ASHLAND – After coming up just short in their effort to knock off No. 9 Indiana, Pa. in Week 1, the Ashland University football team gets the chance to even their record on their home field Saturday against Ohio Dominican.
“Once you lose a game … there’s going to be a setback, there’s going to be a stumble and you’re going to get knocked down, which we did. The question is how you get back up,” AU coach Lee Owens said. “Coming home, it’s a little easier to get back up with a level of confidence, because of the way we play here, with a level of energy because we can feed off the crowd here.”
The Eagles take on the Panthers at 7 p.m. Saturday at Jack Miller Stadium/Martinelli Field, where they have won 17 consecutive home games, dating back to Oct. 26, 2013. Last week, AU lost 26-23 on a last-second field goal against Indiana, Pa.
AU has a 4-3 lead in the all-time series against the Panthers, but ODU has won two of the last three. The Panthers left the Great Lakes Athletic Conference this year for the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.
AU coach Lee Owens call this matchup the “Division II Battle of Ohio,” and you’d be hard-pressed to argue with him. Both teams suffered tough losses on the road against top-ranked teams in Week 1 (ODU lost to California, Pa. 36-34) but both still received votes this week in the first American Football Coaches Association Top 25 poll.
In the opener, senior quarterback Travis Tarnowski was 22-for-36 for 203 yards and three touchdowns. Redshirt freshman Michael Schweitzer was a pleasant surprise for the Eagles in Week 1, catching seven passes for 57 yards and two scores against IUP, giving Tarnowski a new target in the Red Zone.
“Travis has go this habit of throwing to the tight end, and habits are hard to break,” Owens said. “We’ve got a tight end that has good hands, is a good receiver. Is he Shaheen? No, I don’t think so. But between he and Jack (Holl), we felt pretty good about what we’ve got at the position.”
Junior tailback Andrew Vaughn, a Black River grad, dashed for 89 yards on a career-high 23 carries to lead the Eagle rushing attack last week. Owens had hoped to use a trio of runners in the backfield, but injuries forced Keishaun Sims to miss the opener and Vaughn and Luke Ogi both played hurt.
“I’d like to see our run game last week if we had three healthy tailbacks,” Owens said. The coach said Ogi and Vaughn should be healthy for Saturday and Sims is expected to return to the lineup in the near future.
Senior cornerback Dale Irby had a career game as a kick returner in Week 1, totaling 157 yards on five kickoff returns and 32 yards on two punt returns.
“We’ve worked really hard on our kick return and punt return this year. Dale’s an exceptional athlete. It’s his senior year. The blocking was exceptional for him. He’s healthy. He’s a weapon. He created great field position for us all night,” Owens said.
The Eagles defense held the high-powered IUP offense to two touchdowns and 26 points in Week 1, led by senior defensive back Michael Griffin (13 total tackles, a half-tackle for loss and two pass breakups), sophomore inside linebacker Clay Shreve (10 total tackles, one tackle for loss) and first-time starter junior Isaiah Stiverson (four total tackles, one forced fumble and an interception.)
“You have to really appreciate the job he did,” Owens said of defensive coordinator Tim Rose. “That’s such a talented team. Stiverson made some plays. We’re going to see a very similar offense this week.”
Saturday, the Eagle “D” will face senior quarterback Grant Russell, who was 28-for-37 for 378 yards and two touchdowns in the Panthers’ opening loss. His favorite targets were sophomore Cedric Washington (five catches, 137 yards, two touchdowns), sophomore David Turner (nine catches, 101 yards, one TD), and junior Cory Contini (nine catches, 97 yards, 52-yard TD pass).
The Panther defense is led by junior linebacker Ross Thompson (11 tackles, a half sack and 1 ½ tackles for loss in Week 1), senior defensive back Tre McIntyre (eight tackles, a half-sack and a half-tackle for loss) and junior defensive back Tawain Gordon (five solo tackles, two pass breakups).
The Eagles are 7-1 in home openers at their relatively new home on Broad Street – Jack Miller Stadium/Martinelli Field, and Owens believes the Eagles can add one to the win column this week.
“We’ve got a good football team,” Owens said. “We’ve got a bunch of guys who know how to bounce back after a tough loss, with as much energy as they had last week and as much confidence as they had last week.”
“The bottom line is great teams go on the road and win, not play close. Not almost win. We’re not a great team yet, but I do think that we’re striving to get there and a win against Ohio Dominican this week will really take us in that direction,” Owens said.
Pre-game, halftime festivities
At halftime of Saturday’s game, Ashland College’s 1967 football team will be honored. It was program’s second undefeated team, and head coach Dr. Fred Martinelli’s first, at 8-0-1. Ashland, which ended the season 12th in the country in the NAIA poll, outscored its opponents 297-78, and the Eagle defense pitched three shutouts.
Prior to Saturday night’s kickoff, Ashland’s athletic department will honor Hall of Fame head coaches John Schaly and Sheilah Gulas.
Schaly will be inducted into the 2018 class of the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Hall of Fame on Jan. 5 during the ABCA Convention at the J.W. Marriott in Indianapolis, Ind. Schaly is 726-386-4 (.652) with five GLIAC championships and 14 NCAA Division II postseason appearances entering his 21st season guiding the Eagle baseball team.
Gulas will enter the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Hall of Fame as part of the 2017 class on Dec. 8 at the NFCA Convention in Las Vegas, Nev. Gulas recently retired after 31 seasons as a collegiate head softball coach, including the last 21 at Ashland, where she was 723-365-1 (.664) with four GLIAC titles and 12 Division II postseason berths.
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