To this day, south of the Mason-Dixon Line the refrain, "Like Grant took Richmond," still sends shivers up the spine.
Now there might be those in the Buckeye State who quiver if someone says, "Like Ashland took Ohio."
Saturday (Nov. 13), on Senior Day at Jack Miller Stadium/Martinelli Field at the Dwight Schar Athletic Complex, the Ashland University Eagles ran over Lake Erie, 87-17. The win was Ashland's seventh straight and leaves the Eagles with an 8-3 record, 7-3 in the GLIAC. AU went 4-0 against the other Ohio schools in the GLIAC – Tiffin, Findlay, Ohio Dominican and Lake Erie. The Eagles outscored those teams, 236-39.
This last win was a Sherman-like performance. Ohio's native son might have been taken back had he watched this. The Eagles established school records for points in a game, margin of victory (70 points) and points in a quarter (42). AU set GLIAC team records for points in a game, touchdowns in a game (12), third quarter points (42), second half points (49) and margin of victory.
AU senior wide receiver Joe Horn (Waynesfield, Ohio/Waynesfield-Goshen) scored six touchdowns, which ties Ray Novotny's school single-game record for touchdowns. Novotny did that against Adrian in 1929. Horn caught four touchdown passes. That gives him the school record for TD receptions (12) in a season. Horn broke the record of 11, set by Johnny Long in 2008. Horn tied Vance Kinney's school single-game record for touchdown receptions.
Horn also scored on a 93-yard kickoff return, the first of his career. His other touchdown came on a 16-yard run. Horn may have set the school mark for all-purpose yards (360) in a game. He caught seven passes for 163 yards and returned three kickoffs for 153 yards. Horn tied GLIAC single-game records for points (36) and touchdowns.
"It couldn't have been any better," said Horn of his final game in an AU uniform. "Coach (Mike) Bath tells me before kickoff, 'Go out and have fun.' Today, we had fun."
Junior Gregg Berkshire (Ashland, Ohio) set the school record for punting average in a season. Berkshire punted once, for 49 yards. That gave him a final season average of 43.5 ppg., which breaks the mark of 43.4, set by Marion "Shine" Zody in 1956. Berkshire kicked one field goal against Lake Erie, a 19-yarder. That gave him 16 field goals for the second straight season. The school record for three-pointers in a season is 16, held by Berkshire (2009, 2010), and Matt Pifer (2001) and Bryan Seward (1990).
Berkshire tied a GLIAC record by kicking 11 extra points. Berkshire did not kick after AU's final touchdown. At that point, the coaching staff let Casey Bisette (Rocky Mount, NC/Northern Nash) have a go at it. Berkshire finished the game with 14 points.
"I'm tired," replied Berkshire, when asked to comment on his day. "I got some pretty good use out of it (his leg) today."
Junior slot back D.J. McCoy (Cleveland, Ohio/Collinwood) rushed for 120 yards on 21 carries with a touchdown. That was his eighth consecutive 100-yard game, which may be a record as well. McCoy ends the year with 1,344 yards, the fourth best single-season total in school history.
Sophomore quarterback Taylor Housewright (Ashland, Ohio) completed 21-of-27 passes for a career-high 302 yards. He threw four touchdown passes and ends the year with 24 touchdown passes, which ties him for the second best figure in school history. The only quarterback at AU to do better is Billy Cundiff, who had 37 in 2008 and 24 in 2009.
AU outgained the Storm (3-8, 3-7), 609-286. Ashland forced seven turnovers (five interceptions, two fumbles). Defensive backs Logan Kerr (Ashland, Ohio) and Quenton Scott (Cleveland Heights, Ohio) had two interceptions each. Kerr finished the year with eight interceptions. Only three players in AU history ever had more thefts in a season.
Ashland led, 21-14 after one quarter and 38-17 at halftime. That 42-point third quarter removed any doubt about the outcome and had fans and writers searching the record book. AU kept playing hard throughout the stretch, but pulled back on the gas. In the second half, the Eagles only threw three passes.
"That was an interesting game," said head coach Lee Owens, who guided the Eagles to a season with eight or more wins for the fourth time. "You experience a lot of things, this was a first for me the way this unfolded. You go into a game and the object is to win the game. It's not about scoring points, setting records. The fact that we got to 8-3 and won our seventh straight was the objective today."
As strange as it may seem, this game looked like it would be a shoot-out with both teams participating in the early stages. Horn returned the opening kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown, but LEC came right back to tie the game, 7-7 on a 1-yard run by quarterback Matt Krumpak, who was making the second start of his career. McCoy scored on a 2-yard run with 4:43 left in the first quarter for a 14-7 AU lead and the lead expanded to 21-7 with 2:49 left in the frame on an 8-yard scoring run by backup quarterback Rocco Pentello (Westerville, Ohio/South).
LEC came back again, Krumpak finding wide receiver Andre Wells with a 79-yard scoring pass. At that point, AU led, 21-14 with 2:12 to go in the opening quarterback. The Storm, with nothing to lose, was playing fast and loose with their no-huddle offense and the Eagles were struggling to keep pace.
"All week we practiced that tempo," said senior linebacker Carmon Wolfe (Tonawanda, N.Y./Erie C.C.). "In that first drive, that opening drive, it was all adjusting. After that, we started to catch on. The defensive line was great, the DBs were playing great. We started forcing turnovers. It was turnover after turnover."
"It takes a little bit getting used to that tempo," added Kerr. "We got settled in and notched up and made some stops."
The Storm never did find a way to control Horn. Matched with single coverage most of the day, he ran wild through the middle of the field and along the sidelines.
"If you get the ball in his hands some way, he'll make people miss," said Housewright, who threw 12 touchdown passes with one interception in the final three games. "Joe's been a GLIAC track athlete of the year. I don't know why they would do that (single coverage)."
"D.J.'s the guy you have to stop," explained Horn. "That allowed Christian and me to get one-on-one coverage. I wouldn't play our receivers man-to-man. They felt they could go one-on-one with us across the board. It just happened to be me today. I'm sure our other guys were open."
The Eagles would like to find an opening in the playoffs, which begin next week, but that's not going to happen. This year, the regional field is deep and talented and the Eagles stumbled a few times early in the season. There's no way to go back and erase those. That's unfortunate, because right now, this AU team is well rounded and sharp in every facet of the game.
"This is as hard for the season to end as any season I've been a part of," said Owens. "It's a tribute to them (players)."
"I'll be able to be extremely proud from start to finish," stated Wolfe.
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