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Bulldogs Edge Eagles
in Overtime, 23-17 |
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This is the last holiday of summer, Labor Day weekend, when the nation pauses to relax one last time. That was not the case for the Ashland University football team. Like Bob Seger, they may be feeling like a number. Here are some figures that are hard to swallow in Ashland. Ferris State tailback Andrew Terry scored on a 1-yard run on the first possession of overtime and wide receiver Carlton Brewster tied a conference record with 15 receptions as the Bulldogs (1-1/1-1 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) held off Ashland (1-1/0-1) in overtime, 23-17. AU is 1-3 in overtime games. The Eagles helped the FSU cause greatly as they lost a fumble, threw three interceptions and missed three field goals. Ashland outgained the Bulldogs, 434-370 and on the ground, had a 231-17 edge. “There’s nothing good that comes out of loss,” lamented AU head coach Lee Owens. “We just didn’t get it done in overtime, offensively or defensively.” FSU opened the extra session with the first possession and marched in for the go-ahead score. The Bulldogs missed the extra point, but FSU sealed the win when LaMar Williams intercepted a Nick Strance pass in the end zone on a fourth-and-goal play from the 19-yardline. Brewster had 195 yards receiving and TD catches of 13 and 6 yards. The 6-yard pass from backup quarterback Ryan Kaul tied the game at 17-17 with 5:32 remaining in regulation. “We had to double Brewster, he made great plays,” said Owens. “That’s no secret, we knew he would perform.” Had the Eagles performed a bit better this game wouldn’t have gone into an extra session. All the missed opportunities eventually took the steam out of a young team that’s still learning how to win. “This is a tough loss, we put it all on the line, gave 100 percent,” said senior running back Antwan Hart, who rushed for a career-high 159 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 22 carries. “We felt we could defeat this team, they were a very experienced team. We just tried to play hard.” “We did what we could, there’s no one to blame,” said senior linebacker Chris Campbell, who picked off two passes. “We can go either way right now, but there’s so much heart on this team. There are little mistakes we can fix. We gave Ferris all they could handle. We can play with anyone in the conference.” AU scored the game’s first touchdown, Hart capping a four-play, 37-yard sojourn with a 1-yard run with 8:32 left in the first half. FSU drew even when FSU quarterback Tom Marsan found Brewster with a 13-yard scoring pass. Sophomore Austin Wellock’s 22-yard field goal with 9:45 to play in the third quarter put AU in front, 10-7. A 31-yard field goal by Justin Rudy with 12:08 remaining in regulation tied the score, 10-10. Ashland answered with a 13-yard TD run by Hart with 9:51 to go and led 17-10. Brewster’s second TD catch, this one a 6-yard throw from Kaul with 5:32 to go, tied the score, 17-17. That drive was set up when FSU intercepted Strance at the FSU29. Kaul completed 15 of 33 passes for 177 yards. Starter Tom Marsan was 16 of 27 for 176 yards. Strance completed 19 of 39 passes for 203 yards. Wide receivers Michael Hull and Brandon Gilmore had four receptions apiece. Strance utilized 10 different receivers. AU sophomore linebacker Allen Lattimore had 10 tackles, including three tackles for loss (15 yards) and two sacks (10 yards). Freshman defensive back Ronnie Smith was Ashland’s leading tackler with 11 tackles (all solo) with three pass breakups. Senior safety Aaron O’Reilly had 10 tackles (nine solo). Ashland goes on the road for the first time next week, visiting Gannon (Sept. 11, 7 p.m.). |