TOPEKA, Kan. (Nov. 11, 2023) – An early kickoff return for a touchdown by
LaKedrick Holmes gave Northeastern State hope, but Washburn (Kan.) asserted control with three second-quarter scores and eventually downed the RiverHawks 45-14 in the season finale for both football teams on Saturday afternoon at Yager Stadium.
Loran Kirk scored the other touchdown for NSU (1-10, 0-10 MIAA), which had 172 yards of offense, compared to 511 for Washburn (2-9, 1-9). Washburn freshman quarterback Sam Van Dyne completed 18 of 27 passes for 188 yards and three touchdowns and nine different Ichabods caught at least one pass, with six of them having at least 24 yards receiving.
Trenton Brehm kicked a 34-yard field goal for the Ichabods on their first possession before Holmes returned the ensuing kickoff 99 yards to put NSU ahead 7-3. It was the RiverHawks' first kickoff return for a touchdown since Craig Davis scored on a 77-yard return against Lindenwood (Mo.) on Oct. 13, 2018. Holmes also had a 34-yard kickoff return against Washburn.
Van Dyne threw all three of his touchdown passes in the second quarter – 4 yards to Ty Weber and 9 and 3 yards to Tyce Brown – to give the Ichabods a 24-7 halftime lead.
NSU opened the second half and marched 75 yards in 10 plays and Kirk's 1-yard scoring run – on his only carry of the game – pulled the RiverHawks within 24-14 with 9:27 left in the third quarter. But Washburn answered with a five-play, 66-yard drive, capped by a 9-yard touchdown run by Triston Johnson, then tacked on a 26-yard touchdown run by Lucas Oitker with 1:35 still left in the quarter to make it 38-14.
Quarterback
Ben Ward completed 8 of 17 passes for 90 yards for NSU.
Jordan Guidry rushed for 48 yards on seven carries while
Will Bergner caught two passes for 40 yards, including a 30-yard grab on the RiverHawks' third-quarter scoring drive.
Makarios Brown recorded 14 tackles – 10 of those solo stops – to lead NSU and increased his team-leading total to 90 for the season.
Johnny Jean added nine tackles, raising his season total to 57, while
Dalton Crumbly had eight, giving him 77 for the season.
On special teams, in addition to Holmes' return,
Tyler Crawford averaged 45.2 yards on six punts and made both of his extra-point attempts, making him 15-of-15 for the season in that category. His 61-yard punt in the first quarter was his 15
th of 50 yards or more this season, a total that leads the MIAA.
