ASHLAND — Complete, total and utter domination. That was the name of Saturday’s Homecoming game at Ashland University.
The 16th-ranked Eagles controlled all facets of the contest in walloping Michigan Tech 48-0. AU improved to 6-1 overall, 5-0 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, and remained tied atop the league standings with Grand Valley State.
The alumni could sense it would be a strong game from the start. AU’s defense forced a punt on the Huskies’ first possession and the offense smartly drove 72 yards to score and take immediate control.
It was a milestone day for quarterback Travis Tarnowski. The North Royalton senior was 19-of-28 for 233 yards and five touchdowns. For his career he eclipsed 10,000 yards passing and 100 touchdowns.
“It lets me sit back for a second and think how far I came from where I was when I first got here, or even in high school,” Tarnowski said. “I never would have thought that this is where I’d be now. It’s been a dream come true.”
Tarnowski threw TD passes of 36 yards to Kamaron Green and 15 yards to tight end Jack Holl for a 14-0 first-quarter lead. In the second period, Tarnowski went back to Green for strikes of 21 and 19 yards. His last score was a 4-yard toss to freshman tight end Michael Schweitzer to make it 35-0 at intermission.
“I was talking to the team afterwards, and I didn’t know where to start,” Ashland head coach Lee Owens said. “To get a shutout is a big deal, obviously congratuate Travis for hitting a couple career milestones. It was a perfect day weather-wise, and a perfect day on the gridiron for us.”
Junior tailback Andrew Vaughn gained 103 yards on 17 carries, while Green caught four passes for 97 yards and three touchdowns.
“On every touchdown I scored, I came out of the backfield and was motioning,” Green said. “It puts them in a mismatch. It helps a lot.”
Aidan Simenc sandwiched field goals of 42 and 37 yards around freshman Keishaun Sims’ 4-yard TD run in the second half.
Defensively, AU was on point, too. Michigan Tech (3-4, 2-3) mustered just 166 yards of total offense as the Eagles pitched their second shutout of the season.
The win was sixth straight for Owen’s squad and marked the 20th consecutive home victory.
Next week Ashland travels to Tiffin for a 1 p.m. kickoff.
Coverage of Ashland University Eagles athletics is produced in partnership with OhioHealth, the official sports medicine provider for Ashland University.
