The Missouri Western football team fell 41-20 against the 8th ranked Washburn Ichabods after leading 13-10 at the half. The Griffons managed just one scoring drive in the second half falling to 2-2 on the season and 1-2 in MIAA play.

Like all the games in the series the Griffons and the Ichabods played as close of a first half as they could. Both teams turned the ball over three times with Western losing two fumbles and throwing one interception while Washburn threw two picks and lost one fumble. The Griffons had 36 plays with 165 yards while the Ichabods had 37 plays for 162 yards.

The Ichabods opened up the scoring when Dane Simoneau connected on a 31 yards pass from DeJuan Beard on a fourth down play with 5:23 to play in the first. Western responded on the next possession going 45 yards on 11 plays with Greg Zuerlein connecting on a 28 yard field goal cutting the Washburn lead to 7-3 early in the second quarter.

The Ichabods opened its next possession with a 28 yard Justin Cooper run into Griffon territory. Simoneau connected on a 20 yard pitch and catch to Matt Kobbeman putting Washburn inside the Griffon ten yard line. The Griffon defense stiffened holding WU to a 22 yard Jeremy Linn field goal with 8:46 to play in the frame.

Western took control the rest of the half driving 43 yards on five plays with Zuerlein connecting on a 27 yard field goal with 7:27 to play. The Griffons took their first lead of the contest on their very next possession when Travis Partridge connected with Adam Clausen from 11 yards out capping off a 29 yard drive giving Western the 13-10 halftime lead.

Partridge connected on 11-of-16 passes for 122 yards and one touchdown. TJ Fannin had five receptions for 45 yards while Michael Hill rushed 13 times for 27 yards. John Brown led the way with five tackles.

Simoneau completed 10-of-20 passes for 135 yards and a touchdown while Ronnell Garner and Beard each had three receptions. Copper rushed nine times for 42 yards while Jahmil Tayler had nine tackles.

The second half belonged to the Ichabods outscoring the Griffons 31-10 on their way to a 4-0 start and 3-0 start in MIAA action.

The Ichabods took the first possession of the opening half 57 yards on four plays opening up a 17-13 lead after a five yard run by Sean McPherson. Washburn kept up the pressure when Simoneau hit Tore Hurst for a 16 yard pitch and catch capping of a 60 yard drive with 2:20 to play in the third.

Washburn opened up a 14 point lead early in the fourth when Linn nailed a 36 yard field goal putting the Bods up 27-13.

Western tried to mount the comeback driving 70 yards on 12 plays with Partridge connecting with Tyron Crockum from seven yards out cutting the lead to 27-20.

The Ichabods responded nicely connecting on a three yard pitch and catch from Simoneau to Garner and then a 30 yard pass from Simoneau to Hurst claiming the 21-point victory.

Western finished with 276 yards of total offense with 103 coming on the ground and 173 through the air. Hill had 57 yards on 19 rushes while Partridge rushed for 35 yards on 13 carries. Fannin had seven catches for 55 yards as Partridge completed 18-of-31 passes for 165 yards and two touchdowns. Jeremy Weston led the defense with 10 tackles while Nic Burrell finished with nine.

Washburn had 473 yards with 360 coming through the air. Simoneau connected on 23-of-39 passes with four touchdowns. Matt Kobbeman caught five passes for 89 yards while Garner had 72 yards on five catches and a touchdown. Taylor finished with 13 tackles.

Western will hit the road for the second straight MIAA game when they travel to Joplin, Mo. to take on the Missouri Southern State University Lions on Saturday, October 1. Kickoff is set for 2:00 pm from Fred G. Hughes Stadium.

— MWSU Sports Information —

For the first time since October 19, 2002 against Southwest Baptist (28-0) the Missouri Western football team recorded a shutout. Western defeated the Langston University Lions 47-0 in their first non-conference action of the season improving to 2-1.Western finished the game with 476 yards of total offense with 258 coming on the ground and 218 through the air.

Western took the opening kickoff right down the field but an interception by Langston defensive back Isaiah Ross on the goal line ended the Griffon threat. Western stopped the Lions on their first possession and then an Isaac Collins blocked punt set the Griffons up on the Langston seven yard line. Michael Hill plunged in from seven yards out for his first touchdown of the season and the Griffons first of the game with 10:43 to play in the first quarter.

The Lions took the next possession into Griffon territory but Western was able to stuff the Lions on a fourth and four. The Griffons took the ball 59 yards on 12 plays on the next possession with Taylor Anderson connecting on a 26 yard field goal with 2:28 to play in the half. Cody Kremer intercepted a Darrion Lewis pass on the next possession and once again Western had a nice drive going 49 yards on five plays with Anderson connecting on a 22 yard field goal putting the Griffons up 13-0 late in the first quarter.

Western continued to play well on both sides of the ball in the second quarter but only came away with two more Anderson field goals. One from 26 yards out and one from 19 yards out as time expired in the half helping Western to the 19-0 halftime lead.

Western had 234 yards at the half with Hill rushing 15 times for 57 yards and one touchdown. Reggie Jordan rushed once on a fake punt for 57 yards midway through the second quarter. Partridge connected on 7-of-19 passes for 105 yards as Adam Clausen had 48 yards on two catches which included a 42 yarder. Tom Madget led the Griffons with six tackles in the frame.

Lincoln had 96 yards in the half as Carlos Ross rushed six times for 17 yards. Lewis completed 10-23 passes with two interceptions. Darrow Barnes had four catches for 36 yards. Defensively Cayetano Hingle had five tackles leading the way for Langston.

The Griffon came out more determined in the second half scoring on their first play from scrimmage when Partridge connected with Tarrell Downing from 53 yards out putting Western up 26-0 early in the third quarter. Western scored again on a Partridge pitch and catch to Hill from four yards out with 8:42 to play in the quarter capping off a six play 55 yard drive.

Before the quarter was over Western tacked on one more touchdown when Partridge plunged in from one yard out as he accounted for three touchdowns in the game (2 passing, 1 rushing) capping off a four play 28 yard drive putting Western up 40-0 going into the fourth quarter.

Western put the icing on the cake late in the fourth when Dominic Thomas plunged in from ten yards giving Western the 47-0 victory.

The Griffons had another outstanding day defensively finishing with 10 tackles for a loss and five sacks. They also had three interceptions and blocked two punts. They put pressure on the Langston quarterbacks all day with five quarterback hurries. Madget finished with eight tackles while Bass had two sacks. Ben Pister had 1.5 sacks and four tackles.

Offensively Hill finished with 91 yards on 19 carries and onetouchdowns while Jerrin Walton had 47 on seven carries. Partridge had 199 yards through the air with two touchdown connecting on 12-of-24 passes. Hill had three catches while Clausen had two and Jordan had two for 36 yards.

The Lions had 212 yards with Ross finishing with 40 yards on 11 carries. Lewis had 99 yards passing connecting on 13-of-31 passes with three interceptions. Barnes had four catches for 36 yards. Hingle finished the game with 12 tackles and one sack.

Western hits the road for the first time this season when they travel to Topeka, Kan. to take on the 13th Washburn Ichabods in a nationally televised contest on Thursday, September 22. Kickoff is set for 7:00 pm from Yager Stadium. The game will be on CBS College Sports Network.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Missouri Western opened up MIAA and home action with a 3-0 (25-17, 26-24, 25-21) victory over the Fort Hays State Tigers on Saturday afternoon in the MWSU Fieldhouse. Western improves to 5-4 overall and 1-0 in MIAA play. Senior’s Tahler Johnston and Alex Behnke led the way with 12 and 11 kills respectively. Both players have had double digit kills in five different matches this season.

The two teams played set one close for the first 16 points as the score was tied at eight. Western used a 7-1 run pushing their lead to 15-9 after a kill by Stephanie Hattey. Western continued to play well outscoring the Tigers 10-8 on their way to a 25-17 set one victory. Western hit .375 in set one with 18 kills. Tahler Johnston led the way with five kills while Hattey recorded 14 set assists. Fort Hays had nine kills with Kylee Hoagland collecting four.

The Griffons opened up set two scoring five of the first seven points after two kills from Alex Behnke. The Tigers gained momentum the next half of the match taking a four point lead at 15-11 after a 13-6 run. Western stayed poised battling back little by little. The Griffons scored the final four points of the set claiming the 26-24 victory and taking a 2-0 lead in the match. Western had 16 kills with Hannah Zimmerman and Behnke both recording four in the set. Hattey had 15 set assists while Faubel had 10 digs. The Tigers had nine kills with Madison Schwartz collecting five.

The two teams played set three close for the first 18 points as the score was tied at nine. Western opened up a four point lead at 15-11 after a kill by Zimmerman. Both teams scored 10 points the rest of the way as Western was able to claim the 25-21 set three victory and the 3-0 victory in the match.

Hattey finished the match with 39 set assists while Faubel, Kelley Scannell and Johnston had 16, 10 and 10 digs respectively. Meredith McCormick led the way in hitting percentage hitting .333 with seven kills in 15 attempts. Western had 47 kills and 55 digs in the match.

Fort Hays falls to 6-5 on the season and 0-3 in MIAA play. They had 29 kills with Schwartz leading the way with nine. Kayla Zoglman had 25 set assists while Tacie Hileman had 21 of their 57 digs.

Western returns to action on Friday, September 23 when they hit the road to take on the 22nd ranked Hornets of Emporia State. Game time is set for 7:00 pm in Emporia, Kan. in White Auditorium.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Redshirt junior defensive end David Bass has been selected as part of this week’s D2Football.com Student-Athletes of the Week by the D2Football.com office. Bass earned defensive player of the week honors for his performance in the Griffons 23-6 win over 12th ranked Central Missouri last Saturday in front of 6,251 fans in Spratt Stadium. Bass was also named the MIAA Defensive Player of the Week. The first time he earned either one of these honors in his career.

David Bass (St. Louis, Mo.) and the rest of the Griffon defensive line gave the 12th ranked Mules and their passing attack fits all night long. Bass finished the game tying a single game MWSU record for sacks in a game with four. The previous record was set back in 1999 against Washburn by Josh Charles. Bass sacked the UCM quarterback on back-to-back plays early in the third quarter. The Griffons had seven sacks and nine tackles for a loss in the contest. The last time Western had seven sacks in a contest was on October 13, 2007 against Southwest Baptist University.  Bass also had one quarterback hurry to go along with one pass break-up. Bass tipped three other pass which were all intercepted with two being in Griffon territory. The 20 yards rushing was the least a Griffon team has giving up since September 12, 2009 when they held the Fort Hays State Tigers to 10 yards on 19 attempts. Bass finished with seven total tackles, with five being solo.

Western will return home for their first non-conference game of the 2011 season when they take on the Langston University Lions in St. Joseph, Mo. on Saturday, September 17. Kickoff is set for 11:00 am in Spratt Stadium.

— MWSU Sports Information —