Ashland Football Weekly Report
October 20, 2003

Game 9 – Ashland (2-6/2-5) at Findlay (4-3/3-3)
Saturday, Oct. 25 – 6 p.m., Donnell Stadium, Findlay, OH

The Opening Act
The leaves are turning different colors. So are the faces of football fans and coaches around the country.

Some are white with fear, others are red with anger. Those sarcastic folks out there would say some are blue – as in dead. Then there are those fans who favor face and body painting – they like to mix their colors – usually in support of the home team.

This Saturday, fans in Findlay Orange and Ashland Purple and Gold will be out and about for a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game in Findlay. Color, and emotion, is never lacking when these two Ohio schools meet. The leaves may be falling, but the emotions figure to be climbing when these two collide on Saturday.

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 run a game story in Monday’s paper. Sunday’s Mansfield News-Journal will have a report on the game.

Taking the Lead
Ashland’s head coach is Gary Keller. This is Keller’s 10th season as AU’s head coach and 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 51-52. 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 Findlay is 3-2. The AU head coach is a 1973 Bluffton graduate.

Dan Simrell is in his fourth season as the head coach at Findlay. The veteran coach is 18-21 with the Oilers. A year ago, he directed one of the biggest turnarounds in the region, guiding Findlay to a 9-2 record. Simrell came to Findlay after spending nine years at West Virginia as an assistant coach. During his stay in Morgantown, he was the quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator. Simrell was the head coach at Toledo from 1982-89. He was 50-37-2 in the Glass City. In 1984, he guided UT to the Mid-American Conference championship and a berth in the California Bowl. A former quarterback and defensive back with the Rockets, he is a 1966 UT graduate.

Ashland-Findlay
The first meeting between these two rivals came in 1924. The Eagles have the edge in the series, 17-12-4. Ashland has won four of the last six games, but the Oilers have emerged with wins in two of the last three games.

A year ago at Community Stadium, Findlay went 70 yards in eight plays, scoring on Jeremy Smith’s 1-yard run with 35 seconds left in regulation. That gave the Oilers a 25-20 win. Findlay led, 10-0 early in the second quarter and AU bounced back by scoring 13 straight points. The Eagles were in front, 13-10 with 13:25 left in regulation. The loss put a damper on a spectacular afternoon by wide receiver Michael Hull (Cincinnati, OH/Sycamore). Hull set an AU single-game reception record, grabbing 14 passes for 189 yards. He came out of the game with 60 receptions for the year. That tied the school single-season record.

The Eagles’ last win over the Oilers came during the 2001 season, 36-19 at Findlay. That came on the third week of the season. AU rushed for 251 yards and had 519 yards in total offense. Ashland led, 22-0 at halftime. Marcus Mitchell rushed for 133 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 16 carries and J.R. McCoy added 83 yards on 23 carries. Wide receiver Erik Coblentz burnt the Oilers with several big catches – he had five receptions for 115 yards. AU recovered two fumbles, picked off two passes and limited the Oilers to 44 yards rushing.

Eye On the Eagles
The Eagles put an end to a four-game losing streak last Saturday afternoon at Community Stadium, hanging a 31-10 loss on Northern Michigan. The loss was NMU’s sixth straight in Ashland. The Eagles trailed 3-0 after one quarter, but began to roll in the second frame. AU put 17 points on the scoreboard in the second quarter and led at the intermission, 17-10. The AU defense, which looked shaky on the game’s first drive when the Wildcats went 72 yards in 17 plays for a 25-yard field goal, was airtight in the second half. The Eagles didn’t allow a point over the last two quarters and for the game, picked off five NMU passes. Ashland reached season highs in points (31) and rushing yards (209).

This game was AU’s best offensive showing of the season. In addition to those 209 yards on the ground, the Eagles added 170 yards passing. Ashland had just one turnover – a lost fumble. The Wildcats fired 66 passes at the Eagles, but AU never fell apart.

Eagle Elite
Senior defensive back Toure Carter (Cleveland, OH/Rhoades) set an AU single-game record and tied a GLIAC single-game record with four interceptions. Carter returned one of the picks 27 yards for a score. He had five tackles (three solo). For the first time this season Carter also played on offense. He lined up at tailback, the position he played as a freshman with the Eagles. Carter had one carry for four yards and had one pass reception for 53 yards. He leads the GLIAC in interceptions and is tied for first in passes defensed (12).

Junior running back Jason Schwalm (Kenosha, WI/Dublin Coffman) ran for a career-high 156 yards on 28 carries. He scored on a 9-yard TD run. Schwalm has two 100-yard rushing games this season. Schwalm got extra work because junior Antwan Hart (Detroit, MI/Erie C.C.) was slowed by an injury. Hart is fifth in the conference in rushing (557 yards/69.6 ypg.).

Freshman quarterback Nick Strance (Willard, OH) completed 15 of 21 passes for 170 yards with two touchdowns. Best of all, he wasn’t intercepted. Strance utilized seven different receivers. As usual his favorite target was junior Hull, who had six catches for 51 yards and a touchdown. Junior tight end Brian Mong (Columbus, OH/Watterson) had a pair of catches for 17 yards and a 9-yard TD reception.

AU’s leading tackler was sophomore linebacker Devin Conwell (Baltimore, MD/Montgomery C.C.). He brought down the ball carrier eight times (five solo) and had two tackles for loss (three yards). Conwell had one sack and knocked down one pass. He’s 12th in the GLIAC in tackles (74/39 solo/9.2 tpg.).

AU’s freshman punter, Trevor Wood (Newark, OH/Licking Valley), had an impressive afternoon. He punted seven times and averaged 36.7 ypp. His longest punt went 58 yards.

Notes From the Nest

• Hull has caught at least one pass in 20 consecutive games. He enters this week’s game with 121 catches in his career. He needs seven more receptions to pass Bob Rosati (126) as AU’s career leader in catches. Hull is averaging 4.88 catches per game and that puts him sixth in the league.
• Carter is the GLIAC leader in interceptions with nine. That total ties him for the second best single-season total at Ashland – Randy White also had nine interceptions in 1985. The single-season record is 10, by Jay Hoover in 1968. Carter has 12 career interceptions, and that puts him in a tie for seventh at AU.
• Ashland has led in time of possession for six consecutive games. AU is second in the GLIAC in time of possession (32:19) and Findlay is fourth (31:16).
• Over the last four weeks, AU has averaged 169.9 ypg., rushing. The first four games AU averaged 133.0 ypg., on the ground.
• Findlay is third in the GLIAC in third down conversions (50-122/41 percent) and is tied for first in fourth down conversions (14-21/66.7 percent).
• Senior defensive end Dan Drane (Munhall, PA/Steel Valley) is second in the GLIAC in tackles for loss (11.5-44).

Learning on the Run
Because of injuries, the AU coaching staff has been forced to put several young players into the starting lineup. That’s especially true at linebacker where starters Brady Miller (Cincinnati, OH/Elder) and Jeremy Crabtree (Pickerington, OH) are on the shelf for the season.

Last week, redshirt freshman Tyler Haines (Piqua, OH) made his first start and had two tackles and the first interception of his career. Junior Chad Todaro (Massillon, OH), who once was mainly a special teams standout, has seen his time at linebacker increase by leaps and bounds the past two weeks. Against Northern Michigan, he had two tackles and a sack.

Haines was moved to linebacker from the defensive line last spring. His first start left a favorable impression on the coaches.

“We’re real pleased with Tyler,” said Keller. “Tyler brings us increased speed and agility. He played well Saturday, he knew the defense and he knew the calls. He graded out pretty well.”

Haines suffered an injury early in the game, but refused to yield the field. That also caught Kelle’s attention.

“I think that speaks to his mental toughness,” offered Keller.

Todaro is deeper into his career than Haines, but this is the first time he’s really had a chance to show what he can do from the line of scrimmage.

“He’s coming on,” said Keller. “He made some big plays last Saturday. He’s filling the role for us at outside linebacker. We’re pleased with Chad’s progress.”

Sounds of the Game

Carter on his four-interception game.

“It’s exciting, a great feeling to perform like that.”

Keller on last week’s victory.

“We didn’t shoot ourselves in the foot. Our offense was pretty solid, our special teams and defense were solid. We got the kind of game we were looking for. It’s something we needed badly to get some belief in ourselves.”

Keller on the Eagles’ rate of improvement.

“We’re coming along. Saturday’s performance is a sign that our team is getting better. Nick Strance, directing the offense the way he did, is an example of that. He couldn’t have done that in his first game, his second game. I was happy with the way he directed the offense, the decisions he made. I’m hoping the rest of the team can do that. We’re learning and I’d like nothing better than to close the season with three straight wins.”

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

On Deck
Ashland closes the season with a pair of home games. The first of those games comes next Saturday (Nov. 1, 1:25 p.m.) when the Eagles welcome Indianapolis to Community Stadium. That is Football Alumni Day.