ASHLAND – Ashland University is riding high on the wave of an eight-game winning streak but a big obstacle will be shooting to bring them crashing down Saturday when the Eagles take on Grand Valley State.

AU (8-1, 7-0) will host the Lakers at 7 p.m. Saturday at Jack Miller Stadium/Martinelli Field in a contest that will help decide the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title.

“It’s next up. It’s the next game on the schedule,” said Ashland head coach Lee Owens. “We know they’ve got great players, great tradition, great coaches.”

Grand Valley State has dominated the all-time series 17-4, but AU has won two of the last three meetings. This year’s contest is poised to be a tough contest between two of the GLIAC heavyweights. Ashland was ranked No. 11 in this week’s American Football Coaches Association Division II Coaches’ Top 25 poll and the Lakers are No. 19. The two teams lead the GLIAC in several categories, including:

  • Total defense: Ashland and Grand Valley State tied for first (287.7 ypg.).
  • Scoring defense: Grand Valley State first (11.3 ppg.), Ashland second (12.3). Scoring offense: Grand Valley State first (37.2 ppg.), Ashland second (36.0).
  • Red-zone touchdown percentage: Grand Valley State first (80), Ashland second (71.4).
  • Average kickoff distance: Ashland first (62.6), Grand Valley State second (60.8).

Senior signal caller Travis Tarnowski continues his impressive final campaign with 2,096 yards passing, 22 touchdowns and just one interception while completing 62.7 percent of his passes.

Senior receiver Matthew Wilcox leads the Eagles with 35 catches for 655 yards and five touchdowns.

The AU running game has heated up as the weather has gotten colder, averaging 242.25 yards per game and scoring a total of four rushing touchdowns over the last four games.

“We’re just going to do what we’ve done the last eight weeks,” Owens said. “We’re going to put it in Travis’ hands. He makes most of the calls at the line of scrimmage as it is. I just make suggestions on the sidelines, and he pretty much takes it from there. He’s got to believe what he sees out there.”

Junior Andrew Vaughn is leading the Eagle running attack with 925 yards and 10 touchdowns. Last week against Wayne State, Vaughn ran 21 times for 157 yards and two touchdowns, earning him GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week honors.

AU’s offense leads Division II in red-zone scoring (97.6 percent) and fourth-down conversion percentage.

For the Lakers’ defense, senior linebacker Collin Schlosser is the team’s leading tackler (68 total, six for loss, two sacks) and he is followed closely by fellow senior linebacker Garrett Pougnet (57 total, 7 ½ for loss, 3 ½ sacks).

Grand Valley’s offense is led by junior quarterback Bart Williams, who has completed 62.4 percent of his passes for 1,939 yards, 22 touchdowns and two interceptions.

His top targets are senior wide receiver Brandon Bean (52 catches, 706 yards, seven touchdowns) and senior tight end Nick Keizer (26 catches, 464 yards, eight touchdowns). Junior running back Marty Carter is averaging 7.9 yards per carry with 920 yards and nine scores.

Ashland’s defense continues to be a complete team effort with:

  • Ten interceptions from nine different players.
  • Seventeen sacks from eight players.
  • Fifty-nine tackles for a loss by 22 players.
  • Twelve players with at least 20 total tackles.

Sophomore inside linebacker Clay Shreve is the team’s top tackler with 54 stops. Senior stud Austin Utter leads AU with six sacks.

On special teams, AU senior kicker Aidan Simenc has hit 13-of-16 field goals and 39-of-41 extra points for a team-high and GLIAC leading 78 points. Senior cornerback Dale Irby is the GLIAC’s top punt returner at 10.1 yards per runback, and is also averaging 23.7 yards per kickoff return.

Coverage of Ashland University Eagles athletics is produced in partnership with OhioHealth, the official sports medicine provider for Ashland University.