Northwood (2-2/2-1 GLIAC) at Ashland (1-3/0-3)
Saturday, Oct. 2, 1 p.m.
Jack Miller Stadium/Martinelli Field at Dwight Schar Athletic Complex
Homecoming
Hear, Here
The Northwood-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 campus radio station, WRDL-FM (88.9), will broadcast the game live with Matt Brubaker providing the play-by-play.
Looking Ahead and Behind
The Eagles are home for their next two games and that might be what they need to reverse their fortunes. AU enters this week's game with a three-game losing streak. The lone win the Eagles have is impressive, it's over a Bloomsburg team that's 3-1. Since losing at Ashland on the first weekend of the season, the Huskies have not scored less than 41 points in a game and have won their three games by 28, 27 and 37 points.
The Eagles lost last week at Northern Michigan, 23-19. That's Ashland's longest trip of the year. NMU is off to a 3-1 start. Ashland's four opponents this year are 11-5. All four teams AU has played this year have appeared in the nation's Top 25 or in the "Others Receiving Votes," category. This week, Hillsdale is 11th and Bloomsburg and Northern Michigan are among "Others Receiving Votes."
Northwood comes to town this week fresh off a 30-26 victory over Saginaw Valley State in the Axe Bowl. In this year's GLIAC coaches' preseason poll, Ashland was predicted to finish fourth and the Timberwolves were selected to finish fifth. Northwood was 7-3 last season.
Trying to Get Red Hot in the Red Zone
For the football teams from Ashland and Northwood, traveling through the red zone has been like navigating the Red Sea. Both teams have endured choppy waters in 2010.
Ashland is 13th in the GLIAC in red zone offense and Northwood is 14th. The Eagles are eight-of-14 (57.1 percent) in the red zone with four touchdowns. Northwood is seven-of-13 (53.8 percent) with five touchdowns.
Both AU and Northwood have first-year starting quarterbacks. That could be one reason for the troubles deep in enemy territory.
"Things happen faster, the field's condensed, there's more people around the ball," said AU head coach Lee Owens. "You have to have a special plan for it and I'm not sure we've had a real good plan."
Several times over the last four weeks, Owens has remarked that having Gregg Berkshire (Ashland, Ohio) as the kicker/punter has lifted the special teams play to a new level. As encouraging as that is, the Eagles would like to get to the point where when they enter the red zone, Berkshire is worried about kicking extra points rather than field goals. Berkshire's presence has played a role in how the Eagles have called plays within the shadow of the goal posts.
"All of a sudden, they're crashing the box, you have to be able to stretch the field," Owens explained. "You get where we are with Berkshire, you have three in your pocket. You've got to be able to make some throws.
"Let's not give points away," is how Owens described his mentality when calling plays in the red zone. "I'm a little bit to blame here, I've been conservative. Blame Berkshire, too."
That outlook may be about to change. Owens says that with four games under his belt, sophomore quarterback Taylor Housewright (Ashland, Ohio) is ready to assume a larger role. Owens also points out that the Eagles need to expand their game plan and throw the ball down the field more often. Over the last two games, senior wide receiver Joe Horn (Waynesfield, Ohio/Waynesfield-Goshen) has caught two passes for 12 yards.
"We need to spend a lot more time practicing those plays in the red zone," admitted Owens. "We'll rep a lot of red zone defense through the course of the week. I don't think we've been terrible, but it can be better."
Owens firmly believes life will be better soon. He talks about the Eagles being close to turning a corner and playing a complete game where they walk off the field a winner.
"There's not a lot things to fix," said Owens. "We just haven't scored. We have to get the ball into the hands of our playmakers."
Northwood did that last week in its win over Saginaw Valley State. Ashland did not and that was the difference against Northern Michigan.
"If a couple of those threes had been sevens, it's a different ballgame," Owens remarked.
Sound Bites From Ashland
Owens on Northwood
"As usual, they're big and physical, talented and skilled. They get off the bus and it's 'This is as good a team as we'll play.' Their quarterback is throwing the ball better. He didn't throw it well the first few weeks, then last week he threw it well. Just in time for us. It makes them tougher to defend when they can throw the ball. (Quillan) Mathis is a big, tall receiver. We've had some trouble with that kind of receivers. The quarterback went to Alcorn State as a wide receiver. You know how skilled he is if he went to Alcorn State as a wide receiver.
"Defensively they've been pretty good. They cause some issues for an offense. Last year when they brought some pressure we were able to make some big plays off of play-action passes."
Saga of the Series
The teams began playing in 1961. Ashland has a 17-13-1 lead in the series. The Eagles have won the last three meetings and have emerged with a victory in four of the last five confrontations. NU's last win over Ashland came in Midland, MI, in 2006, 33-19. The last time the Timberwolves won in Ashland was in 2002, 32-7.
2009 – at Ashland 33, Northwood 20 – The Eagles rolled up 473 yards of total offense, 366 through the air, in beating the 'Wolves. Quarterback Billy Cundiff was 19-of-28 for 366 yards and four touchdowns. Cundiff also rushed for a team-high 63 yards. AU was in front, 7-0 after one quarter and 17-3 at halftime. The 'Wolves scored 10 points in the third quarter to get back within shouting distance, but the Eagles put up 13 points over the final 15 minutes to get the win.
2008 – Ashland 43 at Northwood 24 – AU scored the game's first 20 points and never looked back. Cundiff completed 18-of-24 passes for 363 yards and four touchdowns. Wide receiver Johnny Long caught five passes for 111 yards and two scores. On the ground, Dawon Harvey rushed for 97 yards on 24 trips. The Eagles had 586 yards of total offense and clicked on seven-of-12 third down conversions.
Series Notes
- Here's something you won't see again – a tie. The only tie in the series was a defensive struggle, in 1980 the teams ended the game deadlocked, 3-3.
- AU has not scored less than 33 points during its current three-game winning streak against the 'Wolves.
- The last time the margin of victory was less than 13 points was in 2003, when the Eagles won, 24-21.
- Ashland has put together two four-game winning streaks in the series, from 1964-1972 and from 1986-1994 (the teams did not play every year during those stretches).
- NU's longest winning streak against the Eagles is three games, from 2000-2002.
Ashland's Best Against Northwood
Gregg Berkshire (Ashland, Ohio) – Berkshire is three-for-three in his career on field goal tries against the 'Wolves. His longest attempt is 39 yards.
Joe Horn (Waynesfield, Ohio/Waynesfield-Goshen) – A year ago, Horn caught eight passes for 184 yards and two touchdowns against NU. The TD receptions covered 11 and 96 yards. The 96-yarder is one of two Horn has at AU, those are the longest pass plays in school history. In 2008, Horn had five catches for 87 yards with a TD. Add it all up and Horn has 13 catches for 271 yards (22.6 ypc.) with three scores in his career against NU.
Quinton Scott (Fort Wayne, Ind./Indiana State) – Scott has played one game against the Timberwolves, but they should know him well. He had 12 tackles (nine solo).
Matt Stoinoff (Cincinnati, Ohio/Colerain) – In last year's game, Stoinoff had six tackles (two solo) and a sack. The sack resulted in an 11-yard loss.
About Ashland
Head Coach Lee Owens – Owens is in his seventh season as AU's head coach. His record at AU is 42-28 and his career record is 82-89. 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 3-1 against Northwood.
Recapping Last Week
The Eagles lost their third consecutive game last Saturday, dropping a 23-19 verdict at Northern Michigan. Ashland did not score an offensive touchdown, all of AU's points came on four field goals and an extra point by junior Berkshire and a touchdown on a 20-yard fumble recovery by Scott.
AU had a 6-0 lead midway through the second quarter before NMU took a 14-6 lead on a pair of touchdown runs by quarterback Carter Kopach. His first run covered 41 yards and his second measured 52 yards. That 52-yard run is the longest the Eagles have yielded this season.
AU pulled to within 14-9 with 7:18 left in the third quarter. NMU registered a safety when Horn was tackled in the end zone on a running play. That gave the 'Cats a 16-9 lead with 2:13 remaining in the third quarter. Ashland tied the game, 16-16 on Scott's fumble return. The Eagles regained the lead, 19-16 on a 20-yard field goal by Berkshire with seven minutes left in regulation.
NMU went ahead to stay, 23-19 on a 5-yard scoring run by Jared Buss with 1:40 left in regulation. The run by Buss capped a 12-play, 75-yard journey that consumed 5:14. AU got the ball back one last time and got to its own 41-yard line, but was stopped on downs.
The Eagles led in total offense, 271-238. After committing six turnovers the past two games, the Eagles did not have a turnover against NMU. Ashland did post season highs in penalties (nine) and penalty yards (75). Those miscues short-circuited several drives.
The Eagles had a season-best five sacks. Those takedowns resulted in 38 yards of lost real estate.
Junior slot back D.J. McCoy (Cleveland, Ohio/Collinwood) rushed for a season-high 137 yards on 28 carries. Housewright completed 12-of-20 passes for 103 yards. Scott finished with six tackles (five solo), a sack (four yards), a fumble recovery and an interception. The interception is his first of the season and his third in an Ashland uniform. The touchdown is the first of his AU career.
Players to Watch
Berkshire is well on his way to establishing himself as one of the top punter/kickers in the country. Last week, he kicked four field goals for the second time in his career (the other instance was last season at home against Indianapolis). Against NMU, Berkshire had field goals of 44, 40, 50 and 20 yards. The 50-yarder is the longest of his career. His previous long came a week ago, Sept. 18 against Hillsdale, when he split the uprights from 48 yards. Berkshire is first in the GLIAC in kick scoring (30/7.5 ppg.), field goals per game (2.00), field goal percentage (.727) and punting (43.8 ppg.). Berkshire is eight-for-11 on field goal attempts this season. In this week's NCAA national rankings, Berkshire is fourth in field goals per game and sixth in punting. The junior is fourth in career field goals (32) at AU.
McCoy has moved up to sixth in the GLIAC in rushing. He has gained 312 yards on 71 carries (4.4 ypc.) and is good for 78.0 rushing yards per game.
Housewright is sixth in the conference in total offense per game (291.5) and passing yards per game (196.2). The sophomore has clicked on 63-of-105 throws (60 percent) for 785 yards. He has thrown four touchdown passes and been intercepted five times.
Junior H-Back Mike Knueven (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Xavier) and senior wide receiver Christian Livingston (Newark, Ohio) share the team lead in receptions, both have caught 14 passes. Livingston averages 17.8 ypc., while Knueven has a pair of TD receptions and averages 8.8 ypc. Horn has caught nine passes and averages 21.1 ypc.
Sophomore defensive lineman Jamie Meder (Parma, Ohio/Valley Forge) and Stoinoff are tied for fifth in the conference in sacks. Both have three sacks. Meder is fourth on the team in tackles (24/nine solo). He's the team leader in tackles for loss (5.5).
Senior linebacker Carmon Wolfe (Tonawanda, N.Y./Erie C.C.) is Ashland's leader in tackles. He has 34 total stops (12 solo). Junior linebacker Julian Goodwine (Dayton, Ohio/Thurgood Marshall) is second in tackles (32/13 solo). Goodwine has 4.5 tackles for loss, a sack, a fumble recovery and two pass breakups. Junior cornerback Logan Kerr (Ashland, Ohio) is third in the GLIAC in pass breakups (seven). He has one interception and 22 tackles (15 solo).
Senior safety Tarell Lewis (Redford, Mich./Bowling Green) is third on the team in tackles (30/18 solo). Safety Tyler McFarlin (Ashland, Ohio) is fifth on the team in stops (23/nine solo).
Nest Eggs
- McCoy has four 100-yard rushing games in his career. Before going over 100 yards last week, the last time he hit the century mark was on Oct. 3, 2009, at Wayne State when he had 170 yards on 38 carries. His career high came last year at Tiffin when he gained 179 yards on 15 trips.
- Ashland has won five consecutive times on homecoming. The last time the Eagles lost on homecoming was in 2004, 25-14 to Mercyhurst.
- When AU didn't score an offensive touchdown last week it was the first time since a 7-0 setback to Findlay in 2006 that the Ashland offense didn't reach the end zone. That game against the Oilers was played in snow, rain, sleet and heavy wind. Last Saturday, the Eagles were indoors in the climate-controlled Superior Dome.
- Last week marked the first time Ashland has led in time of possession this season (31:59-28:01).
- The Eagles have one rushing touchdown. That was a 1-yard plunge by H-Back Ethan Webb (Battle Creek, Mich./Pennfield) on Sept. 11, at Indianapolis.
- AU has lost one fumble in four games. A year ago in 11 games, the Eagles lost seven fumbles.
- Horn has caught at least one pass in the last 27 games he has played.
- The Eagles are second in the GLIAC in sacks (11) and fourth in scoring defense (20.2 ppg.), total defense (299.8 ypg.) and rushing defense (122.2 ypg.).
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
About Northwood
Head Coach Mike Sullivan – Sullivan is in his third season as NU's head coach. This is his first head coaching assignment. Sullivan is 11-13. He was elevated to the head coaching spot after serving as an assistant coach under Pat Riepma, now the Northwood director of athletics. Sullivan was the associate head coach and offensive line coach under Riepma. He is a 1998 Saginaw Valley State graduate.
Players to Watch – Sophomore quarterback Aaron Shaver is this week's GLIAC offensive player of the week. In last week's 30-26 win over Saginaw Valley State, Shaver completed 10-of-14 passes for 252 yards and three touchdowns. Those touchdown passes measured 64, 45 and 41 yards. Shaver also ran for 86 yards and a touchdown. His TD run covered 25 yards. Shaver is NU's leading rusher (285 yards, 4.4 ypc.) and he's completed 24-of-52 passes (46.2 percent) for 504 yards and six touchdowns. He's been picked off four times. Shaver, a transfer from Alcorn State, is second in the conference in pass efficiency (150.3 rating).
Junior wide receiver Quillan Mathis has caught eight passes for 275 yards (34.4 ypc.). Mathis had touchdown receptions of 64 and 45 yards last week. Against SVSU he had four catches for 134 yards. Mathis is seventh in the conference in receiving yards per game (68.8). AU saw what Mathis could do in 2008 when he caught four passes for 123 yards and touchdown. Mathis was redshirted last season.
Shaver will also look for senior wide receiver Donny Knoll. He's caught five passes for 104 yards (20.8 ypc.). When Shaver doesn't keep the football in running the NU Woodbone, he will pitch to wingback Jimmy Parsons. Parsons, a senior, has rushed for 202 yards on 26 carries (7.8 ypc.).
Up front, the Timberwolves have one of the league's top linemen in senior right guard Will Floyd. The 6-4, 311-pound Floyd was a second team All-GLIAC choice last season.
The defense features active linebacker Andrew DeWeerd. The 6-3, 212-pound middle linebacker has 36 tackles (21 solo) with one interception and 3.5 tackles for loss. A year ago, DeWeerd had 80 tackles when he was named second team all-conference. Sharing the team lead in tackles with DeWeerd is outside linebacker Spencer Remtema. He has 36 tackles (20 solo) with a sack and 5.0 tackles for loss. Remtema had a team-high eight tackles last week.
Senior Kevin Berrien, another outside linebacker, has 27 tackles (10 solo). Against Saginaw Valley State, Berrien posted seven tackles (four solo), one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, a pass breakup and a tackle for loss. The leader on the defensive line is Andrew Smith. The senior is stationed at defensive tackle. He was second team All-GLIAC in 2009. Another defensive tackle, Justin Barnes, has six tackles for loss.
Strong safety Armon Turner is off to a strong start this season. The senior has 22 tackles (16 solo).
Punter Tony Hite is averaging 43.7 ypp. That's second in the league behind Berkshire. Senior O'Neil Thomas is a terror on special teams. He's second in the league in kick return average (29.1) and has returned five punts for 53 yards (10.6 ypr.).
The Rundown on the Timberwolves
- Beware the NU special teams. The 'Wolves are second in the GLIAC in kickoff return average (26.3) and third in kickoff coverage (41.5 net average). Earlier this year in games against Ohio Dominican and Northern Michigan, the Timberwolves blocked a total of four kicks. In 2009, NU blocked six kicks and in 2008, the 'Wolves blocked seven kicks. Over the last three seasons, NU has blocked 17 kicks, compared to three for the opposition.
- Mathis holds the school single-season record for touchdown receptions (13).
- As usual, the 'Wolves own one of the best rushing attacks in the GLIAC. Northwood is third in GLIAC in rushing (202.0 ypg.). The difference this season from past years is that the 'Wolves keep teams honest with their ability to throw the ball. NU is second in the league in pass efficiency (150.3).
- NU rushed for 208 yards last week and 105 of those came in the fourth quarter. That helped the Timberwolves hold onto the football for 36:22.
- Over the final four games of last season, Northwood averaged just under 38 points per game and rushed for over 351 yards per game.
- Northwood has intercepted one pass this season.
Purple People Eaters
Owens reported that the game put together by the defensive line last week could easily be the best of any front he's seen since he arrived at Ashland.
"They kept pressure on the quarterback, got a bunch of sacks and tackles for loss," Owens said. "We've played well enough on defense to win every game."
Finding top-caliber defensive linemen is always a struggle. While Owens declined to single out any player up front, or at any other position on defense, he admitted that the line's ability to dominate the action, makes life easier for the linebackers and defensive backs.
AU had five sacks (38 yards) last week and nine tackles for loss (49 yards). The Eagles had three tackles for loss (eight yards) two weeks ago against Hillsdale and that's impressive because the Chargers have one of the conference's best offensive lines.
As well as the line played in the season-opening win over Bloomsburg, the group might have reached another level in the last week. Senior Dirk Dickerhoof (Massillon, Ohio/Washington) has returned from a foot injury and that gives the Eagles another veteran to add to the rotation.
Nothing to Kick About
Berkshire is averaging 43.8 ypp. If he maintains that pace, he would be the first Ashland player to average over 40 yards per punt since Mark Ambos in 1991 (40.7 ypp.).
At this point, Berkshire is also in position to have one of the best averages in school history. Listed below are the top four punting averages in school history.
Player Avg. Year
Marion Zody 43.4 1956
Vince Mazza 41.9 1984
Vince Mazza 41.8 1983
Vince Mazza 41.3 1985
Homecoming Memory
There are those (former WRDL broadcasters Ben Williams and Brent Martineau among them) who call the 1997 homecoming game the greatest game in AU football history. That may be a stretch, but that game would certainly rank in the school's Top 10.
The game was played on Oct. 4. AU trailed unbeaten and eighth-ranked Saginaw Valley State, 10-0 with 31 seconds left in the first quarter and a blowout appeared imminent. The stubborn Eagles fought back to grab a 13-10 halftime lead. It was 20-10, Ashland, after three quarters.
Back came the Cardinals, battling back to tie the game, 20-20 with 7:29 left in regulation. Behind quarterback Mark Molk, the Eagles went 80 yards in 11 plays, running 5:02 off the clock. The Eagles scored with 2:47 to play in the game on a 1-yard plunge by Molk to take a 27-20 lead. In that drive, Molk completed three-of-three passes for 47 yards and carried the ball five times for 21 yards.
SVSU wasn't done. Starting from their own 35, the Cardinals moved to the AU 4. The Cardinals had three cracks at the end zone from that spot. On first and second down, quarterback Jeff Klopf threw incomplete passes. On third down, Klopf was sacked for an 11-yard loss by Jason Davis. That was the final play of the game.
The game was played in front of 5,262 fans at Community Stadium. AU had one loss at the time and went on to advance to the NCAA Division II playoffs for the second time in school history. Entering the game, SVSU led the GLIAC in scoring, rush offense and total offense. SVSU defensive lineman Paul Spicer had nine tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss.
On Deck
Ashland will host Tiffin next Saturday (Oct. 9, 1 p.m.).
AU
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