Ashland Football Weekly Report
September 14, 2004

Game 4 – Ashland (2-1/1-1 GLIAC ) at Grand Valley State (3-0/3-0)
Saturday, Sept. 18, 2004, 7 p.m.
Arend D. Lubbers Stadium, Allendale, MI

Weekly Opponents Stats Comparison (PDF)

Dish or cable? Flat screen or traditional? Folks all around the country are considering their options as they try to get the clearest – and best – picture.

Ashland University head football coach Lee Owens won’t be resorting to any of those electronic devices as he continues to search for the big picture. Every week, without touching any dials, Owens gets a better look at his team. This week should be a real eye opener as the Eagles play in prime time against the NCAA Division II defending national champion.

Grand Valley State, ranked first in the country, has been to the national title game three consecutive years and has won two straight Division II crowns. This will be an interesting test for the Eagles and a chance to judge their progress in this young season.

Both teams are coming off wins. Last Saturday night at Gannon, AU prevailed in overtime, 22-19. Grand Valley State topped Indianapolis in Allendale, MI, 35-9.

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 describe all the action.

Ashland Times-Gazette sports editor Dusty Sloan will make the trip to GVSU to cover this week’s game. His story will appear in Monday’s paper. The Mansfield News-Journal will have a game account in the Sunday’s edition.

For a complete look at AU football, fans are invited 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 program.

Streaks and Strings
The Eagles have played two consecutive overtime games. That’s the first time in school history that’s happened. Two weeks ago, AU lost in overtime at home to Ferris State, 23-17 and last Saturday night at Gannon, AU won in an overtime period, 22-19. Ashland is 2-1 for the first time since 2001. Last week’s win snapped a three-game road losing streak that dated back to last season. AU hasn’t won more than one road game in a year since going 2-3 in 2001.

This is the first time AU and GVSU have played since the 2001 season. The Lakers have won eight straight games against the Eagles. Grand Valley State has won 51 of its last 53 games. The GVSU senior class sports a 44-2 mark, 30-1 in the GLIAC.

AU senior wide receiver Michael Hull (Cincinnati, OH/Sycamore) caught seven passes last week and has pulled in at least one pass in 28 consecutive games. The AU defense hasn’t allowed a team to reach 100 yards rushing in any game this season. The last time an opposing player rushed for 100 yards against Ashland came on Nov., 1, 2003 when Donnie McCoy of Indianapolis gained 106 yards on 31 carries. Ashland senior running back Antwan Hart (Detroit, MI/Erie C.C.) has gained over 100 yards on the ground in three straight games. Through three games, he has 374 yards.

This is Ashland’s fourth consecutive night game. The nocturnal streak will stretch to five games next Saturday and then the rest of the schedule consists of afternoon games.

The Series
The Lakers have had a firm grasp on this series. GVSU has won the last eight meetings and enjoys a 10-2 lead in the series. The last time the two teams tangled was in 2001 in Ashland and the Lakers routed the Eagles, 63-19. Ashland hasn’t tasted victory against the Lakers since 1993 when the Eagles won at Community Stadium, 29-14. The last time the teams played in Allendale, MI, was in 2000 and the Lakers came away with a 38-7 win.

Ashland and GVSU shared the 1997 Midwest Intercollegiate Football Conference crown. AU advanced to the NCAA playoffs that season. The next year the two teams opened the season under the lights in Grand Rapids, MI. That game went to the Lakers, 42-35.

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

1. When David Ziegelhofer returned a punt for a TD in this year’s season opener, he became the first AU player to return a punt for a score since 1992 when this player brought back a punt 89 yards for a score against GVSU. Name that AU player.

2. In the 1998 season opener against GVSU AU’s starting quarterback, Mark Molk, rushed for 112 yards and two touchdowns. Molk transferred to Ashland from what institution?

3. Three GVSU players have finished in the top six for the Harlon Hill Award voting and Ashland has played against all three. Name that trio.

Eagle Update
Gannon University Field features a red-brick wall that surrounds the playing surface. There’s only one entrance to the field and fence jumping isn’t an option.

For much of the last year, that field has been the only way opponents have been able to keep GU quarterback Darmel Whitfield under control. Whitfield is an All-America candidate who led Gannon to a 9-1 record last year. He was the GLIAC offensive player of the week in the first week of this season.

Last Saturday night, the Eagles kept Whitfield’s heroics to a minimum with a great defensive effort. Whitfield rushed for 39 yards on 14 carries and completed 21 of 42 passes for 265 yards and one touchdown. The defense took center stage as AU won in overtime, 22-19.

Ashland scored on its lone overtime possession, junior kicker Austin Wellock (North Canton, OH/Green) booting a 28-yard field goal. Gannon’s overtime possession resulted in a missed 45-yard field goal. On that extra possession Gannon threw two incomplete passes and rushed once for a loss of three yards. Ashland allowed just 63 yards rushing. The defense gave up 10 points – GU’s other nine points came off an interception returned for a touchdown and a safety.

Nick Strance (Willard, OH), AU’s sophomore quarterback, completed 17 of 29 passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns. One TD pass went to Hull and covered 12 yards, the other went to junior wide receiver Dalorean White (Warrensville Heights, OH/Erie C.C.) and measured 13 yards. White was AU’s second-leading receiver last week with three catches for 23 yards. Hart was the main factor on the ground as he rushed for 114 yards on a career-high 32 carries. Last week marked the sixth time in his AU career he reached the century mark in rushing. Strance also showed that he has some nifty moves. His 9-yard scamper through the GU defense with 2:11 left in regulation gave the Eagles a 19-16 lead.

Junior linebacker Devin Conwell (Baltimore, MD/Montgomery C.C.), this week’s GLIAC defensive player of the week, recorded a team-high 13 tackles (six solo) and blocked a punt. Junior linebacker Brady Miller (Cincinnati, OH/Elder) made 10 tackles (three solo) and sophomore linebacker Allen Lattimore (Dayton, OH/Colonel White) accounted for nine stops (three solo). Sophomore defensive back Chris Holland (Youngstown, OH/Rayen) posted 11 tackles (eight solo) and made a game-saving tackle on Gannon’s last possession in regulation.

The Owens File
The Eagles are under the direction of Lee Owens, who is in his first season with the Eagles. Owens came to Ashland after nine seasons as the head coach at the University of Akron. As a head coach on the college and high school levels, Owens has a career mark of 131-94-2. At Akron, his teams were known for their ability to strike from anywhere on the field. In 2003, the Zips were sixth in the nation in pass offense, ninth in total offense and 11th in scoring. Akron went 7-5 last season.

Prior to coaching at Akron, Owens was an assistant coach at Ohio State (1992-95). He joined the Buckeyes after a successful career on the high school level. Owens’ record on the prep level is 89-32-2. In 1985 at Galion High School he won a state championship and was named the Ohio High School Coach of the Year. Owens also coached at legendary Massillon Washington High School (1988-92) where he was 35-13 in four seasons.

Owens is originally from nearby Mansfield, OH, and Madison High School. He earned his undergraduate degree from Bluffton College in 1977 and his master’s degree from Ashland in 1981.

Noteworthy

• Ashland is 2-3 in overtime.
• Last week, seven different AU players caught at least one pass. The week before against Ferris State, 10 different players had at least one reception.
• Ashland is averaging 23.0 ppg. A year ago, AU averaged 15.7 ppg.
• Strance had five carries for 25 yards (5.0 ypc.) last week. Through the first two games he averaged 0.6 ypc.
• Holland’s 11 tackles last week was a career high.
• Hart is the GLIAC leader in rushing, churning out 124.7 ypg. He’s eighth in all-purpose yardage (128.3 ypg.).
• Conwell is this week’s GLIAC defensive player of the week. Conwell has played 14 games at AU and has been the league’s defensive player of the week three times.
• Lattimore is second in the GLIAC in tackles for loss (7-27). Freshman Nick McCombs (Bucyrus, OH/Wynford) ranks fifth in the conference in punting (39.1 ypp.).

The Quotebook

Head coach Lee Owens on the win at Gannon.

“You get thrown into the fire two weeks in a row and this time on the road, you start to think déjà vu. You are proud of them because it’s easy to sit there and wait for the other shoe to drop.”

Owens on fourth-quarter, 9-yard TD run by Nick Strance.

“Nick made a play. That’s what your quarterback has to do. As frustrating as it was (struggling offensively), we were able to put a drive together at the end.”

Defensive coordinator Jim Meyer on Devin Conwell’s play last week.

“He played a great game. He’s so athletic, he’s tough to block. Blockers can’t get a good shot at him. He’s elusive and he makes tombstone tackles. His athleticism puts him in a position to make those kind of plays.”

Meyer on the Grand Valley State passing game.

“They have great skill and they protect the quarterback. They let him play. Their quarterback and receivers are in synch, they know each other very well. They give him time to throw and pick you apart. It’s going to be difficult to contain that.”

Secondary coach Steve Clinkscale on the play of safety Chris Holland last week.

“Chris graded out well, his best game. Chris is very talented and he’s a very physical safety. He did a much better job of staying focused on the task at hand. That’s why he performed better. He was physical and focused.”

On Deck
The Eagles will be back at home next Saturday (Sept. 25, 7 p.m.) for another GLIAC encounter when they host Michigan Tech. AU’s annual fireworks show will follow the game.

Series Quiz Answers

1. Vance Kinney

2. Bowling Green

3. Quarterback Curt Anes won the award in 2002 and was second in 2001. Quarterback Jeff Fox was third in 1998 and running back Eric Lynch was sixth in 1989.