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Details: Created: 31 August 2022

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Washburn University football will kick off its 130th season at 6 p.m. on Thursday when the Ichabods host Lincoln in an MIAA contest in Yager Stadium.

And veteran WU coach Craig Schurig said it's definitely time to get things going.

All-American James Letcher Jr. is a top returner for Washburn University, which went 9-3 and made the NCAA Playoffs last fall. [File photo]

The veteran Ichabods are coming off a 9-3 season, a second-place tie in the MIAA standings and an NCAA playoff berth.

"Luckily, with kind of a veteran crew, you feel like we're ready to play,'' Schurig said. "Some years you're like, 'Man, I wish we had another week,' but we don't need another week. We need to play.''

Washburn will be facing a Lincoln team, picked 12th in the MIAA, that went 0-10 a year ago and has 59 true freshmen on its roster with just 24 juniors and seniors.

Washburn took a 76-12 road win in Jefferson City, Mo. last fall.

Thursday is definitely a game the Ichabods should win, but Schurig said there are several things WU wants to accomplish.

"I want us to play well and really execute on offense because I feel like we're kind of a veteran group on offense,'' he said. "You're not going to be mistake free in the first game but we want to execute at a high level and get guys an opportunity to show what they can do, distribute the ball well, get a lot of first downs and move the ball.

"Defensively I think we're pretty fast and we haven't had the chance to tackle a quarterback and do those kind of things because we've been going against each other, so we'll get a chance to see the physicality of our defense.''

Schurig said the Ichabods got through preseason camp in relatively good shape physically and said he was pleased with the progress the Ichabods have made.

"It feels like the guys played aggressively toward each other, they were very competitive, and we did pretty well (getting ready),'' Schurig said.

Washburn is 79-46-6 all-time in season-openers and 2-0 when playing the Blue Tigers in the first game of the season.

The Ichabods have won their last seven games played in Yager Stadium, which is the 10th-longest streak in the NCAA D2 ranks starting the season. The longest streak in the nation belongs to Northwest Missouri at 12 games.

The Ichabods, picked fourth in the MIAA preseason media and coaches polls, averaged 32.5 points last season while allowing 21.9 points per game.

Washburn All-American James Letcher Jr. ranked 10th last season in the NCAA in all-purpose yards, averaging 154.7 yards per game, and he was fourth in the NCAA in combined kick returns and ninth in the nation in kickoff returns averaging 28.5 per attempt.

Peter Afful was 19th in the nation in yards per reception at 19.3 per catch, which was second in the MIAA.

The Ichabod offensive line returns four of its five starters from last season -- C.J. Murray (right tackle), Jacob Glendinning (right guard), Bergan Hofer (left guard) and Andrew Funk (left tackle).

On defense the Ichabods return six of their top eight tackle leaders from 2021.

Peyton Lane had 70 tackles last season while Kevin Neal Jr. had 65 stops, Grant Bruner 60 tackles in seven games, Channon Ross 42 stops, Jordan Finnesy 41 and Landen Urban 38.

Urban was second on the team with 12 tackles for loss and his six sacks were also second on the team.

Washburn will travel to Central Missouri on Sept. 8.

Details: Created: 31 August 2022

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Washburn University sophomore quarterback Kellen Simoncic was a very valuable backup for the Ichabods a year ago, coming on when All-MIAA quarterback Mitch Schurig went down with an injury and helping WU post two of its biggest wins in a 9-3 campaign.

Sophomore Kellen Simoncic will start the 2022 season as Washburn University's No. 1 quarterback after serving as a valuable backup last season. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]

Now, with the graduated Schurig moving into a coaching role for Washburn, Simoncic is in a transitional stage of his own, taking over as "The Guy'' as the Ichabods get set to open the 2022 season at Yager Stadium Thursday night against Lincoln (6 p.m. kickoff).

"I feel very comfortable,'' said Simoncic, a 6-foot-3, 205-pounder out of Smithville, Mo. "Credit to all my teammates that have given me a lot of confidence. When your teammates believe in you it really helps out mentally for yourself. I feel really good.

"I've really been working on my leadership side of everything and trying to be a servant leader to everybody and serve others the best that I can. That's how my parents taught me to do things and that's how I try to do things around here.''

Simoncic redshirted as a WU freshman and had the 2020 season canceled due to COVID before seeing his first on-field action last fall, appearing in seven games with one start.

Simoncic completed 42 of 81 pass attempts for 525 yards and six touchdowns in 2021, including a clutch relief appearance in a 17-16 win over No. 2-ranked Northwest Missouri.

Details: Created: 31 August 2022

By ISAAC DEER

TopSports.news

The Seaman Vikings' dominant defensive effort in Tuesday’s season-opener was spoiled by a crunchtime Emporia goal, giving the Spartans a 1-0 win at Seaman.

Seaman soccer coach Tim Nussbaum (kneeling) talks to his Vikings after Tuesday's 1-0 season-opening loss to Emporia. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]

For nearly 80 minutes, Seaman was holding tight with an explosive Emporia offense.

Emporia, which was coming off of a 4-0 win against St. Marys, presented a challenge to a young Seaman team.

“That was a really good team we lost to,” Seaman coach Tim Nussbaum said. “They kept the ball from us well for a majority of the game tonight. We have to have short-term memory and get better tomorrow.”

While the offense was sparse for the Vikings, the defense was solid for both halves. Goalkeeper Ayden Thompson protected the goal in the backend giving Seaman security.

“I was impressed with what Ayden did for us today,” Nussbaum said. “He made a ton of saves for us today. We’re hoping we can help him out next game by having possession of the ball a little bit more.”

Key defensive contributions from Brandon Ruelas, Jack Pekarek and Joey Keil pushed Emporia back. The Vikings were able to make important stops in the first half that could’ve ended in goals for Emporia.

Emporia’s defense was just as superb as Seaman’s. Goalkeeper Diego Reyes led the Spartans to another shutout performance.

In the second half, Emporia changed the tempo and momentum of the game by netting a goal in a heavily trafficked box. Giovanni Garcilazo was able to successfully set up Netherlands native Mats Goerres with 14:29 to go.

“I thought we did well with possession,” Emporia coach Victor Ibarra said. “If you had to put a number out there, I think we had the advantage. A lot of our offense today was empty, in my opinion. But we did enough and thanks to the goal and the defense, we were able to take a win today.”

The one goal was all Emporia needed for the win on Tuesday and while it wasn’t necessarily the start Seaman wanted, the young team looked competitive.

Nussbaum took over as the head coach for the Seaman boys soccer team this fall. Nussbaum led the Seaman Lady Vikes to an 11-6-1 record last spring and hopes that the boys can replicate that and change their fortunes after having a struggling season last year.

“These guys are just brilliant,” Nussbaum said. “They worked hard all summer long for this program. They are getting so much better and I think with time, they’ll see all of their hard work pay off.”

Seaman will hit the road on Thursday to take on Manhattan (1-0).

EMPORIA 1, SEAMAN 0

Emporia (2-0) 0 1 – 1

Seaman (0-1) 0 0 – 0

Emporia – Goal: Goerres. Assist: Garcilazo. Shutout: Reyes.

Details: Created: 30 August 2022

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Tuesday's non-league boys soccer match between traditional city powers Washburn Rural and Shawnee Heights was hard fought all the way through, with Heights playing its best soccer of the night late in the contest.

But both coaches agreed that a goal by Rural senior forward Easton Bradstreet just 1:43 into the game set the tone in the Junior Blues' 3-1 win over the T-Birds at the Bettis Family Sports Complex.

Washburn Rural senior Easton Bradstreet reacts to his goal 1:43 into Tuesday's soccer game against Shawnee Heights. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Easton Bradstreet is mobbed by his Washburn Rural teammates after putting Rural up 1-0 Tuesday night against Shawnee Heights in a 3-1 Junior Blue victory. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

The game had barely started when Bradstreet found a crease in the Shawnee Heights defense and put the ball in the back of the net to put the T-Birds in chase mode the rest of the night.

"We talk about a fast start,'' Washburn Rural coach Brian Hensyel said. "Friday night in Wichita we scored two in the first five minutes. Here we get one early, so what it does is you just put somebody from behind the whole game and they're always chasing the game.

"That first goal, really at the end of the day, is the game-winner, It's the difference-maker.''