ASHLAND — The Ashland University offense was in rare form on Saturday, and it helped propel the Eagles two spots in the latest Division II national polls.
I knew Ashland coach Lee Owens has long been considered an offensive guru. The Madison grad showed that as far back as leading Galion to a state championship, heading the Massillon program and serving as an assistant to John Cooper at Ohio State before manning the University of Akron’s top job.
But I still had to double-check Saturday’s box score at the university’s website to make sure the latest numbers on Twitter were correct. Yep, the Eagles, newly minted at No. 9 in the poll, blasted Kentucky Wesleyan 70-14 on the road.
That was expected. AU is 7-1, the Panthers are now 1-7. Ashland averages more than 500 yards of offense and 42 points per game.
But this offensive onslaught took on new dimension from a statistical perspective. The first thing to grab my attention was a statistic one rarely sees in a football game. Owens’ team scored more points than it had plays.
There were no special teams or defensive touchdowns padding the point total, either.
The Eagles pumped out 70 points in just 60 plays. In compiling 693 yards of offense, Ashland managed 11.6 yards per play. There were 10 scoring drives of 60 yards or more.
AU featured three players with more than 100 yards rushing.
Freshman tailback Keishaun Sims posted 133 yards on just six carries, Vance Settlemire had 113 on 10 tries, and Andrew Vaughn had 107 on 9 attempts. Ashland ran for 477 yards on 41 carries, 11.6 yards per pop. That total of 477 yards rushing is a new school record, shattering a mark that was posted 46 years ago, when coach Fred Martinelli’s squad ripped off 447 to rough up Otterbein on Sept. 26, 1970.
Quarterback Travis Tarnowski made some noise as well, hitting 11-of-17 passes for 207 yards and three touchdowns.
Defensively, the Eagles completed the mismatch by allowing just eight rushing yards. Senior defensive end Zach Leftenant collected seven tackles and three tackles for loss. Adam Wallace had two of Ashland’s four sacks.
AU returns to Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 1 p.m. at Michigan Tech (2-5, 2-5).
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