PDF LINK OF WEEK 10 GAME NOTES
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.
- A live stream of the game can be found on the scoreboard page on the home page of the AU athletics Web site, as well. The broadcast also will be replayed on SportsTime Ohio on Nov. 6 at 7 p.m.
- AU head coach Lee Owens will do a weekly appearance on WRDL's "Early Bird's Word," every Wednesday at 8:30 a.m.
AU Concludes 2016 Regular-Season Home Schedule With Senior Day Vs. Walsh
The Week 10 game is Senior Day for the 2016 Ashland University football team, as the Eagles will look to finish the regular season with an undefeated record at Jack Miller Stadium/Martinelli Field.
"It's all about our seniors having their last home game," Owens said. "They've had a great run here, great career here, and they're having a real good season.
"Walsh is our opponent. They happen to be our last home game and last opportunity for these seniors to play in this stadium. That's the real significance of this game, more so than anything else."
Ashland is 7-2 overall and 5-2 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, and in first place in the GLIAC South Division, while Walsh is 1-8, 0-8.
The Eagles take a 15-game GLIAC regular-season home winning streak into today's contest.
"We basically know where we are at in the season," said Owens, "and realize we can't stumble again to have any hope of being champions of the South and getting an opportunity to play in the postseason, so every game becomes more significant than ever before.
"We've been on the road five of the last six weeks, so it's really nice to get home."
ASHLAND OFFENSE VS. WALSH DEFENSE
For the Eagles, junior quarterback Travis Tarnowski has completed 64.3 percent of his passes for 2,645 yards, 27 touchdowns and five interceptions…Senior tailback Vance Settlemire averages 6.4 yards per carry and has scored six rushing touchdowns…Junior tight end Adam Shaheen has caught a school-record 13 touchdown passes, and has 50 catches for 801 yards.
On defense for Walsh, senior linebacker Nick King leads the team with 87 total tackles, and has a sack, 2½ tackles for loss and a fumble recovery…Senior linebacker Tim Cook leads the team with four sacks, six tackles for loss and two forced fumbles…Freshman defensive back Ronald Robinson has a team-leading two interceptions.
ASHLAND DEFENSE VS. WALSH OFFENSE
Ashland's defense is led by its two senior inside linebackers – Zach Olszewski (73 total tackles, one sack, 4½ tackles for loss, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery) and Brandon Gency (68 total tackles, 11½ tackles for loss, 2½ sacks, two forced fumbles, a fumble-return touchdown, one interception)…Senior safety Terrell Hudson has 55 total tackles, two tackles for loss, a forced fumble and an interception…Junior defensive end Austin Utter has a team-high 5½ sacks to go with 43 total tackles, seven tackles for loss and two forced fumbles.
For Walsh's offense, freshman quarterback Mitchell Ault has completed 62.9 percent of his passes for 1,060 yards, three touchdowns and six interceptions…Senior running back Aaron Male has 366 yards and four touchdowns rushing...Freshman wide receiver Antonio Tate has caught 32 passes for 264 yards.
SPECIAL TEAMS
For Ashland, freshman tailback Keishaun Sims averages 24.2 yards per kickoff return, and junior cornerback Dale Irby averages 11.9 yards per punt return…Junior kicker Aidan Simenc has hit 6-of-8 field goals and 40-of-41 extra points…Senior punter Austin Bruns is averaging 41.6 yards on 20 punts.
For Walsh, Tate averages 24.0 yards per kickoff return and 13.0 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.
Eagles Stand At No. 7 In Super Region 4
Ashland stands at No. 7 in the second of three sets of NCAA Division II Super Region 4 rankings, released on Monday (Oct. 31) afternoon.
The first regional rankings were released on Oct. 24. The third set will go out on Nov. 7. The selection show for the 2016 NCAA Division II playoffs will be Nov. 13 at 5 p.m. at NCAA.com.
The 28-team Division II postseason - seven teams from each of four super regions - will begin on Nov. 19, with the national championship game slated for Dec. 17 in Kansas City, Mo. The top seed in each super region gets a first-round bye.
Ashland has made six D-II postseason appearances – 1986, 1997, 2007-08, 2012 and 2015.
FIRST TWO 2016 NCAA DIVISION II SUPER REGION 4 RANKINGS
|
SCHOOL |
FIRST RANKS |
SECOND RANKS |
|
Grand Valley State |
1 |
1 |
|
Midwestern State |
3 |
2 |
|
Southwest Baptist |
2 |
3 |
|
Texas A&M Commerce |
5 |
4 |
|
Colorado Mines |
7 |
5 |
|
Truman |
8 |
6 |
|
ASHLAND |
4 |
7 |
|
Ferris State |
9 |
8 |
|
Colorado Mesa |
10 |
9 |
|
Wayne State |
6 |
10 |
Shaheen Inching Closer To Rarefied Division II Air
A school record fell on Saturday at Michigan Tech.
An NCAA Division II record may soon follow.
Shaheen caught his 13th touchdown of the 2016 season in the Eagles' loss at Tech in Week 9. That broke the previous program record of 12 set by wide receiver Joe Horn in 2010.
With two regular-season games to go, Shaheen has a new target in sight – the D-II record for touchdown catches by a tight end in a season. That number is 15, set by Arkansas-Monticello's Devon Stewart in 2003 and tied by West Liberty's Ryan Travis in 2010.
"I've never seen a tight end impact the game, at any level, anywhere, the way he does," Owens said. "There's no question that every team has to tweak their coverage, they have to change their philosophy, they have to approach us differently than any other team, simply because of what he can do to you."
Shaheen has caught at least one touchdown in seven of nine games this fall.
In his career, Shaheen has 122 catches, good for seventh all-time at Ashland, and one catch behind Nick Bellanco for sixth place. He also has 1,689 career receiving yards, 21 behind George Moore for 10th on Ashland's career list, and 23 career TD grabs, five away from tying Horn's school record.
In addition, with 10 more receptions, Shaheen will become the first Eagle with multiple 60-plus-catch seasons.
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 |
Saginaw Valley State |
2 |
|
Grand Valley State |
9 |
Findlay |
1 |
|
Wayne State |
8 |
Michigan Tech |
1 |
|
Ferris State |
3 |
Ohio Dominican |
1 |
Ashland Finishes Regular Seasons Strong At Home
The Eagles have made a habit of winning their final regular-season home game, no matter where that home is.
Ashland is 10-2 in its regular-season home finales under Owens:
|
YEAR |
OPPONENT |
FINAL |
|
2015 |
MICHIGAN TECH |
W, 40-14 |
|
2014 |
NORTHERN MICHIGAN |
W, 44-14 |
|
2013 |
TIFFIN |
W, 49-30 |
|
2012 |
NOTRE DAME COLLEGE |
W, 65-0 |
|
2011 |
OHIO DOMINICAN |
L, 17-20 |
|
2010 |
LAKE ERIE |
W, 87-17 |
|
2009 |
INDIANAPOLIS |
W, 19-3 |
|
2008 |
FINDLAY |
W, 45-38 |
|
2007 |
GANNON |
W, 62-7 |
|
2006 |
FINDLAY |
L, 0-7 |
|
2005 |
INDIANAPOLIS |
W, 20-3 |
|
2004 |
FINDLAY |
W, 23-3 |
Settlemire Closer To Catching Taylor
Settlemire's two-yard touchdown run at Tech gives him 41 for his Eagle career. He is second all-time in Ashland history in total touchdowns, four behind former backfield mate Anthony Taylor (45) for the all-time lead.
With 94 more rushing yards, Settlemire also becomes the seventh player in program history with 3,000 in a career. His 248 career points are fourth-most in Ashland history, just one behind Matt Pifer (249) for third place.
AU's Success Tilts Toward The Run
So far in 2016, the Eagles are 5-0 when having more runs than passes on offense, and 2-2 when it is reversed.
Overall, Ashland has won 14 consecutive games when attempting more runs than passes.
Ashland passed more than it ran (37-30) at Michigan Tech, but there were bigger factors at play.
"We turned the ball over and we dropped a sure touchdown pass in the end zone. We dropped a punt when we had them stopped," Owens said. "It didn't have anything to do with our run-pass ratio. Turnovers would be more of a consideration."
NCAA Division II Rankings Through Week 9
INDIVIDUAL CAREER - ACTIVE
Tarnowski - total offense yards per play - 2nd (7.76)
Simenc - field-goal percentage - T-2nd (85.7)
Settlemire - yards per carry - 4th (6.7)
Tarnowski - yards per passing attempt - 4th (8.24)
Settlemire - total touchdowns - 6th (41)
Tarnowski - passing efficiency - 8th (151.53)
Tarnowski - touchdown passes - 8th (73)
Tarnowski - passing yards per game - 9th (264.4)
INDIVIDUAL - 2016
Shaheen - receiving touchdowns - T-5th (13)
Tarnowski - passing touchdowns - 7th (27)
Tarnowski - passing efficiency - 8th (167.8)
Wilcox - yards per catch - 9th (23.2)
TEAM - 2016
Third-down conversion offense - 1st (60.8)
Fewest tackles for loss allowed - 1st (19)
Total offense per game - 2nd (537.9)
Fewest penalties per game - 3rd (3.67)
Fourth-down conversion offense - 4th (84.6)
Fewest penalty yards per game - 6th (37.0)
Scoring offense per game - 9th (43.2)
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 |
|
10/22 |
at Ky. Wesleyan |
51:22 |
8:38 |
0:00 |
|
10/29 |
at Michigan Tech |
9:10 |
10:15 |
40:35 |
AU
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