The Lions finally got their offense to fire on all cylinders last week against Emporia State. Junior quarterback Adam Hinspeter threw for 267 yards and three touchdowns and freshman running back Renard Johnson ran for 148 yards and a touchdown and the Lions won 42-19.

This week they face off with Washburn in Topeka, Kan.

Washburn is led by running back Ra’Shawn Mosley who ran for 210 yards last week.

“Washburn has a good running back, one of the best in the nation in my estimation,” said Lions head football coach Bart Tatum.

Mosley, a senior, may be the most underrated running back in the MIAA. He is averaging 110.8 yards per game on the ground, good for fifth in the conference. Johnson is fourth with 113.6 yards per game. A big key for Washburn will be the play of senior quarterback Jordan Brill. Brill is currently 10th in the conference in QB efficiency rating having thrown more interceptions (8) than touchdowns (5).

Defensively, the Ichabods are led by sophomore linebacker Zach Watkins. Watkins leads the MIAA with 13.6 tackles per game. He will be a big factor as Southern has two backs averaging over 100 yards per game in Johnson and senior Alley Broussard.

“Washburn personnel-wise is as good as anyone we play,” Tatum said.

Sophomore linebacker Jared Brawner, who is second in the conference with 9.4 tackles per game, leads the Lions defensively. As a team, Southern has nine interceptions on defense in the first five games. After a little bit of math that is almost two a game. This could be trouble for Brill if he doesn’t have good protection as senior defensive end B.J. Russow is still looking for his first sack of the season after leading the Lions with six last season.

For Southern to win this game they will have to show the same balance they displayed against Emporia. They cannot run the ball all day and hope to be successful against a solid defense like Washburn’s. On defense they need to be aggressive and make sure that Mosley doesn’t have a big game. If Mosley doesn’t beat the Lions, Washburn doesn’t beat the Lions.