First and 10
• The Washburn Ichabods return to Yager Stadium to play host to Nebraska-Kearney on Family Day on Sept. 23 looking for their ninth-straight win over the Lopers.
• Washburn is coming off a 26-16 win over Lindenwood where the Ichabods scored 26 unanswered points in the second half in the win.
• The Lopers are 1-2 this season after falling 13-0 to No. 1-ranked Northwest Missouri holding the Bearcats to their lowest point total since the 2010 season finale.
• Washburn held the Bearcats to 5 of 19 on third down conversions, but finished 0-14 on their own third down conversions and completed 2 of 20 passing attempts for 20 yards finishing the day with 58 yards in total offense.
• Washburn is outscoring its opponents 13-2 in the first quarter and 25-8 in the fourth quarter, but are being outscored 23-0 in the second quarter.
• The Ichabods have been flagged 24 times for 183 yards compared to 12 times for 82 yards for their opponents. 
• Of the 55 first downs gained by opponents this season, 10 have been aided by Ichabod penalties.
• The Ichabods are sixth in the nation in punt returns averaging 27.5 yards per return and lead the MIAA in kickoff returns with 25.0 yards per return.
• Washburn is 15th in the nation in scoring defense allowing 14.3 ppg.
 
Washburn / Nebraska-Kearney series notes
• Series Record: UNK leads 14-11-0
• Streak: WU has won the last eight
• First Meeting: UNK 19-14 (09/14/1963) in Kearney
• Last Meeting: WU 47-44 (3ot) (09/24/2016) in Kearney
• Last WU win: WU 47-44 (3ot) (09/24/2016) 
• Last UNK win: 21-16 (11/09/1985) in Kearney
• Largest WU win: 58-13 (09/05/2013) in Kearney
• Largest UNK win: 55-6 (09/16/1967) in Kearney
 
Coaches
Washburn Ichabod head coach Craig Schurig . . .
• was named head coach of the Ichabod football program Dec. 28, 2001.
• is 105-70 (.599) in his 16th season as the Ichabod head coach.
• is 87-59 (.603) against the MIAA.
• has led the Ichabods to three NCAA Playoff appearances and three 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 104 wins.
• is 5-0 against Nebraska-Kearney.
 
Nebraska-Kearney head coach Josh Lynn. . . 
• is in his first season as head coach at Nebraska-Kearney.
• He is 1-2 in his first season on the Loper sidelines.
• He is 38-29 in seven years as a head coach going 27-25 at Eastern New Mexico.   
• He is 0-0 against Washburn.
 
Washburn notes
• Derrick McGreevy is second in the MIAA and 25th in the NCAA in tackles at 10.7 per game and Peter Pfannenstiel is seventh with 8.7 per game. Austin Tillman is 12th in tackles at 7.7 per game.
• Rashade Chester is 11th in the MIAA in in tackles for loss with 3.5.
• Brad Breckenridge is sixth in sacks in the MIAA with 1.5 per game.
• D.J. Olmstead is tied for first in the MIAA with two interceptions.
• Mickeel Stewart leads the team with 185 yards rushing and 60.3 yards per game and he went over the 1,000-yard mark for his career at Lindenwood.
• Corey Ballentine is ranked seventh in the nation in kickoff returns averaging 35.5 yards per attempt.
• Perry Schmiedeler is 15th in the nation in punting and fourth in the MIAA averaging 42.8 yards per punt.
• Making his first collegiate start, Blake Peterson rushed for 73 yards and had 138 yards completing 19 of 30 passes with one touchdown connecting with nine different receivers at Lindenwood.
• Carey Woods leads the team with 13 catches for 89 yards and one score and Jace Williams has two touchdown receptions and 10 catches overall for a team-high 119 yards.
• Derrick McGreevy leads the team with 32 tackles.
• Rashade Chester has 3.5 tackles for loss and is tied for the team lead with 1.5 sacks per game along with Will Jones and Brad Breckenridge.
• Peter Pfannenstiel went over the 200 career tackle mark at Lindenwood and now has 204 at Washburn in 37 career games.
• Austin Tillman needs seven tackles to reach 200 for his career in 35 games.
• Perry Schmiedeler needs 11 points to move into the top five for kick scoring at Washburn entering the Nebraska-Kearney game with 150 points.
• This season, four true freshman have played in games for the Ichabods. James Letcher, Jr., has played in two games with two rushes for 18 yards and one reception for nine yards. Landen Urban has played in three games making five tackles with one for loss and one sack. Brad Breckenridge has played in two games and has five tackles with 1.5 sacks and 1.5 tackles for loss. Terrell Cooper has saw his first action against Lindenwood.
 
Nebraska-Kearney Notes
• The Lopers are 1-2 after a 13-0 loss to Northwest Missouri for UNK's homecoming.
• UNK is averaging 110.7 on the ground per game led by Thomas Russell's 56.0 yards pergame and one score.
• Steve Worthing is 25 of 59 passing with two touchdown passes and one interception.
• Thomas Russell also leads the team with five receptions for 29 yards and one score.
• Sal Silvio and Ty Botsford lead the team with 22 tackles eah with Silvio adding three tackles for loss.
• Former Ichabod quarterback Derek McGinnis and current graduate assistant on the Washburn staff has a younger brother, Alex, who is a backup punter for the Lopers.
 
Last time out for Washburn …
ST. CHARLES, Mo. – The Washburn Ichabods scored 26 unanswered point rallying for a 26-16 victory on Saturday against Lindenwood. 
After trailing 13-0 at the break to the Lions (1-2, 1-2 MIAA), the Lions took advantage of an Ichabod fumble on the opening kickoff of the second half to go up 16-0.
Down 16-0, Washburn's Corey Ballentine returned the ensuing kickoff 51 yards and the Ichabods scored their first points of the game when Blake Peterson connected with James Brania-Hopp on an 11-yard touchdown pass and then the duo hooked up again for the two-point conversion cutting the Lion lead in half with 10:02 to play in the third quarter.
The Ichabod defense held the Lions to a punt on their next drive and Washburn scored on the first play of the fourth quarter when Mickeel Stewart scored on a 1-yard plunge and again the Ichabods converted the two-point conversion when Carey Woods took the handoff and scored around the left end to the the score at 16-16 with 14:57 to play in the game.
After a three and out by the Lions, Washburn drove 60 yards on 11 plays capped by a Perry Schmiedeler from 21 yards to stake the Ichabods to a 19-16 lead with 7:38 to play in the game.
With 4:14 to play in the game, Lindenwood fumbled the ball into the end zone when D. J. Olmstead knocked the ball out from the Lion runner at the Ichabod two yard line and then recovered it in the end zone returning the ball to the Ichabods.
Washburn took over at its own 20 and on a third and four from the Lion 48, Stewart dashed around the left side hitting pay dirt stretching the lead to 10 with 56 seconds to play.
The Lions then had four incomplete passes to end the game wrapping up the win.
Washburn was held to 88 yards of offense in the first half while the Lions gained 213. In the second half, the Ichabod defense held the Lions to 129 yards while gaining 248.
Peterson, making his first career start for the Ichabods was 19 of 30 for 138 yards and one touchdown while rushing for 73 yards on 12 carries. Stewart led the Ichabods with 83 yards on 11 carries and two touchdowns. Woods had five catches and Semaj Johnson had one catch for 30 yards converting a third down.
Defensively, the Ichabods were led by Derrick McGreevy who had 12 tackles and Peter Pfannenstiel had eight stops.
Washburn finished with 336 yards of offense and 18 first downs. The Ichabods were called for six penalties for 56 yards with no penalties in the second half. Washburn was 8 of 17 on third down and 2 of 3 on fourth down conversions.
 
Last Ichabod meeting with Nebraska-Kearney …
Sept. 24, 2016 -- KEARNEY, Neb. – The Washburn Ichabod football team picked up a 47-44 win in the longest game in Ichabod history outlasting Nebraska-Kearney in three overtimes at Cope Stadium on Saturday in Kearney, Neb. 
The win, which moved the Ichabods to 3-5 all-time in overtime games, saw the Ichabods matriculate three Mickeel Stewart touchdowns in the extra sessions. Stewart's first was on a 13-yard touchdown run and tying the score after UNK scored on its first drive of the extra frames.
Stewart's second score came on a 25-yard touchdown reception from Derek McGinnis on the Ichabods' first play of the second overtime period. After the Lopers were held to a 36-yard field goal to start the third overtime, Stewart carried the ball the final 1-yard for the winning score en route to 42 total rushing yards in the overtime periods on eight carries. Stewart finished with 87 yards on the ground on 19 carries in the game.
The Lopers (0-4, 0-4 MIAA) scored on its first possession of the game taking advantage of a bad snap on the Ichabods' first punt of the day and then would score on a 10-yard run with 12:45 to play in the first quarter.
Washburn got on the board with a 22-yard field goal by Perry Schmiedeler capping a six-play, 74 yard drive. Schmiedeler scored the Ichabods' three other points in the first half when he hit a 33-yard field goal with 4:27 to play in the opening stanza as the Lopers took a 7-6 lead into the break. To start the third quarter, the Lopers marched 79 yards in six plays to go up 13-6, but the extra point was blocked by Cody Heiman keeping the Ichabods within a touchdown.
The Ichabods tied the score when Jake Horner pulled down a 37-yard touchdown pass from McGinnis and after the PAT by Schmiedeler the score was tied at 13-13 with 10:13 left in the third quarter.
Washburn (3-1, 3-1 MIAA) took the lead when McGinnis hit Carey Woods on a 19-yard touchdown strike across the middle of the field putting the Ichabods up 20-13 with 3:07 to play in the game.
Stewart put the Ichabods up 27-13 with 11:49 to go after scoring what would be the first of his four total touchdowns of the game. However the Lopers would score two touchdowns in the final 5:05 of the game including a game-tying score capping a 66-yard, 15-play drive in 2:56 which sent the game into overtime.
Stewart finished a game-high 87 yards on 19 carries and Chris McGee, Jr., finished with 82 yards on five carries.
McGinnis was 12 of 27 for 203 yards and three scores and James Brania-Hopp led the Ichabods with four catches for 36 yards while Horner had three catches for 85 yards.
Defensively Austin Tillman recorded a career-high 13 tackles with four solo stops while Cody Heiman finished with nine tackles with six solo stops, a forced fumble and a blocked extra point.
Washburn finished with 26 first downs overall picking up 195 yards rushing and passing for 203 for 398 yards of total offense. The Lopers, who lost their 15th straight game, finished with 389 total yards with 155 coming on the ground and 234 through the air. 
 
A win over Nebraska-Kearney would …
• lift the Ichabods to 545-575-44 in their football history.
• be the ninth in a row over the Lopers overall.
• be the fourth in a row over the Lopers in Topeka.
• improve the Ichabods to 12-14 all-time in the series.
 
A loss to Nebraska-Kearney would …
• drop the Ichabods to 544-576-44 in their football history.
• drop the Ichabods to 1-3 on the season.
• snap an eight game winning streak over the Lopers.
• be the first win by the Lopers over the Ichabods since a 21-16 win by UNK in Kearney on Nov. 9, 1985.
 
Ichabod football history
• Washburn is 544-575-44 (.484) in the 127th 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 127 first team all-conference picks and 45 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 received votes for the third-straight week in the second AFCA Top 25 coaches poll of the season.  Under head coach Craig Schurig, the Ichabods have been ranked or have received votes in the AFCA poll 60 times and have been ranked in the top 10 a total of 15 times.
 
Up Next
Washburn returns to the road to face Pittsburg State  on Sept. 30 in a 2 p.m. kickoff from Carnie Smith Stadium.