TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn Ichabods rolled to a 37-9 Homecoming win on Saturday in Yager Stadium improving to 5-3 on the season with a victory over the Central Oklahoma Bronchos. Washburn returns to the road next week at Northeastern State.
 
After a scoreless first half, Kameron Lake put the Ichabods on the board with a 26-yard field goal with 6:47 to play in the second quarter capping a 16-play, 66-yard drive to take a 3-0 lead. After the Ichabods forced a punt, Washburn then wrapped up the opening half with a 15-play, 87-yard drive when Kellen Simoncic scored from 1-yard out on a quarterback keeper.
 
UCO took the opening kickoff of the second half and went backwards one yard in its three plays and after a 33-yard punt by the Bronchos, Washburn needed five plays marching 57 yards in 87 seconds when James Letcher, Jr. took a direct snap and scored from 12 yards out to put Washburn up 16-0 with 12:31 to play in the third quarter.
 
On UCO's next possession, Brendan Harden picke4d off a pass on a Broncho third-down play and returned it to the UCO 20 setting up a Simoncic to Letcher 11-yard TD hookup stretching the lead to 23-0.
 
The teams traded possessions and on a second and five from the UCO 40, Micah Skeebo picked off a pass returning the ball back to the Ichabods.
 
The Ichabods could not convert after an inception of their own and UCO opened the fourth quarter with a 41-yard field goal by Nick Quevedo trimming the lead to 23-3.
 
The Ichabods punted on their next possession, but Channon Ross picked of a pass and the Ichabods had a Simoncic to Tyce Brown touchdown pass from 15 yards out as the lead increased to 30-3.
 
After UCO ran 12 plays, the drive stalled and were forced to punt and after a 56-yard punt, Letcher, Jr. returned it 78 yards for a touchdown with 6:06 left in the third quarter. The return helped to push Letcher's career all-purpose yards total to 5,216 yards passing Troy Slusser's 5,210 atop the Ichabod charts.
 
UCO would wrap up the scoring with 40 seconds to play in the game cutting the lead to 37-9 ending the Bronchos' four-game winning streak.
 
Letcher finished with eight catches for 67 yards and one score while rushing for nine yards and one score adding the special teams return. Taylon Peters led the Ichabods on the ground with 65 yards on 15 carries. Simoncic finished 23 of 36 passing for 211 yards and two scores while rushing for one.
 
Grant Bruner and Brendan Harden tied for the team lead the Ichabods with nine tackles each with Harden adding a tackle for loss and an interception. The Ichabod defense finished with three sacks for 14 yards and 11 tackles for loss for 28 yards with Phoenix Smith recording two sacks for 13 yards.
 
Washburn finished with 363 yards in offense holding the Bronchos (5-3, 5-3 MIAA) to 252.