2002 Ashland University Football: The Mercyhurst Game
October 7, 2002

Mercyhurst (2-3/1-3) at Ashland (1-5/1-4)
Saturday, Oct. 12, 1 p.m.
Community Stadium

This Week’s Storyline
Is it the Ashland University Eagles who will play at Community Stadium this week or is ZZ Top in town? Maybe it’s Kansas (they played at the Ashland County Fair) that’s here for a return engagement.

Why all the confusion? Well, the Eagles are cutting records like a successful rock band. Last week an AU kicker – Austin Wellock (North Canton, OH/Green) - tied an NCAA Division II record for field goals in a game and this week an AU running back – J.R. McCoy (Unionville Center, OH/Fairbanks) - has a chance to break a record that’s stood since 1984. What will make that record turn to gold is if the Eagles win. That was the case last week as Wellock kicked six field goals in AU’s 25-20 win over Wayne State.

This week Ashland and Mercyhurst meet in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest that matches two of the private schools in the conference.

Eyes and Ears
All Ashland University football games can be heard live on WNCO (1340 AM). This is the 10th consecutive year WNCO has carried the games. The broadcast team is comprised of play-by-play man Sam Renfroe and color commentator Bill Linson. This is Renfroe’s seventh season doing the games and this is Linson’s second season behind the microphone.

The Ashland Times-Gazette covers all home games and selected road games. As usual, reporter Dusty Sloan’s game story will appear in Monday’s paper. The Mansfield News Journal staffs all AU home games and provides recaps on all road games. The News Journal will have a review of this game in the Sunday edition. The campus television station, WRDL (Channel 2), will show the game on a tape delay basis. The campus radio station, WRDL-FM (88.9), will do the game live.

Coming Attractions
There are a number of special events surrounding this week’s game. First, it’s homecoming and that adds a variety of attractions to the weekend. The list of special activities includes the recognition of the homecoming court and a silent auction of sports memorabilia after the game.

This week, the College Football Hall of Fame Road Show will be at Community Stadium. This is the first time the Road Show has come to AU and this promises to be a real treat for college football fans. The Road Show, sponsored by AmeriHost, contains displays and artifacts that tell the story of college football. It’s a “must see” for the true college football fanatic. For more information on these events, call the AU athletic department, 419-289-5441.

Finally, at every AU home football game two former Eagles are brought back to campus as honorary captains. The two former AU gridders spend an entire football Saturday with the team, going to meetings, the team meal and finally, spending the game on the AU sideline. This week’s honorary captains are Bill Levering (Class of 1978) and Tony Sims (Class of 1979).

Who’s the Boss?
Ashland’s head coach is Gary Keller. Keller is in his ninth season as AU’s head coach and brings a 48-42-0 record into this week’s game. This is Keller’s 20th season with the Eagles, prior to being named the head coach he was an assistant coach under Dr. Fred Martinelli. Keller was the defensive coordinator for nine years before being elevated to the top spot and as the “D” coordinator, he directed defenses that led the country in total defense twice and was the national leader in rush defense twice. As the head coach, he guided the Eagles to a Midwest Intercollegiate Football Conference championship and a berth in the NCAA Division II playoffs in 1997. He was the conference coach of the year in 1997. Keller is a 1973 Bluffton (OH) graduate.

Mercyhurst’s head coach is Marty Schaetzle. This is his first year as a college head coach and his first year at the ‘Hurst. Schaetzle came to MC from Bucknell where he spent five seasons as an assistant coach. He began his stint there coaching the tight ends and offensive tackles and was eventually promoted to the offensive coordinator spot.

Schaetzle is a 1983 Bucknell graduate and he was named the team’s top offensive lineman in 1981 and 1982. Schaetzle worked as an assistant coach at SUNY-Albany, Arizona, Northern Arizona and Shippensburg. He was the offensive coordinator at Shippensburg for seven seasons.

Ashland-Mercyhurst
Ashland is the leader in the all-time series between the schools, holding a 3-1 lead. AU has won three straight games against the ‘Hurst. Mercyhurst has never won at Community Stadium, going 0-2 on Ashland soil. Last year, the teams met in the final game of the season at AU and the Eagles won, 47-21. McCoy rushed for 174 yards and three touchdowns and Marcus Mitchell picked up 147 yards and scored one TD. Ashland led 20-0 before the visitors could reach the end zone. Defensive end Bobby Mercer had a pair of sacks for the second straight week and linebacker Brock Swonguer returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown. Ashland outgained the Lakers, 499-293. On the ground, MC gained just 27 yards on 21 carries. AU rushed for 355 yards.

MC’s lone win came in the first meeting between the two schools and that remains one of the biggest wins in school history. That game was played in Erie, PA, during the 1988 season and the Lakers won, 34-23. Ashland entered that game 6-1 with a six-game winning streak.

Another Look at Last Week
Need a tow? Call Triple A.

Need a toe? Call Wellock.

Wellock, a redshirt freshman, tied an NCAA Division II single-game record with six field goals in AU’s 25-20 win at Wayne State. That’s a GLIAC single-game record and an AU single-game mark. Wellock was 6-for-6 on field goal tries, connecting from 28, 35, 32, 37, 31 and 23 yards. Throw in the extra point he made and he accounted for 19 of AU’s points. Wellock is this week’s D2 Football and GLIAC special teams player of the week. He joins Steve Huff of Central Missouri as the only other player in NCAA Division II history to kick six field goals in a game. Huff was 6-for-6 against Southern Missouri State in 1985.

The AU defense played a major role in last week’s win, too. Entering the game, the Eagles didn’t have an interception. Against Wayne State, Ashland had six interceptions and recovered a WSU fumble. Despite forcing those turnovers, AU couldn’t relax until the final gun. With 3:33 left in regulation, Wayne State moved 51 yards to the AU7 after recovering an Eagle fumble. Freshman defensive back Centrell Turner (Newark, OH) stopped that drive when he intercepted a Dan Gray pass over the middle. That finally put an end to Wayne State’s comeback hopes.

Ashland led, 6-0 after one quarter, 19-6 at halftime and 22-13 after three quarters. That’s a big change for a team that’s been outscored, 124-52 in the first half this season. Wayne State outgained the Eagles, 360-277, but the Eagles wiped out that yardage advantage by forcing those seven turnovers.

Eagle Elite

• Brett Bartlow (West Chester, OH/Lakota East) – The junior defensive end is second in the GLIAC in sacks (5-24).
• Toure Carter (Cleveland, OH/Rhoades) – A junior defensive back, Carter had seven tackles (five solo), an interception and one pass deflection last week. Carter is sixth on the team in tackles (24/18 solo) and has a team-high five pass breakups. He’s tied for third in the GLIAC in breakups.
• Geoff Henry (Medina, OH) – A senior linebacker, Henry is third on the team in tackles (35/16 solo). Henry has five tackles for loss
• Michael Hull (Cincinnati, OH/Sycamore) – The sophomore wideout leads AU in catches (30-353, 11.8 ypc.). Last week he caught four passes for a career-high 101 yards. He’s fourth in the GLIAC in receptions per game (5.0).
• J.R. McCoy (Unionville Center, OH/Fairbanks) – McCoy is AU’s senior tailback. He’s fifth in the GLIAC in rushing with 525 yards on 156 carries (3.4 ypc., 87.5 ypg.). McCoy had 81 yards on 25 carries last week. In his career, McCoy has 814 carries. The school record of 827 carries belongs to Antoine Gaiter (1981-84). Should McCoy get 14 attempts this week, he’ll break the record. McCoy has 3,631 yards rushing in his career and Keith Weaver’s AU career record is 3,943 yards. McCoy needs 313 yards to move past Weaver.
• Kevin McMahon (Toledo, OH/St. Francis DeSales) – A senior wide receiver, McMahon is second on the team in receptions (29) and leads the Eagles in receiving yards (402, 13.9 ypc.).
• Aaron O’Reilly (Columbus, OH/DeSales) – A junior strong safety, O’Reilly is second on the team in tackles (45/26 solo). He also has two pass breakups. At Wayne State, O’Reilly tied for the team lead in stops (9/7 solo).
• Toby Stepsis (Shelby, OH) – A senior free safety, Stepsis leads AU in tackles (48/27 solo). Stepsis tied for the team lead in tackles at Wayne State (9/7 solo), had two interceptions with 24 yards in returns and three pass deflections.
• John Szabo (Dayton, OH/Chaminade-Julienne) – A sophomore quarterback, Szabo has completed 95 of 185 passes (51.4 percent) for 1,081 yards. He’s thrown five touchdown passes and six interceptions. Szabo is sixth in the conference in passing yards per game (180.2 ypg.).
• Austin Wellock (North Canton, OH/Green) – Wellock is 9-for-9 this year on field goal tries and 9-for-10 in extra points. He leads the league in field goals and is fifth in kick scoring (36 points).

Notes From the Nest

• The Eagles are 0-3 at home with two home dates remaining. The last time AU lost four games at home was 1995 (1-4).
• Ashland entered last week’s game 12th in the GLIAC in turnover margin. Last week’s six-interception, one-fumble recovery afternoon moved the Eagles up to ninth in the league. In addition to the six steals, AU had nine pass breakups. The school single-game record for interceptions is eight (vs. Saint Joseph’s, 1981).
• The Eagles are second in the GLIAC in quarterback sacks (12-64 yards).
• This could be reunion week for the players from Mercyhurst and Ashland. Of the 99 players on the MC roster, 50 are from Ohio. Of the 108 players on AU’s fall roster, 103 were from the Buckeye State.
• AU has won six consecutive homecoming games. The last time the Eagles lost their homecoming game was in 1995, 32-20 to Saginaw Valley State.

The Quotebook

Wellock on his record-setting day at Wayne State.

“Every snap, every hold was there and I never had to rush. They did their job, I did my job. I’m going to take my snapper and holder out to dinner. If I had enough money I’d take everyone out to dinner.”

Junior cornerback Jeremy Westbrooks (Cleveland, OH/St. Edward) on what it was like on the sideline after getting the first win of the year.

“We had guys crying, there was a lot of emotion. We had a lead early and we haven’t had that. Things got a little shaky, but no one hung their head. When it counted, we made plays.”

Wellock on if he’s been frustrated with the lack of work he’s received.

“The offense’s been frustrated, the defense’s been frustrated. It’s an all-around system, it’s a team thing.”

On Deck
The Eagles will fly to Michigan’s upper peninsula next week (Saturday, Oct. 19) for a date with Northern Michigan. The Eagles and Wildcats will kick off at 1 p.m.