ASHLAND — After four weeks of practices and offseason workouts, the Ashland University football team finally got to play a meaningful game.

The Purple and Gold spring football match kicked off at Jack Miller Stadium Saturday night in a small preview of the upcoming season.

The game was divided into two 15-minute quarters with a halftime celebration in between.

The honorary captions, from the class of ’74, were Bernie Barre and Tom Crosby. Championship rings were presented at the midpoint to honor last year’s team winning the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

“We wanted our players to enjoy playing Saturday and keep everyone healthy. The fans should be excited about an Eagle team that is made up of true student-athletes who are working hard to defend their GLIAC title,” Ashland head coach Lee Owens said.

Although fun was part of the game, there was some seriousness as players were trying to impress the coach, either to keep their position or prove they should be starters.

From both a football and fan perspective, the quarterback battle was the most intriguing, as the Eagles tried to find a replacement for Travis Tarnowski. The now-graduated Tarnowski is Ashland’s all-time winningest QB in program history.

Since nothing was decided at the spring game, there will be quarterback questions: will it be Division I transfer Billy Bahl to lead the Eagles, or will someone stand out among Austin Brenner, John Davies and Jacob Heath?

But without a solid offensive line next season, the quarterback position could be a moot point. Only left tackle Ryan Maguire is returning, so Owens is hoping the new unit can gel together quickly.

Among the 100 players participating in the offseason work, defensive standouts included Ashland’s sack leader from last year James Prater Jr., linebacker Clay Shreve and the speedy safety Nick Powers.

“Excited about what I believe is our best recruiting class. Several of our recruits need to be ready to play right away. But like everyone else on our team they must ‘earn it.’ Our team 2018 theme is: earn it!” Owens said.

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