By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The Washburn University football team will open its MIAA schedule at 1 p.m. Saturday in Yager Stadium against Northwest Missouri, with the Ichabods looking to build off of their 20-17 season-opening come-from-behind win over Truman State.
Quarterback Justin Lewis threw for 352 yards and two touchdowns in his Washburn debut, helping lead the Ichabods to a 20-17 win over Truman State. [File photo/TSN]
"I was real proud of how we came back,'' Ichabod coach Zach Watkins said about the Truman win. "We faced some adversity early and we battled back. We've got to improve some things up front on the offensive line with the run game and the protection. Truman State did a really good job with things we hadn't seen on film and we weren't prepared for, so we had to adjust during the game and that's what good teams and good coaches do and our staff did that.
"They hit us in the mouth early (opening up a 10-0 lead) and we adjusted to come back.''
The Bearcats are 0-1 after falling 38-14 at then-No. 11-ranked Minnesota State.
"Northwest is extremely talented,'' Watkins said. "They didn't play their best game against Minnesota State-Mankato the first game, but the same as us, they want to improve in a big way from Week 1 to Week 2. They're extremely well-coached with a lot of good players and they're still Northwest Missouri and an elite program in Division II.''
Northwest topped Washburn 51-34 last fall and leads the all-time series 36-7. The Bearcats have won the last three meetings overall and the last two games in Topeka.
After Week 1, the Ichabods are fourth in the MIAA in total defense, allowing 333 yards per game and ninth in total offense, averaging 315 yards per game.
The Ichabods have the No. 1-ranked passing offense in the league, averaging 352 yards per game. Quarterback Justin Lewis is on top of the MIAA in passing after the opening week, passing for 352 yards and two touchdowns against Truman.
Lewis completed 20 straight passes at one point, setting a Washburn and MIAA single-game record.
Chase Allen-Jackman celebrates one of his two touchdowns in Washburn's 20-17 season-opening win over Truman State. [File photo/TSN]
Junior Chase Allen-Jackman leads the conference with 127 yards receiving while junior D.J. Bell is fourth after his 98-yard performance against the Bulldogs.
Sophomores L.J. Minner and J.C. Heim are tied for the MIAA lead with 11 tackles and Kamble Haverkamp leads the MIAA with three tackles for loss and two sacks.
Lewis' 33 completions against Truman is third on the Ichabod single-season chart while Aidan Battle's 51-yard field goal was the longest by an Ichabod since Justin Linn hit a 51-yard attempt at Nebraska-Kearney on Sept. 5, 2013.
John McMenamin was named the new head coach of the Bearcat football program on Dec. 5, 2024.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Zechariah Owens made his collegiate debut for the Bearcats at the start of the second quarter against No. 11-ranked Minnesota State, going 10 of 12 passing for 160 yards and a touchdown. Owens also rushed for a team-high 44 yards and a touchdown against the Mavericks.
Senior running back/returner Dominic Myers picked up a team-best 93 all-purpose yards against Minnesota State.
Ben Einess led the Bearcats with eight tackles and Antwon Jenkins Jr., Jacob Stockard and Clayton Power all had seven.
The Bearcats were outgained 475-316 yards by the Mavericks.
Washburn will have a non-conference game with Colorado School of Mines on Sept. 13 in Golden, Colo. and then face Central Oklahoma on the road on Sept. 20 before returning home to take on Nebraska-Kearney on Sept. 27 for Family Day.
