By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The Washburn Ichabod football team will be back in Yager Stadium for the first time in three weeks on Saturday, hosting MIAA foe Nebraska-Kearney in a 1 p.m. Family Day contest.
Zach Watkins' Washburn Ichabods will be looking to pick up their first MIAA win in Saturday's Family Day contest with Nebraska-Kearney. [File photo/TSN] The Ichabods are 1-3 this season with three straight losses but are coming off a strong performance last Saturday in a 34-28 MIAA loss at No. 15-ranked Central Oklahoma.
Now Washburn coach Zach Watkins and the Ichabods will be looking to parlay that nailbiter into their first MIAA victory.
"Winning's the ultimate goal and there's no moral victories in college football and if you don't win then you're disappointed,'' Watkins said. "But our kids have attacked every week, win or lose, in a really positive way.
"Coming off two long road trips to Colorado and Oklahoma, our two longest road trips of the year, it's so great to be back home at Yager Stadium in front of our fans, especially on Family Day. We've talked all week about Family Day and what family means in our program, so hopefully we'll play our best game this weekend.
''We have not played as well as we can and once we play as well as we can I think that will hopefully turn into success.''
The Lopers are 3-1 this season after a 34-20 MIAA win over Emporia State at home last Saturday and Nebraska-Kearney received votes in the latest AFCA Top 25 coaches poll.
Washburn sophomore linebacker JC Heim, a former Washburn Rural star, leads the MIAA in tackles with 59 and sophomore L.J. Minner Jr. is second with 48, with the Ichabod duo ranking third and fourth, respectively, in the NCAA Division II-2 national rankings.
Minner has recorded double-digit tackles in each of his last seven games dating back to last season. The seven-game double-digit tackle streak is the longest since Grant Gould had at least 10 tackles in seven straight from the final game of the 2004 season to the first six games of the 2005 season.
Chase Allen-Jackman's four touchdown receptions lead the MIAA and is 13th in the NCAA D2 ranks.
Allen-Jackman finished with five receptions for 118 yards and both of Washburn's passing touchdowns against UCO while sophomore Keller Hurla added two rushing scores to go with his long touchdown pass in his first game of the season.
Heim led the Ichabod defense with 16 tackles (eight solo stops) and also picked off a pass while Minner had 13 stops (five solo).
The Lopers' lone loss was a 26-7 defeat to Fort Hays State and they recorded non-conference wins over Chadron State (41-21) and Wayne State (28-21) in the first two weeks of the season.
Kearney has the No. 2 defense in the MIAA, allowing 325 yards per game and the No. 8 offense, averaging 358 yards per contest.
The Lopers' Isaiah Harris leads the league in rushing at 151.5 yards per game with a league-best six rushing touchdowns. Harris is also second in the league in all-purpose yards at 160.0 per game.
Josh Davies-Balogun is tied for the MIAA lead with three sacks for 20 yards.
Washburn dropped a 14-13 Homecoming decision to Kearney last season in a game that saw two lightning delays totaling 153 minutes in game stoppage.
Washburn dropped a 14-13 Homecoming decision to Kearney last season in a game that saw two lightning delays totaling 153 minutes in game stoppage.
The Ichabods trail the all-time series with the Lopers 19-13 as the Lopers have won the last four in the series and five of the last six.
Washburn's last win in the series Nov. 16, 2019 in a 57-41 win in Kearney.
The Ichabods will be off next week before traveling to Pittsburg State on Oct. 11.
The Ichabods will be off next week before traveling to Pittsburg State on Oct. 11.
