Ashland Football Weekly Report
October 7, 2003

Game 7 – Ashland (1-4/1-5) at Mercyhurst (2-3/1-3)
Saturday, Oct. 11, 2003 – Louis J. Tullio Field, 1:30 p.m.

The Opening Act
It’s not far, by car, from Ashland to Erie, PA. Ashland and Mercyhurst are two private institutions that play in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The schools are separated by three hours. It’s not difficult making that trip (unless it’s mid-winter and Mother Nature adds some snow to the mix).

The AU and MC football teams have been traveling along a similar road this season and it’s not I-90. Both have young football teams and putting points on the scoreboard has been a challenge at times. Still, there have been encouraging signs for both squads. The key for these teams this coming Saturday is to play consistent football for 60 minutes. Both teams enter the game trying to break out of a three-game losing streak. It doesn’t take a map to get back on track, just good, solid fundamental football.

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

The Ashland Times-Gazette will have a report on the AU-MC game in Monday’s paper. The Mansfield News Journal’s will have a story in Sunday’s edition.

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 50-51. 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. Keller’s lifetime record against Mercyhurst is 4-1. The AU head coach is a 1973 Bluffton graduate.

Marty Schaetzle is in his second season as the Lakers’ head coach. This is the first head coaching assignment of Schaetzle’s career. A year ago, he guided MC to a 2-9 finish. Schaetzle’s specialty is offensive football. He came to MC after five years as an assistant coach at Bucknell. He coached the tight ends and tackles and later became the offensive coordinator. A 1983 Bucknell graduate, Schaetzle’s background includes stints as an assistant coach at SUNY-Albany, Arizona, Sonoma State (CA), Northern Arizona and Shippensburg. He was the offensive coordinator at Shippensburg for seven seasons.

Ashland-Mercyhurst
Ashland holds a 4-1 edge in the series and has won four straight times against the ‘Hurst. A year ago at Ashland’s Community Stadium the Eagles won, 27-20. AU came from behind to win, scoring 10 points in the final quarter. AU trailed, 20-17 entering the last quarter. Austin Wellock (North Canton, OH/Green) hit a 26-yard field goal with 6:48 left in regulation and then with 1:20 left, tailback J.R. McCoy reached the end zone on an 8-yard run. The Eagles forced four turnovers – three interceptions and a fumble. Safety Toby Stepsis had two interceptions to go with 10 tackles (six solo) and one tackle for loss.

The last time the teams played in Erie, PA, was on Nov. 11, 2000. Matt Pifer kicked five field goals and McCoy rushed for 176 yards on 33 carries as AU held off the home team, 15-14. MC quarterback Greg Dore threw for 326 yards and scrambled for 75 yards.

MC hasn’t beaten the Eagles since the teams met for the first time, at Mercyhurst in 1998, 34-23. AU was regionally ranked at the time and that setback dealt the Eagles’ postseason hopes a serious blow. The win was considered one of the biggest in MC school history and was keyed by MC quarterback Matt Kissell, who completed 28 of 57 passes for 440 yards and three touchdowns.

Eye On the Eagles
It was homecoming last week at AU and the biggest homecoming parade in school history took to the streets. Floats, exhibits, parades, animals, the parade had a little bit of everything. So did the football game that followed at Community Stadium last Saturday afternoon.

The Wayne State Warriors handed AU its third consecutive loss, 29-19, in a game that featured a blocked punt, a blocked PAT, an interception returned for a touchdown, a safety and a total of five interceptions. WSU had a 17-3 lead with 9:25 remaining in the third quarter. The Eagles rallied to tie the game at 17-17 with 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter when junior tailback Antwan Hart (Detroit, MI/Erie C.C.) scored on a 4-yard run. The Warriors took the lead for good with 4:02 left in regulation when tailback Craig Duppong rambled through the Eagles 44 yards for a touchdown. Duppong finished the game with 158 yards rushing.

Duppong’s score gave the Warriors a 23-17 lead (Greg Gundersen’s PAT kick was blocked). The Warriors took a safety in the game’s waning moments in an effort to run out the clock and in doing so, AU got the ball back with 10 seconds left in regulation trailing, 23-19. On the game’s final play, AU freshman quarterback Nick Strance (Willard, OH) was picked off by WSU’s Earl Carruthers, who returned the theft 38 yards for a TD. Carruthers had three picks in the game.

Eagle Elite
Hart had his second 100-yard day of the year last Saturday, rushing for a career-high 113 yards on 25 carries. He has a team-high 447 yards and is averaging 3.7 ypc., with four touchdowns. Hart’s fifth in the GLIAC in rushing. Junior running back Jason Schwalm (Kenosha, WI/Dublin Coffman) was also effective with 69 yards on 11 carries. As for the passing game, reliable Michael Hull (Cincinnati, OH/Sycamore) caught a team-high seven passes for 61 yards. Freshman wideout Brandon Gilmore (Mansfield, OH/Madison) snared three passes for 45 yards. The trigger man on those passes was Strance, who was 17-for-38 for 173 yards.

The defense was led by senior safety Karl Ransom (Grand Rapids, MI/Grand Rapids C.C.), who had 13 tackles (nine solo) with an interception. Sophomore linebacker Devin Conwell (Baltimore, MD/Montgomery C.C.) was in on 10 stops (four solo) with one tackle for loss. Conwell is 12th in the GLIAC in tackles with 58, an average of 9.7 tpg.

Senior cornerback Jeremy Westbrooks (East Cleveland, OH/St. Edward) recorded seven tackles (five solo) and another senior cornerback, Toure Carter (Cleveland, OH/Rhoades), made six tackles, all solo. Carter also had two tackles for loss, two passes defensed and an interception he returned 33 yards. Carter is first in the conference in interceptions (four/0.67 per game) and tied for second in passes defensed (seven).

Senior defensive lineman Dan Drane (Munhall, PA/Steel Valley) had three tackles, two for loss. Drane is second in the league in tackles for loss (10-39).

Notes From the Nest

• This week’s game is AU’s lone game in 2003 on artificial turf.
• MC has never rushed for 100 yards in a game against AU. The Lakers’ best effort on the ground came in 1998 when they gained 70 yards rushing.
• AU is seventh in the league in rushing at 150.0 ypg. Over the last two games, AU has averaged 184.0 ypg., rushing.
• Hull has caught at least one pass in 18 consecutive games. He has 109 receptions in his career and that puts him third on the AU career list, trailing only Bob Rosati (127) and Chris Harkness (113).
• Over the last three games, Ransom is averaging 9.0 tackles per game.
• The Eagles have been whistled for 21 penalties in the last two games.
• Mercyhurst listed 92 players on its preseason roster. Of that total, 46 players were from Ohio.

Aches and Pains Report
We’ve reached the halfway point of the season and the Eagles have lost two starting linebackers – Brady Miller (Cincinnati, OH/Elder) and Jeremy Crabtree (Pickerington, OH) – for the season. Starting quarterback John Szabo (Dayton, OH/Chaminade-Julienne) is currently sidelined by injury and will miss his third consecutive start this week at Mercyhurst.

Even with those injuries, trainer Jeremy Hancock says the Eagles are in better shape than recent years.

“The strength and conditioning program we did last spring has helped,” said Hancock, in his third year at AU. “I think the new rules in the preseason have helped, too. I’ve talked with other trainers and they say the same thing. The injuries that linger, sprains, strains, we’ve cut down on those.”

The new preseason regimen put in place by the NCAA called for the first five days of practice to be an acclimation period. After that, two-a-day practices were never held on consecutive days and there was more down time between practices. As for AU’s offseason program, this year that was under the direction of AU assistant track and field coach Jud Logan.

This week could be a test for Hancock as the Eagles play on plastic grass. Many times, the day after a game on turf makes for a long line into the training room. But Hancock doesn’t profess to be worried any more than usual.

“If an injury is going to happen, it’s going to happen,” said Hancock. “Knock on wood, the last two years we haven’t had significant injuries on turf.”

Sounds of the Game

Offensive coordinator Matt Hohman on the improvement in the running game.

“The No. 1 thing is we’ve had consistency in the offensive line. Those guys are trusting each other and they’re playing together as a consistent unit. The two guys back there, Antwan (Hart) and Jason (Schwalm), complement each other. We knew we needed to use them both to be effective. The more they get the ball, the better they are.”

Hohman on the the success of Hull.

“He deserves it. He works hard week in and week out. The thing with Michael is his consistency. He catches the ball, he blocks. You always know where he’s going to be.”

Defensive coordinator Matt Pawlowski on losing two starting linebackers – Brady Miller and Jeremy Crabtree – for the year.

“The guys behind them have to step up, we aren’t approaching it any different. We’ve made some minor changes in responsibility and adapted some things to their strengths and weaknesses. But we haven’t made any changes. We just have to coach our guys up. The biggest thing is not to press and do more than is asked of them. You just hope that everyone will do their job individually.”

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

On Deck AU returns to Community Stadium next Saturday (Oct. 18, 1:25 p.m.) to host Northern Michigan in a GLIAC contest.