Ashland Football Weekly Report
September 23, 2003

Game 5 – Ashland (1-3, 1-2) at Saginaw Valley State (3-0, 2-0)
Saturday, Sept. 27 – Wickes Memorial Stadium, Noon

The Opening Act
Polls. In college football, they’re always open. The more controversy, the better. That’s what fuels debates among fans. Every vote, every opinion, is heard somewhere (forget voting along party lines – the party lines form at the food lines).

Saginaw Valley State, the team Ashland University meets this week, is well acquainted with the polling process. The Cardinals’ favorability rating seems to be climbing. One poll last week had the Cards ranked sixth in the country. This week, d2football.com has SVSU ranked fourth.

Each poll has a slightly different take on the Cards, but every poll includes them somewhere in the Top 10. That emphasizes the fact that the Eagles will be facing one of the country’s best teams on the road. This Saturday’s Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game in University Center, MI, shapes up as one of the biggest challenges of the season for the Eagles.

Sights and Sounds
All Ashland University football games can be heard live on WNCO (1340 AM). This the 11th consecutive year the station has carried the Eagles. Sam Renfroe and Bill Linson comprise the broadcast team.

The Ashland Times-Gazette will run a report on the game in Monday’s paper. Sunday’s Mansfield News-Journal will also have a report.

Taking the Lead
Ashland’s head coach is Gary Keller. This is Keller’s 10th season as AU’s head coach and this is his 21st season on campus. Prior to becoming the head coach, Keller served as Ashland’s defensive coordinator. In that role, he molded some of the best defensive units in the country. When he first came to the Eagles, he was the offensive line coach. Keller’s lifetime mark is 50-49-0. He was the Midwest Intercollegiate Football Conference coach of the year in 1997 when he guided the Eagles to a share of the conference crown and the second NCAA Division II playoff berth in school history. Against Saginaw Valley State, Keller is 1-6. Keller is a 1973 Bluffton graduate.

The head coach of the Cardinals is Randy Awrey. His career record is 84-55-1. Since arriving at Saginaw Valley State he’s 36-14. A 1978 Northern Michigan graduate, Awrey has guided SVSU to three consecutive NCAA Division II playoff appearances. During the 2002 season his Cardinals set or tied 25 GLIAC records. Awrey has the highest winning percentage (.720) of any grid coach in SVSU’s 28-year history. Before arriving at SVSU, Awrey was the head coach at Lakeland College (WI) and Kentucky Wesleyan. He was 35-14-1 at Lakeland (1998-94) and 13-27 (1990-93) at KWC.

Ashland-Saginaw Valley State
When this series began in 1990, the Eagles were the dominant team, winning three of the first four meetings and outscoring the Cards, 95-49. But SVSU has beaten the Eagles three straight times and in seven of the last eight meetings to take a 7-4-0 edge in the series.

The teams met last season at Community Stadium and the Cardinals prevailed, 52-20. SVSU had 510 yards in total offense – 263 on the ground, 247 through the air. The Cardinals led, 17-3 after the first 15 minutes and were in front, 31-6 at halftime. Three SVSU players rushed for 70 or more yards and Keath Bartynski had 115 yards and two scores on 12 carries. John DiGiorgio returned an interception 85 yards for a touchdown and Mark Radlinski found Glenn Martinez with a 77-yard TD strike.

The last time these two teams tangled at SVSU was on Sept. 29, 2001. That game was nip-and-tuck through three quarters, SVSU holding a 6-3 lead. The home team broke the game open with two fourth-quarter scores, Damion Bridges scoring on a 20-yard run and Demons Bryan scoring on a 44-yard interception return. SVSU outgained the Eagles, 415-299 on the way to a 20-3 win.

Ashland’s last win against SVSU came in 1997 at Community Stadium, 27-20.

Eye On the Eagles
The Eagles had a 14-0 lead after one quarter last week at Community Stadium, but by game’s end, it was Hillsdale that was on top. HC quarterback Bill Skelton found wide receiver Ryan Hermosillo with a 5-yard scoring pass with 40 seconds left in regulation to give the Chargers their initial win of the season, 24-21. Earlier in the game, that same duo hooked up on a 7-yard scoring pass.

The final numbers demonstrated how even this game was. Both teams recorded 18 first downs. Ashland led in total yards, 312-292 and in time of possession, the Eagles had a 30:20-29:40 advantage. HC turned the ball over twice and AU lost one fumble. That fumble, which came on a special teams play, was very costly for the Eagles. It came from punt formation and the loose ball was scooped up by the Chargers’ Steve Balone, who took the drop 25 yards for a touchdown.

The Eagles lost starting quarterback John Szabo (Dayton, OH/Julienne-Chaminade) with just over a minute left in the first half. Szabo was injured on a running play and didn’t return to the game. At the time of his departure, he had completed 7-of-11 passes for 92 yards and a touchdown and had rushed eight times for 78 yards. Szabo had gotten off to a strong start, in the first quarter he directed the Eagles on a textbook drive, leading the Eagles on a 14-play, 98-yard TD march that consumed 7:07.

Eagle Elite
True freshman Nick Strance (Willard, OH) took over for Szabo and played well. The rookie completed 7-of-15 passes for 65 yards and a touchdown. The first TD pass of his career was an 11-yard pass to junior wide receiver Antwan Hart (Detroit, MI/Erie C.C.). Hart has put together consecutive strong outings. Against the Chargers he rushed for 84 yards on 26 carries with a 1-yard scoring run. He caught two passes for 26 yards.

Freshman wide receiver Brandon Gilmore (Mansfield, OH/Madison) had four receptions for 32 yards. Junior wideout Michael Hull (Cincinnati, OH/Sycamore) caught a pair of passes for 23 yards and carried the ball twice for five yards.

Defensively, senior safety Aaron O’Reilly (Columbus, OH/DeSales) had 12 tackles (eight solo). Sophomore linebacker Devin Conwell (Baltimore, MD/Montgomery C.C.) posted 11 tackles (six solo), two tackles for loss, a forced fumble and a sack. Senior safety Karl Ransom (Grand Rapids, MI/Grand Rapids C.C.) made eight stops (six solo) with one tackle behind the line of scrimmage. Senior nose tackle Brett Bartlow (West Chester, OH/Lakota East) had seven tackles (three solo), a sack and two tackles for loss.

Notes From the Nest

• The Eagles have outscored the opposition, 17-0 in the first quarter.
• Over the last two games, AU is +7 in takeaway-giveaway margin. The Eagles are the GLIAC leaders in turnover margin at +1.25.
• Hull has caught at least one pass in 16 consecutive games.
• Strance is the first true freshman to play quarterback in a game for the Eagles since Brandon Buckner in 1992.
• Senior defensive lineman Dan Drane (Munhall, PA/Steel Valley) is tied for first in the conference in tackles for loss (7.5).
• Ashland and Saginaw Valley State have two common opponents – Michigan Tech and Northwood. AU lost to Tech, 27-14 and beat Northwood, 24-21. SVSU stopped Tech, 34-32 and downed Northwood, 30-14.

The Carter Administration
“Hail to the Chief,” hasn’t been played when AU senior cornerback Toure Carter (Cleveland, OH/Rhoades) comes onto the field, but that might be a perfect introduction for a player who’s definitely the leader in the AU secondary.

Carter had two interceptions last week and has three for the season. He is the GLIAC leader in interceptions and is tied for fourth in passes defensed. Carter just missed breaking away for a touchdown on a kickoff return last week, bringing the kick back 40 yards. Finally, Carter had six tackles last week (four solo). On the year, he has 21 tackles (12 solo), two pass breakups, a fumble recovery and a blocked kick.

Carter came to AU as a running back. He’s worked overtime to make himself a top-notch defensive back – he spent the summer in Ashland working out at the Sarver Athletic Complex every night.

“I think he looks at the team as his family,” said secondary coach Steve Clinkscale. “He felt as a captain, it was his responsibility to do everything he could for the team. He committed himself to being the best he could be. He believes in that.”

Clinkscale points to an early-season game last season against Northwood as when Carter came of age as a defensive back.

“Last year after the Northwood game he didn’t give up a reception until the Ferris State game, the last game of the season. I think he just knew talent-wise he shouldn’t be giving up receptions,” noted Clinkscale. “His outlook changed. He had the athletic ability all along.”

Sounds of the Game

Quarterbacks coach Bob Rohan on the play of Strance.

“I thought he handled himself with great composure. We threw a lot of stuff at him from the get-go and he handled it well. Probably the biggest feather in his cap was the way he moved the ball down the field and put the ball in the end zone.”

Rohan on Strance’s ability to move in the pocket.

“He’s smart with his ability, he makes good choices.”

Offensive coordinator Matt Hohman on the improvement of Gilmore.

“He’s getting there. He’s still learning where to be and what to do. He catches the ball real well.”

Keller reviewing the Hillsdale game.

“There’s a fine line between winning and losing. We made some critical mistakes, we had a lot of opportunities. We didn’t capitalize down the stretch when we had to. Failure isn’t final. What we have to do is find a way to get better.”

Facts and Figures
Here’s a statistical breakdown comparing the Eagles and Cardinals.

AU/GLIAC Rank Category SVSU/GLIAC Rank

On Deck
The Eagles are back at Community Stadium next Saturday (Oct. 4, 2003) for a 1:25 p.m. date with Wayne State. That’s the annual homecoming game.