Ashland Football Weekly Report
October 18, 2005

Game 9– Wayne State (2-5/2-5 GLIAC) at Ashland (6-2/5-2)
Saturday, October 22, 2005, 1 p.m.
Ashland, OH/Community Stadium

It’s Football Alumni Day this Saturday at Ashland University. Players from various eras will return to Community Stadium. Those former Eagles played in different systems. For some, there have been a plethora of changes since they wore Purple and Gold. Hair styles have changed, bell bottoms and string ties have come and gone and skirts have gone up and down.

Change is constant. However, the one thing that never goes out of style is winning and that’s something the Eagles have done with a hardnosed style in 2005.

AU enters this week’s game with a 6-2 record. The Eagles have already clinched a winning season. A victory against Wayne State would give the Eagles seven wins. Ashland hasn’t reached that level since the 1999 season.

Wayne State could put some of those plans on hold. The Warriors are coached by Paul Winters, who worked with AU head coach Lee Owens at Akron. A year ago, AU had to come from behind to win in Detroit. Wayne State is regarded as one of the most improved teams in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and comes to Ashland with a two-game winning streak, so staying on track won’t be easy for the Eagles.

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.

All AU home games are broadcast live by AU’s campus radio station, WRDL-FM (88.9). Tyler Miller and Brian Vail will work behind the microphones for the campus station. All AU home games are broadcast on a tape delay basis by WMFD-TV in Mansfield. The station will air the game twice – Saturday at midnight and Sunday at 7 p.m.

The print media will be represented by Dusty Sloan of the Ashland Times-Gazette and the Mansfield News-Journal.

Ashland-Wayne State
The Eagles hold a 16-4 edge in the all-time series. From 1995-2000 the Eagles downed Wayne State six straight times. In the first 16 meetings between the teams, AU won 14 times. The first meeting came in 1975.

AU won last year’s game at WSU. Trailing 14-7 entering the fourth quarter, the Eagles floored Wayne State with 21 points in the final 15 minutes to win, 28-21. Wide receiver Dalorean White (Warrensville, OH/Erie C.C.) hooked up with quarterback Nick Strance (Willard, OH) on TD passes of 50 and 66 yards in the final quarter. The game was tied, 21-21 before AU tailback Antwan Hart scored on a 1-yard run with 38 seconds left in regulation to wrap up the win. Hart’s TD run capped a 10-play , 87-yard drive. Hart carried the ball eight times for 80 yards in that final drive. He finished the afternoon with 178 yards on 34 carries.

White caught four passes for 138 yards. Strance clicked on 16 of 30 passes for 218 yards. Wayne State’s Chris Middlebrooks rushed for 108 yards on 30 carries with three touchdowns. His scoring runs measured 6, 3 and 6 yards.

History Lesson – Ashland-Wayne State

• 2004 – Ashland 28 at Wayne State 21 – The win is AU’s second straight and pulls AU to within a game of the .500 mark.
• 2003 – Wayne State 29 at Ashland 19 – WSU tailback Craig Duppong rushed for 158 yards and AU suffered a blocked punt and three interceptions.
• 2002 – Ashland 25 at Wayne State 20 – AU kicker Austin Wellock tied an NCAA single-game record with six field goals. Wellock scored 19 of AU’s 25 points. Duppong rushed for 164 yards for WSU.
• 2001 – Wayne State 19 at Ashland 16 – WSU’s Stephen Wayne hit a 33-yard field goal with no time showing on the clock to give the Warriors the win. WSU outgained the Eagles, 451-247. Much of that came from WSU wide receiver Pierre Brown, who caught 10 passes for 179 yards.
• 2000 – Ashland 42 at Wayne State 41 - On the second week of the season, AU outlasted the Warriors. The winning score came with 52 seconds left in regulation when Jeff Leopold found tight end Max Lind with a 5-yard scoring pass. Leopold was 22-of-34 for 308 yards and three touchdowns.

The GLIAC Report
The list of undefeated GLIAC teams is down to one – Grand Valley State (7-0). The Lakers defeated Saginaw Valley State, 31-10 last Saturday night, removing SVSU (6-1) from the unbeaten club. The Lakers face another major test this week, going on the road to face once-beaten Northwood. Ashland enters play this week tied for fourth in the conference with Michigan Tech.

Ashland’s opponent next week, Findlay, has hit a rough patch. The Oilers lost to Wayne State last week, 34-17 and have dropped five consecutive games. That’s Findlay’s longest losing skein since the Oilers lost the final five games of the 2000 campaign.

The AU defense continues to rank among the league’s best. The Eagles lead the GLIAC in Red Zone defense (opponents are scoring 41 percent of the time) and are second in scoring defense (10.9 ppg.) and sacks (22-128). AU is third in rush defense (104.9 ypg.), pass efficiency defense (99.3 rating) and total defense (271.9 ypg.). In pass defense, the Eagles are listed fourth (167.0 ypg.).

Ashland is the least penalized team in the conference (30-235/29.4 ypg.) and is first in turnover margin (+5). AU is second in sacks allowed (4), third in time of possession (31:24 per game) and fourth in rush offense (175.9 ypg.).

AU Head Coach Lee Owens
Lee Owens begins his second season at AU with a career mark on the college level of 51-69. 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 was a successful high school coach before moving to the collegiate ranks. 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
The Eagles ran their winning streak to three games last week with a 7-3 triumph at Hillsdale. The AU defense was exceptional, especially in the fourth quarter when Hillsdale set up shop with a first-and-goal at the AU5. On first down, the Chargers advanced the ball to the AU4 on a running play. The next two plays resulted in incomplete passes. On fourth down, AU safety Devin Conwell (Baltimore, MD/Montgomery C.C.) got his second interception of the season to end the threat.

The only touchdown of the game came with 10:11 to play in the first half when sophomore running back Jon Schroeder (Avon Lake, OH) raced through the Chargers for a 40-yard scoring run. The TD came on a draw play. Schroeder was AU’s leading rusher with 63 yards on 11 carries. Junior quarterback Nick Strance (Willard, OH) completed 15 of 27 passes for 109 yards. His favorite target, as usual, was senior wide receiver Dalorean White (Warrensville, OH/Erie C.C.), who caught six passes for 27 yards.

Ashland outgained the home team, 265-262. As they have for most of this season, the Eagles controlled the clock, leading in time of possession, 32:04-27:56.

On defense, senior linebacker Brady Miller (Cincinnati, OH/Elder) had a team-high 11 tackles (10 solo). Another linebacker, Jeremy Crabtree (Pickerington, OH), had nine tackles and sophomore safety Justin Hood (Youngstown, OH/Chaney) recorded seven tackles (four solo). Sophomore cornerback Kelly Ajala (Pittsburgh, PA/Schenley) got his second interception of the season.

Listed below are some of AU’s top players.

• 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 61 (23 solo).
• Jeremy Crabtree (Pickerington, OH) – A senior linebacker, Crabtree is fourth on the team in tackles (49/31 solo). He leads the team in tackles for loss (9-50) and is tied for the team lead in interceptions (2). Crabtree is 10th in the league in tackles for loss.
• Luke Busson (Wadsworth, OH/Kent State) – The sophomore linebacker has 48 tackles (28 solo) and that puts him fifth on the team.
• 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). This season, Lattimore has 63 tackles (27 solo), seven tackles for loss and four sacks. He’s second on the team in tackles and sacks and third in tackles for loss.
• Brady Miller (Cincinnati, OH/Elder) – The quarterback of the defense, this senior linebacker leads the Eagles in tackles (72/40 solo). Miller is 13th in the league in tackles per game (9.0). Miller has 7.5 tackles for loss (28 yards) and four sacks. He’s tied for second on the team in sacks and is second in tackles for loss.
• Brian Mong (Columbus, OH/Watterson) – A 6-3, 264-pound senior tight end, Mong is third on the team in receptions (13).
• 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 three games this year. He’s gained a team-high 811 yards rushing (4.3 ypc.). Schwalm is fourth in the GLIAC in rushing (101.4 ypg.). His yardage total is a career high.
• 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 101 of 179 passes (56.4 percent) for 1,114 yards and nine touchdowns. Strance is sixth in the conference in pass efficiency (117.5 rating) and eighth in passing yards per game (139.2).
• Dalorean White (Warrensville, OH/Erie C.C.) – White has caught a team-best 42 passes for 599 yards (14.3 ypc.) with five touchdowns. The senior is fourth in the GLIAC in receptions per game (5.25) and all-purpose yardage (120.8 ypg.). He’s seventh in receiving yards per game (74.9) and third in kickoff return average (24.8).
• David Ziegelhofer (Lexington, OH) – This sophomore wide receiver has caught 23 passes for 204 yards (8.9 ypc.). He’s second on the team in receptions. Ziegelhofer is AU’s leading punt returner (6.8 ypr.).

Quick Hitters

• Ashland hasn’t allowed a sack for four consecutive games.
• The AU defense hasn’t allowed a touchdown for two consecutive games. The Ashland defense hasn’t permitted a TD for eight consecutive quarters. Three times this year the defense hasn’t yielded a touchdown. Since Jim Meyer became AU’s defensive coordinator last year, the Eagles have held the opposition without a touchdown five times (in 19 games).
• Since last year’s Hillsdale game, AU is 9-3. The losses in that stretch have come on the road to Indianapolis (24-21, final game in 2004), at home against Grand Valley State (14-10) and at Michigan Tech (17-14). Both GVSU and Michigan Tech were unbeaten and nationally ranked when AU played them.
• The 10 combined points by Hillsdale and AU last week is the lowest scoring game for the Eagles since AU won, 9-0 at Saint Joseph’s in 1991.
• The Eagles have outscored the opposition, 36-5 in the first quarter.
• Opponents have made 3-of-11 field goal tries against the Eagles.
• Only once this season has a running back (Michigan Tech’s Lee Marana) rushed for over 100 yards against AU. Dating back to last season, only four backs in the last 15 games have reached the century mark against AU.
• AU is 4-1 in its last five home games and has allowed a total of 27 points (5.4 ppg.) in that stretch.
• The Eagles are 2-2 on Football Alumni Day.

The Quotebook

Owens on WSU coach Paul Winters the recent success of Wayne State.

“Paul has them where they’re not making mistakes. He’s gotten them to the point where they’re forcing the opposition to beat them. Their last two opponents couldn’t do that. Michigan Tech and Findlay made a lot of mistakes. It wasn’t a fluke that they beat either team.”

Owens on the play of quarterback Nick Strance.

“He’s making good decisions. He’s helping on the sidelines with play calls. He has a good understanding of what we’re trying to do. He’s making fewer mistakes. Nick’s managing the game. He’s not forcing passes that aren’t there. He’s making key throws in critical situations. With our defense and special teams that’s what we need the quarterback to do.”

Defensive coordinator Jim Meyer on the Wayne State offense.

“They’re playing better defense, which is giving their offense more opportunities to do things with the ball. They’re getting better field position, more turnovers. Offensively they have a balanced attack. They’ll come out in different formations, different personnel groups. They’re excecuting better.

“Chris Middlebrooks is good, he has great feet and he’s very quick. He can make something out of nothing. We can’t let him get started. (Nick) Body is really good, he’s the go-to guy. Anything that happens, he’s usually involved with it.”

Wide receivers coach Denver Williams on the improved play of wide receivers Bobby Madison (Lorain, OH/Steele) and Rock Lewis (Maple Heights, OH). Madison had three receptions at Hillsdale and Lewis caught two passes.

“They’ve played sparingly all year. They’ve done well with their opportunities. They’ve worked their way into more playing time, we can’t keep them off the field. I’m real excited about Rock, he’s made some big catches the last few games. Bobby is a big body and he carries people after he catches the ball. Saturday he had a couple of catches and did that, carry people.”

Running back Jason Schwalm on the game at Hillsdale.

“Two years ago we would have crumbled at the end. We stayed composed. The defense won this game for us.”

Safety Devin Conwell on the defense.

“We played a bad first half (at Hillsdale) and still gave up only three points. We have to get ready for Wayne State. To be 9-2 you have to be 7-2.”

Defensive lineman Kyle Zelazny (Westerville, OH/South) on last week’s defensive stand in the fourth quarter.

“It was the hardest series we’ve had. Everyone had to step it up.”

Wide receiver Dalorean White on whether he thought the defense could hold Hillsdale when the Chargers had the ball first-and-goal on the AU5.

“I knew our defense was going to stop them. When they didn’t score the play before, when they got stopped on the 5, I knew our defense was going to stop them.”

Schwalm’s thoughts on that same series.

“I was a little skeptical. Hillsdale had four plays to get in. But they stayed composed and knew their assignments.”

On Deck
Next week (Oct. 29), AU goes on the road for the final time, visiting Findlay for a 7 p.m. game.