Eagles Football Team Finds Their True Selves Against Pumas
August 27, 2005

Complete Box Score

The 2005 College Sports Information Directors directory lists six different institutions of higher education known as Saint Joseph’s. They stretch across the land and because there are six, there is sometimes confusion over who’s who.

The Ashland University football team, matched against the Saint Joseph’s College Pumas of Rensselaer, IN, appeared a bit confused in the first half Saturday. It took the visiting Eagles a little over two quarters to find themselves, and their way, in a 30-15 win over the stubborn Pumas on a steamy afternoon at Alumni Field.

AU trailed, 9-3 at halftime even though the Eagle defense hadn’t allowed a point. SJC took the lead via a safety and an 86-yard interception return by sophomore linebacker Payne Schoen. It wasn’t until AU put together two long, third-quarter scoring drives, both dominated by running plays, that the game began to turn in Ashland’s favor. Even when the Eagles got the lead, the Pumas didn’t go away quietly.

“We decided at halftime what we had to do was run the football,” said AU head coach Lee Owens. “Today, we knew we had to do that. If we had to run every down, we were going to run every down. Tomorrow we’ll work on the passing game.”

AU went ahead, 10-9 with 10:30 to play in the third quarter on senior tailback Jason Schwalm’s 1-yard run. With 40 seconds left in the frame, sophomore tailback Jon Schroeder scored on another 1-yard plunge, upping the AU lead to 17-9. The first drive covered 76 yards in 12 plays. All 12 plays were running plays. The second drive ate up 77 yards in 14 plays. That march included two pass plays, both completions.

“We were able to run the ball and pick up third-and-eight, third-and-six,” said Owens. “Those two drives in the third quarter were big for us. It showed what we were made of.”

At that point in the game, the heat was beginning to take its toll on both teams. The bigger, stronger, Ashland offensive line became a major factor and many times, Schroeder and Schwalm weren’t touched until they were five yards past the line of scrimmage.

“We knew we could play a lot better than we did in the first half,” said junior right tackle Mike Dolfi. “It was just a matter of doing what we wanted to do. They were getting tired. That was fun. The more tired they got, the more fun it was.”

Schroeder came off the bench to rush for a career-best 143 yards on 19 carries with two touchdowns. Schwalm, who was sidelined by cramps in the fourth quarter, had 96 yards on 23 trips. Ashland had 233 rushing yards compared to -25 for SJC. In total offense Ashland rolled up a 336-230 advantage.

But that discrepancy didn’t put the Pumas down for the count. With 5:18 to play in the fourth quarter, wide receiver Dan Paulsen caught a 27-yard TD pass from Nate Durant on a halfback option play. SJC scored on a pass on the two-point conversion, but an illegal substitution penalty erased the play. AU stopped the next two-point pass play and led, 17-15.

Moments later, Schroeder broke free for a 72-yard touchdown run. That’s AU’s longest rush from scrimmage since Marcus Mitchell had an 81-yard run against Findlay in 2001. Schroeder’s score came with 5:00 left in regulation. The Eagles missed the PAT kick, however, leaving the door open for the Pumas. Ashland had a 23-15 lead, but a touchdown and successful two-point try would tie the game.

That’s what SJC nearly managed to do. The Pumas drove to the Ashland 30 before senior linebacker Devin Conwell intercepted an Anthony Lindsey pass and brought it back 98 yards for a touchdown. That’s the longest interception return in Ashland history. The previous record of 97 yards was established by Jim Colwell against Wooster in 1963.

“That was a wonderful play, you couldn’t ask for a better ending,” exclaimed junior linebacker Allen Lattimore.

“He made a great play, but he’s an opportunistic kid,” said defensive coordinator Jim Meyer of Conwell. “That’s the kind of play you expect from him. Brady (Miller) broke it up and he’s (Conwell) in position to get the ball. That’s a combined effort.”

Those kind of efforts helped AU overcome a less-than-stellar start. In their first three possessions, the Eagles had a first down nullified by a clipping penalty, dropped a center snap on a punt that resulted in an 18-yard loss, suffered a safety and threw an interception. On the day, AU suffered through three interceptions and a lost fumble.

But the constants that helped the Eagles a year ago, defense and a solid running game, came to the rescue. In the second half, those two areas were more than Saint Joseph’s could handle.

“We had them right where we wanted them,” explained Lattimore. “They couldn’t score. If we kept up our intensity they weren’t going to score.”

“The offense is sputtering, giving up touchdowns and they kept playing hard,” said Owens of his defense. “I told our defense at halftime the offense is going to play better.”

When it did, the Eagles found their true identity – a physical football team. That plays well no matter what part of the country you’re in or who you’re playing.