The Washburn Ichabods looked to finish their final home game of the season on a strong note on Senior Day. As the seniors walked down the center of the field across the blue “W” in the turf and the pack of motorcycles for Military Appreciation Day encircled the field, game day was ready to take off at Yager Stadium.

With the visiting Bronchos looking to disrupt the Ichabods’ honorary Senior Day, Washburn prepared to hold their 6-3 record and add another win to improve the Ichabods’ stance on a bowl game appearance.

The Ichabods started out strong on the defensive end for the start of the game, recording its first turnover in mere minutes. With great field position from a recovered fumble by Rashade Chester, the Ichabods would get all the way down to the red zone before kicking in a three point score.

Blake Peterson has made a significant case for himself as a permanent starter at the helm for the Ichabods with the probability that he sees a significant uptick in play next season. This was only cemented even more by his huge 52 yard gain on the ground around the 5:19 mark.

The only negative during this drive would be a fumble by wide receiver Will Hamilton, who would give up the ball back to the Bronchos.

The Bronchos would capitalize on the fumble and then stroll all the way down the field for a touchdown to end the first.

The first half would be a turnover laden mess, featuring multiple fumbles by both teams. By halftime, there were five fumbles, all fumbles lost to the opposing team.

The Ichabods would not help their case with only three first downs by halftime.

An example of the slow offense in the first half is Mickeel Stewart, a senior running back who would only have two touches by the 11:36 mark of the second quarter on three yards gained.

“I think as a team we all feel like we could have done a lot more,” Stewart said.

Other seniors like wide receiver Carey Woods would also have limited touches with nearly identical stats as Stewart as Woods recorded only three yards in the same time.

Woods had his thoughts on the current look of the Ichabods with bowl eligibility after the game.

“It’s going to be a little tougher to get that bid,” Woods said, “But if we take care of business next week we should get that bid for a bowl game.”

While the Washburn offense continued to struggle, the Bronchos offense did the opposite.

The first half, while painful as it was, would end with Washburn only being down by ten.

That would not last long, as Washburn would turn the ball over once again with an intercepted pass intended for James Brania-Hopp that would lead to another touchdown for a 3-20 score.

The second half would remain much of the same, with Washburn struggling to put points on the board and UCO adding score.

Senior Day would end with a very disheartening Ichabod loss, the final score would see the Bronchos out on top 10-27.

Next for the Ichabods is their potential final game of the season to take on Emporia State University. The Hornets have a 5-5 record on the season and ready for the Ichabods at 2 p.m. Nov. 11.