Washburn lost their fifth game of the season to the Griffons of Missouri Western State University.
Teondre Carter, sophomore running back, made a 92-yard kickoff return touchdown. This was one of the biggest plays of the game for Washburn. Carter’s mind was set on staying in the green.
“I just had to run really. I just followed the green,that’s it,” Carter said.
This was Carter’s first big play of the season and he hopes for more in the future.
“I want more [touchdowns] to come, so I’m going to just have to keep working until I get some more,” Carter said.
At the end of the first quarter, five Ichabods were able to stop a player from scoring, keeping the score tied at 14.
Washburn continued to struggle with their passing game going into the second quarter. Meanwhile the Griffons took advantage of their struggles and scored 16 points ending the first half leading 44-14.
The turnout for the Washburn crowd was huge and interactive. During halftime the Dancing Blues and the Marching Blues performed. Though the crowd seemed disappointed with the score, they still hoped to see the team play well.
“It’s a little bit disappointing, because we’re not winning. But so far it seems like we have a good turnout,” said Jacob Howell, a junior political science major. “A lot of people are excited to see cheer, dance and the Ichabods all around and just seeing our boys be able to play very well.”
During the third quarter, the Ichabods failed to score, but the Griffons continued to play well, ending the quarter with a 47 point lead, 61-14.
In the fourth quarter, the Ichabods scored one final touchdown. Murray Sullivan, freshman wide receiver, caught a 28-yard pass that led to his touchdown bringing the final score to 61-21 in favor of the Griffons.
After the game, Craig Schurig, head coach, discussed the team’s dynamic. This season Washburn football has had more first time players on the field compared to other years.
“Typically we don’t play that many first year guys. Some of the kids have been in the program for maybe two, three years, and we’ve had really good classes ahead of them. And so this is their first go,” Schurig said. “We’ve got sophomores and maybe some juniors that this is their first real game experience. So they’re getting better. We’re just obviously not really good as a team right now.”
Wyatt Boggs, a fan of Washburn football, believed the team had good plays and gave some pointers on what he thinks they could work on in the future.
“Saw a lot of good stuff, a lot of good plays and then just couldn’t quite finish. Keep driving hard after third down, keep going. Don’t just slow down and [say] ‘oh, it’s third down, we’re going to punt.’ Got to keep playing hard,” Boggs said.
Carter is motivated for the rest of the season and plans to finish it strong.
“I just pray that we all keep our heads up and keep working and keep going and just finish the season strong,” Carter said.
Coach Schurig acknowledges the team’s efforts during practice and will continue with their program of building the team’s momentum.
“You’re looking at this year going ‘man we’re not playing well at all.’ But what they do this coming weekend practice and what they do in these next five games that’s,a part of our program, so we want to build, we don’t want to be in a situation where we feel sorry for ourselves and get worse. We got to continue to get better,” Schurig said.
Washburn football’s next home game is Saturday, Oct. 21. Be sure to support the Ichabods as they play against Fort Hays State University.
Edited by Jeremy Ford and Aja Carter
