Ashland Football Weekly Report
August 30, 2004

Game 2 – Ferris State (0-1) at Ashland (1-0)
Saturday, Sept. 4, 2004, 7 p.m.
Community Stadium, Ashland, OH

Weekly Opponents Stats Comparison (PDF)

Batman and Robin were known as the Caped Crusaders. Football coaches around the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, and for that matter for a good part of the nation, could be called Taped Crusaders this week.

A lot of secrets were revealed last week, the opening weekend of college football. Scouting reports that were murky going into the first game have cleared a bit. Coaches now have tape to watch and as newsman Dan Rather once proclaimed, “The Camera Never Blinks.”

There’s also a line that says a team shows the most improvement between the first and second games of the year. That’s because the opening jitters are gone. The hope is that most of the bugs in the system that showed up the first game have been rectified in the second week. Of course, that’s easier said than done, but both Ashland and Ferris State should have some indication of where they stand. Both played last week and each one heads into this matchup looking for its first GLIAC victory. Ashland picked up a non-conference win against Saint Joseph’s (IN) while Ferris State fell at home to Grand Valley State in a GLIAC matchup.

Sights and Sounds of the Game
All Ashland University football games can be heard live on WNCO (1340 AM). This is the 12th consecutive year the station has served as the home of AU football. Sam Renfroe and Bill Linson will be back in the booth to describe all the action.

As usual, the Ashland Times-Gazette will be on hand for the SJC-AU game. Sports editor Dusty Sloan and sportswriter Larry Stine will head the T-G’s coverage. The Mansfield News-Journal’s Curt Conrad will also cover the GLIAC opener.

For a complete look at AU football, fans are encouraged to tune in to the Lee Owens Show. That one-hour program airs every Wednesday at 7 p.m., on WMFD-TV in Mansfield, OH. Jeff Allen serves as the host of the Lee Owens Show.

Streaks and Strings
Ashland has lost three consecutive GLIAC openers and four of its last five conference openers. That list of results follows.

• 2003 – at Michigan Tech 27, Ashland 14
• 2002 – Michigan Tech 30 at Ashland 23
• 2001 – Wayne State 19 at Ashland 16
• 2000 – Ashland 42 at Wayne State 41
• 1999 – at Hillsdale 29, Ashland 17

This is AU’s second straight night game. The Eagles will play their first five games under the lights. Ashland begins a streak of two straight road trips next week, visiting Gannon (Sept. 11) and Grand Valley State (Sept. 18). A win this week would give AU two home victories. Ashland went 1-5 last year at Community Stadium and 1-4 in 2002. The last time the Eagles won more than one game at home was in 2001 (4-2).

Senior wide receiver Michael Hull (Cincinnati, OH/Sycamore) caught two passes last week and has now caught at least one pass in 26 consecutive games.

The Series
The Eagles lead the series with the ‘Dogs, 10-6. Ferris State has won the last two meetings, including last year’s game. Last season the teams met in the Eagles’ final game of the season, Nov. 8, at Community Stadium and FSU came away with a 17-10 triumph. The Eagles lost five fumbles, threw an interception and had seven penalties for 42 yards. Even with all those miscues, AU had a chance to win in the game’s final moments. With just over a minute left in regulation, the Eagles got to the FSU2. Two running plays moved the ball to the FSU1. AU then attempted a pair of passes, both of which fell incomplete.

The Eagles outgained the Bulldogs, 318-135. Hull caught 12 passes for 162 yards and set the school record for career receptions. Linebacker Devin Conwell (Baltimore, MD/Montgomery C.C.) recorded 12 tackles and five tackles for loss.

In 2002 in Big Rapids, MI, the Bulldogs downed the Eagles, 30-8. The teams didn’t play in 2000 or 2001. AU’s last win in the series came at FSU in 1999, 26-22. The last time the Eagles got the better of the Bulldogs at Community Stadium came in 1998, 59-37.

Series Quiz (Answers at bottom of page, click here if you want them now!)

• When Ashland scored 59 points against FSU in 1998, that point total was the second highest in school history. What’s the school record for points scored in a game and who was it against?
• In 1997, AU opened the season with a 26-7 victory at FSU. That was AU’s first win on the way to a share of the conference title and the NCAA playoffs. AU held FSU to 19 yards rushing and knocked out the Bulldogs’ starting quarterback in the first half. Who was FSU’s starting quarterback?
• In 1995, Ferris State went 12-1 and advanced to the NCAA semifinals. During the regular season, AU lost to the Bulldogs, 20-13. AU was one of only three teams to stay within seven points of the Bulldogs during the regular season. Who coached that FSU team and where did he go to coach after that season?

Eagle Update
There were several false starts the last two weeks at the Olympics in Athens, but nothing like that occurred in Ashland, OH, last Saturday night. Even though storms delayed the start of the Ashland-Saint Joseph’s game for 75 minutes, the Eagles came out of the blocks smoking once the skies cleared. Ashland scored 20 points in the first quarter and went on to a 48-7 triumph over the Pumas. The Eagles outgained the visitors, 392-201. On the ground, AU led in yards, 278-97. Ashland forced SJC into four turnovers.

Senior tailback Antwan Hart (Detroit, MI/Erie C.C.) had the fourth 100-yard game of his two-year AU career, picking his way through the Pumas for 101 yards on 13 carries. He had TD runs of 28 and 2 yards. Another senior back, Jason Schwalm (Kenosha, WI/Dublin Coffman), had 85 yards on seven carries. Quarterback Nick Strance (Willard, OH) was on target with 14 of 17 throws. Strance had one TD pass and wasn’t intercepted. He threw for 85 yards. His favorite target was sophomore wideout Brandon Gilmore (Mansfield, OH/Madison), who caught a career-high six passes for 47 yards. Transfer Dalorean White (Warrensville Heights, OH/Erie C.C.), in his first game in an AU uniform, grabbed four passes for 47 yards. His night included a 17-yard TD reception.

Conwell had seven tackles (five solo) and returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown. Sophomore defensive back Chris Holland (Youngstown, OH/Rayen) and freshman defensive back Kyle Calvert (Canton, OH/Massillon Jackson) also had seven stops. Both made four solo tackles. In addition to Conwell, Calvert and senior safety Aaron O’Reilly (Columbus, OH/DeSales) had interceptions. Sophomore linebacker Allen Lattimore (Dayton, OH/Colonel White) had six tackles (five solo) and two tackles for loss.

On special teams, freshman David Ziegelhofer (Lexington, OH) returned a punt 51 yards for a touchdown. Freshman Nick McCombs (Bucyrus, OH/Wynford) punted five times and averaged 38.6 ypp. His longest kick measured 52 yards.

Noteworthy

• Last week’s point total was AU’s highest since the Eagles scored 59 points against Ferris State in 1998. The 48 points AU put on the scoreboard last week also sets a school record for points in an opening game. The previous mark was 45 against Valparaiso in 1990.
• Ashland hasn’t started a season 2-0 since the 2000 campaign when the Eagles opened with wins over Edinboro (24-17) and Wayne State (42-41).
• Last week’s 41-point margin of victory was the Eagles’ largest since the final game of the 1994 season when AU won at St. Francis, 43-0.
• When Ziegelhofer returned a punt for a TD last week he became the first Ashland player to do that since Vance Kinney brought back a punt 89 yards for a score against Grand Valley State in 1992.
• Junior Austin Wellock (North Canton, OH/Green) had a PAT blocked last week and that’s only the second time in his career he misfired on an extra point. For his career Wellock is 41-43 on PAT attempts.
• Dating back to last season, Strance has been intercepted once in his last 127 pass attempts. That covers a stretch of five games.

Quotebook

Owens impressions on the opener.

“After looking at the film I was still impressed with the offense, we didn’t turn the ball over. Nick (Strance) made good decisions. Losing Jason Schwalm with an injury is big, it means Jon Schroeder is going to have to move into a backup role. We wanted to bring him along gradually. We can’t do that now, he’ll be thrown into the fire.”

Owens on the play of the special teams.

“We can get better. We punted the ball fairly well. The kickoff team, they stripped the ball and got a fumble. They stripped the ball and created a score. I think our kids are starting to buy into the fact that special teams can make a difference. Now our better players want to be on special teams.”

Owens on the Ferris State game.

“They (Ferris State) drove the ball against Grand Valley, they got into the red zone and then they hurt themselves. Their quarterback and tailback are great players. Defensively, they’re sound, they run to the football well. It’s a big step up from a week ago. It’s a tremendous challenge for our young players.”

On Deck
Ashland makes its first road trip of the season next Saturday (Sept. 11), visiting Gannon. The trip to Erie, PA, takes approximately three hours. The AU athletic department is sponsoring a fan bus for the 7 p.m. GLIAC contest. For more information on the bus, contact the athletic department, 419-289-5441.

Series Quiz Answers

• AU scored 61 points against Defiance in 1922.
• Matt McCarthy
• The FSU head coach was Keith Otterbein, who’s now the head coach at Hillsdale. Otterbein left FSU to become an assistant coach at Ball State.