Box Score HILLSDALE, Mich. – Over(Time) and Out.
Saturday night (Sept. 17) at Hillsdale's Frank "Muddy" Waters Stadium, the Ashland University football team played its second consecutive overtime game. After a four-overtime win over Indianapolis last Saturday night, the Eagles found themselves in a three-overtime game against Hillsdale. This week, overtime meant overdone as the Chargers won, 40-34.
The winning score for HC came on a 5-yard pass from quarterback Anthony Misfud to wide receiver Brett Miller. AU's Gregg Berkshire (Ashland, Ohio) had missed a 26-yard field goal on AU's possession in the third overtime.
This is the second time in school history AU played consecutive overtime games. The last time AU went to overtime in consecutive weeks was in 2004 when the Eagles lost in OT to Ferris State and won in overtime at Gannon. These are the two longest consecutive games in school history.
Ashland's all-time record in overtime is 3-4. This is the second time the Eagles and Chargers have gone to overtime. The last time these two teams had to go past regulation was in 1998 at Ashland's Community Stadium. The Eagles won that game, 30-27 in double overtime.
This was Hillsdale's 16th consecutive home victory. Ashland is 1-2, 1-1 in the GLIAC. Hillsdale is 2-1 and 1-1.
Ashland tied the game, 27-27 with 1:06 left in regulation when quarterback Taylor Housewright (Ashland, Ohio) found wide receiver Anthony Capasso (Columbia Station, Ohio/St. Edward) with a 20-yard touchdown pass. Capasso had a monster game. He caught seven passes for 76 yards and two touchdowns and returned five kickoffs for 116 yards. Throw in three rushing attempts for 17 yards and he had 209 all-purpose yards.
After that Ashland score, the Chargers drove the length of the field and attempted a 34-yard field goal by Colin McGreevy on the final play of regulation. McGreevy missed the potential game winner and the teams went to overtime. In the game, McGreevy missed three field goals (34, 36, 34) and one extra point.
In the first overtime, both teams misfired on field goal attempts. Berskhire couldn't connect from 49 yards and McGreevy was off target from 34 yards.
In the second overtime, HC scored on a 7-yard run by Joe Glendening and McGreevy's extra point gave the Chargers a 34-27 advantage. The Eagles tied the game on a spectacular 3-yard run by Housewright. The AU quarterback scrambled through the middle of the HC defense and got flipped head over heels at the goal line. He came down in the end zone for the score. Berkshire's PAT knotted the score, 34-34 and set the stage for the finish.
Throughout the first half, Ashland controlled the line of scrimmage and dominated the game. Hillsdale got back in the game on the second half kickoff when Nick Hixson raced up the left side of the field on a 52-yard return. He was finally knocked out of bounds by Berkshire at the AU 41. That put the Chargers in position for a six-play, 41-yard drive that ended with Misfud flipping a 1-yard TD pass to tight end Bren Bergquist. McGreevy's extra point gave the Chargers their first lead of the evening, 13-10.
Ashland could not score on its next possession and the Chargers embarked on an 11-play, 73-yard march that culminated in a 1-yard touchdown run by Glendening. That run, plus the extra point by McGreevy, put the Chargers in front, 20-10 with 48 seconds to play in the quarter. HC had two third quarter possessions and scored on both.
Just because the time in the third quarter ended didn't mean the Chargers stopped scoring. With 9:58 remaining in regulation, Glendening reached the end zone on a 3-yard run and after McGreevy's extra point, Hillsdale led, 27-17. The Eagles had narrowed the HC lead to 20-17 on a 13-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Housewright to Capasso. That drive featured a perfect throw from Housewright to wide receiver Eric Thompkins (Canton, Ohio/Canton South) for 48 yards.
While the first half was a close-to-the-vest, defensive standoff, the second half saw both offenses come of age. After HC took that 10-point lead with just under 10 minutes to play in regulation, the Eagles gathered themselves and bounced back for a 20-yard Berkshire field goal with 5:13 remaining. On third down, Housewright and Capasso just missed connecting for a touchdown. Housewright found Capasso in the back of the end zone but the Ashland receiver couldn't get a foot down in bounds and he was blanketed by the HC defense. Just making the catch was a chore.
The shift in the momentum the Chargers received from Hixson's return neutralized Ashland's best first half of the season. Against both Bloomsburg and Indianapolis, AU had struggled early and fell behind in both games. On this night, at a very difficult venue, the Eagles came out and controlled the line of scrimmage.
Defensive lineman Jamie Meder (Parma, Ohio/Valley Forge), along with Berkshire, gave the Chargers fits all night. Meder provided a push up front that bottled up the HC offense in the first half.
As usual, Meder was joined up front by Jeris Pendleton (Chicago, Ill./Joliet Junior College), Tyler Houska (Wadsworth, Ohio/Highland) and Matt Stoinoff (Cincinnati, Ohio/Colerain). It was Meder, however, who set the tone. At halftime, he had six tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss.
Meder and his mates had the upper hand in field position throughout the first half thanks in large part to Berkshire. He flipped the field like he was turning a page in a book. In the first half, he punted five times and averaged 43.0 ypp. Two of his punts landed inside the HC 20-yardline.
AU's first score, an 11-yard run by freshman slot back Jordan McCune (Bellville, Ohio/Clear Fork), came after a Berkshire punt pinned the Chargers at their own 4-yardline. The AU defense didn't allow the Chargers to move and the Eagles, after a HC punt, set up shop at the Hillsdale 29.
The Chargers did an exceptional job early in the game of stopping McCune. On a fourth-and-one play in the first quarter they tackled him for no gain and on a third-and-three play, he could manage only a yard. But he capped this first scoring drive with a burst over the left side. He got that opportunity thanks to the Eagles' ability to convert a third-and-six play. The Eagles picked that up when Housewright found Capasso to move the chains.
Berkshire's PAT after the McCune score gave the Eagles a 7-0 lead. Moments later Berkshire trotted on the field and nailed a 41-yard field goal. That came after Meder stripped Mifsud of the ball at the HC 25. Berkshire hit the field goal with plenty to spare. That scoring drive took four plays and covered one yard. AU's first scoring drive went 29 yards in four plays.
As those numbers indicate, the Eagles weren't exactly pushing the Chargers around the field. But they were holding onto the football and that, with the strength of the AU defense, didn't allow the Chargers to get into a rhythm.
The Chargers cut the Ashland lead to 10-6 with 4:36 left in the half on a 10-yard run by McGreevy. McGreevy was wide right on the extra point. McGreevy also missed a 36-yard field goal as time expired in the first half.
HC outgained the Eagles, 488-334. Housewright was 20-of-35 passing for 224 yards. Glendening had 101 yards on 33 carries. Meder finished with 10 tackles.
Ashland hosts Northern Michigan next Saturday (Sept. 24, 7 p.m.).
AU/FB/ALK
