2002 Ashland University Football: The Indianapolis Game
October 28, 2002

Ashland (2-7/2-6) at Indianapolis (3-5/2-5)
Saturday, Nov. 2, 1 p.m.,
Key Stadium

This Week’s Storyline
A week ago the Ashland University Eagles went through a clock-and-dagger story, losing in the final seconds to rival Findlay. That setback was like a dagger to the heart for the Eagles had played well enough to win against a team that’s regionally and nationally ranked.

It’s no mystery about what the Eagles have to do this week. It will take plenty of heart to bounce back and play well at Indianapolis. AU has only seven days to regroup and make the trip to Key Stadium. This promises to be a stern test for a young team that’s still learning about the rigors of college football.

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. The AU-Indianapolis 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 game story in the Sunday edition.

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 49-44-0 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.

The Greyhounds are coached by Joe Polizzi. A 1976 Hillsdale graduate, Polizzi is in his ninth season in Indianapolis. His record is 45-48-1. From 1997-99, the Greyhounds won a school-record 23 games, going 7-4, 8-2 and 8-3. The 1998 ‘Hounds set 28 school records and quarterback Kevin Kreinhagen became the first player in Indy history to compete in the Snow Bowl. Last year, Indy was regionally ranked for nine weeks and appeared in the NCAA Division II national rankings for two weeks.

Three of Polizzi’s former Indy players have played professional football – Stephane Fortin in the Canadian Football League with the Montreal Alouettes, Josh Gentry in the NFL with the Indianapolis Colts and Gary Isza with the Grand Rapids Rampage of the Arena Football League.

Prior to being named the head coach at Indianapolis on Jan. 26, 1994, Polizzi was an assistant coach at Hillsdale (1987-93). As a player at Hillsdale, he was a four-year letterman at linebacker. He earned all-conference honors twice and was an honorable mention All-America.

Ashland-Indianapolis
The Eagles lead the all-time series, 16-7-0. The series dates back to the days of the Heartland Conference and moved through the Midwest Intercollegiate Football Conference to the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Last year in Indianapolis, Ashland won, 23-10 on the first weekend of November. That was the first start of quarterback John Szabo’s career and he completed 16 of 22 passes for 207 yards and a touchdown. He guided an offense that didn’t have a turnover.

Tailback J.R. McCoy (Unionville Center, OH/Fairbanks) rushed for 164 yards on 37 carries and threw a TD pass on a halfback option pass. That throw covered 20 yards and went to wide receiver Erik Coblentz. Kicker Matt Pifer played a large role in the win, kicking three field goals. His three three-pointers covered 24, 29 and 27 yards. Ashland did a masterful job of holding onto the football, winning the time of possession battle, 38:39-21:21.

AU also won in 2000, 20-13 in Ashland. Indy’s last win in the series came in 1999, 30-10 at Key Stadium. The teams have split the last four meetings. AU fans fondly remember the 1997 game, played at Community Stadium. That was the final game of the season and a 15-7 win over the ‘Hounds wrapped up the MIFC crown. The Eagles went on to compete in the NCAA playoffs.

Another Look at Last Week
The Eagles used a Hull of a performance and a chip off a new Block to nearly upset Findlay last Saturday (Oct. 26) at Community Stadium. But Findlay’s Jeremy Smith capped an 8-play, 70-yard drive with a 1-yard TD dive with 35 seconds left in regulation to push the Oilers past the Eagles, 25-20. Smith’s score was set up by a 53-yard pass from quarterback Jeff Fraser to wideout Ty Rhoad.

AU sophomore wide receiver Michael Hull (Cincinnati, OH/Sycamore) caught a school-record 14 passes for 189 yards a touchdown. His reception total breaks the AU single-game record of 11, set by Eugene White against Grand Valley State in 1999. Freshman running back William Block (Troy, OH), subbing for the injuried McCoy, rushed for 62 yards on 22 carries.

Ashland had gone ahead, 20-17 with 1:38 to play on Szabo’s (Dayton, OH/Chaminade-Julienne) 5-yard scoring pass to senior wide receiver Kevin McMahon (Toledo, OH/St. Francis DeSales). Szabo ended the afternoon 27-of-48 for 306 yards and two touchdowns.

Findlay scored the game’s first 10 points and had a 10-7 lead at halftime. Ashland went ahead for the first time with 13:25 left in regulation on a 20-yard field goal by freshman kicker Austin Wellock (North Canton, OH/Green). Findlay answered with a 9-yard touchdown run by Fraser with 11:09 to play and went in front, 17-13. The score that put AU ahead, 20-17 came as a result of one of the best drives of the year. AU covered 95 yards in 19 plays and used 5:22 off the clock. The Eagles converted three fourth downs in that march, one from punt formation when upback Toby Stepsis (Shelby, OH) hit defensive end Dave Catanese (Richmond Heights, OH) with a 17-yard pass.

Ashland led in total yardage, 388-385. The Eagles were able to contain UF’s standout tailback Robert Campbell, limiting him to 77 yards on 21 carries. Campbell came into the game averaging 142.3 ypg.

Cutting Records
The AU record book is in the process of being revised. Listed below are the noteworthy performances from this year.

• Michael Hull (Cincinnati, OH/Sycamore) – In addition to setting the single-game record for catches, Hull tied the AU single-season mark last week. With two games left in the season, Hull has 60 catches, which ties the AU record set by Bob Rosati in 1972.
  Hull has 60 catches for 674 yards (11.2 ypc.) with two touchdowns. He’s second in the GLIAC in receptions per game (6.67) and third in receiving yards per game (74.9).
• J.R. McCoy (Unionville Center, OH/Fairbanks) – A senior tailback, McCoy gained 25 yards on nine carries last week before leaving in the first half with a leg injury. McCoy is in pursuit of the AU career rushing record. He has 3,819 yards. Keith Weaver owns the record with 3,943 yards. McCoy needs 125 yards to pass Weaver. McCoy has gained 713 yards this year, averaging 3.2 ypc., and 79.2 ypg.
• Kevin McMahon (Toledo, OH/St. Francis DeSales) – Don’t rule out the possibility that McMahon could break Rosati’s record, too. He has 45 catches with two games to play. McMahon is averaging 14.2 ypc., and 71.2 receiving yards per game. He’s fourth in the league in yards per game and fifth in receptions per game.
• John Szabo (Dayton, OH/Julienne-Chaminade) – A sophomore quarterback, Szabo has 164 completions and that’s a school single-season record. Szabo has broken the record of 162, set by Mark Molk in 1998. Szabo has 294 pass attempts and that’s an AU mark. The old record was 279, set by Molk in 1998.
  Szabo has thrown for 1,820 yards, the fifth highest total in school history. The record is 2,262 yards by Molk in 1998. Szabo needs 442 yards to break that record.
  Szabo has completed 164 of 294 passes (55.8 percent) for 1,820 yards. He has eight TD passes and nine interceptions. Szabo is fifth in the GLIAC in passing yards per game (202.2) and seventh in pass efficiency (110.6).
• Austin Wellock (North Canton, OH/Green) – A redshirt freshman kicker, Wellock is 15 of 16 in field goal tries. The AU single-season record for field goals is 16, set by Bryan Seward in 1990. Wellock is the GLIAC leader in field goals (1.67 fpg.) and third in kick scoring (59 points/6.6 ppg.). He’s 10th in scoring.

Eagle Elite

• Brett Bartlow (West Chester, OH/Lakota East) – The junior defensive end is second on the team in sacks (6-25).
• Geoff Henry (Medina, OH) – A senior linebacker, Henry is third on the team in tackles (56 total/24 solo). Against Findlay he had eight tackles (three solo) and two tackles for loss.
• Kevin Lacey (Greenwich, OH/South Central) – Lacey’s a senior nose tackle. He leads the team in sacks (7-36) and tackles for loss (10.5-51). He’s fourth in the GLIAC in both categories.
• Brady Miller (Cincinnati, OH/Elder) – Miller was the team leader in tackles last week. He had 13 tackles (11 solo) with an interception and a pass breakup. Miller is fourth on the team in tackles (51/31) and is tied for the team lead in interceptions (three).
• Aaron O’Reilly (Columbus, OH/DeSales) – A junior strong safety, O’Reilly is second on the team in tackles (40/65). He has three pass breakups, an interception and two tackles for loss.
• Toby Stepsis (Shelby, OH) – A senior free safety, Stepsis leads AU in tackles (65/40) and interceptions (three).

Notes From the Nest

• Ashland is second in the league in red zone offense (88.6 percent). Indianapolis is second in the conference in red zone defense (66.7 percent).
• Over the last four seasons, AU is 7-1 in November. The only loss was to Indianapolis, 26-20, in 1998).
• Last week marked the second time this season AU didn’t record a sack (the other time was at Hillsdale). Ashland has fallen to fourth in the conference in sacks after leading the GLIAC in that department for most of the first part of the year.
• McCoy has rushed for over 100 yards in each of the last two games against Indianapolis.
• The Eagles have 13 interceptions in the last four games.

The Quotebook

Keller on the Findlay game.

“It was a crazy game. We had our opportunities to win this game, clearly. We just broke down on that long pass. I felt we were in the right defense.”

Keller on the state of the team.

“Our players, we have to keep fighting to make us a better football team. We have to stay positive. We’re improving, this football team has given everything it has and our players are playing hard.”

Offensive coordinator Matt Hohman on last week’s 19-play, 95-yard TD drive that consumed 5:22.

“People forget we had a third-and-9 on our 6 that started the drive. We converted three, fourth downs. The touchdown came on third down.”

Secondary coach Steve Clinkscale on if the play of junior safety Aaron O’Reilly has surprised him.

“No, I’m not surprised. I expected him to be a big playmaker. He’s an aggressive player by nature. He may not test well if you test his 40 time or his bench press, but he’s a football player. He’s answered the call every week. He’s covered the best receivers and gone one-on-one with the best running backs and made tackles. He’s done a great job.”

On Deck
AU ends the season next week with a trip to Ferris State (Nov. 9, 1:30 p.m.). Last week, the Bulldogs upset nationally ranked Saginaw Valley State, 24-3.