SCENE SETTER
• The Washburn Ichabod football team is back in action in Yager Stadium as they will host Central Oklahomas as part of Family Day festivities at Washburn with kickoff set for 12:05 p.m. and the game will also be the Spot 38 MIAA Game of the Week with the Ichabods for the third week in a row.
• The Ichabods (1-1-1) are coming off a 31-24 loss at No. 7-ranked Northwest Missouri on Saturday.
• The Bronchos (1-1) lost 59-20 to NCAA FCS foe Central Arkansas.
• The Bronchos lead the all-time series 9-5.
• The Washburn Ichabods were tabbed No. 8 in both the MIAA preseason coaches and preseason media polls that were released on Aug. 27 by the league office at the annual MIAA Football Media Day hosted by Washburn inside the Sneed Indoor Athletic Facility.
 
 WEATHER CHECK
• Saturday's weather forecast as of Tuesday shows 87 degrees with scattered thunderstorms so the now infamous Wet Bulb Globe Temperature should not be an issue.
 
 BOD NOTES
• Tre Calhoun caught nine passes for 125 yards and three touchdowns against the Bearcats last time out becoming the first Ichabod since J.J. Brainia-Hopp to have three touchdown receptions in a game against Emporia State on 10/27/2018 … Calhoun is ninth in the nation in receptions per game with 7.3 leading the MIAA and Nathan Lewis, Jr. is 16th in the nation with 6.67 receptions per game.
• The Ichabods are eighth in the nation and leading the MIAA in time of possession averaging 35:28 per contest … last season the Ichabods averaged 26:02.
• As a team, Washburn is 10th in the nation in passing offense at 320.7 yards per game which is also third in the MIAA behind Central Missouri's 344.0 yards per contest.
• Washburn is 11th in the nation in first downs with 73, ranking second in the MIAA trailing Central Missouri's 86.
• Logan Madden is third in the nation in completions per game at 26.7 … Kaden Brown from Midwestern State is completing 29.0 per game … Madden is also fifth in the nation in total passing yards (962), seventh in passing yards per game (320.7) and 14th in passing touchdowns (7) … Madden is coming off a career-highs of 366 passing yard, three touchdowns, 29 passing completions and 51 passing attempts … his 51 passing attempts were the most by an Ichabod since Mitch Schurig attempted 53 against Emporia State on Oct. 2, 2021.
• Brody Hayes is 19th in the nation in solo tackles leading the MIAA with 6.0 per game and J.C. Heim is 32nd with 5.67 solo tackles per game.
• Jayden Norman had career highs of four catches for 46 yards against Northwest Missouri last time out.
• Cam Robinson had career highs of 82 receiving yards against Northwest Missouri last time out to go with 140 all-purpose yards.
• Last time out, the 31-24 win by Northwest Missouri was not a football Scorigami as the score had happened three times before … through 1,253 Ichabod games, there have been 301 games in which a score has happened only one time. In all, there have been 528 unique scoring games.
 
 PRO BODS
• The Washburn Ichabods have one former player on an NFL roster this season and one in the Canadian Football League.
• Kyle Hinton is on the 53-man roster of the Atlanta Falcons.
• James Letcher, Jr. is a standout return specialist and wide receiver  in the Canadian Football League playing for the Saskatchewan Roughriders in his third season in the CFL.
 
 COACHES
Washburn head coach Zach Watkins . . .
• is 4-9-1 in his second 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).
• has had 10 players earn all-MIAA honors, an all-region selection, a CSC Academic All-American®, and 70 MIAA Academic Honor Roll picks adding five MIAA Scholar Athletes and three MIAA Academic Excellence selections after his first season as the Ichabod head coach.
• 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 0-1 against Central Oklahoma.
 
Central Oklahoma head coach Adam Dorrel. . .            
• was hired to lead Central Oklahoma in December 2021 and has a 29-19 record at UCO in his fifth season.
• has a 124-58 career record in his 16th season as a head coach.
• the Maryville, Mo. native played for and coached at Northwest Missouri, winning three national championships as the head coach for the Bearcats … he spent six seasons coaching at Abilene Christian during its transition to NCAA D1 FCS.
• he is 9-1 against Washburn with the lone loss coming while coaching at Central Oklahoma going 3-1 on the Broncho sidelines.
 
 NOTING THE BRONCHOS
• The Bronchos are coming off a  59-20 loss to NCAA FCS Opponent Central Arkansas on Saturday in their first game against an NCAA D1 foe since facing Cal Poly Tech in 2011. UCO's win this season was a 59-7 win at NAIA foe Texas Wesleyan.
• The Bronchos are eighth in the nation in passing offense averaging 326.0 yards per game and 18th in scoring offense scoring 39.5 yards per game.
• Dev Mathews leads the team in rushing at 35.5 yards per game and one scoring averaging 5.5 yards per carry.
• Jett Huff is 38 of 55 passing with three touchdowns and three interceptions passing for 250.5 yards per game … Tahkari Bethel has eight catches for a team-high 177 yards averaging 22.1 yards per catch with two scores and 88.5 yards per game and Makal Paiva has 12 catches for 148 yards and 12.3 yards per catch and 74 yards per game.
• Defensively, UCO is led by Xavier Booth and Reese Roller with 11 tackles … Roller has a team-high 4.5 tackles for loss with a forced fumble and a sack.
 
 LAST MEETING WITH THE BRONCHOS
(Sept. 20, 2025) EDMOND, Okla. – The Washburn Ichabod football team came up just short on the road, falling 34-28 to No. 15-ranked Central Oklahoma in a back-and-forth matchup that saw momentum swing several times before the Bronchos pulled away in the fourth quarter.
Washburn wasted no time getting on the board. After J.C. Heim picked off an early Central Oklahoma pass, Justin Lewis capped the short-field opportunity with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Chase Allen-Jackman for a quick 7-0 lead. The Bronchos responded with a pair of scores to move in front, but the Ichabods tied the game late in the opening quarter when Keller Hurla, seeing his first action this season, powered in from a yard out to finish a 75-yard drive tying the score at 14-all.
The back-and-forth continued in the third quarter. Hurla once again punched it in from the 1-yard line to draw Washburn even, and moments later he struck through the air, lining up under center and connecting with Allen-Jackman for an 85-yard touchdown strike. That big play gave the Ichabods a 28-24 lead with 7:48 to play in the third quarter, but UCO came back with a touchdown drive of its own, regaining the lead 31-28 heading into the final frame.
UCO pushed the lead to six at 34-28 on the first possession of the quarter with a 51-yard field goal wrapping up the scoring in the game.
Allen-Jackman turned in a career night, finishing with five receptions for 118 yards and both of Washburn's passing touchdowns. Hurla added two rushing scores to go with his long touchdown pass, while Cam Robinson chipped in 32 rushing yards on nine carries. Overall, Washburn managed 254 yards of total offense with 195 through the air and 59 on the ground.
The Ichabod defense helped keep the game tight, forcing two interceptions that set up scoring opportunities. J.C. Heim grabbed one of those takeaways, while the secondary held strong for stretches against the UCO passing game.
Jake Zeller had seven punts for a 44-yard average with three inside the 20.
J.C. Heim led the Ichabod defense with 16 tackles with eight solo stops and L.J. Minner moved his double-digit tackle streak to 13 with five solo stops..
 
 SERIES HISTORY WITH THE BRONCHOS
• The Bronchos lead the all-time series 9-5.
• The Ichabods are 3-4 in home games and 2-5 in road contests against UCO.
• The Ichabods have averaged 24.4 ppg in 14 meetings with UCO. UCO has averaged 27.8 including scoring a series-high 41 points in 2023's 41-7 win over the Ichabods.
• The Ichabods lost the last meeting against UCO in Topeka in a 41-7 loss on Nov. 4, 2023.
• The team who scores first in the game during the series is 8-6.
• The record of the team that scores first is 5-9 meaning the first team to score has only won 5 of 14 encounters … WU is 3-5 when the Ichabods score first and UCO is 2-4 when the Bronchos score first.
   LAST TIME OUT FOR THE ICHABODS
(Sept. 12, 2026) MARYVILLE, Mo. – The Washburn Ichabods battled back from a 24-3 deficit midway through the third quarter, scoring three straight touchdowns to pull within seven, but could not complete the comeback in a 31-24 loss to No. 7 Northwest Missouri in its MIAA opener at Bearcat Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Opening the game Northwest Missouri struck first with a 76-yard drive capped by a 15-yard touchdown pass from Zechariah Owens to Cooper Warren with 7:06 left in the opening quarter. Washburn (1-1-1) answered with a 36-yard field goal from Aidan Battle early in the second quarter after a 10-play, 51-yard drive, cutting the deficit to 7-3.
The Bearcats (2-0) created separation late in the first half. A 45-yard touchdown run by Jaron Cannon Jr. extended the lead to 14-3 with 3:59 left in the second quarter, and after Northwest intercepted a Washburn pass and returned it to the Ichabod 4-yard line, the Washburn defense stiffened and forced a field goal, limiting the damage to make it 17-3 at halftime.
Northwest opened the second half with a four-play, 75-yard drive to take a 24-3 lead, highlighted by a 64-yard quarterback scramble by Owens before he found Jaidyn Doss for a six-yard touchdown pass. Washburn responded immediately. Logan Madden connected with Tre Calhoun for a 45-yard gain and then a 25-yard touchdown pass, capping a four-play, 76-yard drive. Later in the quarter, Madden led an eight-play, 65-yard march that ended with a nine-yard touchdown pass to Calhoun, trimming the margin to 24-17.
After Northwest answered with a 10-play, 80-yard touchdown drive to go back ahead 31-17, the Ichabods mounted one more charge. Early in the fourth quarter, J.C. Heim forced a fumble from Owens, with Jayson Green recovering at the Bearcat 32-yard line. Seven plays later, Madden found Calhoun from three yards out to pull Washburn within 31-24 with 8:12 remaining.
The Washburn defense gave the offense another opportunity, forcing Northwest to go three-and-out on its next possession. The Ichabods drove to the Bearcat 11-yard line in the final minutes, but were stopped on fourth down after a pass into the endzone was incomplete, allowing Northwest to run out the clock.
Northwest managed just 321 total yards through three quarters, with 179 of those yards coming on three plays: Cannon's 45-yard touchdown run, Owens' 64-yard scramble and the 21-yard completion to Karsten Pate that ignited the Bearcats' final touchdown drive. Through three quarters, Washburn held Northwest to 142 total yards in the first half and only 58 passing yards in the third quarter while continually forcing long-yardage situations. The defense also came up with the game's lone takeaway for Washburn as Heim forced the fourth-quarter fumble recovered by Green.
The Ichabods outscored Northwest 21-14 in the second half, outgained the Bearcats 270-215 and held the ball for 18:20 compared to 11:40 for Northwest. Washburn converted 6-of-8 third-down attempts after halftime while Northwest was just 2-of-5. In the fourth quarter, Washburn limited the Bearcats to only 36 total yards and no points while possessing the ball for 10:29 of the final 15 minutes.
Calhoun turned in a historic receiving performance in school history, catching nine passes for 125 yards and three touchdowns becoming the first Ichabod since J.J. Brainia-Hopp to have three touchdown receptions in a game against Emporia State on 10/27/2018. Madden threw for 366 yards and three scores, completing 27 of 48 passes. Cam Robinson added 140 all-purpose yards, rushing for 58 yards on 13 carries and catching four passes for 82 yards. Nathan Lewis Jr. hauled in five catches for 53 yards, while Jayden Norman added four receptions for 46 yards.
Defensively, Heim led the Ichabods with 11 tackles, forced a fumble and added a tackle for loss. Brody Hayes recorded nine tackles, Reece Watkins finished with five stops, and Gage Depee totaled five tackles with a tackle for loss. Elijah Clark-Boyd recorded Washburn's lone sack.
 
 A WIN OVER THE BRONCHOS WOULD
• move the Ichabods to 2-1-1 on the season.
• snap a three-game losing streak to the Bronchos.
• be the first win over the Bronchos since a 37-9 win over UCO in Topeka on Oct. 22, 2022.
• move Washburn to 6-9 all-time against the Bronchos.
• even Washburn's record against UCO in home games to 4-4 all-time.
 
  A LOSS TO THE BRONCHOS WOULD
• drop the Ichabods to 1-2-1 on the season.
• be the fourth loss in a row to UCO.
• drop the Ichabods to 5-10 all-time against the Bronchos.
• be the second-straight loss to UCO in Yager Stadium.
 
 ICHABOD FOOTBALL HISTORY
• Washburn is 585-623-45 (.484) in the 136th 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 187 all-MIAA picks and 63 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
The Ichabods will be back on the road at Nebraska-Kearney on Sept. 26 at 1 p.m. After an open week on Oct. 3, Washburn will host Pittsburg State on Oct. 10 as part of Washburn's Hall of Fame Weekend and Stormont Vail Health's Pink Out Game.