Washburn tames Tigers in Yager Stadium opener

Sept. 13, 2003

Box Score | Season Stats

TOPEKA - The Washburn Ichabods opened Yager Stadium at Moore Bowl with 28-4 win over in-state rival Fort Hays State Saturday night.

Washburn got on the board first on Trent Hearn's 59-yard touchdown run with 8:10 left in the opening quarter. Hearn followed with a 7-yard touchdown scamper in the second quarter to help WU to a 14-0 halftime lead. He finished with 137 yards rushing on 22 carries.

Washburn took advantage of penalties to get its next score in the third quarter. Fort Hays State had two penalties totaling 30 yard to give the Ichabods a first down at the 25. Dustin Hickel connected on the next play with Dwight Benning over the middle for a touchdown and Derek Banion's PAT made it 21-0 with 25 seconds left in the third period.

After surrending their first points with a safety on a sack, Washburn's Eric Taylor took a fumble from FHSU quarterback Josh Todd's hands and scampered 43 yards for WU's final touchdown. The Tigers added two more points on a late safety with four seconds left.

Joe Corcoran, who was named the MIAA Defensive Player of the Week Monday, had another solid effort with 13 tackles, including seven solos. Taylor had 10 tackles for the Washburn defense, which gave up only 186 yards of total offense.

Washburn, now 2-0 on the season, is back in action 2 p.m. Sept. 20 for their MIAA opener at Emporia State. The Hornets are also 2-0 after beating East Central Oklahoma.