Touchdown after touchdown, the Washburn Ichabods took control last Thursday night at home against the Lincoln University Tigers—senior running back Justin Cooper and redshirt-freshman running back Sean McPherson made sure of that.

And as the second win of the season, head coach Craig Schurig is noticing some distinctive changes between this season and the last.

“Last year we felt like we had a really good team,” said Schurig. “The beginning of the season didn’t go as well as we had planned, we lost some really tight games, but then our seniors and team got together and we played very well the second half of the season. I felt like we played as well as anybody in the country at our level.”

Schurig said he’s been impressed with the offense so far.

“Dane Simoneau, our senior quarterback, had a really strong year as a junior,” said Schurig. “Anytime you have an offense you know your quarterback has to distribute the ball to various play makers. Dane has made great decisions in the past, as well as now,” said Schurig.

So far this season, Simoneau has gone 33-for-48, thrown a record 452 yards against Sioux Falls, and 80 yards with one touchdown against Lincoln.

“We also had other players on our offense line that did really well last season,” said Schurig. “Joe Hastings, for example, was one of the top receivers in the country.

Now, he’s on the practice squad with the San Francisco 49ers.”

This season, like the last, has similar expectations with Coach Schurig.

“I think we really have a talented team again this year and really strong senior leadership on the offensive side,” said Schurig. “Dane is back and we have a number of receivers that will share the wealth with him.”

WU’s main strength, according to Schurig, is its offensive line.

“Those players really control the game,” said Schurig. “Brian Folkerts, for example, is a senior [offensive lineman]—he will be outstanding this year as a senior player.”

Schurig said starting off strong against Sioux Falls helped the Ichabods get off to a strong pace against Lincoln. He hopes the Bods can continue their explosiveness in the future, starting with Missouri Southern State University this Saturday.

“We got off to a very fast start on the road,” said Schurig. “We took the game to the opponent and we only a couple of missed assignments and had a strong second half,” said Schurig. “Overall, we had a great start.”

With two wins under his belt, Schurig said there’s only one thing to focus on.

“Now, I can only hope that we can get off to the same kind of start in our upcoming games and get the crowd into it early,” said Schurig. “I believe we really play well, but we’re always looking for improvement between games—that’s our goal this season.”