PITTSBURG, Kan. – The Pittsburg State Gorillas have a lot on the line Saturday when they hit the road to face the Washburn Ichabods.
The Gorillas (9-0) can clinch the outright MIAA championship with a win on Saturday over Washburn (6-3). They can also snap a 4-game losing streak to the Ichabods.
Pittsburg State hasn’t beaten Washburn since 2016.
“We definitely have a chip on our shoulder for this game,” says Pitt State tight end Kaizer Newell, “Nobody on this team right now has beaten them. We’ve been close every year. We have a little bit of a chip on our shoulder, we just have to come prepared and ready to go.”
“This is certainly one that may have been marked from a year ago,” says Pitt State head coach Brian Wright, “This is a great Washburn football team and a great program. Craig has done an outstanding job there. We don’t have any players on our team right now who have beaten them. They’re certainly motivated this week, and our guys are working extremely hard.”
“Since I’ve been here, we haven’t beaten Washburn. It’s one that we really want,” adds PSU linebacker Luke Jennings, “We know they’re a good team. We just have to go 1-0 and keep doing what we’ve been doing and it will all work out.”
Saturday’s game features the #1 scoring defense in the MIAA in Pittsburg State – against the #1 scoring offense in Washburn.
Washburn is scoring 33.8 points per game this season, while the Gorillas are giving up just 14.3 per week.
“We’re excited. We know they’re a good team and they’re well-coached. They got some speed and they pay attention to detail very well,” Jennings says of the challenges that the Washburn offense presents, “We’re up for the challenge and we’re excited to go and have a good game.”
“They do a great job schematically and they have very good players,” Wright adds, “The quarterback, receivers and offensive line are all good and they run the ball well. They lead with the pass and they’re very explosive in the passing game, but they have good balance and enough of that run game to really keep you honest.”
“They share the ball very well. Their wide receivers are very good. They’re a very solid offense,” Jennings adds, “We just want to go 1-0 this week and get the job done.”
Saturday’s game kicks off at 1 PM.
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