SCENE SETTER
• The Washburn Ichabod football will return to action for their second game of the season as they will play host to Northwest Missouri on Saturday, Sept. 6 at 1 p.m. in Yager Stadium.
• The Ichabods are coming off a season-opening 20-17 win over Truman on Aug. 30 in the Zach Watkins' era season opener.
• The Bearcats are 0-1 after falling at then No. 11-ranked Minnesota State on Aug. 28 in a 38-14 loss.
• The game with the Bearcats will also be broadcast live on 38 The Spot in Kansas City as the MIAA Game of the Week.
 
BOD THOUGHTS
• After week one, the Ichabods are fourth in the MIAA in total offense allowing 333 yards per game and ninth in total offense averaging 315 yards per game.
• The Ichabods have the No. 1-ranked passing offense in the league averaging 352 yards per game.
• Quarterback Justin Lewis is on top of the MIAA in passing after the opening week averaging the 352 yards per game and Chase Allen-Jackman leads the league with 127 yards receiving per game … D.J. Bell is fourth after his 98-yard performance against the Bulldogs.
• L.J. Minner and J.C. Heim are tied for the league lead with 11 tackles and Kamble Haverkamp leads the MIAA with three tackles for loss per game and his two sacks
• Ichabod head coaches are now 23-16-2 in their first game on the Washburn sidelines … prior to today's win, the last Ichabod head coach to win his Washburn debut was Dennis Caryl in 13-7 win at Missouri S&T on Sept. 1, 1990.
• The last time the Ichabods were held to negative rushing yards was on Nov. 20, 2021 in a first-round NCAA playoff loss to Harding (-2 yards).
• Justin Lewis' 33 completions is third on the Ichabod single-season chart.
• Aidan Battle's 51-yard field goal was the longest by an Ichabod since Justin Linn hit a 51-yard attempt at Nebraska-Kearney on Sept. 5, 2013.
• Against the Bulldogs, there was no Scorigami in the 20-17 win. Shockingly, it was only the third game in program history the final score ended at 20-17.
 
 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 New England.
• 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.
 
COACHES
Washburn Head Coach Zach Watkins . . .
• is 1-0 in his first season as the Ichabod head coach.
• named the 38th head coach in Washburn program history on Nov. 26, 2024.
• first Ichabod alumnus to lead the program in more than 30 years.
• spent 11 seasons as Washburn's co-defensive coordinator before becoming head coach
• four-year starter at linebacker for Washburn (2006–09).
• recorded 100+ tackles each season, finishing with a school-record 473 career tackles (third all-time in NCAA Division II at the time).
• the 2006 MIAA Freshman of the Year, 2006 Honorable Mention All-MIAA and Second Team All-Region, First Team All-MIAA (2007–09), 2009 MIAA & Daktronics Regional Defensive Player of the Year, 2009 AFCA First Team All-America and Daktronics Second Team All-America, Three-time Academic All-MIAA, Three-time MIAA Scholar Athlete, 2008 ESPN The Magazine / CoSIDA Academic All-American, 2010 Ken B. Jones MIAA Student-Athlete of the Year finalist, Three-time All-American by Don Hansen's Football Gazette.
• bachelor's degree in Finance and Business Management, Washburn University (2009).
• master's degree in Sports Administration, Fort Hays State (2013).
• married to Amanda; two children, Parker and Naomi.
• is 0-0 against Northwest Missouri.
 
Northwest Missouri Head Coach John McMenamin . . .         
• named the new head coach of the Bearcat football program on Dec. 5, 2024.
• served as the offensive co-coordinator/pass game coordinator/wide receivers coach at Tulane University in New Orleans, La., from December 2021 to July 2023. He helped orchestrate the biggest one-year turnaround in NCAA history as the Green Wave went from 2-10 to 10-2. Tulane scored a 2023 Cotton Bowl Classic victory over USC, 46-45. The Green Wave ranked No. 9 in the nation in team passing efficiency (160.48), No. 18 in scoring (36.0 points/game) and No. 20 in red-zone offense (86.8 scoring percentage).
• Northwest is McMenamin's second head coaching job. He was the head coach at Wayne State College in Wayne, Neb., from December 2019 to December 2021 when he left to go to Tulane. McMenamin delivered the program's first seven-win seasons in 11 years with a 7-4 record that included victories over nationally-ranked foes in Minnesota-Duluth and Minnesota State.
• is 0-0 against Washburn.
 
NOTING THE BEARCATS
• The Bearcats are 0-1 after falling at No. 11 Minnesota State 38-14 on Aug. 28 in Mankato.
• Redshirt freshman quarterback Zechariah Owens made his collegiate debut at the start of the second quarter against No. 11-ranked Minnesota State going 10-of-12 passing for 160 yards and a touchdown through the air. Owens also rushed for a team-high 44 yards and a touchdown against the Mavericks.
• Senior running back/returner Dominic Myers picked up a team-best 93 all-purpose yards against No. 11-ranked Minnesota State.
• Ben Einess led the Bearcats with eight tackles and Antwon Jenkins, Jr., Jacob Stockard and Clayton Power each had seven.     
The Bearcats were outgained 475 to 316 by the Mavericks.
• Washburn's tight end coach, Kellen Simoncic, is the older brother of Cody Simoncic, a junior linebacker on the Bearcats.
 
LAST MEETING WITH THE BEARCATS
(October 5, 2025) TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn Ichabod football team fell behind early and could not recover in a 51-34 loss to Northwest Missouri on Hall of Fame Saturday in Yager Stadium.
The Bearcats (4-2, 4-1 MIAA) jumped out to a 20-0 lead midway through the second quarter after Northwest Missouri used two first quarter touchdowns and two second quarter field goals taking the lead to start the game.
The Ichabods (1-4, 1-3 MIAA) scored two touchdowns in the final 1:50 of the opening half to cut the lead to a one score game at 20-14 going into the break. The first score came on a 13-yard touchdown strike from Sam Van Dyne, who saw his first action of the season, to Maury Sullivan with 1:50 to go in the second quarter.
On Northwest's ensuing drive, L.J. Minner, Jr., sacked the Bearcats' Chris Ruhnke forcing a fumble and J.C. Heim recovered it and rushed 58 yards before being tackled at the Northwest 2 yard line and two plays later, Keller Hurla scored from five yards out with 34 seconds to play cut the Bearcat lead to 20-14 going into the break.
The Bearcats opened the second half with a 12-play, 75-yard drive using 5:32 off the clock to go up 27-14 and on the Ichabod kickoff return, Washburn muffed the kick returning the ball back to Northwest and the Bearcats scored two plays later going up 34-14.
With the Ichabods' first play from scrimmage in the second half at the 8:42 mark of the third quarter, Hurla hit Tre Richardson on an 85-yard touchdown pass pulling the Ichabods within 34-21.
The Ichabod defense forced a Bearcat punt and eight plays and 55 yards later, Van Dyne connected with Sullivan for his second touchdown pass on a 9-yard strike again pulling the Ichabods within six at 34-24 with under two minutes to play in the third quarter.
Northwest scored a touchdown on its next drive followed by an Ichabod interception, a missed field goal by the Bearcats and a turnover on downs by Washburn, the Bearcats went up 44-28 with 5:14 to play the Ichabods' Van Dyne hit Richardson for a 32-yard touchdown pass, but the two-point Ichabod conversion was no good as was the Ichabod onside kick attempt.
On Northwest's next play from scrimmage, the Bearcats scored on a 42-yard run wrapping up the scoring as the Ichabods turned the ball over on their next drive and after a Bearcat punt ran out of time on their final drive.
Van Dyne finished 11 of 27 passing with three touchdowns for 156 yards and Hurla was 5 of 9 for 117 yards and one score.
The Ichabods were led by Richardson on the ground with 23 yards on four carries and through the air with five catches for 147 yards and two touchdowns including 73 yards after catch. Sullivan had five catches for 61 yards and two scores. Richardson finished with 201 all-purpose yards becoming the first Ichabod since James Letcher, Jr. to go over the 200-yard mark at Lincoln on Sept. 1, 2022 when he had 208.
Defensively, Minner, Jr. had nine tackles with six solo stops and Jordan Finnesy had also had nine solo stops. Minner added two tackles for loss with a forced fumble and a sack. Christian Ashe had the Ichabods' lone interception on the afternoon.
The Ichabods were outgained 423 to 335 as they were limited to 62 rushing yards compared to 201 for the Bearcats..
 
SERIES HISTORY WITH THE BEARCATS
• The Bearcats lead the all-time series 36-7.
• The Bearcats have won the last three overall and the last two in Topeka.
• Washburn's last win in Topeka was on Oct. 16, 2021 in a 17-16 win.
• Washburn's last win over the Bearcats in Maryville was on Oct. 8, 2005 in a 31-28 victory as the Ichabods would go on to win the MIAA Championships that season.
• Washburn is 5-18 in games played in Topeka.
• Washburn is 2-18 in games played in Maryville, Mo.  
LAST TIME OUT FOR THE ICHABODS
(Aug. 30, 2025)  TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn Ichabod football team opened a new era starting the 2025 season with a 20–17 win over Truman State on Saturday afternoon at Yager Stadium in Topeka as head coach Zach Watkins picked his first win in his head coaching debut.
The former MIAA foe Bulldogs (0-1) struck first, marching 68 yards in nine plays before quarterback Dylan Hair found Jackson Overton for a 23-yard touchdown. Truman added to its early lead later in the opening quarter on a 32-yard field goal from Vinni Calvaruso to go up 10–0.
Washburn answered in the second quarter behind the arm of quarterback Justin Lewis. He connected with Chase Allen-Jackman on a 16-yard touchdown to put the Ichabods (1-0) on the board. A 37-yard field goal by Aidan Battle, tied the game at 10–10 midway through the second half, and with less than a minute left in the half, Lewis and Allen-Jackman connected again, this time from 27 yards out giving Washburn a 17–10 halftime advantage.
The defenses controlled the third quarter as neither team was able to break through. Early in the fourth, Washburn extended its lead when kicker Aidan Battle drilled a booming 51-yard field goal, one shy of the school record of 52 set in 1972 by Russ Hill against Northern Colorado and Charles Goodnight against Emporia State in 1985. The boot stretched the  Ichabod margin to 20–10.
Truman State came right back, putting together a 13-play, 75-yard drive capped by a one-yard touchdown run from Denim Cook with just under six minutes left cutting the lead to three, but the Ichabods ended the game with a 12-play drive converting three first downs to run out the clock giving the Ichabods their seventh-straight win over the Bulldogs in the series and their first since 2012.
Statistically, the Bulldogs edged Washburn in total offense, 333 yards to 315, holding the ball for more than 34 minutes. Truman also controlled the ground game with 136 rushing yards, 86 of those from Cook, while the Ichabods were held to -37 negative yardage on the ground.
Washburn's success came through the air as Lewis completed 33 of 42 passes for 352 yards and two touchdowns. Lewis, in his Washburn debut, completed at one point 20 consecutive passes breaking an MIAA and a Washburn single game record. Allen-Jackman hauled in nine passes for 127 yards and both scores, while D.J. Bell added nine catches for 98 yards. Truman's passing attack produced 197 yards, with Overton leading the receivers with 70 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, the Ichabods were led by L.J. Minner, Jr. and J.C. Heim with 11 tackles each. Minner added a fumble recovery and Kamble Haverkamp had seven tackles, all solo stops with three tackles for loss for 18 yards and two sacks.
 
 A WIN OVER THE BEARCATS WOULD
• move the Ichabods to 2-0 on the season.
• snap a three-game losing streak to the Bearcats recording their first win since a 17-16 win in Topeka on Oct. 16, 2021.
• move the Ichabods to 8-36 all-time against the Bearcats.
• improve the Ichabods to 6-18 in home games.
 
 A LOSS TO THE BEARCATS WOULD
• drop the Ichabods to 1-1 on the season.
• be the Bearcats' fourth-straight win over the Ichabods.
• drop the Ichabods to 7-37 all-time against the Bearcats.
• be the third-straight loss to the Bearcats in Yager Stadium in three-straight years.
 
 ICHABOD FOOTBALL HISTORY
• Washburn is 582-614-44 (.484) in the 135th year of Ichabod football.
• The Ichabods are 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 177 all-MIAA picks and 62 first team all-MIAA selections.
• Washburn has had 97 overall All-American selections and 73 individual 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.
 
UP NEXT
Washburn will have a non-conference game with Colorado School of Mines on Sept. 13 in Golden, Colo. and then face Central Oklahoma on the road on Sept. 20 before returning home to take on Nebraska-Kearney on Sept. 27 for Family Day.