Kansas Pregame Feature: Dane Simoneau
By: By Huey Counts Jr.
For KansasPregame.com
Posted: October 23, 2009 - 1:07 AM

TOPEKA - Dane Simoneau emerged from the locker room Saturday afternoon still wearing his uniform, his jersey carefully tucked in and his hair combed, his tidy look marred only by a smudge just below his chin.

So he's not perfect.

But he and the Washburn Ichabods offense are awfully good

Nearly flawless after a hiccup at the start, Simoneau threw for a team- and MIAA-record six touchdown passes to help Washburn trounce Pittsburg State 55-3, making it a very successful homecoming afternoon for the fans at Yager Stadium.

"He's playing very well for us," said Washburn's standout linebacker Zach Watkins. "He's playing with a lot of confidence and composure."

With his team comfortably ahead, Simoneau came out after one series in the fourth quarter, his final play being a 77-yard scoring toss to complete his touchdown six-pack.

"We know what we're capable of doing offensively because we do it in practice," Simoneau said. "We know what we're capable of doing and if we get on a roll ... that type of stuff happens."

While the 6-foot-3, 210-pound Simoneau is just beginning to open eyes at the Division II level with his passing prowess, those who watched him slice and dice defenses as schoolboy quarterback at Sacred Heart High School in Salina just smile. They've seen it before.

In three seasons as the ball distributor for the fun-and-gun Knights, he passed for 8,020 yards and 71 touchdowns. He completed just under 60 percent of his slings, good for 3,160 yards and 30 touchdowns as a senior, earning all-state Class 3A honors and a trip to the 2007 Kansas Shrine Bowl.

"Passing the ball in the offense, I think it's helped me a lot," he said. "Having (former Kansas State quarterback) Brian Kavanagh as a mentor in high school was great and he taught me so much, and a lot of it carried over to college.

"I like to spread it out and get the ball to different receivers. It's a lot of fun."

Simoneau connected with 11 receivers against Pitt State, completing 20 of his 28 attempts for 362 yards. Four of his scoring passes came in the second quarter as Washburn opened a shocking 38-0 halftime lead. His only major snafu was a poorly thrown pass for a first quarter interception.

What was most impressive was his accuracy and how quickly he delivered the football to the right receiver, who was often wide open because of breakdowns in the Gorillas' frustrated secondary.

He made several good play-action fakes that set up long completions, with that success a result of how well Washburn was able to run the ball.

For the season, Simoneau has 23 touchdown passes and just six interceptions. He's thrown for at least 300 yards in four games, including his most recent three, with a high of 398 yards against Fort Hays State.

"He does a really great job preparing himself, watching film, doing the things in practice you need to do," said Simoneau's offensive coordinator, Brian Miller. "He's been throwing it real well for us this season."

Simoneau, who became the starter in Week 7 last season as a freshman, already is in seventh place in career passing touchdowns (28) and eighth place in all-time passing yards (3,053) at Washburn after just 13 total starts. With a minimum three games remaining, he is only five TD passes from the school's one-season record.

He averages 283 yards in the air with a passing efficiency rating of 176.5. Both numbers rank top three in the league as well as top 10 nationally in Division II -- making him a serious candidate for MIAA offensive player of the year.

"Gosh, I just have a lot of weapons around me," said Simoneau, whose other four-year offers came from Fort Hays State and Division I Subdivison (formerly I-AA) South Dakota State. "Our offensive line does a great job. I've only been sacked five or six times and that's probably my fault for holding the ball too long. I can't say enough about those guys. I kind of have the easy part."

Washburn is 6-2, ranked No. 16 in Division II, and pursuing a playoff bid heading into this weekend's road game against MIAA top dog, No. 4 Northwest Missouri State. A victory would be huge in the Ichabods hopes for a playoff bid.

"Momentum wise we're feeling pretty good, but you can't come in overconfident," he said. "Northwest is a great team and we're going to have to practice hard this week and play at least as well as we did against Pitt."