn outgained the Hornets 171 to 138 in rushing yards.
Brandon Bourbon had 106 yards rushing on 22 carries and Groves finished with 58 yards on 14 carries.
McGinnis was 14 of 28 with two interceptions and two touchdown passes.
Hamilton, Jake Horner and Bryce Chavis each had three catches wtih Hamilton leading the Ichabods with 47 yards and one score.
Defensively, Trevin Wiens had a career-high 10 tackles while Shay Wooten, Akhmad Abdul-Razzaq and Zack Weekley each had eight tackles.
  (Nov. 5, 2016) For the third time this year Braxton Marstall led No. 9 Emporia State to a fourth quarter win as the Hornets defeated Missouri Western 27-14 on Saturday afternoon on Craig Field at Spratt Stadium in St. Joseph, Mo.
For the first time this year the Emporia State defense allowed their opponent to score on their opening possession.  After the Hornets went three and out on the opening possession, the Griffons went 70 yards on 11 plays capped by a nine yard touchdown pass from Corey Bertini to Brock Broughton.
The two teams traded punts before the Hornets got on the board with 34 yard field goal from Austin Morton with 1:54 left in the first quarter.  It was just the second time this year Emporia State has trailed at the end of the first period.
Missouri Western took a 14-3 lead with 12:49 left in the half when Josh Caldwell broke through for a 25 yard touchdown run.  Neither team could muster much the rest of the quarter as the next six possessions ended in punts after drives of less than 25 yards.
Emporia State got the ball with 3:51 left in the half and went 83 yards on eight plays as Marstall found Mitchell Foote on a three yard touchdown with :47 left to pull within 14-10 at the break.
Neither team was able to score in the third quarter.  After forcing a three and out on Mo. Western's first drive, Emporia State got down to the Western 23 yard line when a Marstall pass was deflected twice before Charlie Scaria picked it off.
The next four possessions ended in punts, again with neither team gaining more than 20 yards on a drive.  The Griffons had the ball the final 3:07 of the quarter and drove to the Hornet 21 yard line to end the period.
The first play of the fourth quarter was a 38-yard field goal attempt by the Griffons Sean Galey that missed wide left. Both teams again traded punts before the Hornets started getting hot.  Marstall was five for five on the next drive for 73 yards on the next drive, capped by a 37 yard touchdown pass to Justin Brown with 10:42 left to put the Hornets up 17-14
On the first play from scrimmage by Mo. Western Josh Monteagudo intercepted Bertini and returned it to the Griffon 22 yard line.  Three plays later Marstall and Brown hooked up again, this time from 19 yards out to give the Hornets a 24-14 lead with 9:50 left.
The Hornet defense forced another three and out and got the ball back with 7:51 remaining at their own 31 yard line.  Emporia State drove 55 yards on nine plays before Austin Morton converted from 32 yards out to put the Hornets up 27-14 with 3:34 remaining.
The Griffons got to near midfield on their next possession when Tre Dickerson intercepted Bertini and returned it 55 yards with 2:30 remaining.
Marstall gained 11 yards on first down and after two timeouts by the Griffons the Hornets were facing third and one with 1:45 left.  Landon Nault was stopped for a loss of three yards, but was tackled by the facemask resulting in a 15 yard penalty on the Griffons and a first down.  The Hornets then kneeled down to end the game.
Marstall was 33 of 52 for 359 yards with three touchdowns for the Hornets. Mitchell Foote had ten catches for 118 yards and a touchdown while Justin Brown had 102 yards and two touchdowns on nine receptions.  Landon Nault had 49 yards on 18 rushes.
Defensively Gabe Cleveland was credited with nine tackles while the Hornets had a total of eight tackles for loss. Tre Dickerson had six tackles, a pass break up and the 55 yard interception. Tre'Vaun Ammons had four tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, a pass break up at the line and two quarterback hurries.
  (Nov. 5, 2016) EDMOND, Okla. -- The Washburn Ichabods survived a late rally on Central Oklahoma's homecoming holding on for a 31-28 win over the Bronchos as UCO missed a 33-yard field goal with 14 seconds to play.
Central Oklahoma scored the final 14 points of the game rallying from a 31-14 deficit giving them the opportunity to tie or take the win on its final drive.
The Ichabods got on the board with 1:32 left in the first quarter when Derek McGinnis hit Bryce Chavis on a 14-yard strike and then after forcing a Central Oklahoma punt, McGinnis completed an 18-yard touchdown pass stretching the Ichabod lead to 14-0 with 14:13 to play in the game.
UCO cut the lead in half at 14-7 with 46 seconds to play in the first half when Chris Stallard hit Justin Crockett for an 8-yard touchdown pass.
The Ichabods would then take possession and go seven plays in 40 seconds as Perry Schmiedeler hit a 46-yard field goal as the first half horn expired staking the Ichabods  to a 17-7 lead.
To start the second half, McGinnis tossed his third touchdown pass of the day on an 18-yard touchdown strike to James Brania-Hopp for his first career collegiate touchdown with 10:02 to play in the third quarter.
UCO answered with a touchdown of its own cutting the lead to 10 at 24-14 with 7:46 to play in the third quarter.
Washburn answered when Mickeel Stewart scored on a 3-yard touchdown run with 13 seconds to play in the third quarter pushing the Ichabod lead to 31-14.
UCO would rally off 14-straight points taking advantage of a roughing the passer call on the first one as the Bronchos trailed 31-28 with 7:28 to go in the game.
The Bronchos would then drive all the way to the Ichabod 16 with under a minute to play, but the 33-yard field goal to tie the game was wide right as the Ichabods improved to 7-3 on the season.
McGinnis passed for 298 yards completing 19 of 26 attempts with three touchdowns. Chavis had a career-high 10 receptions for 176 yards and one score and Anthony Daniels, Jr., had five catches for 80 yards and a score.
On the ground, Stewart had 16 carries for 51 yards and a score.
Defensively for the Ichabods, Cody Heiman led the Ichabods with 11 tackles adding a tackle for loss for four yards. Peter Pfannenstiel and Austin Tillman had eight tackles.
Schmiedeler had five punts for 255 yards averaging 51 yards per punt with three more than 50 yards.
Overall the Ichabods finished with 421 yards on 61 plays while the Bronchos finished with 418 yards on 77 plays. The Ichabods had 335 passing yards overall with 86 rushing yards and 20 first downs while UCO had 298 yards passing yards and 120 rushing yards.
  •      lift the Ichabods to 542-574-44 in their football history.
•      move the Ichabods to 8-3 on the season.
•       place the all-time record with Emporia State leading at 53-52-6.
•      be Washburn's second-straight win in Topeka over the Hornets.
  •      drop the Ichabods to 541-575-44 in their football history.
•      drop the Ichabods to 7-4 on the season.
•      be the second-straight loss to the Hornets and fourth in the last five years.
  •  Washburn is 541-574-44 (.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 received votes in the first regular season poll of the 2016 season and in the last two polls released. Under head coach Craig Schurig, the Ichabods have been ranked or have received votes in the AFCA poll 57 times and have been ranked in the top 10 a total of 15 times.
  Time will tell .... a win would put the Ichabods at 8-3 overall placing them in position for a postseason bowl berth with either the Mineral Water Bowl in Excelsior Springs, Mo., or the Live United Bowl in Texarkana, Ark. Both games will be played on Dec. 3. Otherwise the Ichabods will open the 2017 season against Northeastern State on Aug. 30 in Tahlequah, Okla.