Sights and Sounds
- This week's game will be broadcast live on WNCO-AM 1340, with David Wilson handling the play-by-play and Don Graham providing the commentary. The game can be heard at WNCOAM.com, and also can be accessed on the scoreboard page on the home page of the AU athletics web site, GoAshlandEagles.com.
- AU head coach Lee Owens will do a weekly appearance on WRDL's "Early Bird's Word," every Wednesday at 8:30 a.m.
Ashland, Kentucky Wesleyan Hook Up In Rare Mid-Season Non-Conference Game
The No. 11-ranked Ashland University football team takes a break from Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action with a rare in-season non-conference game in Week 8 at Kentucky Wesleyan.
The Eagles are 6-1, while the Panthers are 1-6.
Saturday's game will be a 2 p.m. Eastern (1 p.m. local) kickoff.
This is the first time in Owens' tenure at Ashland that the team will play a non-conference game this late in the season.
"It really all came down to the open date, and visiting with the administration, with (Director of Athletics) Al King, visiting with our players," Owens said. "Our guys did not want an open date. They did not want to think about practicing all week and not having a game.
"Their biggest concern and my biggest concern is we've had issues with offensive timing trying to come back from a week off. I don't know why. Right now, our offensive timing is as good as it can be. It came down to our guys wanted to stay in our routine."
ASHLAND OFFENSE VS. KENTUCKY WESLEYAN DEFENSE
For Ashland, junior quarterback Travis Tarnowski leads the GLIAC in passing yards (2,182) and touchdown passes (22)…Junior tight end Adam Shaheen is tied for third in the conference with 44 catches, is second with 754 receiving yards and first with 12 touchdown catches…Senior tailback Vance Settlemire has 460 yards and four touchdowns rushing.
The Panthers' defense is led by sophomore defensive back Ty Martin-Mills, who has recorded 50 total tackles to go with 3½ tackles for loss, an interception and a forced fumble…Junior defensive tackle D'Mo Crawford has nine tackles for loss and two sacks among his 20 total stops…Sophomore defensive back Colton Billups has a team-high three interceptions to go with 16 total tackles, a fumble recovery, a forced fumble and a blocked kick.
ASHLAND DEFENSE VS. KENTUCKY WESLEYAN OFFENSE
For the Eagles, senior inside linebacker Brandon Gency is tied for the GLIAC lead in tackles for loss with 9½, while adding 54 total tackles, 2½ sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery touchdown and an interception…Senior inside linebacker Zach Olszewski leads the team with 56 total tackles, and also has a sack, three tackles for loss, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble…Junior defensive end Austin Utter has 37 total tackles, four sacks, 5½ tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
Kentucky Wesleyan has senior quarterback DaMarcus Smith, who has thrown for 1,432 yards and nine touchdowns…Senior wide receiver Keelan Cole has caught 37 passes for 837 yards and eight touchdowns…Senior wide receiver Travion Tucker has 26 grabs for 313 yards and a score.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Ashland's special teams has return men Keishaun Sims (freshman tailback, 33.1-yard kickoff-return average and a touchdown) and Dale Irby (junior cornerback, 13.1-yard punt-return average and a touchdown)…Junior kicker Aidan Simenc is 6-for-8 on field goals and 31-of-32 on extra points…Senior punter Austin Bruns averages 41.7 yards on 18 punts.
For Kentucky Wesleyan, Cole averages 23.5 yards per kickoff return, including a touchdown, and averages 16.2 yards per punt return.
Leaders Of The Pack
The 2016 Ashland University captains are Settlemire, Gency, Tarnowski and senior stud Adam Wallace - three seniors and a junior.
Tarnowski and Gency were captains in 2015, as well.
Appreciation For The AU "D"
If Ashland's defense is underrated, it shouldn't be.
Through seven weeks of the 2016 college football season, the Eagles are second in the GLIAC in scoring defense (15.3 ppg.), total defense (317.1 ypg.) and passing yards per game (171.9), and tied for second in fumble recoveries (eight).
The Eagles also are eighth in NCAA Division II in scoring defense.
Ashland's clamp-down defense is a major reason why the team has recovered from early-game deficits this season. The Eagles are outscoring their opponents 246-61 cumulatively in the second, third and fourth quarters.
The Eagles' defense has consistently been one of the GLIAC's best this decade.
In the first six seasons of the 2010s, the Eagle "D" has led the GLIAC in scoring defense twice and not ranked lower than fourth, and has led the league in total defense once and ranked fourth or higher five times.
|
SEASON |
GLIAC RANKS |
|
2016 (7 gm) |
2nd scoring (15.3 ppg.), 2nd total (317.1 ypg.) |
|
2015 |
4th scoring (24.8 ppg.), 4th total (368.1 ypg.) |
|
2014 |
1st scoring (18.2 ppg.), 2nd total (338.3 ypg.) |
|
2013 |
2nd scoring (23.4 ppg.), 6th total (387.0 ypg.) |
|
2012 |
1st scoring (15.2 ppg.), 1st total (292.0 ypg.) |
|
2011 |
T4th scoring (23.9 ppg.), 4th total (344.2 ypg.) |
|
2010 |
3rd scoring (17.8 ppg.), 3rd total (305.5 ypg.) |
Tarnowski On Pace To Rewrite Eagle Record Book
During the road win over Lake Erie, Tarnowski passed former Eagle QB and current AU wide receiver coach Taylor Housewright for second place on the program's all-time passing yards list.
If the last 12 games are an indication, Tarnowski is going to continue to climb the all-time Ashland rolls – and fast.
In the last five games of 2015 and the first seven games of 2016, Tarnowski is 279-for-434 (64.3 percent) for 3,761 yards, 39 touchdowns and only eight interceptions. He has thrown multiple touchdown passes in all 12 of those games (at least three TDs in 10 of the 12), and has seven 300-yard passing games in that stretch.
"He's called most of them, probably 38 of them, he's called his own number," quipped Owens about the touchdown passes. "He's got the green light out there. He's really been productive with what he does. He knows what he wants to do, he's got a great feel for what's going on out there, he's got a great feel for the matchups of personnel we're getting.
"Of all the things that Travis does really well, we know he's accurate, we know he's tough, he's really smart. He's two steps ahead of all of us out there, including his offensive coaches. That's a good thing. That's really a good thing."
Tarnowski has 7,470 career passing yards, second only to Billy Cundiff (9,143), and 68 touchdown passes, trailing only Cundiff (79) and Housewright (71). His 2016 regular-season paces of 3,429 passing yards and 35 TD tosses both would be second all-time at Ashland.
It Isn't Just The Offense, Folks
Ashland has three non-offensive touchdowns this season – one each on a kickoff return, punt return and fumble return. The Eagles hadn't scored a non-offensive TD since 2014, which is the last time the program had three in a season.
The last time Ashland scored more than three non-offensive touchdowns in a season was 2010 (11).
Bruns' Leg Wasn't Needed
Bruns played against the Storm, but didn't punt. It was the first time the Eagles didn't punt in a game since a 42-13 home win over Malone on Oct. 4, 2014.
In 76 career punts, Bruns is averaging 41.3 yards. He is 24 punts short of qualifying for the NCAA Division II active leaders list, but would be seventh in gross punting average if he did.
Best Fourth-String Tailback In The Country?
Redshirt freshman tailback Luke Ogi doesn't get a lot of carries behind senior Vance Settlemire, sophomore Andrew Vaughn and freshman Keishaun Sims, but he makes the most of his opportunities.
Ogi, also a contributor on special teams with three solo tackles, has ran nine times for 198 yards (a 22.0-yard average) and three touchdowns. His rushing TD total is tied for 15th in the GLIAC, and his 75-yard touchdown run in the season-opener at home against Mercyhurst is the fourth-longest for a GLIAC player this season.
"I'm not giving him the ball enough, there's no question," said Owens. "His three touchdowns, they're all on the same play. We've renamed it '32 Ogi,' because nobody runs it the way he does."
The Eagles' Oh So Sweet Home
The 2016 season is the eighth for the Eagles at Jack Miller Stadium/Martinelli Field, and to say they enjoy playing on Broad Street is an understatement.
Ashland is 35-8 (.814) at home since 2009, and has won 16 straight regular-season contests at "The Jack."
|
SEASON |
W-L |
|
SEASON |
W-L |
|
2009 |
3-2 |
|
2013 |
3-2 |
|
2010 |
5-1 |
|
2014 |
5-0 |
|
2011 |
4-1 |
|
2015 |
5-1 |
|
2012 |
6-1 |
|
2016 |
4-0 |
The Eagles have earned a 15-game GLIAC regular-season home winning streak, best in the conference. The GLIAC teams with current winning streaks within the conference at home in the regular season include:
|
SCHOOL |
STREAK |
|
SCHOOL |
STREAK |
|
Ashland |
15 |
|
Northern Michigan |
2 |
|
Grand Valley State |
8 |
|
Tiffin |
2 |
|
Wayne State |
6 |
|
Northwood |
1 |
|
Hillsdale |
4 |
|
Saginaw Valley State |
1 |
NCAA Division II Rankings Through Week 7
INDIVIDUAL CAREER - ACTIVE
Tarnowski - total offense yards per play - 2nd (7.71)
Settlemire - yards per carry - 3rd (6.62)
Simenc - field-goal percentage - 3rd (85.7)
Tarnowski - passing yards per attempt - 4th (8.22)
Settlemire - total touchdowns - T-4th (39)
Tarnowski - passing yards per game - 7th (266.8)
Tarnowski - passing efficiency - 8th (151.25)
Tarnowski - completion percentage - 8th (61.5)
Tarnowski - touchdown passes - 9th (68)
INDIVIDUAL - 2016
Shaheen - receiving touchdowns - 2nd (12)
Tarnowski - passing yards - 7th (2,182)
Tarnowski - passing touchdowns - 8th (22)
Shaheen - total touchdowns - T-9th (12)
TEAM - 2016
Fewest tackles for loss allowed - 1st (16)
Third-down conversion percentage - 2nd (59.6)
Total offense - 3rd (534.6 ypg.)
Fourth-down conversion percentage - T-5th (80.0)
Fewest penalties per game - T-5th (4.00)
Fewest penalty yards per game - 7th (41.43)
Scoring defense - 8th (15.3 ppg.)
2016 Competitiveness Chart
The following is a look at the Eagles' 2016 "competitiveness chart" - the measure of how long a team leads, is tied and trails in a game:
|
DATE |
OPPONENT |
TIME AHEAD |
TIME TIED |
TIME BEHIND |
|
9/1 |
MERCYHURST |
53:31 |
6:29 |
0:00 |
|
9/10 |
WAYNE STATE |
27:12 |
3:36 |
29:12 |
|
9/17 |
FINDLAY |
33:05 |
13:50 |
13:05 |
|
9/24 |
at Ferris State |
17:39 |
3:04 |
39:17 |
|
10/1 |
at Tiffin |
0:00 |
4:48 |
55:12 |
|
10/8 |
NORTHWOOD |
55:19 |
4:41 |
0:00 |
|
10/15 |
at Lake Erie |
58:53 |
1:07 |
0:00 |
The Notebook
- Settlemire (30) needs one rushing touchdown to tie Jon Schroeder (31) for fifth on AU's all-time list, he passed former teammate Jordan McCune for fourth on the program's all-time points scored list (236) against Lake Erie and is tied for second with McCune for second with 39 career touchdowns, trailing only former teammate Anthony Taylor (45).
- Shaheen (116) needs one catch to tie Anthony Capasso (117) for seventh on the program's all-time list, and with 1,642 career receiving yards, needs 68 to move into Ashland's all-time Top 10.
- Gency has 28½ career tackles for loss, tied with Luke Busson for fourth in Ashland history.
AU
FB/DS