PITTSBURG, Kan. – The Washburn Ichabod football team improved to 4-1 outscoring Pittsburg State 28-10 in the second half as the Ichabods won their second-straight game in Pittsburg in a 35-20 win over the Gorillas. Washburn will host Missouri Southern on Oct. 7 in Yager Stadium.
Washburn took the opening kickoff and marched 83 yards in nine plays when
Mickeel Stewart scored on a 26-yard touchdown run going up 7-0 with 11:18 to play in the first quarter. It would be the first of two touchdown runs for Stewart in the game.
Stewart's touchdown was the only points in the first quarter for either team and it wasn't until 11:18 left in the first half Pitt State's John Roderique scored on a 2-yard run tying the score at 7-7. Pitt State went up 10-7 after a 27-yd field goal by Jared Vincent with 3:55 to play in the opening half.
To start the second half, Pitt State (2-3, 2-3 MIAA) blocked an Ichabod punt and returned it 48 yards for a score by Juante Baldwin pushing the Gorilla lead to 17-7 with 11:43 to play in the third quarter.
After the teams traded punts,
Zach Willis scored the first of his two touchdowns in the game with a 53-yard touchdown run with 6:01 left in the third quarter. On the ensuing kickoff, placekicker Perry Schmedeler recovered his own onside kick attempt and the Ichabods'
Blake Peterson hit
Carey Woods with a flea flicker touchdown pass putting Washburn In front of the Gorillas 21-17 as Washburn scored two touchdowns in 12 seconds.
Vincent hit his second field goal trimming the Washburn lead to 21-20 with 14:49 to play in the game.
Willis scored his second touchdown on a 40-yard run with 12:47 to play as the Ichabods went up 28-20 with 12:47 to play.
After a Gorilla punt, Stewart rushed 19 yards wrapping up the scoring for the Ichabods with 7:38 to play in the game as Washburn went up 35-20.
The Gorillas drove 71 yards down to the Ichabod two-yard line, but Pitt State quarterback John Roderique fumbled the ball into the end zone and D. J. Olmstead recovered returning the ball to the Ichabods with 3:49 to play.
The Ichabods ran 1:23 off the clock before punting it back to Pitt State, but a Roderique pass was picked off by
Brooks Peavler for his first career interception returning in 33 yards as Washburn would then run two more plays running out the clock.
Derrick McGreevy led the Ichabods with 16 tackles and
D.J. Olmstead finished with 10 stops and
Heath Tucker had nine.
Offensively for the Ichabods, Willis rushed for a career-high 122 yards on eight carries averaging 15.2 yards per carry with two touchdowns and Stewart finished with 71 yards on 12 carries. Peterson had 52 yards on 12 carries at quarterback. Peterson passed for 182 yards completing 16 of 30 passes with one touchdown finishing with 236 total offensive yards.
James Brania-Hopp had six catches for 74 yards and Stewart finished with three catches for 27 yards.
Washburn outgained the Gorillas 425 to 308 as the Ichabods rushed for 243 total yards and averaged 6.9 yards per carry. Pitt State, who did not have any passing yards in the first half, finished with 98 total passing yards in the game completing 8 of 17 passes overall.
