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Washburn football looking to rebound against Griffons after OT heartbreaker
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The Washburn Ichabod football team will hit the road on Saturday to take on Missouri Western, looking to bounce back from a 13-10 heartbreaking overtime loss to Fort Hays State last week.
"We talk about our seven-day season and the game is the end of that,'' Washburn coach Zach Watkins said. "We close the chapter after the game and Sunday we move on to the next opponent and try to get better from the film and learn, but this one was a little bit harder to move on from.
"You have some games that are easy to move on from, win or loss, and some are tough to move on from. This is one of the tougher ones, but the guys have done a great job of responding this week and are ready to go against another good opponent but another game that we've got to play well to win.''
Topekan Ky Thomas (8) rushed for 95 yards and a touchdown in last Saturday's 13-10 overtime loss to Fort Hays State. [File photo/TSN]
Former Topeka High star Ky Thomas, who rushed for 95 yards and scored the Ichabods' lone touchdown against the Tigers, agreed with his coach that WU's focus has to be on bouncing back.
"We have to take what we can from that game and learn from it and move on to the next seven-game season as coach Watkins says,'' said Thomas, who has scored four touchdowns over the past three games. "We'll take it one day at a time and get just get better as the season goes on.''
Washburn will take a 2-6 overall record and 1-5 MIAA mark into Saturday's 2 p.m. game while the Griffons are also 2-6 and 1-5.
Saturday's game will mark the second season in a row the Ichabods and Griffons have played in St. Joseph, with the Ichabods winning last year's matchup, 24-16.
The Griffons are coming off a 19-12 road win over Missouri Southern last Saturday.
Sophomore linebacker JC Heim leads the MIAA and is third in the national rankings in tackles per game with 12.6 stops while junior L.J. Minner Jr. is fourth in the MIAA with 9.6 tackles per game.
Senior Jordan Finnesy's 239 career tackles rank 16th on the NCAA D2 active chart and he is 16th on the D2 active solo tackles chart with 146.
Senior punter Jake Zeller is fifth on the NCAA D2 active punting average chart at 41.8 and he is seventh in total punt yards (6,479).
Zeller is second in the MIAA and ninth in the national rankings in punting average at 42.6 and Zeller is second on the Ichabod all-time punting average chart at 41.8 and ninth in total yards at 6,479.
Ichabod soccer takes 2-0 road win over Bearcats, protects MIAA lead
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University soccer posted a 2-0 road win over Northwest Missouri State Friday to protect its lead in the MIAA title race.
Junior Mackinly Rohn scored her second goal of the season in Friday's 2-0 Washburn soccer win over Northwest Missouri. [File photo/TSN]
."It was a total team effort today,'' Washburn coach Davy Phillips said. "I thought we did a really good job establishing the tempo of the game early and staying committed to it until the goals came.
"I loved the competitive energy from our team today.''
No. 19-ranked Washburn improved to 11-2-3 overall and 8-0-2 in the MIAA while extending its unbeaten streak to 12 games (10 games, two ties).
Washburn came up empty in the first 45 minutes despite multiple chances before finally getting on the scoreboard in the 66th minute on a goal from freshman Jules Wardlaw after the ball bounced around in the box.
Washburn would record a crucial second goal in the 77th minute on a shot from junior Mackinly Rohn, a former Washburn Rural star.
With the win the Ichabods stayed atop the MIAA Conference standings with 26 points with two matches to play.
Washburn outshot Northwest Missouri 14-2 and held the Bearcats to zero shots in the second half.
Wardlaw and Rohn both scored their second goals of the season.
Washburn will be back on the road Sunday to face Missouri Western in a 1 p.m. contest.
No. 2 Ichabod volleyball has eight-match win streak snapped by Griffons in five-set thriller
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
No. 2-ranked Washburn University volleyball had its eight-match winning streak snapped on Friday night in a 3-2 road loss to No. 23 Missouri Western.
Senior Austin Broadie had 12 kills for Washburn in Friday's five-set MIAA road loss at Missouri Western. [File photo/TSN]
The Ichabods will look to bounce back on Saturday in Maryville, Mo. against Northwest Missouri, with first serve set for 3 p.m.
Friday's match marked the first time in conference play that Washburn (20-2 overall, 9-2 MIAA) played five sets.
After the Griffons (17-5, 9-2) took the first set 25-21 it snapped a 24-set winning streak for the Ichabods going back to the Sept. 27 meeting with Missouri Western, which has handed Washburn both its losses this season.
Set two went in the Ichabods favor, 25-19, with the next two split each way 25-13 for Western and 25-17 for Washburn. The decisive fifth set was won by Missouri Western 15-12 to take the match.
The first set was taken control of by the Griffons as they went on a 6-1 run to lead 9-6. Washburn battled back, tying the match at 13 on a kill by Keilah Rivers and going ahead briefly at 15-14. Another 6-1 burst by Missouri Western pushed them in front 22-18 and the Ichabods were unable to overcome the late deficit, falling by four points.
In the second Washburn got out to an early 6-3 lead, capped off by a Sydney Conner ace. Both teams traded 5-0 runs in the middle of the set, ending with a 15-13 Ichabod lead on an Austin Broadie kill. Washburn finished the set with three straight points and the final two coming on aces by Bella Limback to even up the match.
Missouri Western responded quickly, leading 13-4 in the third set after an 8-0 rally. The Ichabods won four points in a row, two coming on kills by freshman former Washburn Rural standout Layla Collins before the Griffons went on another 8-0 run pushing the lead into double figures. The Griffons would go on to take the set by 12 points.
