FOR STARTERS
»                The Washburn Ichabods are back on the road traveling to Warrensburg, Mo. on Saturday facing the Central Missouri Mules with a 1:30 p.m. kick.
»                Washburn (2-5, 2-4 MIAA) is coming off a 42-21 win against Missouri Southern.
»                The Mules (4-3, 2-3 MIAA) topped Northwest Missouri 35-30 in Maryville last time out.
»                Saturday's game will be the Mules' homecoming game.
 
 BLUE NOTES
»                The Ichabods are ranked second in the nation in punt returns averaging 23.2 yards per return.
»                Chase McCoy is 36th in the nation in sacks and is second in the MIAA in sacks at 0.7 per game.
»                Tre Richardson is 16th in the nation and first the MIAA in all-purpose yards averaging 136.4 yards per game …he is also 43rd in receiving yards with 508 and 46th in receiving yards per game with 72.6.
»                Ichabod quarterback Sam Van Dyne tied a school record in the win over Missouri Southern for completion percentage with at least 10 attempts as he was 9 for 10 for a .900 percentage tying a program record that has stood since 1980 in Jerry Raushelbach was 9 for 10 against Missouri Valley.
»                Washburn averaged 7.0 yards per carry against Missouri Southern last time out rushing for 279 yards on 40 carries - that total was the ninth-best average in program history.
»                This season Ichabod opponents have scored 43 points off of Washburn turnovers while the Ichabods have scored seven points off of opponent miscues.
»                Washburn has been outscored this season 226 to 180 including  52 to 42 in the second half and 65 to 27 in the fourth quarter. The Ichabods are outscoring their opponents 56 to 51 in the first quarter.
»                The Ichabods have scored on their first possession of each of the last two games.
 
PRO BODS
»                The Washburn Ichabods have two former players on NFL rosters this season and one in the Canadian Football League.
»                Kyle Hinton is on the 53-man roster of the Atlanta Falcons.
»                Corey Ballentine is on the 53-man roster in Green Bay.
»                James Letcher, Jr. is a standout return specialist in the Canadian Football League playing for the Montreal Alouettes in his second season in the CFL. Earlier this season he had a 128-yard missed field goal return for a touchdown.

COACHES
WASHBURN HEAD COACH CRAIG SCHURIG . . .
»                was named head coach of the Ichabod football program Dec. 28, 2001.
»                is 141-106 (.599) in his 21st season as the Ichabod head coach and the sixth-longest tenured football coach in MIAA history.
»                is 122-91 (.603) against the MIAA in league games.
»                has led the Ichabods to four 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 139 wins.
»                is 6-13 against Central Missouri.
 
CENTRAL MISSOURI HEAD COACH JOSH LAMBERSON. . .       
»                is in his third season on the Mule sidelines going 19-12.
»                named the 30th head football coach of the Mules football program in February 2022.
»                served as the offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator for the Mules from 2010-14 under former UCM head coach Jim Svoboda, after serving as the associate head coach, offensive coordinator, and quarterbacks coach for Division I Abilene Christian University from 2017-21.
»                before Abilene Christian, he served as the head coach at MIAA member Nebraska Kearney from 2015-17.
»                was an All-American quarterback helping Northwest Missouri to the 2005 NCAA Division II national championship game. He was named the MVP of the 2005 national title game and posted an overall record of 25-6 as the Bearcats' starting quarterback
»                is 1-3 against Washburn going 0-2 at Nebraska-Kearney and 1-1 at Central Missouri..
 
NOTING THE MULES
»                The Mules (4-3, 2-3 MIAA) topped Northwest Missouri 35-30 in Maryville last time out.
»                Central Missouri is ranked second in the nation in first downs with 193, trailing fellow MIAA school Central Oklahoma by two while also leading the nation in passing yards per game at 410.0.
»                The Mules are also ranked 15th in the nation in scoring offense at 36.4 ppg and fourth in total offense at 511.3 yards per game.
»                Individually, UCM quarterback Zach Zebrowski, the 2023 Harlon Hill winner, is second in the nation in completions per game with 32.5, and leads the nation in passing touchdows with 27, total passing yards with 2,865, 409.3 passing yards per game, 168 points responsible for, points responsible for per game at 24.0 and 444.1 yards of total offense per game.
»                Zach Patterson is ninth in the nation in receiving yards with 718 and eighth in yards per game with 102.6.
»                Austin Bressler leads the team with 48 tackles adding for per loss.
 
LAST MEETING WITH THE MULES
(Sept. 23, 2023) TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn Ichabods ran into a buzzsaw on Saturday afternoon in Yager Stadium in a 58-28 loss to No. 25-ranked Central Missouri. 
In a wild first quarter that saw Central Missouri (3-1, 3-1 MIAA) scored in two plays after a blocked 52-yard field goal attempt was returned to the Washburn 19 taking a 6-0 lead after the extra point was missed by the Mules. After an Ichabod punt, UCM drove down to the Ichabod 3 yard line, but recovered a fumble to take over. The Washburn drive stalled and then Jake Zeller kicked a career-long 71-yard punt flipping the field down to the UCM 22.
Three plays later, UCM's pass from Zach Zembrowski was picked off by Josh Grant. Washburn then took a 7-6 lead when Sam Van Dyne connected with D.J. Bell on an 18-yard touchdown pass and Trenton Brehm's extra point gave the Ichabods the lead with 3:15 left in the first quarter.
Central regained the lead on a 49-yard touchdown run taking the lead back at 12-7 after its second extra point attempt of the day was missed.
On the Ichabods' ensuing drive, Teondre Carter rushed down to the UCM 1-yard line, but fumbled into the endzone and it was recovered by offensive lineman Mason Fair for the score as Washburn regained the lead at 14-12. However the Mules needed seven plays marching 75 yards capped by a 6-yard touchdown pass with 11:37 to go in the half.
After a 57-yard punt by Zeller, Washburn went 80 yards on 10 plays to take the lead at 27-14 midway through the second quarter. The Mules added a touchdown just before the half to take a 34-14 lead into the break.
UCM scored a touchdown on its first possession stretching the lead to 41-14.
The Ichabods then traveled 80 yards in 13 plays capped by a Van Dyne to Maury Sullivan 11-yard touchdown pass trimming the lead to 41-21, but the Mules answered with an 11-play drive going up 48-21.
UCM scored on its next two drives going up 58-21. Washburn wrapped up the scoring when Hayden Clark hitting Sullivan for a 7-yard touchdown with 61 seconds to play.
Bell and Sullivan each had four catches to lead the Ichabods with Bell having one score and Sullivan recording two. Carter had 50 yards on seven attempts. Van Dyne finished 10 of 26 passing with two touchdowns and Clark finished 5 for 12 for 44 and a score. Bell also led the Ichabods with 193 all-purpose yards with 148 from kickoff returns. Zeller averaged 51.2 yards per punt on four attempts.
Mason Capper had 10 tackles with eight solo stops and Jaquez White and Andrew Pujado each had six stops.
UCM's Zebrowski finished 40 for 48 with five touchdowns passing for 369 yards. Marcellous Hawkins had 144 yards on six carries and two scores. Zach Phipps had 82 yards receiving on six catches. Cade Miller had seven tackles to lead the Mule defense.
The Mules outgained the Ichabods 659 to 314 with a 377 to 151 advantage through the air.

SERIES HISTORY WITH MULES
»                the Mules lead the all-time series 29-21-2 over the Ichabods in 52 all-time meetings.
»                Washburn is 8-15 in games played in Warrensburg and snapped a five-game losing streak in the 2022 meeting and 13-13-2 in games played in Topeka.
»                the Ichabods are 14-23-1 in MIAA games with the Mules.
»                the largest win over the Mules by the Ichabods was a 34-0 win on Sept. 29, 1963.
»                Washburn is 3-7 in the last 10 match-ups with the Mules.
 
LAST TIME OUT FOR THE MULES
(Oct. 19, 2024) HAYS, Kan. – TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn Ichabod football team scored on its first three possessions of the day, blocked two field goals and had a defensive lineman return an interception for a score rolling to a 42-21 win over Missouri Southern on Saturday afternoon in Yager Stadium.
Opening the game, the Ichabods marched 58 yards on six plays capping the drive with a 29-yard touchdown pass from Keller Hurla to Tre Richardson. On the Lions' opening possession of the game, the Ichabods' J.C. Heim forced a Southern fumble that was recovered by Julius Jackson setting up the Ichabods at the Lion 33. Two plays later Lucas Oitker followed up a Richardson 41-yard reverse with a 4-yard run for the score and a 14-0 lead 5:51 into the game.
Washburn (2-5, 2-4 MIAA) then held the Lions to a punt with a 3-play, 2-yard drive and Sam Van Dyne in at quarterback moved the Ichabods 65 yards on eight plays finishing it off with a 7-yard run up the middle for the score as Washburn led 21-0 with 4:13 to play in the first quarter.
Missouri Southern (1-6, 1-5 MIAA) came back with an 8-play drive of its own moving to the Ichabod three-yard line, but the field goal was blocked by Jaquez White ending the first quarter.
The Ichabods had an interception on the ensuing drive starting the Lions' drive at the Washburn 5 and two plays later Missouri Southern scored.
The teams traded a fumble and a punt by the Lions and then the Ichabods stretched their lead to 28-7 after Tylan Crochett scored on a 2-yard run around the right side with 5:34 to go in the half.
After the Lions drove their next possession down to the Ichabod 2, Jaquez White blocked his second field goal of the day ending the first half sending Washburn to the locker room with a 28-7 lead. He's the first Ichabod to block to kicks in a single game since Josh Wright blocked two against Bemidji State in the 2016 Mineral Water Bowl on Dec. 3, 2016.
The Lions took the second half kickoff and cut the lead in half at 28-14, but Washburn needed only six plays moving 85 yards in 3:07 to go up 35-14 when Van Dyne connected with Maury Sullivan scoring on a 9-yard touchdown pass.
On the Lions' first play after the kickoff, Washburn's Chase McCoy grabbed a tipped pass by Al-Mani Jimerson and returned it 20 yards for a score for a big man touchdown as the Ichabods went up 42-14.
The Lions wrapped up the scoring on a 94-yard, 17-play drive using 8:44 off the clock trimming the lead to three touchdowns.
Washburn racked up a season-high 263 rushing yards on 40 carries led by Richardson's 78 yards on four carries and Tyler Bowden's 57 yards on 13 carries. Van Dyne finished 9 of 10 passing for 133 yards and one score while the Ichabods were 12 of 16 overall for 178 yards and two scores. Sullivan and Trey Harmison each had four receptions for 60 and 30 yards respectively.
Defensively, the Ichabods were led by Jordan Finney's seven tackles and a breakup, while five other Ichabods had at least five stops. Washburn had two sacks for 15 yards and six tackles for loss for 21 yards, adding five pass breakups.
Washburn tallied 441 yards of total offense compared to 367 by the Lions.

A WIN OVER THE MULES WOULD
»                move the Ichabods to 3-5 on the season.
»                be the Ichabods' second-straight win in Warrensburg over the Mules.
»                move the Ichabods to 6-13 all-time on Oct. 26.
 
A LOSS TO MULES WOULD ...
»                drop the Ichabods to 2-6 on the season.
»                be the second loss in a row to the Mules.
»                drop the Ichabods to 30-21-2 all-time against the Mules.
 
A LOOK BACK AT THE WIN OVER THE LIONS ... THE WIN
»                moved the Ichabods to 2-5 on the season.
»                was Washburn's first home win of the season.
»                moved the Ichabods to 10-5-1 all-time on Oct. 19.
 
ICHABOD FOOTBALL HISTORY
»                Washburn is 579-613-44 (.484) in the 134th 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 176 first team all-MIAA picks and 61 first team all-MIAA selections.
»                Washburn has had 96 All-American selections and 72 All-American picks since joining the NCAA Division II ranks in 1989.
»                Washburn has made 14 postseason appearances including bowl games and tournament games going 5-2 in a bowl games.
»                Seven Ichabods have been picked in the NFL Draft.
 
Ichabods in the national polls
The Ichabods, under head coach Craig Schurig, have been ranked or have received votes in the AFCA poll 79 times and have been ranked in the top 10 a total of 15 times.
 
Up Next
The Ichabods will celebrate homecoming on Nov. 2 and then the following week host Central Oklahoma on senior day before wrapping up the season on Nov. 16 at Northeastern State.