Saginaw Valley State (3-4/3-3 GLIAC) at Ashland (4-3/3-3 GLIAC)
Saturday, Oct. 23, 1 p.m.
Jack Miller Stadium/Martinelli Field at Dwight Schar Athletic Complex
Hear, Here
The Saginaw Valley State-at-Ashland game will be broadcast live on WNCO-AM (1340) with Ken Carman on the play-by-play and Don Graham providing the commentary. Matt Brubaker will lead the broadcast team for WRDL-FM (88.9). The campus station will also do the game live. SportsTime Ohio will broadcast this game on a tape-delay basis. The STO broadcast team is comprised of play-by-play man Mike Greene and commentator Ken Dworznik. The game will be shown at 10 p.m., on Saturday and Monday (Oct. 25) at 5 a.m.
Looking Ahead and Behind
Ashland brings a three-game winning streak into this week's encounter. The Eagles won last week at Wayne State, 40-35. That is AU's first road win of the season. Ashland is 3-1 at home this season. The last time the Eagles won four or more consecutive games was in 2008 when the Eagles won six consecutive games after beginning the year 0-2.
Saginaw Valley State downed Indianapolis last week, 24-20 and comes to town with a two-game winning streak. This is the first time the Cardinals have played at Jack Miller Stadium/Martinelli Field at the Dwight Schar Athletic Complex. The Cardinals began the year in the national rankings and were picked second (along with Hillsdale) in this year's GLIAC preseason coaches' poll. SVSU got off to a 0-2 start, losing in overtime to fifth-ranked California, 42-41 and at Ferris State, 21-17.
Winning Duels with a Dual Threat
College football has always had an affinity for the running quarterback. While the NFL has warned about the hazards of a running quarterback and how they won't last through an entire season, college coaches have been willing to take their chances. For several years, college football fell in love with the passing game and emphasized pocket passing. But that proved to be a fad – the quarterback who can run and pass and is willing to scramble through defenses all afternoon is back in style.
Maybe that's because of the emergence of Denard Robinson at Michigan. At Ashland, sophomore Taylor Housewright (Ashland, Ohio) has brought a different dimension to the offense. Housewright is not Robinson, but he can run, throw and throw on the run. Saginaw Valley State has similar versatility with both of its quarterbacks – senior Charles Dowdell and freshman Jonathon Jennings.
"You have to get the 12th guy on the field in college football today," explained AU head coach Lee Owens. "That's the way it's going."
For the past three seasons, the Eagles had Billy Cundiff at quarterback and while he had mobility, his emphasis was on throwing the ball down the field. Housewright will stretch the field with his arm, but he's liable to tuck it under his arm and run, too. That gives a defense something extra to worry about.
Owens uses a play from last week's Wayne State game to illustrate his point about what Housewright brings to the offense. When Housewright flipped a 13-yard scoring pass to H-Back Joe Wasserbeck (Prospect, Ohio/North Union), he was on the run. The defender with Wasserbeck was faced with a dilemma, stay with Wasserbeck or race after Housewright. This is the kind of situation Housewright can create all day long. He's fast and strong, a great runner. He's accurate in the passing game and has the arm strength to make teams pay when they leave receivers open. Owens and his staff are doing everything they can to take advantage of that talent.
"We've tried to keep working with the stuff he does well," said Owens. "He throws the ball well on the run. He's a threat to run and throw. He's an old-school running quarterback, not a spread system quarterback."
How do teams combat that kind of player? If they have a physical defense, they deliver hit after hit and hope that can make a quarterback think twice about taking off and running, or leaving himself wide open and trying to throw while running around the backfield.
"You have to consider what you want to do," said Owens of his mindset as an offensive coach.
Owens says there are ways to lessen the impact of the hits his quarterback takes. For example, running a quarterback through the middle of the line has a higher risk of injury than having him run on the perimeter. Keep running a quarterback through the line and as Owens points out, "they're taking the punishment of a running back."
There are coaches who say Michigan's Robinson won't be able to take the pounding of a full season if he continues to run like he has. They may be right, Robinson has been forced to come off the field numerous times this season. So far, that hasn't been a problem for the 6-2, 214-pound Housewright, who has 48 carries in seven games and is averaging 5.0 ypc.
Sound Bites From Ashland
Owens on Saginaw Valley State
"We've had some pretty good teams in this stadium this year, Bloomsburg, Hillsdale, Northwood. This team is every bit as talented as any team that's been here. They were snakebit early in the season. They had Cal (PA) beat. If they convert an extra point, they win the first game. It put them into a little bit of a tailspin."
Saga of the Series
The lead in the all-time series belongs to Saginaw Valley State, 10-6. Ashland has won two of the last three meetings, but lost last season at SVSU, 42-14. The last time AU defeated the Cardinals was in 2008 in Ashland, 31-28. The last time the Cardinals won in Ashland was in 2006, 27-16 in the opening game of the season. This series began in 1990. SVSU put together a five-game winning streak from 2000 to 2006. AU's longest winning streak against the Cardinals is two games and they've done that twice, the last time in 2007-08.
2009 – at Saginaw Valley State 42, Ashland 14 – The Eagles were outgained, 424-304 and failed to control Dowdell. He completed 13-of-19 passes for 206 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 74 yards on 11 carries (6.7) with one score. Ashland was outgained on the ground, 218-36. AU's Carlin Isles returned a kickoff a school-record 100 yards for a touchdown and Cundiff found wideout Nick Bellanco with a 75-yard scoring pass.
2008 – at Ashland 31, Saginaw Valley State 28 – Ashland led, 24-0 at halftime and 31-7 with 8:36 left in the third quarter. That's when SVSU staged a furious comeback, getting to within three points, 31-28 with 8:16 remaining in regulation. The Eagles took the kickoff and advanced to the SVSU 1, taking 4:41 off the clock. The Cardinals got the ball out to their own 18-yard line, but that's where they ran out of gas and the Eagles ran out the clock. Bellanco caught nine passes for 137 yards and two touchdowns.
Series Notes
- Dowdell and AU safety Quinton Scott (Fort Wayne, Ind./Indiana State) were once teammates at Indiana State.
- The winning team has scored at least 31 points in five of the last six meetings between AU and SVSU.
- In 2006, AU and Saginaw Valley State met in the season opener. SVSU was ranked fifth in the country and the Eagles were 21st. In 2007, the Cardinals began the year ranked 25th. Ashland lost in 2006, 27-16, but rebounded to win the 2007 opener, 32-27.
- The Eagles and Cardinals have played one overtime game. That was in 2000 and the Cards came away with a 42-35 triumph.
- SVSU defeated the Eagles, 38-0 in 2003. That's the only shutout in the series and is the largest margin of victory in the series.
- Close games have been the exception rather than the rule when these teams meet. Only five times in 16 games has the margin of victory been seven points or less.
- The Eagles are glad to see former SVSU linebacker John Jacobs graduate. In the last two games against AU, the rangy Jacobs had 33 tackles (14 solo) and 2.5 tackles for loss.
Ashland's Best Against Saginaw Valley State
Christian Livingston (Newark, Ohio) – The senior wide receiver has nine receptions for 70 yards in his two games against the Cardinals.
Tyler McFarlin (Ashland, Ohio) – A year ago at SVSU, McFarlin had a team-high nine tackles (seven solo).
Matt Stoinoff (Cincinnati, Ohio/Colerain) – In two games against the Cardinals Stoinoff has made 14 tackles.
About Ashland
Head Coach Lee Owens – Owens is in his seventh season as AU's head coach. His record at AU is 45-28 and his career record is 85-89. Owens has guided the Eagles to pair of NCAA playoffs appearances (2007, 2008). Before taking over the program at AU, Owens spent nine years as the head coach at the University of Akron. Owens also served a stint (1993-1995) as an assistant coach at Ohio State.
Before coaching on the college level, Owens was a successful high school coach in Ohio. His record on the prep level in 11 seasons is 89-32-2. Owens coached four years at storied Massillon Washington High School where he went 35-13. He won a state championship in 1985 while coaching at Galion (14-0). His record at Galion was 33-11-1 and his Galion team won the state title with a 6-0 victory over Youngstown Cardinal Mooney. Owens has never held a coaching job outside of Ohio. Owens is 2-2 against Saginaw Valley State.
Recapping Last Week
The Eagles ran into a red-hot passing combination last week at Wayne State, but survived for a 40-35 win. WSU quarterback Mickey Mohner completed 30-of-45 passes for 355 yards and five touchdowns. His favorite target was wide receiver Troy Burrell, who had 12 catches for 187 yards and three scores. The five touchdown passes thrown by Mohner are the most ever allowed by the Eagles.
Two of Burrell's touchdown passes came in the first half and WSU looked unstoppable over the first two quarters. At halftime, WSU led, 28-20. The Eagles managed to regroup at halftime and played well on both sides of the ball in the second half. Behind Housewright, this week's GLIAC offensive player of the week, AU rallied for its third consecutive win. Housewright completed 21-of-30 passes for 272 yards and two touchdowns. He also scored on a 5-yard run. In the second half, Housewright completed seven-of-11 passes and fired two TD passes – a 51-yarder to Livingston and a 7-yard strike to senior wide receiver Joe Horn (Waynesfield, Ohio/Waynesfield-Goshen).
The AU defense came up with two game-changing turnovers. Ashland's first score of the day came on when junior cornerback Logan Kerr (Ashland, Ohio) intercepted a Mohner pass and returned it 32 yards for a touchdown. That's the first touchdown of Kerr's collegiate career and it's the first interception return for a touchdown by AU this season. Midway through the fourth quarter, junior linebacker Julian Goodwine (Dayton, Ohio/Thurgood Marshall) fell on a fumble that was caused by McFarlin. Not only did that thwart a WSU drive, but the Eagles went in to score after that drop.
WSU outgained the Eagles, 440-419. McCoy rushed for 120 yards or more for the fourth consecutive game, finishing with 120 yards and a touchdown on 35 carries.
Players to Watch
McCoy has seven 100-yard rushing games in his career. McCoy is fifth in the league in rushing yards per game (101.0) and eighth in all-purpose yards per game (117.7). McCoy has rushed for 707 yards on 149 carries (4.7 ypc.) with six touchdowns. All six of McCoy's touchdowns have come in the last three weeks.
Housewright has completed 112-of-169 passes (66.3 percent) for 1,550 yards. He has 11 touchdown passes and six interceptions. Housewright has been intercepted once in the last four games. The sophomore is second in the GLIAC in passing yards per game (221.4), pass efficiency (157.7) and total offense (255.4 ypg.). Housewright is 12th in the nation in pass efficiency.
Horn has caught 25 passes for 471 yards (18.8 ypc.) with four touchdowns. He has 10, 100-yard games in his career. Livingston has 24 catches for 476 yards (19.8 ypc.) and two touchdowns. Last week, Livingston had five catches for a career-high 124 yards. That's the second 100-yard game of his career and his first this season.
Junior H-Back Mike Knueven (Cincinnati, OH/St. Xavier) has 20 catches for 197 yards (9.9 ypc.) with three touchdown passes.
Junior Gregg Berkshire (Ashland, Ohio) is having an exceptional year. Berkshire is the GLIAC leader in kick scoring (48 points/6.9 ppg.), field goals (nine-of-13/1.29 per game), and punting (42.0.). Berkshire is fifth in the conference in scoring (48/6.9 ppg.). The junior is tied for 10th in NCAA Division II in field goals per game.
Senior linebacker Carmon Wolfe (Tonawanda, N.Y./Erie. C.C.) is Ashland's leading tackler with 64 tackles (31 solo). Wolfe is fifth in the conference in tackles per game (9.1). He had 10 tackles last week at Wayne State. Senior safety Tarell Lewis (Redford, Mich./Bowling Green) also had 10 tackles last week. He's third on the team in tackles (42/27 solo).
Goodwine is second on the team in tackles (53/27 solo). McFarlin has 39 tackles (22 solo) and is fourth on the club in tackles. Kerr has 33 tackles (25 solo) and is the GLIAC leader in pass breakups (11/1.57 per game). Kerr is tied for 10th nationally in pass breakups.
Stoinoff (Cincinnati, Ohio/Colerain) is the club leader in tackles for loss (7.0-35) and is tied with freshman defensive lineman Jamie Meder (Parma, Ohio/Valley Forge) for the team lead in sacks (three).
Nest Eggs
- Berkshire has field goals this year of 50 and 48 yards. The 50-yarder is his career long. In his career, Berkshire is seven-of-nine (77.8 percent) from 40-49 yards. He has 33 field goals, which puts him fourth on AU's career list.
- McCoy's string of four consecutive 100-yard games is the longest by an AU player since Antwan Hart closed out the 2004 season with seven consecutive 100-yard performances.
- Over the last three games, Ashland has averaged 42.0 ppg., and 459.7 yards per game in total offense.
- Over the first three games of the season, McCoy averaged 14.3 carries per game. In the four games since then, he's logged 26.5 carries per game.
- Wasserbeck caught the first touchdown pass of his career last week.
- Last week marked the first time this season the Eagles didn't record a sack.
- AU is tied for first in the country in fewest fumbles lost (one). The Eagles are ninth in the nation in turnovers lost (seven) and 16th in pass efficiency (155.01).
- Knueven has three touchdown receptions. The last time an Ashland tight end/H-Back had more than three TD receptions in a season was in 1998 when Omari Parks caught five touchdown passes.
- Horn has caught at least one pass in the last 30 games he has played.
- Over the last two weeks, Ashland has converted 53.8 percent (14-of-26) of its third down opportunities. The Eagles are at 45 percent for the season.
- Kerr's interception return for a TD last week was the first by an AU player since Nov. 7, 2009, when Brian Gamble returned a pick 24 yards for a touchdown.
- Ashland is tied for first in the nation in fumbles lost (one). Ashland is tied for ninth in the country in fewest turnovers (seven).
- Of Ashland's first seven opponents, five have been in the nation's Top 25 or listed in "Among Others Receiving Votes." That list includes Bloomsburg, Indianapolis, Hillsdale, Northern Michigan and Wayne State. In this week's poll, Hillsdale is ranked sixth and Bloomsburg is 16th. Both HC and Bloomsburg are 6-1.
The Trophy Case
Each week, the AU Gridiron Club names an offensive, defensive and special teams player of the week. This year's list of honorees appears below.
Game Offense Defense Special Teams
Bloomsburg T. Housewright Logan Kerr Gregg Berkshire
Indianapolis Matt Knez Jamie Meder Gregg Berkshire
Hillsdale D.J. McCoy Matt Stoinoff Tyler McFarlin
No. Michigan D.J. McCoy Quinton Scott Gregg Berkshire
Northwood Joe Horn Carmon Wolfe Alan Dunson
Tiffin D.J. McCoy Logan Kerr Donnie Dottei
Wayne State Christian Livingston Logan Kerr Tyler Krummel
About Saginaw Valley State
Head Coach Jim Collins – Collins is in his third season at Saginaw Valley State. A year ago, he guided the Cardinals to the NCAA playoffs. At SVSU, Collins is 19-10. This is his 17th season as a college head coach. Collins has a career mark of 88-87. He came to AU from Capital, where he was 66-51 in 11 years. His last three years on campus, Capital advanced to the NCAA Division III playoffs. Collins was named the Ohio Athletic Conference coach of the year three times. The SVSU head coach has also served as the head coach at the University of Dubuque (Iowa).
Players to Watch – Dowdell did not play last week, sitting out the Indy game due to injury. If Dowdell is able to play, the Eagles will be matched against one of the top multi-talented players in the GLIAC. The senior was named honorable mention All-GLIAC a year ago. This year, he's completed 95-of-152 passes (62.5 percent) for 1,241 yards with 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Dowdell has rushed for 192 yards on 68 carries with six touchdowns. Dowdell is third in the GLIAC in passing yards per game (206.8), fourth in pass efficiency (147.9) and fifth in total offense (238.8 ypg.).
If the 6-0, 205-pound Dowdell can't play, Jennings is not a bad alternative. The 6-2, 185-pound freshman has completed 31-of-44 passes (70.5 percent) for 334 yards and three touchdowns. He's been intercepted once. Jennings took over for Dowdell in a 43-31 win over Michigan Tech and completed 18-of-21 passes for 206 yards and a touchdown. He made the first start of his career last week and completed eight-of-15 passes for 70 yards.
Wide receiver Andrew Beaver, a 6-2, 195-pound senior, could cause issues for the AU secondary. He's caught 48 passes for 542 yards (11.3 ypc.) with five touchdowns. Beaver is second in the conference in receptions per game (6.9) and is fifth in receiving yards per game (77.4). Junior wide receiver Nick Gallina has caught 19 passes for 291 yards (15.3 ypc.) with four scores.
The ground attack revolves around Ronnie Lark, a 5-11, 190-pound sophomore. Lark has rushed for 513 yards on 97 carries (5.3 ypc.) with five touchdowns. Lark had 120 yards on 20 carries against Indy last Saturday and gained 150 yards on 16 carries two weeks ago against Michigan Tech.
Middle linebacker Grant Caserta, a 6-2, 220-pound sophomore, is SVSU's leading tackler with 62 stops (32 solo). Caserta is seventh in the GLIAC in tackles per game (8.9). Another linebacker, senior Wayne Sanders, has 47 tackles (17 solo) and three tackles for loss. Sanders had 10 tackles last week. Safety Rick Evans, a 6-0, 205-pound senior, is third on the team in tackles (40/21 solo). Evans has a team-high three interceptions. Defensive end Nate Snyder, a 6-4,235-pound sophomore, has a team-leading three sacks. Senior cornerback Ja'Vae Ingraham has 36 tackles (18 solo). Ingraham also has an interception and 2.5 tackles for loss. Safety Carlton Downs, a 5-6, 175-pound junior, was named first team All-GLIAC in 2009.
The Rundown on the Cardinals
- SVSU is 1-3 in games decided by four points or less. The Cards' lone win in close encounters came last week against Indianapolis, 24-20.
- The Cardinals have kicked three field goals this season. Their longest field goal is 21 yards.
- The Cards are rebuilding on defense. They have had to replace four players who earned all-conference laurels in 2009.
- SVSU is third in the GLIAC in scoring offense (31.6 ppg.) and pass offense (225.0). The Cards are second in fourth down conversion rate (72.7 percent, eight-of-11) and fourth in red zone offense (78.6 percent, 22-of-28).
- SVSU forced three turnovers last week and for the first time all season, did not commit a turnover.
- Indianapolis limited the Cardinals to a season-low 266 yards of total offense.
- In 2008, Beaver had six receptions against the Eagles.
- The Cardinals have had success bringing back kicks. Redshirt freshman Noah Sumpter is averaging 21.3 ypr., on 14 returns and Jay Hayes, another redshirt freshman, has brought back seven kicks and is averaging 24.4 ypr.
Quarterbacks – Chapter Two
Because there is a question about Dowdell's availability this week, the Eagles have to prepare for two quarterbacks. There are instances where that causes a lot of extra preparation time for the defensive staff. That's not the case this week.
"Both of their quarterbacks are like running backs," noted Owens. "That can be a problem.
"Chuck's got a little more experience," said Owens of Dowdell. "He's very effective, very good, a good runner. Chuck probably throws the ball down the field a little more. Jennings didn't look like a freshman, he has great composure. They're similar, so we don't have to prepare for difference offenses. It's the same offense."
Kerr-Plunk
Kerr received a lot of attention last week for his interception return for a touchdown. The fact is that the junior has played well all season.
"He's really a smart football player," Owens said. "He watches a lot of tape, I can tell you that going against him every day in practice. He takes that with him into the game. Down and distance, receiver splits, he prides himself on that."
Owens admits that when Kerr was coming out of Ashland High School, he didn't believe Kerr could be a contributor in the AU program. Kerr is 5-9, 181 pounds and is the boundary corner. He's expected to make plays against the run and he's fulfilled that responsibility this season.
Owens says that Kerr probably had extra motivation. He wanted to show the AU head coach he could be an everyday player in a winning, NCAA Division II program. As Owens states, of all the players who came up recently from the successful Ashland High School program, Kerr was the first to break into the lineup.
"What you can't judge is how bad a kid wants to play," said Owens. "He just keeps getting better and better."
Mind Reader
Ashland allowed 28 first-half points last week. As Owens said, the perception was that he was ready to give the defensive staff a tongue-lashing at halftime. That was not the case, however.
"You have to give Wayne State and Paul Winters a lot of credit," said Owens. "We didn't play poorly by any means. Paul made a perfect call two or three times. He just basically made some great calls, particularly in the first half."
Owens said his stance, at that point, was to weather the storm. As much respect as he has for Winters, the WSU head coach and an assistant coach on his staff at Akron, he didn't believe Winters could be right all day.
"They weren't going to make the perfect call time after time after time," said Owens. "They never did run the ball with any consistency. We said, 'If you can't run the ball with any consistency, you can't beat us."
The Warriors had 85 yards rushing and averaged 3.3 yards per carry. In the second half, WSU rushed for 27 yards and was two-of-eight on third down.
Thinking Pink
AU is going Pink With Pride this week at several sporting events. For this week's football game, fans wearing the most pink clothing at the game will receive a free t-shirt courtesy of Advantage Marketing. The AU athletic department will be accepting monetary donations at the gates to the stadium. Money collected at the football game will be used to support women in need to receive free mammograms.
More Sounds About Horn
Horn enters this week's game needing 54 yards to become the school's career leader in receiving yards. Horn has 2,274 receiving yards. Ashland's career leader is Chris Harkness with 2,327 yards. Horn has 146 career receptions, which is second on the AU list. The only player he trails is Mike Hull (183). Horn has 20 career touchdown receptions. Harkness is the only player in school history with more TD catches (23).
Horn and Livingston have done an exceptional job in stretching the field this season. Livingston is averaging 19.8 ypc., and Horn is at 18.8 ypc. Those are the best marks for AU's top two receivers since the 2007 season when Brandon Gilmore averaged 22.5 ypc. (42 catches) and David Ziegelhofer averaged 18.2 ypc. (45 catches).
On Deck
Ashland will be on the road the next two weeks. Next Saturday (Oct. 30, noon) finds the Eagles across the state at Findlay.
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