Ashland Football Weekly Report
September 26, 2005

Game 6– Ashland (3-2/2-2) at Mercyhurst (0-5/0-5)
Saturday, October 1, 2005, 1:30 p.m.
Erie, PA/Tullio Field

It’s crunch time in Major League baseball, the final week of the season when the division winners and wild cards are solidified.

It’s also crunch week at Ashland. The Eagles are looking to snap a two-game losing streak. In each of the past two games, the Eagles have led an undefeated, nationally-ranked opponent in the fourth quarter only to fall short late in the game. That makes this game at Mercyhurst critical for AU. The Eagles need to reverse course and get a victory to stay in the upper echelon of Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference teams. Maybe the Eagles can escape this tailspin by playing “Crunch Week Football,” hard-hitting, all-over-the-field defense that’s been their calling card in the first five weeks of the 2005 season.

Sights and Sounds of the Game
All Ashland University football games can be heard live on WNCO (1340 AM). This is the 13th consecutive season the station has served as the home for AU football. Sam Renfroe will handle the play-by-play chores and Bill Linson will provide commentary. The game is also webcast on the AU athletics website.

Ashland-Mercyhurst
Thanks to two consecutive wins over the Eagles, Mercyhurst has significantly narrowed the gap in the all-time series. Heading into this week’s game, AU holds a 4-3 edge. At Mercyhurst, AU is 1-2.

Last year at Community Stadium, the Lakers won, 25-14. Ashland outgained the visitors, 402-202, but the Eagles lost three fumbles, threw two interceptions and had a field goal blocked. MC took the lead with a pair of third-quarter touchdowns.

AU tailback Antwan Hart had 124 yards on 25 carries and linebacker Devin Conwell (Baltimore, MD/Montgomery C.C.) had 17 tackles (15 solo), a sack and two tackles for loss. Another linebacker, Allen Lattimore (Dayton, OH/Colonel White), registered 10 tackles (eight solo), six tackles for loss and a pair of sacks. That performance earned Lattimore the GLIAC defensive player of the week award.

History Lesson – Mercyhurst

• 2004 – Mercyhurst 25 at Ashland 14 – MC gains 29 yards rushing. In the second half, AU has nine possessions and throws two interceptions and loses a fumble.
• 2003 – at Mercyhurst 17, Ashland 10 – Rob Keefe returns an interception 27 yards for a TD with 10:57 left in regulation to give MC the win. He becomes the GLIAC defensive player of the week. AU kicker Austin Wellock hit a school-record 50-yard field goal.
• 2002 – at Ashland 27, Mercyhurst 20 – J.R. McCoy rushes for 98 yards and two touchdowns, Wellock kicks two field goals and a 10-point fourth quarter spells victory for the Eagles.
• 2001 – at Ashland 47, Mercyhurst 21 – McCoy gains 174 yards on 36 carries with three scores and Marcus Mitchell picks up 147 yards with a TD. The Lakers gain 27 yards rushing.
• 2000 – Ashland 15, at Mercyhurst 14 – Matt Pifer kicks five field goals to account for all of Ashland’s points. McCoy rushes for 176 yards, his sixth 100-yard game of the season. MC quarterback Greg Dore threw for 326 yards and rushed for 75 yards.

The GLIAC Report
Three GLIAC teams still don’t have a mark in the loss column. Grand Valley State is 4-0 and ranked first in the nation. Michigan Tech is 4-0 and a week ago, was 15th in the national poll. Saginaw Valley State (ranked ninth last week) is 4-0 and Northwood is 3-1 in the league, 4-1 overall.

Ashland’s opponent next week, Northern Michigan, lost last week at Gannon, 26-23 in overtime. That’s the Wildcats’ second overtime loss this season. NMU quarterback Buddy Rivera completed 30 of 58 passes for 418 yards and two touchdowns. Wide receiver Vinney Mayfield had 13 receptions for 255 yards and a pair of scores.

Ashland remains the GLIAC leader in rush defense (84.0 ypg.) and is also first in red zone defense (opponents score 41.7 percent in the red zone). AU is third in scoring defense (13.4 ppg.) and total defense (271.2 ypg.). The Eagles are fourth in sacks (17-86).

AU is the conference’s least penalized team (16-131/26.2 ypg.) and is tied for second in fewest sacks allowed (5-28).

AU Head Coach Lee Owens
Lee Owens begins his second season at AU with a career mark on the college level of 48-69. He spent nine seasons as the head coach at the University of Akron before coming to AU. A year ago, Ashland was 5-6. Owens’ record as a high school and college coach is 134-99-2. On the prep level, his record is 89-32-2. He won a state championship at Galion High School in 1985.

At Akron, Owens made vast improvements on the field and in the classroom. In 2000, the Zips won a share of the Mid-American Eastern Division title. He guided the school to its first consecutive winning seasons since the school became a Division I member (1999, 2000). Owens also recruited and coached some of the top players in Akron history, including quarterback Charlie Frye, now a member of the Cleveland Browns.

Off the field, in 2001 the Zips were presented with an academic achievement award for a graduation rate over 70 percent by the American Football Coaches of America (AFCA).

Owens is originally from Mansfield, OH. He received his bachelor’s degree from Bluffton in 1977 and his master’s degree from Ashland in 1981.

Eye on the Eagles
For the second consecutive week, the Eagles nearly knocked off a nationally-ranked, undefeated team. After falling behind, 10-0 in the first half at 15th-ranked Michigan Tech, AU quarterback Nick Strance (Willard, OH) fired touchdown passes of 42 yards to senior wide receiver Dalorean White (Warrensville, OH/Erie C.C.) and 7 yards to sophomore wideout David Ziegelhofer (Lexington, OH) and the Eagles led, 14-10 heading into the final 15 minutes. That Ashland advantage held up until with 6:20 to play in regulation, running back Daryl Graham scored on a 3-yard run to put the Huskies ahead, 17-14.

The Eagles got one more possession and moved to the AU44 before stalling. Tech got the ball with 3:41 to play and ran out the clock with a nine-play, 29-yard keepaway drive. That salted away a 17-14 victory, Tech’s 13th win in its last 15 games.

Tech outgained the Eagles, 321-261. Most every other statistical category was even closer. On the ground, MTU led, 144-110 and in the air, the home team had a 177-151 edge. The Huskies had 17 first downs, Ashland 14. What made the difference in this contest was Tech being able to produce on several key plays late in the fourth quarter.

Some of Ashland’s top players from last weekend, and the season, are listed below.

• Devin Conwell (Baltimore, MD/Montgomery C.C.) – A safety, Conwell was first team All-GLIAC last season. The senior’s had over 100 tackles each of the last two seasons and last year, led the country in solo tackles (80). This is his first season at safety after spending the last two years at linebacker. Conwell is third on the team in tackles with 42 (18 solo).
• Jeremy Crabtree (Pickerington, OH) – A senior linebacker, Crabtree is fourth on the team in tackles (36/23 solo). He leads the team in tackles for loss (8-43) and in interceptions (2) and is tied for the team lead in sacks (4). Crabtree had 12 tackles (five solo) and two sacks last Saturday. The AU linebacker is second in the conference in tackles for loss.
• Luke Busson (Wadsworth, OH/Kent State) – The sophomore linebacker has 30 tackles (15 solo) and that puts him fifth on the team. Busson had 1.5 sacks at Michigan Tech.
• Blake Dickson (North Canton, OH/Jackson) – A stalwart at left guard, Dickson was second team All-GLIAC in 2004.
• Allen Lattimore (Dayton, OH/Colonel White) – A junior, Lattimore was an honorable mention All-GLIAC choice in 2004. A year ago, the athletic linebacker tied for first in the league in sacks (9.0) and was fourth in tackles for loss (18.0). Lattimore is second on the club in stops with 42 (19 solo). Against Michigan Tech, he posted 12 tackles (three solo). Lattimore is second on the team in tackles for loss (6) and shares the team lead in sacks (4). In the GLIAC statistics, Lattimore is seventh in sacks and 25th in tackles per game (8.4).
• Brady Miller (Cincinnati, OH/Elder) – The quarterback of the defense, this senior linebacker had a career-best 16 tackles last week (three solo). In 2004 he had 69 tackles and two sacks. Miller has taken over the team lead in tackles (43/21 solo). He has a sack, an interception and 3.5 tackles for loss. Miller averages 8.6 tackles per game – that puts him 17th in the league.
• Brian Mong (Columbus, OH/Watterson) – A 6-3, 264-pound senior tight end, Mong is third on the team in receptions (11).
• Jason Schwalm (Kenosha, WI/Dublin Coffman) – Schwalm appeared in just one game last year before going on the shelf with an injury. He had 661 yards rushing and averaged 5.1 ypc., in 2003. Schwalm has rushed for over 100 yards in two games this year. He’s gained a team-high 474 yards rushing and is averaging 4.3 ypc. Schwalm gained 57 yards on 17 carries last week and is fifth in the conference in rushing at 83.4 ypg.
• Nick Strance (Willard, OH) – This is Strance’s second full season as the AU starting quarterback. He took over the spot midway through his freshman season. Strance has completed 69 of 116 passes (58 percent) for 673 yards and eight touchdowns. A week ago he was on target with 16 of 24 throws for 151 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
• Dalorean White (Warrensville, OH/Erie C.C.) – White has caught a team-best 27 passes for 340 yards (12.6 ypc.). Last week he had a career-best eight receptions for 110 yards. That’s the first 100-yard day by an AU receiver since White had 138 yards at Wayne State last season. White is seventh in the league in receptions per game (4.75) and ninth in receiving yards per contest (57.5). He’s fifth in kickoff return average (25.0).
• David Ziegelhofer (Lexington, OH) – This sophomore wide receiver has caught 19 passes for 145 yards (7.6 ypc.). He’s second on the team in receptions. Ziegelhofer is AU’s leading punt returner (7.4 ypr.).

Quick Hitters

• AU hasn’t scored a rushing touchdown since the first game of the season when the Eagles had three.
• The Eagles have blocked five kicks this season and have a blocked kick in each of the last two games. Sophomore defensive end Chris Meyer (Akron, OH/Walsh Jesuit) got the block last week.
• Michigan Tech’s Lee Marana became the first player this year to rush for 100 yards against the Eagles (25 carries, 108 yards). Dating back to last year, AU has allowed a back to gain 100 yards four times in its last 12 games. The other backs to reach 100 during that stretch are Wayne State’s Chris Middlebrooks (30-108) and Marana (32-234) and Daryl Graham (14-105) in last year’s Michigan Tech contest.
• Three times this season the Eagles have had four or more sacks in a game. Last week, Ashland had four sacks.
• AU is the GLIAC’s least penalized team with 16 infractions for 131 yards. AU opponents have been whistled 34 times for 303 yards.
• An eerie feeling in Erie, PA? The Eagles’ all-time record in the city is 2-4.

The Quotebook

“We’re doing what the coaches ask. Against great teams, no one’s going to score a lot, no one’s going to score 50 points. In the second half (at Michigan Tech) I thought we controlled the ball and gave ourselves a chance to win. It’s a game of inches.”

“The next six games are a big test. We know we can run the table.”

Offensive lineman Justin Dorr (Greenwich, OH/South Central) on the offense and if a lack of experience in crucial situations is a problem.

“It’s not that. We just need to do it. We just need to win. We were up in the fourth quarter (at Michigan Tech). We just need to finish in the fourth quarter. We had to put a drive together to win it.”

“It comes down to making a first down when you need it. One drive you need to win the game. We haven’t been able to do that the last two weeks. You can’t make mistakes.”

Lattimore on the defense holding two nationally-ranked teams to a total of 31 points over two games.

“It makes us feel good, but we’re still down. If we eliminate some mistakes, they don’t score at all. We know we can improve. We lost. If we hold them to no points, we win.”

Lattimore on what he’ll tell his teammates this week.

“We have to take it one game at a time starting with this game. Every week is just as important as the last.”

On Deck
Next week (Oct. 8) is Homecoming at Ashland University. Northern Michigan will be in town for a 1 p.m. kickoff.