• The Washburn Ichabod football team will wrap up the regular season by playing host to Nebraska-Kearney on Nov. 10 at 1 p.m. inside Yager Stadium.
• It will be the final home game for 15 Ichabod seniors: Corey Ballentine, Jake Horner, Derrick McGreevy, James Brania-Hopp, Will Hamilton, Perry Schmiedeler, Heath Tucker, Austin Tillman, Edson Jean-Baptiste, Logan Lexow, Zach Downing, Andy Soto, Rashade Chester, Tanner Myers and Trevon Allen … who will all be honored in pregame festivities.
• The Ichabods (5-5, 5-5 MIAA) are coming off a 40-23 win over Pittsburg State collecting their third straight win in Pittsburg over the Gorillas.
• The Lopers (4-6, 4-6 MIAA) lost 25-17 to Missouri Western last time out as the griffons scored 19 unanswered points in the second half to rally for the win.
• The Ichabods and Central Missouri are in a two-way tie for seventh in the MIAA standings. Fort Hays State and Northwest Missouri are tied for first at 8-2 while Central Oklahoma and Pittsburg State are tied or third at 7-3. Emporia State and Missouri Western are tied for fifth at 6-4.
• The Ichabods have gone 9-7 on senior day under head coach Craig Schurig.
• A win over the Lopers would give the Ichabods their third-straight winning season and the 13th in head coach Craig Schurig's 17 years at the helm of the Washburn program.
• James Brania-Hopp, who leads the MIAA in receiving, went over the 1,000-yard mark to become the first Ichabod since DaJuan Beard to go over 1,000 yards in a season when Beard recorded 1,029 in 2011 … Brania-Hopp now has 1,108 yards on 58 catches … the 1,108 yards are sixth on the Ichabod single season chart.
  • The Ichabods have won the last nine games.
• Washburn is 7-7 all-time in games played in Topeka and have won the last five played at Yager Stadium.
• Series Record: UNK leads 14-12-0
• Streak: WU has won the last nine
• First Meeting: UNK 19-14 (09/14/1963) in Kearney
• Last Meeting: WU 60-28 (09/23/2017) in Topeka
• Last WU win: 60-28 (09/23/2017) in Topeka
• 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
  Washburn Ichabod head coach Craig Schurig . . .
• was named head coach of the Ichabod football program Dec. 28, 2001.
• is 115-79 (.599) in his 17th season as the Ichabod head coach.
• is 97-67 (.603) against the MIAA.
• has led the Ichabods to three NCAA Playoff appearances and four bowl appearances and three bowl 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 114 wins.
• is 6-0 against Nebraska-Kearney.
 
Nebraska-Kearney head coach Josh Lynn . . .
• is 7-14 in his first season on the Loper sidelines.
• is 44-41 in seven years as a head coach going 27-25 at Eastern New Mexico.   
• is 0-1 against Washburn.
  • Hunter Browning leads the team with 40.0 yards per game with career highs of 17 carries and 116 yards against Northeastern State … five different Ichabods overall are averaging at least 20.0 yards per game rushing … the Ichabods are averaging 144.9 yards per game … as a team the Ichabods are allowing 150.7 per contest.
• Mitch Schurig is 125 of 212 passing with 16 touchdowns averaging 222.2 yards per game … overall the Ichabods are averaging 255.4 yards per game passing … he leads the MIAA in passing effiency (145.8) ranking 30th in the nation and also is second in the MIAA in completion percentage at 59.4 which is 35th in the nation.
• James Brania-Hopp has 58 catches for 1,108 yards with eight scores while averaging 110.8 yards per game receiving … he is also averaging 19.1 yards per catch … Brania-Hopp leads the MIAA in receiving yards per game, receptions per game and total yards … after his 99-yard kickoff return against Pittsburg State, he now ranks second in the MIAA in kickoff returns averaging 26.3 yards per attempt.
• Austin Tillman is sixth in the MIAA and first on the Ichabods with 9.5 tackles per game and 95 overall  … Derrick McGreevy is seventh in the league with 9.2 tackles per game tallying 92 overall … Tillman leads the team lead with 8.0 tackles for loss for 28 yards.
• The Ichabods are fifth in the MIAA in first downs with 20.9 per game after a school-record 36 against Missouri Southern earlier this season.
• The Ichabods are ranked second in the MIAA in third down conversions moving the chains on 64 of 158 attempts and defensively the Ichabods are fifth in the MIAA in opponent third down conversions limiting foes to 48 of 145 attempts for a 33 percent average.
• The Ichabods are the third-best scoring offense in the MIAA at 29.5 ppg while ranking seventh in points allowed at 25.3 ppg.
• Derrick McGreevy's 298 tackles is ninth on the all-time chart at Washburn needing two more to become the ninth Ichabod to reach 300 career tackles.
• Austin Tillman's 288 career tackles sit 10th on the all-time chart at Washburn.
  • (1,108) -- Number of receiving yards for James Brania-Hopp has this season which is sixth on the Ichabod single season chart needing 27 yards to move into third on the single season chart
• (2 & 12) -- Number of tackles  respectively Derrick McGreevy and Austin Tillman  each need to reach 300 career tackles
• (271) -- Number of points senior placekicker Perry Schmiedeler has scored in his career to move into second on the all-time scoring chart at Washburn needing 26 more to pass Trent Hearn entering the UNK game
• (314-135) -- Combined score of the Ichabods over the Lopers during Washburn's nine-game winning streak
  • The Lopers are 4-6 this season coming off a 25-17 loss to Missouri Western last time out.
• The Lopers are first in the MIAA in rushing yards per game (268.2), rushing TD's (29), rushing attempts (537) and tied for first in interceptions thrown (6)
• UNK is second in the league in time of possession (32:40), third in kickoff return average (21.8) and second in passing TD's allowed (11).
• Junior linebacker Sal Silvio leads the team with 101 tackles.
• Junior running back Darrius Webb needs 79 yards to record the 15th 1,000 rushing yard season in school history.
• Junior quarterback Alex McGinnis has completed 89 of 182 passes with five touchdowns and six interceptions averaging 126.8 yards a game through the air and he is the Lopers' second-leading rusher with 424 yards and six touchdowns … his older brother Derek is a graduate assistant coach for the Ichabods.
  (Nov. 3, 2018) PITTSBURG, Kan. – The Washburn Ichabods knocked off Pittsburg State for the third time in a row and the fourth in the last five trips to the Jungle topping the Gorillas 40-23 improving to 5-5 while Pitt State falls to 7-3 on the season.
After the Gorillas took a 3-0 lead with a 34-yard field goal with 6:53 left in the first quarter, the Ichabods came back to go in front when Mitch Schurig hit Marcus Meier in the back of the end zone on a 2-yard pass with 2:21 to play putting Washburn up 7-3. The drive was set up by an interception by Corey Ballentine.
The Ichabods held the Gorillas to a three-and-out and on the first play from scrimmage Schurig hit James Brania-Hopp on a 56-yard touchdown strike pushing Washburn out to a 14-3 lead right before the first quarter ended. Brania-Hopp finished with 116 yards receiving and 221 yards in kickoff returns for 337 all-purpose yards setting an Ichabod single game record. A record which stood since 1988 when Troy Slusser had 292 against Emporia State.
After an Ichabod turnover, Pitt State cut the lead to 14-10 after an 18-yard touchdown reception and would give the Gorillas a 17-14 lead with 7:44 to go in the half. Washburn tied the score on a 29-yard field goal by Perry Schmiedeler as the teams entered the half knotted at 17-17.
The Ichabods forced a turnover on the Gorillas' opening drive of the second half when Derrick McGreevy forced a fumble giving the Ichabods the ball at the Pitt State 20. The drive stalled, but Schmiedeler hit a 30-yard field goal staking the 'Bods to a 20-17 lead with 10:58 to go in the third quarter for the only points of the frame.
In the fourth quarter, Schurig connected with Michael Lickteig on a 6-yard score as Washburn went up 26-17 with 13:20 to play. A 22-yard field goal by the Gorillas cut the lead to six at 26-20. Another field goal with 7:12 to play in the game by Pitt State trimmed the lead in half at 26-23, but on the ensuing kickoff, Brania-Hopp returned the kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown as the Ichabods would go up 33-23. The 99-yard kickoff return was the was the third-longest in school history behind a pair of 100-yard returns by Fletcher Terrell vs Central Missouri in 2005 and Cary Williams against Missouri Southern in 2007.
The Gorillas then turned it over on downs and Washburn used the short field as Schurig found Austen Hubert on a 10-yard touchdown pass finishing off the scoring with the Ichabods taking the 40-23 win.
Schurig finished 17 of 34 passing with four touchdowns with 235 yards through the air. Garret Barnett-Kruger, who moved to running back from linebacker this week, led the Ichabods with 44 yards. With his 116 receiving yards, Brania-Hopp moved his single season yardage mark to 1,108, which is seventh on the Ichabod single-season chart. He also moved his career receiving total to 2,111 yards which is sixth all-time at Washburn becoming only the eighth Ichabod to go over the 2,000-yard plateau.
Defensively, McGreevy led the Ichabods with 14 tackles and one tackle for loss with the forced fumble which set up an Ichabod field goal. Austin Tillman had 12 tackles with one for loss and Landen Urban had seven tackles and one for loss. Overall the Ichabods had eight tackles for loss for 17 yards.
The Ichabods were outgained 431 to 325 by the Gorillas as Pitt State had 19 first downs compared to 13 for Washburn while the Ichabod defense held the Gorillas to 3 of 17 on third down conversion attempts.
  • lift the Ichabods to 555-584-44 in their football history.
• be the 10th-straight win over the Lopers.
• improve the Ichabods to 6-5 on the season.
• pull Ichabod series record to 13-14.
  • drop the Ichabods to 554-585-44 in their football history.
• drop the Ichabods to 5-6 on the season.
• drop the Ichabods 12-15 all-time against the Lopers.
• be the first win by the Lopers over the Ichabods since Nov. 9, 1985 in a 21-16 loss in Kearney snapping a nine-game winning streak and would be the first win by the Lopers in Topeka Nov. 3, 1984 in a 30-0 win.
  • Washburn is 554-584-44 (.484) in the 128th 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 142 first team all-MIAA picks and 48 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.
• Washburn has made 12 postseason appearances including bowl games and tournament games going 5-2 in seven bowl games.
• Five Ichabods have been picked in the NFL Draft.
  WACO, Texas -- For the 12th time in the last 15 years, the Washburn Ichabod football team received votes in the American Football Coaches Association Top 25 Coaches presason poll released to start the 2018 season. The Ichabods, under head coach Craig Schurig, have been ranked or have received votes in the AFCA poll 66 times and have been ranked in the top 10 a total of 15 times.
  If the Ichabods receive a bowl bid check back to wusports.com for details. Otherwise the Ichabods will open the 2019 season by hosting Lincoln in its return to MIAA football on Thursday, Sept. 5 in Yager Stadium.