ASHLAND — If Ashland’s opening-round playoff game against Notre Dame College is anything like the season-opener, fans are in for a treat.
The Eagles (9-1) earned the No. 4 seed in Super Region One when the 28-team Division II playoff field was announced Sunday evening, and will host fifth-seeded Notre Dame (9-2) at 1 p.m. Saturday at Jack Miller Stadium.
The Eagles and Falcons met in Ashland on Sept. 1, with AU earning a 31-14 win. Notre Dame trailed 17-0 at the half, but cut Ashland’s advantage to 17-14 midway through the fourth quarter. A critical fourth-down conversion vaulted the Eagles to the victory.
“It’s fourth and forever and we have to convert,” AU coach Lee Owens said at the time. “They have all the momentum in the world at that point.”
The victory jump-start AU’s run to a Great Midwest Athletic Conference title. Notre Dame, meanwhile, rebounded from the loss to win the the Mountain East Conference championship. The Falcons’ only other loss came in double-overtime at Frostburg State, 33-30.
Indiana (Pa.) earned the No. 1 seed in Super Region One after upsetting Shepherd 24-21 in Saturday’s Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference championship game. Shepherd picked up the No. 2 seed in Super Region One and will host New Haven of the Northeast 10 Conference. Assumption, another Northeast 10 affiliate, earned the No. 3 seed and will host Slippery Rock.
Seven teams from each of the four super regionals qualified for the tournament with the top seed in each super region getting a bye. The Division II national championship game will be played Dec. 17 in McKinney, Texas.
