Gorillas gear up for road trip to Washburn

PITTSBURG, KS — After a tough loss to Emporia State on Saturday, Pitt State now turns its eyes to Washburn. With a record of 65-27-1, Pitt State has fared well in the series since the two first faced off in 1921.

Last season’s matchup heavily favored the Gorillas, as Pitt State dominated in their home opener 34-7. Antwan Squire, Cleo Chandler, and Chad Dodson all shared rushing touchdowns in the game, and the defense also played a critical role with their three sacks and two interceptions.

Despite traditionally faring well in this matchup, Washburn took down Pitt four straight times from 2017-2021. Gorillas head coach Tom Anthony emphasized the speed on the Ichabods offense.

“They have a ton of speed on the offensive side of the ball, and they have a really deep group of wideouts that can run,” said Anthony.

“It reminds me a lot of their team from 2021 with that great group of wide receivers like James Letcher and Peter Afful.”

Jaylen Fuksa, a redshirt junior defensive back for Pitt, echoed Anthony in saying the number one challenge is Washburn’s speed.

“They have a lot of guys who have speed in the receiver room and the running back room. I feel like they’re going to put our defense in a lot of space, so we just have to finish in space and finish tackles,” said Fuksa.

Jake Bogdon, a senior wide receiver for Pitt State, praised the Washburn defense.

“They’re going to be in the right spots,” said Bogdon.

“They’re going to try and make it harder for us to get a clean release. When we’re running our routes, they like to get hands on. We need to trust what we’re seeing out there in our preparation.”

The Gorillas and the Ichabods will go head to head on Saturday, September 21, at 1:00 p.m.

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