DETROIT – Wayne State and Ashland showed up for a football game Saturday (Oct. 16) and at least one of the following sporting events broke out.
A cross country meet where runners enjoyed wide open spaces on a perfect fall day.
A basketball game where the team with the last possession would win.
A rugby match where the term, "scrum," seemed to an apt description of what took place on the gridiron.
It's up for debate as for what's the right answer to that multiple-choice test. As for the test on the gridiron, that went to the Eagles, 40-35.
Ashland (4-3/3-3 GLIAC) has won three consecutive games. The Warriors (5-2/4-2) saw a three-game winning streak come to an end.
Entering the game, both teams ranked among the defensive leaders in the GLIAC. Both teams, however, reverted to the form of the previous three seasons when the teams engaged in wide-open offensive battles. This is the fourth consecutive year the winning team in this matchup scored at least 40 points. In the last four meetings, the teams have combined for 68 or more points three times.
The AU coaches will look at a long list of crimes and scratch their heads. No unit – offense, defense or special teams – emerged unscathed. Still, the Eagles won because after halftime, they were the better team.
Quarterback Taylor Housewright (Ashland, Ohio) was called twice for throwing a pass beyond the line of scrimmage. Housewright was picked off once in the red zone. That came in the second quarter and was his first pick since Sept. 18 against Hillsdale.
The Ashland defense allowed a season high in points and in the first half, allowed the Warriors to convert seven-of-eight third down conversion attempts. Wayne State's first touchdown came on a 41-yard touchdown pass on a third-and-24 play. Earlier in the drive, the Warriors had a touchdown wiped out by a holding penalty. The AU defense also allowed two first downs due to personal fouls and an excessive celebration penalty helped shorten the field for the Warriors on a kickoff. Ashland gave WSU two first downs on facemask penalties.
Finally, usually reliable kicker Gregg Berkshire (Ashland, Ohio) missed an extra point after AU's first touchdown. Entering the game, Berkshire was 17-for-18 on extra-point attempts.
The Eagles struggled to contain wide receiver Troy Burrell. He finished the day with 12 catches for 187 yards and three touchdowns. The WSU trigger man, sophomore quarterback Mickey Mohner, completed 30-of-45 passes for 355 yards and five touchdowns. That's the most TD passes the Eagles have ever allowed.
AU was in this game because, despite all of these negative statistics, the Eagles were cuffing around the Wayne State defense. Housewright completed 21-of-30 passes for 272 yards and three touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Joe Horn (Waynesfield, Ohio/Waynesfield-Goshen) entered the game needing 123 yards to become the school's career leader in receiving yards. Horn had someone shadowing him from the time he reached the parking lot and seemed to give the Warriors a constant case of the jitters. He finished with six catches for 69 yards
AU's other senior wide receiver, Christian Livingston (Newark, Ohio), was on the receiving end of two flea flicker pass plays. The first of those netted 29 yards. That helped keep alive a first-half drive that resulted in a touchdown. The Eagles repeatedly ventured into WSU territory. In the first half, the Eagles scored three touchdowns, gave up the ball on downs when Housewright lost a yard on a fourth-and-one play from the WSU 34 and then suffered the interception in the red zone. Livingstone ended the game with five catches for 124 yards.
Wayne State was in front at halftime, 28-20. At that point, Mohner had four touchdown passes and the teams had combined for 482 yards and one punt.
The Warriors scored first, Mohner finding Burrell on that 41-yard pass play when it was third and a city block. Stefan Terleckyj's extra point gave the Warriors a 7-0 lead. The Eagles made it 7-6 with 4:08 left in the first quarter when junior cornerback Logan Kerr (Ashland, Ohio) perfectly read Mohner and intercepted a pass and returned it 32 yards for a touchdown. The touchdown was the first of Kerr's college career. He leads AU with three interceptions.
When Berkshire's kick failed, the Eagles trailed, 7-6. WSU went in front, 14-6 with 2:22 left in the quarter when Mohner found running back Toney Davis with a 36-yard scoring pass.
The Eagles put an exclamation point on the quarter when Housewright teamed with H-Back Joe Wasserbeck (Prospect, Ohio/North Union) on a 13-yard TD pass. That play came with one second left in the quarter and was the first touchdown reception of Wasserbeck's career. Berkshire's extra point made it 14-13, Wayne State.
Burrell's second touchdown catch of the game, on a 16-yard toss from Mohner, made it 21-13 with 9:12 remaining in the first half. Housewright got the Eagles to within 21-20 when he scored on a 5-yard run with 5:41 left in the half. The Warriors counted with a touchdown pass of five yards from Mohner to running back Josh Renel with 2:08 to play in the first half. Terleckjy's extra point made it 28-20.
Of Wayne State's four first-half scoring drives, three went 62 or more yards.
The Eagles cut the WSU margin to 28-27 with 6:13 left in the third quarter. Housewright directed an 11-play, 75-yard march that consumed 4:04 and ended with a 1-yard scoring run by junior slot back D.J. McCoy (Cleveland, Ohio/Collinwood). Housewright completed three passes in the drive and scrambled for a 29-yard gain when flushed out of the pocket on one play. McCoy went over 100 yards rushing for the fourth consecutive week, finishing with 120 yards on 35 carries.
AU went ahead for the first time, 33-28 when Livingstone hauled in a perfectly thrown 51-yard pass from Housewright with 10:15 left in regulation. The AU quarterback took a vicious hit on the play, but his throw was right on the money as Livingston beat one-on-one coverage down the right sideline. Berkshire added the PAT for a five-point lead.
The Eagles turned the game's momentum in their favor when they recovered a fumble by Davis at the WSU 40 with 9:02 left in regulation. Davis had picked up a first down and looked to be stretching out for one extra yard when safety Tyler McFarlin (Ashland, Ohio) stripped him of the football. Linebacker Julian Goodwine (Dayton, Ohio/Thurgood Marshall) recovered the ball.
That turnover set up a Housewright-to-Horn touchdown pass that covered seven yards. Berkshire's extra point gave the Eagles a 40-28 lead with 7:44 left in regulation.
Wayne State closed to within 40-35 on a 60-yard touchdown pass from Mohner to Burrell with 2:42 showing on the clock. The Warriors went with an onside kick and Livingston made what could have been his biggest catch of the day, falling on the ball and giving Ashland possession. After that, the Eagles relied on McCoy, who carried the ball three times and picked up 10 yards. That allowed the Eagles to go to the Victory formation and run out the clock.
Safety Tarell Lewis (Redford, MI/Bowling Green) and linebacker Carmon Wolfe (Tonawanda, N.Y./Erie C.C.) had 10 tackles apiece for Ashland.
The Eagles return home next Saturday(Oct. 23, 1 p.m.) to host Saginaw Valley State.
AU
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