While hot streak may be a bit of an overstatement on a two-win streak, a two-win streak with four games left in the regular season is still something to cheer about.

On Oct. 15 at Yager Stadium, Washburn defeated Fort Hays State University 30-24. Opening up the game in the first quarter, the Ichabods pulled ahead 13-0 off of a fake field goal by Cody Summers followed by a recovered sack by Austin Tillman off of the Tigers thanks to Akhmad Abdul-Razzaq that allowed the Ichabods to score another quick touchdown.

By the end of the second quarter, Washburn was on the offensive with a touchdown from Bryce Chavis and a field goal from Perry Schmiedeler to fight against Fort Hays’ two touchdowns; putting the score at 23-14 at half time.

Special teams certainly kept the Ichabods rushing forward during the game though, as they scored their second touchdown of the game off of an 83-yard punt return at the beginning of the second half. This put the Ichabods out of reach of the Tigers, as even after a touchdown and a field goal, the Tigers couldn’t recover from the deficit.

The victory for the Ichabods put them equal to Fort Hays State at a 5-2 record and allowed them to compete in a four-way tie for third place in the conference. They are joined by Central Missouri and Pittsburg State. Washburn’s next game Oct. 22 is against Central Missouri in Warrensburg, Missouri and will separate the top and middle of the MIAA standings.

The Ichabods are currently 5-2 on the season, and while their opponents are as well, the Ichabods are coming off of a win streak and are 2-1 on their away games for the season. The team holds a lot of potential going forward from here.

If Washburn wins their game against Central Missouri this weekend then it will solidify their position within the upper rankings of the MIAA this season. Assuming that they win one of the subsequent three games as well, the next one being homecoming, then they are likely to hold a top four spot at the end of the season.

To put things in perspective, last year Washburn ended the season 5-6, and they were predicted to place 8th in the MIAA this season. It’s the very fact that the team is defying all of the expectations set for them that puts them on a hot streak.

Washburn could lose the next four games and land themselves back in the same position they were in last season, but two of Washburn’s final four matches are with opponents that have worse records than Washburn. It’s not a “what’s the worst that could happen” situation, it’s a “let’s go Washburn!” situation.