By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
There were a lot of things that veteran Washburn University football coach Craig Schurig felt good about in the wake of last Saturday's 24-16 MIAA road win at Missouri Western.
Al-Mani Jimerson and the Washburn defense gave up just one touchdown last week at Missouri Western as the Ichabods earned their first win with a 24-16 MIAA decision over the Griffons. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
But the thing that Schurig cherished the most was seeing the pure joy his players exemplified after notching their first victory of the season.
"It was cool seeing our players excited after a game because they've been dejected,'' Schurig said. "And that's one of the joys of coaching is seeing your guys excited and smiling after a game.
"That's probably the thing you miss the most, to see them happy after a game, because they had played hard and when you don't get the reward you're not happy. We still made some mistakes but had enough in us to finish it off. We rose up and made the necessary plays, so that's good for our confidence.''
Redshirt freshman noseguard Al-Mani Jimerson agreed with his coach that finding a way to win was huge for the Ichabods.
"It definitely was great, finally getting over that hilltop,'' said Jimerson, a St. Louis, Mo. native. "But we know we're not satisfied. We've still got more to go. We've still got a tough schedule, we've still got to finish the season so this is just one game of many that's going to come.''
"I felt really good about the game,'' added Ichabod sophomore receiver Maury Sullivan, who also hails from St. Louis. "I felt like we responded to going down (10-7 at halftime) very well because a lot of times when you go down it's easy to put our heads down and get under a rock but I thought we responded pretty well and came out the second half striking.''
Now the Ichabods will be aiming to continue their turnaround in Saturday's 3 p.m. MIAA game against Northwest Missouri State in Yager Stadium, part of Washburn's Hall of Fame Day.
Washburn is 1-3 overall and 1-2 in the MIAA) entering Saturday's game while the Bearcats are 3-2, 3-1 in the MIAA after topping No. 11-ranked Emporia State 14-9 for their third straight win last week.
The Ichabods have played one of the toughest schedules in the country to start the season as their four opponents so far have a combined record of 12-3. The Ichabods have played the seventh-toughest schedule so far in the NCAA D-II ranks.
The Ichabods are ranked fourth in the nation in punt returns, averaging 36.3 yards per return, and 24th in the nation in kickoff returns, averaging 26.5 yards per return.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Keller Hurla is ranked 16th in the nation in completion percentage at 67 percent, completing 55 of 82 passes. Hurla led the Ichabods on the ground against Missouri Western with 66 yards and one score while passing for 218 yards, completing 19 of 28 passes.
Sophomore receiver Maury Sullivan paced Washburn with four catches for 61 yards in last Saturday's 24-16 MIAA win at Missouri Western. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Hurla connected with nine different receivers, led by Sullivan with 61 yards on four catches, while D.J. Bell had five catches for 58 yards and Highland Park product Tre Richardson had four grabs for 51 yards.
"I feel like we've got the best receiving corps in the conference,'' Sullivan said. "I feel like nobody can guard every receiver we've got out there.''
Richardson is 45th in the nation and fifth in the MIAA in all-purpose yards, averaging 121.3 yards per game.
Defensively, the Ichabods were led by L.J. Minner, Jr, with nine tackles while Caeden Spencer added five tackles with two for loss, and Chase McCoy had four tackles, including two sacks.
McCoy is 25th in the nation and leads the MIAA in sacks at 0.8 per game.
The Ichabods have played one of the toughest schedules in the country to start the season as their four opponents so far have a combined win/loss record of 12-3. The Ichabods have played the seventh-toughest schedule so far in the NCAA D2 ranks.
Saturday's tilt will follow Hall of Fame induction ceremonies for five individuals and a team earlier in the day.
The newest inductees include Trent Hearn (football), Marissa (Cox) Horstick (volleyball), Mollie Lacy (volleyball), Tish Williams (softball) and Jemi Johnson (basketball) along with the 2000-2001 WU men's basketball team that reached the national championship game.
Northwest Missouri has won its last three games, including last week's win over Emporia State. The Bearcats opened the season with a home loss to Minnesota State and a road loss at Nebraska-Kearney before topping No. 25-ranked Fort Hays State 32-20, Missouri Southern 59-0 and then the Hornets
Tank Young leads the Bearcats in rushing with 38.2 yards per game averaging 3.4 yards per carry while Chris Ruhne averages 285.4 yards through the air whild completing 69 percent of his passes. Ruhne has thrown for 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
Luke Matthews leads the receivers with 85.8 yards per game on 21 catches, averaging 20.4 yards per catch with two touchdowns.
The Bearcats lead the all-time series 35-7.
The Ichabods will be on the road to face Fort Hays State on Oct. 12 with a 7 p.m. kickoff.
Washburn's next home game will be Oct. 19 against Missouri Southern.
