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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- After losing the 2020 football season to COVID-19, Washburn University kicked off 2021 in grand style Thursday night, scoring the final 55 points of the game in a 76-12 road rout over the Lincoln Blue Tigers.
Washburn (1-0, 1-0 MIAA) rolled to its fifth-highest single-game point total in program history in the 64-point win.
After a punt snap was muffed by the Blue Tigers, it took the Ichabods just two plays to score their first points of the season as Taylon Peters scored on a 2-yard run with 13:01 to play in the first quarter.
After a Lincoln punt, Washburn marched 68 yards in five plays, capped by a 20-yard touchdown pass from Mitch Schurig to Jace Williams as Washburn went in front, 14-0.
Lincoln got on the board on its next drive on a 74-yard touchdown pass from Zamar Brake to Chrissuhn Robinson.
Washburn’s Zach Willis scores a second-quarter touchdown in the Ichabods’ 76-12 season-opening win over Lincoln Thursday night in Jefferson City, Mo. [Photo by Phil Anderson/Special to TSN]
The Ichabods used a five-play, 71-yard drive to push their lead to 21-6, with Zach Willis scoring on a 1-yard plunge. WU coughed the ball up on its next drive and the Blue Tigers cut the WU lead to 21-12.
Kameron Lake connected on a 23-yard field goal with 4:35 to play in the first half to put Washburn up 24-12.
Then, after the Ichabods forced a punt, Washburn went 61 yards in six plays for a 1-yard Connor Searcy TD to open up a 31-12 advantage.
Washburn blocks a second-quarter punt in the Ichabods’ 76-12 season-opening win at Lincoln on Thursday night in Jefferson City, Mo. [Photo by Phil Anderson/Special to TSN]
Washburn's special team unit blocked a Blue Tigers' punt to take over at the Lincoln 15 and Schurig found Williams for his second score of the game as Washburn took a 38-12 lead into the halftime break.
The second half was all Wasburn as the Ichabods outscored Lincoln by a 38-0 margin.
In the third quarter Washburn got a 31-yard scoring run from Peters, a 29-yard touchdown pass from Kellen Simoncic to JJ Letcher and a second scoring pass from Simoncic to Washburn Rural product Hunter Browning on a 15-yard pass as the Ichabods led 59-12 at the end of three quarters.
WU got a career-long 41-yard field goal from Lane and a pick six from Micah Skebo before Percy Mitchell ended the scoring with a 4-yard TD with 7:36 remaining.
Schurig finished 16 of 22 passing for 269 yards and the two scores to Williams while Letcher led the Ichabods with 116 receiving yards and one touchdown and Williams had 75 yards receiving on four catches. Peters led the Ichabod ground attack with 75 yards on 10 carries.
Defensively the Ichabods were led by Topeka High product Jacob Anderson's five stops as Washburn held the Blue Tigers to 203 total yards.
Washburn finished with 28 first downs compared to Lincoln's six.
The Ichabods will make their home debut next Thursday, hosting Central Missouri at Yager Stadium.
