Upset bid comes up short against No. 2 Northwest Missouri State
Oct. 14, 2006

Box Score | Season Stats
Zach Watkins returned a fumble 72 yards late in the fourth quarter to pull the Ichabods within five points of No. 2 Northwest Missouri State but came up short after the Bearcats ran the clock out and handed Washburn a 31-26 loss Saturday afternoon in front of 6,103 at Yager Stadium. Washburn fell to 4-3 and 3-2 in the MIAA while NWMSU stayed perfect at 7-0 and 5-0. The Ichabods will head to Truman next Saturday for a 2 p.m. game.

Beau Wofford, starting in his first game in place of injured Jordan Brill, was 5-of-12 for 69 yards in just his third game. Ra'Shawn Mosley was the leading rusher with 94 yards and a touchdown in 10 carries while Trent Hearn ran for 33 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Aaron Gardiner had 57 receiving yards in three catches.

After the Ichabods went three and out in their opening drive, the Bearcats had a 10-play, 87 yard drive that ended when quarterback Josh Mathews hit Mike Peterson on a 14-yard touchdown pass.

Washburn answered that score right away with a 53-yard run from Mosley, his firth touchdown of the year and longest rush. After a bad snap on the extra point attempt, holder Jarod Tetuan was tackled as he tried to get the ball in, making the score 7-6 NWMSU after a quarter.

The Bearcats scored two touchdowns to start the second quarter and then the Ichabods pulled to within 21-13 at halftime. Trent Hearn found a hole on the left side and darted in for a 28-yard touchdown, his seventh of the year.

Northwest Missouri State scored to open the second half but then threw interceptions on its next two drives. Adam Ewy picked off the first one at the NWMSU 26-yard line that set up a one-yard touchdown run for Hearn. The Ichabods could have closed the gap to eight points, but Connor Sabel missed his first extra-point attempt in 82 tries, making the score 28-19 with 4:35 left in the third quarter.

Tetuan then picked off a Mathews pass on the next Bearcat possession but the Ichabods offense couldn’t capitalize on the turnover.

In the fourth quarter the Bearcats hit a 40-yard field goal to take a 12-point lead. Later they had the ball with under two minutes to go looking like they could hold on for a victory. Bruce Ringwood sacked Mathews at the Washburn 28 yard-line, forcing a fumble that Watkins returned 72 yards for the score with 1:53 left in the game. Sable’s extra point was good but his onside kick attempt only went eight yards to his left before it bounced out of bounds.

The Bearcats got a first down on three rushes and then ran out the rest of the clock.

Ringwood and Aaron Neal led WU on defense with 12 tackles each. Ringwood had a pair of sacks while Ewy and Zach Watkins each had one.

The Bearcats had 25 first downs and allowed WU only eight. The Ichabods were able to stay in the game by taking advantage of two interceptions and a fumble.