ASHLAND — Any win over an arch-rival is sweet. Doing it in four overtimes, deepening the angst on the other side, might be even sweeter.
That’s what the Ashland University football team did on Saturday at Jack Miller Stadium.
The Eagles dealt Findlay a 37-35 decision that wasn’t decided until the fourth overtime at Martinelli Field.
“We are going to enjoy this day, because we had a chance to beat our rival,” first-year AU head coach Doug Geiser said. “That’s the respect that they’re due.
“Then, tomorrow, to quote Bill Belichick, it’s on to Kentucky Wesleyan.”
Ashland stays in the hunt for a potential share of the 2023 Great Midwest Athletic Conference title at 7-3 overall and 7-1 in the league following its sixth consecutive victory.
The Oilers dropped to 7-3, 6-2. The Eagles are one game behind first-place Tiffin in the league standings.
Eagles’ quarterback Trevor Bycznski threw for a career-high 341 yards on 20-for-30 passing with three touchdowns and an interception.
Dezmin Lyburtus was his favorite target, compiling one of the best games for a receiver in AU history. The senior standout snagged 11 passes for 220 yards and two scores.
Senior tailback Larry Martin got Ashland off to a strong start with a 27-yard touchdown run, his 10th of the season, on a fourth-and-one situation in the first quarter.
Bycznski and Lyburtus hooked up on a 73-yard scoring pass in the second period for a 14-0 bulge.
The Oilers fought back with 4:26 showing in the half when quarterback Alec Bornhorst hit wide receiver Cam Childers for a 26-yard score. Bornhorst tacked on a 2-yard sneak with just two seconds remaining before intermission to tie the game at 14-14.
In the third period, A.J. Rhodes nailed a 26-yard field goal for a 17-14 AU edge.
But moments later, Findlay broke on top when Bornhorst lofted a throw-back pass to Garret Clark for a 12-yard score and a 21-17 advantage.
Ashland executed a throw-back of its own to take the lead back at the 5:44 mark of the third when Bycznski’s 12-yard pass to junior tight end Nabil Abdus-Salaam gave the Eagles a 24-21 margin.
Findlay’s Brian Bartholomew connected on a 26-yard field goal late in the third period knot the score again at 24.
It stayed that way through the end of regulation, thanks to Mason Graney’s block of a Findlay field goal attempt at the gun.
In the first overtime, the Eagles nudged in front when Rhodes split the uprights for a 23-yard field goal. Bartholomew sent it to a second OT with a 21-yard boot.
In the second extra session, Bornhorst scored on a 4-yard run to make it 33-27, but the ensuing two-point conversion was missed.
On Ashland’s turn, Bycznski dialed up Lyburtus for a 3-yard TD pass to again tie it at 33. But the Eagles also missed the conversion attempt.
The two teams again swapped scores in the third-period, with each worth two points at this stage. AU’s score again came on a Bycznski-to-Lyburtus connection.
Findlay missed its conversion attempt in the fourth overtime.
That was the opening AU needed. Byznski found Jake McLaughlin for the Eagles’ conversion to finish it.
Ashland travels to Kentucky Wesleyan on Saturday at 5 p.m. for the regular-season finale.