The AU Notebook: Thefts a Primary Goal of Secondary
October 8, 2005

As strong as the Ashland University defense was over the first five games this season, no one was about to call them the “Men of Steal.”

The Eagles kept teams out of the end zone and did a masterful job against the run, but the Eagles didn’t always force as many turnovers as the coaching staff would have liked. That’s beginning to change. At Mercyhurst, freshman defensive back Tom Brenner picked off two passes. Saturday against Northern Michigan, sophomore cornerback Kelly Ajala picked up his first interception of the season.

“Out of everything with our defense, we’ve improved the most in the secondary,” said AU head coach Lee Owens. “I know Steve (secondary coach Steve Clinkscale) is upset, we dropped some interceptions. You’re always looking to get better.”

Even with the wind and rain, Northern Michigan was a test for the Eagles. Quarterback Buddy Rivera came to town first in the GLIAC in total offense, second in passing yards per game and fourth in pass efficiency. Elusive H-back Vinney Mayfield is the conference leader in all-purpose yardage and receiving yards per game. Mayfield had just three catches for 24 yards and Rivera completed nine of 21 passes for 86 yards.

“It’s a tribute to our coaches,” said defensive back Chris Holland, who had six tackles, all solo against the Wildcats. “Every little thing they critique, from pre-snap reads to when the whistle blows. He (Clinkscale) preaches perfection. That gets you in the right place. Look at Tom Brenner last week. Coach Clinkscale preaches about the little things.”

The Eagles have seven interceptions this season, three in the past two games. A year ago AU picked off 14 passes.

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Once again, the Eagles struggled with their kicking game. AU missed a PAT and failed to convert field goal tries of 41 and 31 yards. So far this year, AU is 4-of-10 on field goal tries. The opposition is 2-of-9.

Owens absolved freshman kicker Jared Karrasch of some of the blame for Saturday’s struggles. The AU coach was quick to point out that it takes time to learn how to kick in rain and wind.

The good news for the AU kicking game comes from punter Trevor Wood, who had a career-best 71-yard punt Saturday. Wood punted four times and averaged 40.0 ypp., against NMU. Over the last two games, he’s punted six times and averaged 39.3 ypp.

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Saturday was Homecoming at Ashland and the rain and chilly weather held the crowd down to 2,900. That doesn’t mean that interest in the Eagles isn’t beginning to percolate.

“You can start to tell that we’re getting a little more respect,” said Holland. “Professors are asking about us.”

Holland was asked if he thought a year ago at this time that the Eagles would be 5-2 and among the top teams in the country.

“Last year, we could have done the same thing,” he replied. “We’re practicing harder after every win. We practice harder and longer.”

A year ago, Ashland won three of its last four games.

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Junior quarterback Nick Strance caught the first pass of his career Saturday, hauling in an 18-yard pass from sophomore wide receiver David Ziegelhofer…AU narrowly missed getting 400 yards in total offense for the second straight week. The Eagles had 457 yards at Mercyhurst last week and piled up 399 yards against NMU…Northern Michigan was led on the ground by Jeff Perry’s 78 yards. AU has allowed just one back – Michigan Tech’s Lee Marana, to gain over 100 yards this season. Dating back to last season, only four times in 14 games has a running back reached the century mark against the Eagles…junior linebacker Allen Lattimore led AU with nine tackles (four solo) Saturday. The season’s team leader in tackles, linebacker Brady Miller, had eight stops (six solo).