Lake Erie (3-7/3-6 GLIAC) at Ashland (7-3/6-3 GLIAC)
Saturday, Nov. 13, 2010, 1 p.m.
Jack Miller Stadium/Martinelli Field at Dwight Schar Athletic Complex
Hear, Here
The Lake Erie-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. The AU campus station, WRDL (88.9 FM), will do the game live with senior Matt Brubaker on the call. This will be Brubaker's final game behind the microphone, he's been involved with the broadcasts for four years. SportsTime Ohio will do the game on a tape-delay basis. Matt Underwood will handle the play-by-play duties and will be joined in the booth by Mike Greene. The game will be shown on Sunday night (Nov. 14) at midnight.
Looking Ahead and Behind
The Eagles go into the final game of the regular season with a six-game winning streak. Over the last two games, AU has outscored the opposition, 100-22. This is AU's first home game since a 30-24 victory over Saginaw Valley State on Oct. 23. Last week, the Eagles won at Ohio Dominican, 44-15. The Eagles are 3-0 against Ohio institutions this season, beating Tiffin, Findlay and Ohio Dominican. A win would produce an eight-win season and give the Eagles eight wins or more in three of the last four years. Ashland is listed among "Others Receiving Votes," in this week's AFCA NCAA Division II Top 25 poll. This is the Eagles' second consecutive week in that group.
Lake Erie brings a three-game winning streak into this week's game. Last Saturday in Painesville, Ohio, the Storm slipped past Tiffin, 31-27. This is Lake Erie's first season in the GLIAC. LEC was picked to finish 14th in the GLIAC Coaches' preseason poll. The Storm has exceeded those expectations. LEC is fourth in the GLIAC South Division.
This is the first meeting between the Eagles and Lake Erie.
Flower Power?
There's not a defense on this planet that would be happy to be called a "Shrinking Violet." For years, that term has been used for someone or something that is reticent and meek.
Maybe the term could get a second life when applied to the Ashland University defense. The school color is purple, which is close to violet. As for the shrinking part of this equation, that's what has happened to the offensive numbers for opponents who have faced the 2010 Eagles.
Ashland is allowing 17.9 ppg. AU is second in the GLIAC and 21st in the nation in scoring defense. In total defense, the Eagles are second in the conference (307.4 ypg.) and 33rd in the nation. AU's turnover margin is +10, which is tied for 19th in the nation. The defense has forced 20 turnovers. AU's points per game figure is the program's best since the 2005 team allowed 9.7 ppg. The Eagles have 24 sacks.
"We aren't a great defense," said defensive coordinator Tim Rose. "We didn't stop the Northern drive (Rose is referring to a fourth-quarter scoring drive at Northern Michigan, NMU won, 23-19). We had some other situations at the end of games. But we're improved. It's become a very good defense, not great, but very good."
This isn't the first time Rose has been part of this rodeo. Take a look at Rose's resume. His first year as the defensive coordinator at Toledo, the Rockets improved from 98th in the nation in total defense to 23rd. At Louisiana Tech in 2004, the Rose-directed defense yielded 407.8 ypg. The year before he arrived, Tech was last in the nation in total defense (510.5).
"I think we saw it coming, we saw it in spurts last year," said AU head coach Lee Owens. "We knew keeping the staff together, keeping the scheme would help. We knew what we had to fix. We knew we had to get bigger up front. When we could match up physically against Bloomsburg, I knew we were going to be good."
Rose says the biggest difference between this year and last season is the defensive front, where the Eagles have depth, size and speed. The addition of 6-2, 303-pound freshman Jamie Meder (Parma, Ohio/Valley Forge) and 6-3, 323-pound junior defensive lineman Jeris Pendleton (Chicago, Ill./Joliet Junior College) is the key difference.
"There's no question about that," said Rose.
"I don't think we've gone against a better defensive line than what we face in practice every day," said Owens. "It all starts with that. Those guys up front are who have made this thing go."
Meder has five sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss. Pendleton has a sack, 2.5 tackles for loss and a pair of forced fumbles. Add in veterans like junior Matt Stoinoff (Cincinnati, Ohio/Colerain) and senior Dirk Dickerhoof (Massillon, Ohio/Washington), plus another newcomer, sophomore Mikel Berry (Upper Arlington, Ohio/Penn State), and the Eagles have depth that's the envy of many teams. Four of those players will return next season.
That front has made the linebackers and secondary better. Of course, some of the players behind that front have grown up too. The best example of that may be junior cornerback Logan Kerr (Ashland, Ohio), who has six interceptions and is first in the GLIAC in pass breakups and interceptions.
"He's a bit undersized and he's not the fastest guy in the world," said Rose. "He's made himself into a good cornerback."
Rose's defense figures to get a stern test this week against Lake Erie. That depth up front will be vital against a team that goes with an open throttle all game long.
"Every game is a new season," stated Rose. "I hope we're ready."
Sound Bites From Ashland
Owens on Lake Erie
"This game really concerns me. They run a lot of plays. They run a lot of snaps, they snap it with 35 seconds on the clock. It's hurry up from the first snap to the last snap. Not only are they wide open, they nickel and dime you. They keep the ball with their fast break offense. It doesn't match up to our strength. It's different, we don't have a history to give our guys to know what to expect. They can control a game with that offensive scheme. It's hard to simulate the speed in practice. You don't want your players to get discouraged if they put a drive or two together early until you get used to the speed of the game."
About Ashland
Head Coach Lee Owens – Owens is in his seventh season as AU's head coach. His record at AU is 48-28 and his career record is 88-89. 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.
Recapping Last Week
Last Saturday in Columbus, Ohio, the Eagles won their sixth consecutive game, downing Ohio Dominican, 44-15. This was the first meeting between the schools. Ashland led, 14-0 after one quarter and 21-2 at halftime. The Eagles outgained the Panthers, 452-282. AU forced the Panthers into four turnovers (three interceptions, one fumble). AU has scored at least 40 points in four of the last five games.
Sophomore quarterback Taylor Housewright (Ashland, Ohio) completed 19-of-25 passes for 281 yards and three touchdowns. Two of those TD throws went to senior wide receiver Christian Livingston (Newark, Ohio). Those touchdown throws measured 1 and 9 yards. The other touchdown pass went to senior wide receiver Joe Horn (Waynesfield, Ohio/Waynesfield-Goshen) and covered 23 yards. With that score, Horn became Ashland's career leader in touchdown receptions (24).
Junior slot back D.J. McCoy (Cleveland, Ohio/Collinwood) reached 100 yards on the ground for the seventh consecutive game with 102 yards on 25 carries. Junior cornerback Logan Kerr (Ashland, Ohio) tied for the team lead in tackles (eight). Kerr got his team-high sixth interception of the season. He's intercepted a pass in four consecutive games.
Junior Gregg Berkshire (Ashland, Ohio) provided 14 of AU's points. Berkshire was five-for-five on extra point attempts and went three-for-three on field goal attempts. Berkshire had field goals of 26, 48 and 31 yards. That performance earned the Ashland High product the GLIAC special teams player of the week award. Berkshire has won that award three times in his career (once in 2008 and once in 2009).
Players to Watch
McCoy has rushed for a team-high 1,224 yards on 234 carries (5.2 ypc.). The junior is fourth in the GLIAC in rushing yards per game (115.2) and all-purpose yards per game (132.9). McCoy's rushing total is currently the fourth best single-season mark in school history. His career high came at Findlay on Oct. 30 when he rushed for 203 yards. McCoy is 17th in the country in rushing yards per game.
Housewright has thrown eight touchdown passes over the last two weeks. He threw five touchdown passes at Findlay,which tied the school, single-game record. The only other quarterback in school history with five TD throws in a game is Billy Cundiff (twice). Housewright is second in the GLIAC in pass efficiency (160.0), total offense (247.9 ypg.) and is third in passing yards per game (207.6). Housewright is ninth in the country in pass efficiency. Housewright has completed 158 of 239 passes (66.1 percent) for 2,076 yards. He has 20 TD passes and eight interceptions. Housewright's 20 touchdown passes ties him with Mike Healy for the third best single-season total in AU history. Healy had 20 TD passes in 1967. Cundiff threw 37 touchdown passes in 2008 and 24 last season. Housewright has also rushed for 403 yards and is averaging 5.3 ypc.
Horn leads the Eagles with 42 catches for 715 yards (17.0 ypc.). He has caught eight TD passes. Horn has had at least 30 catches and seven TD receptions for three consecutive seasons. He is Ashland's career leader in receiving yards (2,518) and is second in career receptions (163). Horn is fifth in the conference in receiving yards per game (71.5). Livingston has 31 receptions for 533 yards (17.2 ypc.) with four TD catches.
Senior linebacker Carmon Wolfe (Tonawanda, N.Y./Erie C.C.) leads the Eagles with 81 tackles (39 solo). Wolfe is tied for 10th in the conference in tackles per game (8.1). Kerr is the GLIAC leader in pass breakups (15/1.5 per game) and interceptions (six). He is the team leader in solo tackles (42). Kerr is tied for fourth on the team in tackles (53). The junior is tied for eighth in Division II in interceptions and is tied for ninth in pass breakups.
Freshman defensive lineman Jamie Meder (Parma, Ohio/Valley Forge) is tied for seventh in the league in sacks (five) and is ninth in tackles for loss (9.5). Junior defensive end Matt Stoinoff (Cincinnati, Ohio/Colerain) has 50 tackles (31) and is second on the team in sacks (4.5) and tackles for loss (8.5). Ashland's second-leading tackler is junior linebacker Julian Goodwine (Dayton, Ohio/Thurgood Marshall). He has 65 stops (31 solo) and 5.5 tackles for loss. Sophomore safety Tyler McFarlin (Ashland, Ohio) is third on the team in tackles (56/32 solo). Senior safety Tarell Lewis (Redford, Mich./Bowling Green) is tied for fourth on the team in takedowns (53/32 solo). Last week, Lewis scored his first touchdown of the season when he picked up a fumble and ran 45 yards for a touchdown.
Berkshire is the GLIAC leader in punting (43.3 ypp.), field goals per game (1.50) and kick scoring (82 points/8.2 ppg.). He is fourth in the league in overall scoring. Berkshire is 15-of-22 on field goal attempts. Berkshire has set the school, single-season record for kick scoring (82), surpassing the record he set last season (81 points). He is second in kick scoring and career scoring (224) at Ashland. Berkshire needs one more field goal to tie the school, single-season mark. Berkshire (2009), Matt Pifer (2001) and Bryan Seward (1990) share the record. Berkshire is tied with Seward (39) for third place on AU's career field goal list. Berkshire can't be any closer to the school single-season record for average yards per punt. The record of 43.4 ypp., was set by Marion "Shine Zody in 1956 (54 years ago). Berkshire is tied for sixth in the nation in field goals per game.
Nest Eggs
- Ashland has had 400 or more yards of total offense in six of the last seven games.
- McCoy's string of seven 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.
- AU has not trailed in a game since Oct. 16 at Wayne State. With 10:04 left in regulation, the Eagles were behind, 28-27. Ashland defeated WSU, 40-35.
- With six interceptions, Kerr has reached some rare air. Since 1988 (23 seasons), only four players have been his equal as a thief – Toure Carter with nine interceptions in 2003, Delano Smith and Ali Grose with six picks each in 1998 and J.R. Allen with eight steals in 1993.
- Housewright has 403 rushing yards and that may be the record for rushing yards by an AU quarterback, at least in the modern era. No Ashland QB has come close to approaching that total dating back to the 1954 season.
- The current six-game winning streak by the Eagles is their longest since winning six straight games in 2008. The longest winning streak AU has enjoyed under Owens came in 2007 when the Eagles won seven consecutive times.
- AU is tied for first in the country in fumbles lost. The Eagles and Concordia-St. Paul have each lost just two fumbles.
- Ashland has had three players earn the GLIAC special teams player of the week award this season – Berkshire, Alan Dunson (Columbus, Ohio/Walnut Ridge) and Ryan Stackhouse (Ashland, Ohio/Youngstown State). Only Michigan Tech can match that, the Huskies have also claimed the award three times this season.
- In seven years under Owens, the Eagles have scored 12 special teams touchdowns. This year, AU has five special teams touchdowns.
- Knueven has four touchdown receptions. The last time an Ashland tight end/H-Back had more than four 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 33 games he has played.
- Over the last three weeks, AU has outscored the opposition, 49-3 in the first quarter. Lake Erie has been outscored, 96-66 in the game's first 15 minutes. Those 96 points are the most LEC has allowed in a quarter this season.
- Since the start of the 2008 season, the Eagles have blocked 15 kicks.
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
Saginaw Vlly. Matt Knez Tyler McFarlin Anthony Capasso
Findlay McCoy/Housewright Carmon Wolfe Alan Dunson
ODU Joe Horn Matt Stoinoff Gregg Berkshire
About Lake Erie
Head Coach Mark McNellie – McNellie is the only coach in LEC history. A 1988 Baldwin Wallace graduate, McNellie came to Lake Erie after 17 seasons as an assistant coach at Mercyhurst. At MC, McNellie coached the defensive line and linebackers and then moved up to be the defensive coordinator. His last four years at the 'Hurst, he was the associate head coach. Before working at Mercyhurst, McNellie spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Fairmont State. McNellie is in his third season at LEC and his record is 13-18. Last season, the Storm was 7-4.
Players to Watch – Everything on offense begins with quarterback Sean Bedevelsky. The 6-0, 190-pound junior is the GLIAC leader in total offense (290.7 ypg.) and is second in passing yards per game (229.6). On the year, Bedevelsky has completed 161 of 267 passes (60.3 percent) for 2,066 yards and 13 touchdown passes. He's been intercepted 14 times. Bedevelsky sat out last week's win over Tiffin with an injury. Matt Krumpak, a 6-1, 190-pound sophomore, made the first start of his career and completed 11 of 18 passes for 178 yards and two touchdowns.
Krumpak received a great deal of help last week from tailback Kameron Alexander. He rushed for a school-record 214 yards against Tiffin. Alexander, a 5-8, 175-pound junior, has rushed for a team-leading 605 yards on 121 carries (5.0 ypc.). Bedevelsky is the second-leading rusher with 550 yards on 134 carries (4.1 ypc.). When Bedevelsky goes to the air, he often looks first for Brandon James. The 6-3, 225-pound junior wide receiver has 42 catches for 495 yards (11.8 ypc.) with five scores. David Romeo, a 6-1, 185-pound junior wingback, has 30 catches for 445 yards (14.8 ypc.) with one touchdown. Patrick Lunney, a 5-7, 175-pound wingback, has caught 25 passes for 357 yards (14.3 ypc.) with three touchdowns.
Inside linebacker Cameron Bryant, a 5-11, 215-pound junior, has a team-high 61 tackles (29 solo). He had 14 tackles last week. That was his fourth consecutive game with 10 or more tackles. Safety Ryan Studer, a 5-10, 195-pound junior, is second on the team in tackles (54/26 solo). Kevin Chapman, a 6-1, 230-pound defensive end, has three sacks and 51 tackles (17 solo). Chapman's stat line includes seven tackles for loss (24 yards). Linebacker Dan Nebraski, a 6-0, 215-pound senior, had seven tackles and two sacks against Tiffin. John Fioritto, a 6-0, 195-pound freshman linebacker, collected a team-high 12 tackles last week and is fourth on the team in tackles (50/19 solo). Fioritto has two sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss (15 yards).
Sophomore Sam Marcotte has established himself as one of the GLIAC's top kickers. He enters this week's game with a string of seven consecutive made field goals. Marcotte is 14-of-17 this season. He's fifth in the GLIAC in scoring (67 points/6.7 ppg.) and is second in kick scoring and field goals per game (1.40). Marcotte is the GLIAC leader in field goal percentage (82.4).
The Rundown on the Storm
- Youth is being served at LEC. On last week's depth chart, of the 22 listed starters there was just one senior – Nebraski at linebacker.
- The LEC offensive line doesn't get pushed around on a regular basis. Of the five interior linemen no starter weighs less than 290 pounds and three tip the scales at 300 pounds or better.
- The Storm rushed for a season-high 307 yards last week.
- Lake Erie is second in the GLIAC in total offense (440.3 ypg.) and passing offense (230.3 ypc.). The Storm is fourth in rush offense (210.0 ypg.).
- This is the second consecutive year LEC has put together an impressive late-season run. The Storm brings a three-game winning streak to Ashland. Last year, Lake Erie won four of its last five games.
- LEC uses a spread offense and a 4-3 defense.
Senior Salute
The Eagles will honor the 16 seniors on this year's team prior to Saturday's kickoff. That group includes running back DeWyan Allen (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard-Darby), offensive lineman Corey Angeloff (Strongsville, Ohio), defensive lineman Dirk Dickerhoof (Massillon, Ohio/Washington), wide receiver Alan Dunson (Columbus, Ohio/Walnut Ridge), wide receiver Joe Horn (Waynesfield, Ohio/Waynesfield-Goshen), center Matt Knez (Lexington, Ohio/Millersville), defensive lineman Jacob Kring (Gahanna, Ohio/Lincoln), defensive back Tarell Lewis (Redford, Mich./Bowling Green), wide receiver Christian Livingston (Newark, Ohio), offensive guard Justin Magruder (Westerville, Ohio/South), defensive back Quinton Scott (Fort Wayne, Ind./Indiana State), offensive tackle Kyle Stout (Ashland, Ohio), wide receiver Cory Strazar (Brunswick, Ohio), offensive lineman Frank Suglio (North Olmsted, Ohio) and linebacker Carmon Wolfe (Tonawanda, N.Y./Erie C.C.). The Eagles will also honor student coach Cory Skoczen.
Magnificent Seven
Owens will complete his seventh season at Ashland this week. No football coach in AU history has won as many games as Owens through seven seasons. The chart below gives a quick history lesson on some of AU's most successful football coaches and how they did after their first seven seasons.
Coach Record Winning Percentage
Lee Owens 48-28-0 .632
Gary Keller 41-32-0 .562
Dr. Fred Martinelli 39-21-4 .641
George Donges 28-24-5 .535
Owens took over at AU in 2004. Ashland went 2-9 in both 2002 and 2003. He faced a major rebuilding job and it's still mind boggling how fast he completed that task. AU has advanced to the NCAA playoffs four times. Two of those trips came under Owens. He's the only coach in school history to win a postseason game. The schedule he's faced has included a Grand Valley State team that's been consistently ranked No. 1 in the country. It's also included a Bloomsburg program that's annually one of the top programs in the nation.
"Without question, the tradition," replied Owens, when asked what allowed him to turn around the program when he first arrived on campus. "When you look at the two seasons prior to my arrival, we were competitive. We weren't getting blown out. We played sound defense."
What Owens did when he first arrived was increase AU's emphasis on recruiting. The Eagles became more aggressive in parts of the state where they hadn't been a presence before. That was a must because the number of Division II programs in Ohio was growing. Ashland couldn't sit back and wait for student-athletes to come on campus.
"We had to go out and re-establish ourselves as the team to go to if you didn't get a Division I offer," explained Owens. "We had to get coaches on campus, players on campus and win games. Any successful football program, it's recruiting, recruiting, recruiting. That's the lifeblood of the program. When I took over at Akron, Sam Rutigliano called me and said 'Here are the three most important things you have to do, recruit, recruit and recruit."
Power Company
Getting back to Bloomsburg, the Huskies have not lost since they dropped a 24-14 decision to Ashland on the opening weekend of the season. Bloomsburg is 9-1 and ranked second in Super Regional One. The Huskies are ranked 11th in the nation and this week play Mercyhurst in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference championship game.
Another AU opponent, Hillsdale (8-2), is ranked 13th in the country and sixth in Super Regional Three. Wayne State (8-2) is ranked 17th in the nation and eighth in the region. AU lost to Hillsdale, 27-17 and defeated Wayne State, 40-35. AU went 2-1 against those ranked teams.
Minnesota-Duluth (10-0) is the top-ranked team in the region. Augustana (9-1) is second, Grand Valley State (9-1) is third and Nebraska-Kearney (9-1) is fourth. St. Cloud State (8-2) is fifth with Hillsdale sixth and Michigan Tech (7-2) is seventh.
There have been years where the region has not been deep, but this is not one of those seasons. Colorado School of Mines (8-2) is ranked ninth and Colorado State-Pueblo is 10th. None of the ranked teams in the region has more than two losses. Nine of the teams in the region are ranked in this week's Top 25. What all of this means is that the Eagles had no margin of error this year in their drive for the postseason.
"Unfortunately we lost to a couple of .500 teams on the road," said Owens. "Those teams played very well against us and we didn't have our 'A' game like we do now. You can't go back and do it over."
On Deck
The Eagles open the 2011 season at Bloomsburg. The date and game time have not been announced.
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