#6 Ashland (7-0/6-0 GLIAC) at Malone (1-5/1-5 GLIAC)
Saturday, Oct. 20, 7 p.m.,
Fawcett Stadium, Canton, Ohio
Sights and Sounds
The Ashland-at-Malone game will be broadcast live on WNCO-AM (1340) with Matt Brubaker handling the play-by-play and Don Graham providing the commentary. The game can be heard at wncoam.com.
Looking Ahead and Behind
The Eagles are ranked sixth in the nation in this week's AFCA poll and coming off a 30-0 victory over Walsh last Saturday. AU is looking to go 8-0 for the first time since 1972. This is the highest the Eagles have been ranked since the 1972 team went 11-0 and finished the year ranked fifth in the Associated Press poll and seventh in the United Press International poll. Those are the highest rankings ever for an AU football team. AU is ranked 11th in this week's d2football.com Top 25 poll.
The Eagles are in first place in the GLIAC South Division. AU has a comfortable cushion there, Ohio Dominican and Findlay are in second place and both teams have two losses.
Malone lost to Lake Erie last Saturday, 35-24. This is the first year the Pioneers have played GLIAC football.
Ashland-Malone
This is the first time Ashland and Malone have played.
Ashland Head Coach Lee Owens
Lee Owens is in his ninth season as AU's head coach. He was named to that position in December, 2003. He is the 14th head coach in AU football history.
- Owens is 62-33 at Ashland. He is second in career wins, trailing only Dr. Fred Martinelli (217). Owens is second in career winning percentage (.653) at AU. The only coach he trails is Bob Brownson (.672/1954-57). Martinelli is third (.641/1959-63).
- Owens has guided the Eagles to the NCAA playoffs twice (2007, 2008). He is the only football coach in school history to do that and he is the lone Ashland football coach to win a postseason game (27-16 over Minnesota State, 2008).
- Under Owens, the Eagles have won eight or more games in a season four times and have won nine games twice (9-2/2005, 9-4/2008). He went 5-6 in his first season at Ashland (2004). In the two seasons before he arrived the Eagles won a total of four games.
- Since Owens became the head coach 10 players have been recognized as All-Americans. Last year, defensive lineman Jeris Pendleton was taken in the seventh round of the NFL draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars. He's the first AU player to be drafted since 1972.
- Before arriving at AU, Owens spent nine years as the head coach at the University of Akron. His career record as a college head coach is 102-94. He also served as an assistant coach under John Cooper at Ohio State (1992-95).
- As a high school head coach in Ohio, Owens had an 89-32-2 mark in 11 seasons. His 1985 Galion team won a state title with a 14-0 record. Owens was also the head coach at Massillon Washington (1988-92), Lancaster (1987), Galion (1983-87) and Crestview (1981-82).
- Owens is a 1977 Bluffton College graduate and he earned his master's degree at AU in 1981.
Last Look at Last Week
The Eagles posted their second shutout of the season last week, blanking Walsh, 30-0. The last time AU had two or more shutouts in a season was 1993. That team finished 9-2.
AU limited Walsh to 116 yards of total offense. That breaks down to 60 yards on the ground and 56 through the air. That's the fewest rushing yards AU has allowed since holding Indianapolis to 16 yards on Oct. 31, 2009. It's the fewest passing yards the Eagles have permitted since holding Northwood to 51 yards on Oct. 1, 2011. This is the lowest total offense figure the Eagles have allowed since they gave up 57 yards at Saint Joseph's on Oct. 16, 1993.
Walsh was held to seven first downs and the longest gain the Cavaliers had on any play was 15 yards.
AU led, 14-0 after one quarter. Senior quarterback Taylor Housewright (Ashland, Ohio) connected with senior wide receiver Anthony Capasso (Columbia Station, Ohio/St. Edward) on a pair of first quarter touchdown passes. Those throws measured 20 and nine yards.
Ashland's next two scores came from sophomore tailback Jordan McCune (Bellville, Ohio/Clear Fork). He had scoring runs of 1 and 14 yards. McCune finished with 56 yards on 13 carries. Another sophomore tailback, Anthony Taylor (Arlington, Va./Washington-Lee), had a team-leading 68 yards on 16 carries.
AU's final points came off the toe of redshirt freshman kicker Cameron Casey (Rochester, Mich./Adams). He had a 28-yard field goal. Casey is 6-for-6 on field goal tries this season.
Capasso had 11 catches for 101 yards and sophomore wide receiver Eric Thompkins (Canton, Ohio/South) grabbed five passes for 59 yards.
AU's leading tackler was junior linebacker Cody Bloom (Napoleon, Ohio). He was in on nine stops (three solo). Sophomore linebacker Domi-on Combs (East St. Louis, Ill.) had five tackles, a sack and 1.5 tackles for loss (11 yards).
Ashland had 478 yards in total offense.
NCAA Numbers
Listed below are Ashland's Top 25 rankings in this week's NCAA statistics.
Individual
Category Player Rank Number
Pass Efficiency Housewright 7 168.47
Total Offense Housewright 18 299.86 ypg.
Team
Category Rank Number
Pass Defense 5 154.14 ypg.
Pass Efficiency 6 165.34
Scoring Defense 9 14.43 ppg.
Turnover Margin 11 1.14
Total Offense 10 475.43 ypg.
Total Defense 13 283.71 ypg.
Sacks Allowed T14 0.86
Scoring Offense 16 39.29 ppg.
Pass Offense 22 290.0 ypg.
Kickoff Returns 34 33.68 ypr.
GLIAC Numbers
Housewright is the GLIAC leader in pass efficiency and touchdown passes (19). He is second in passing yards per game (283.0 ypg.).
Capasso is third in receiving yards per game (592/84.6). Thompkins is 10th in receiving yards per game (463/66.1). Casey is fourth in the conference in scoring (43 points, 6-for-6 field goals, 25-of-29 extra points). Taylor is ninth in rushing (527/75.3 ypg.) and Bloom is tied for ninth in tackles (62).
The Eagles lead the GLIAC in total offense, scoring defense and pass efficiency.
Tales of the (Athletic) Tape
The Eagles are past the midway point of the season and their injury rate is as low as it's been at any time in the Owens era. Heading into this week's game, athletic trainer Jeremy Hancock could pinpoint only one game missed due to injury from any player listed on the two deep – that was by sophomore linebacker Aaron Weyer (Ada, Ohio). Hancock had a telling point about injuries – at this point he's treated more basketball players (basketball is in preseason practice) for nagging injuries than he has football players.
All of that can change in a moment's notice. Anyone who doubts that should take a look at Grand Valley State, which has been bitten hard by the injury bug at quarterback. The Lakers have lost starter Heath Parling for the season. An injury like that can re-arrange an entire season.
Hancock believes that AU's offseason strength and conditioning program is one reason for the decreased amount of injuries. The other reason? The AU athletic trainer laughed and said, "Luck."
Housewright Is Rarely Wrong
Housewright has thrown 317 consecutive passes without an interception. The last time a Housewright pass was picked off was during the third quarter of last season's game at Saginaw Valley State – on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2011.
Housewright is second at AU in career touchdown passes, career yards passing and career completions. He's third in career pass attempts, trailing Billy Cundiff (1,001) and Nick Strance (787). As of this week, Housewright's career completion percentage (65.1) is first, just ahead of Cundiff (64.5).
Housewright's career numbers appear below.
Games Completions Attempts Percent Yards TD Int
34 493 757 65.1 6,218 58 12
History Lesson
The 2012 AU defense placed itself in some heady company when it posted its second shutout of the season last week. The last time AU had two or more shutouts in a season was 1993.
That was the last season Dr. Fred Martinelli coached the Eagles. That team lost its first two games, reeled off a nine-game winning streak and barely missed out on the NCAA postseason. That team was built around the power running of tailback Keith Weaver and the defense. Ashland shut out four foes that year and held six opponents to nine points or less.
AU is 7-0 for the first time since 1972. That team also featured an outstanding defense. In 1972, the Eagles pitched two shutouts and held nine teams to nine points or less. In the last three games of that season the offense caught up with the defense. During that stretch the Eagles averaged 47.3 ppg.
Balancing Act
Owens has talked at numerous times this season of how well balanced the Eagles have been between the run and the pass. He also mentioned something else a week ago concerning balance – about how many players are contributing and the balance that shows on the stat sheet.
An excellent example of that comes in the running game. Taylor is averaging 15.1 carries per game (106 carries) and McCune is carrying the ball 14.9 times per game (104 carries).
There used to be a school of thought that a running back got better as he piled up carries. There are still workhorses in the ranks – Hillsdale's Joe Glendening averages 26.7 carries per game and Walsh's Toba Olarewaju averages 21.4 carries per game.
This is the best balance the Eagles have shown since the 2007 season when the Eagles utilized Dawon Harvey (13.0 carries per game), Jaman Javey (14.2 carries per game) and in short-yardage situations, Jon Schroeder (7.8 carries per game).
By the way, Owens is no stranger to having a workhorse back. In 2010, D.J. McCoy averaged 23.2 carries per game, in 2005 Jason Schwalm averaged 27.8 carries per game and set a school single-season record of 306 carries. In 2004, Antwan Hart averaged 26.7 per carries.
The Big Picture
AU fans have been watching the national rankings with interest trying to figure out where the Eagles would be ranked in the regional rankings. No regional rankings have been released yet this season. The first regional poll comes next week.
The makeup of this year's region is different from the past several seasons. A year ago, the GLIAC was included in a region with schools from the Northern Sun Conference. That conference included Minnesota-Duluth (tied for seventh in this week's poll) and Minnesota State-Mankato (ninth).
This year the Eagles are in a region with teams from the Lone Star Conference and the Rocky Mountain Conference. The highest ranked teams from the Lone Star Conference are Midwestern State (12th) and West Texas A&M (17th). Others teams in the conference which would be recognizable to AU fans are Angelo State and Abilene Christian. There are 11 schools in the league.
The RMAC has 10 schools, including the top-ranked team in the nation – Colorado State-Pueblo. The ThunderWolves are 7-0 and play Black Hills State this week. The conference is also home to New Mexico Highlands, which is 6-1, 5-0 in the conference.
Grade A Defensive Back
AU defensive back Donnie Dottei (Toledo, Ohio/Whitmer) is a semifinalist for a National Football Foundation post-graduate scholarship. The winners of those awards will be announced on Wednesday, Oct. 24. The original field listed 147 candidates. The NFF will award 15 post-graduate scholarships.
The senior is an integrated mathematics/actuary science major with a 3.74 grade point average. Dottei is a two-time All-GLIAC Academic Excellence Team pick.
Full Bloom
Bloom led the Eagles in tackles last season with 109 (53 solo). He's the first AU player to reach the century mark in tackles since safety-linebacker Tom Brenner in 2008 (126). Brenner and Bloom are the only AU players to post 100 tackles in the last seven seasons. The last player to notch consecutive 100-tackle seasons was linebacker-safety Devin Conwell (118/2004, 121/2003).
Listed below are the last five AU players to put together consecutive seasons of 100+ tackles. Tim Houseman was the last player to have three consecutive years of 100+ tackles.
Player Position Tackles/Years
Devin Conwell Linebacker 2004-118, 2003-121
Brock Swonguer Linebacker 2001-106, 2000-102
Chad DiFranco Def. Back 1996-121, 1995-134
Tim Houseman Linebacker 1993-125, 1992-143, 1991-104
Ron Greer Linebacker 1991-135, 1990-138.5
Gridiron Club Players of the Week
After every game the Eagles win this season, the AU Gridiron Club will honor a player of the game for offense, defense and special teams. This year's recipients can be found below.
Game Offense Defense Special Teams
Indianapolis Housewright Gamble Capasso
Wayne State Thompkins Meder Housewright
Ferris State Housewright Houska Casey
No. Michigan Housewright Harrison McFarlin
Lake Erie McCune Bloom Hagenimana
ODU Vermillion Harvey No Recipient
Walsh Renner McFarlin Dottei
Yard Markers and Milestones
- Ashland is third in winning percentage among the 21 schools that have played GLIAC football. Grand Valley State (.794./239-60-3) is first, Butler (.750/22-7-1) is second and the Eagles (.593/130-89) are third. Saginaw Valley State (.588/185-111-3) is fourth.
- Doug Geiser is the only assistant coach on the Ashland staff who has been with Owens all nine years the head coach has been at AU.
- AU's all-time record at Jack Miller Stadium/Martinelli Field is 14-4 (.778)
- In four home games this season the Eagles have allowed a total of 35 points. That's an average of 8.8 ppg.
- Malone is one of three teams on the 2012 schedule AU is playing for the first time. The others are Walsh and Notre Dame.
- Last week's 100-yard game was the second this season for Capasso and the fifth of his career. His 11 catches last week are a season high.
- AU hasn't been below 50 percent on third down conversions since Sept. 15 at Ferris State (3-of-12/25 percent).
- AU has outscored the opposition, 75-21 in the first quarter and 81-21 in the second quarter. Add it all up, and that's 156-42 scoring advantage in the first half.
- This is AU's second consecutive game against a team from Canton, Ohio. AU has three starters who are from the Canton-Massillon area – Thompkins (Canton, Ohio/South), junior defensive back Brian Gamble (Massillon, Ohio/Illinois) and junior center Keith Dingler (Massillon, Ohio/Washington).
The Scouting Report – The Malone Pioneers
Head Coach – Eric Hehman (8-19/3rd year at Malone)
Last Year's Record – 4-7
Noteworthy
The Pioneers are looking to break out of a two-game slide. Last week Malone trailed Lake Erie, 21-7 at halftime, rallied to go ahead, 24-21 in the third quarter and then lost, 35-24…Malone's lone win this season came in double overtime against Tiffin, 33-27 on Sept. 29…offensive coordinator Joel Penner is in his first season at Malone…the Pioneers start three seniors on the offensive line, but also start seven players on offense who are freshmen or sophomores…all Malone home games are played at Fawcett Stadium, home to the NFL Hall of Fame game. The facility is two miles from Malone's campus. Fawcett Stadium seats 23,000.
Watch List
Senior wide receiver Justin McLean may be the most talented player on the Malone roster. He's caught 19 passes for 284 yards (15.0 ypc.) with four touchdown catches. The 5-10, 180-pound McLean has returned 21 kickoffs for 325 yards (15.5 ypr.)…sophomore quarterback Will Szpor has completed 70-of-129 passes (54.3 percent) for 865 yards with six touchdowns and five interceptions. The 6-2, 200-pound Szpor started a year ago as a true freshman…wide receiver AT Turner, a 5-6, 165-pound sophomore, has 19 catches for 234 yards (12.3 ypc.)…running back Malik Fenton, a 5-8, 170-pound sophomore, has rushed for a team-high 313 yards on 63 carries (4.0 ypc.)…safety Demarco Donaldson, a 5-11, 180-pound sophomore, had 18 tackles last week at Lake Erie. He's the team leader in tackles (72/34 solo) and is second in the GLIAC in tackles per game (12.0). Donaldson has four pass breakups and a pair of forced fumbles…linebacker Antonio Scassa, a 6-0, 215-pound senior, has 51 tackles (16 solo) and an interception…defensive lineman Frank McCormick, a 6-2, 240-pound senior, has 34 stops (12 solo) and 7.0 tackles for loss (34 yards). McCormick is the runner-up in the league in sacks (five)….linebacker James Benedix, a 6-0, 220-pound freshman, recorded 11 tackles and a sack last Saturday.
Up Next
The Eagles are back home next Saturday (Oct. 27, 1 p.m.) to host Findlay.
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