Findlay (5-2/5-2 GLIAC) at #6 Ashland (8-0/7-0)
Saturday, Oct. 27, 1 p.m.,
Jack Miller Stadium/Martinelli Field at Dwight Schar Athletic Complex
Sights and Sounds
The Findlay-Ashland 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. The campus radio station, WRDL-FM (88.9), will also do a live broadcast of the game.
Looking Ahead and Behind
For the second consecutive week, the Eagles are ranked sixth in the AFCA Top 25 poll. Ashland is ranked 10th in this week's d2football.com Top 25 poll. The Eagles are ranked second in the Super 4 NCAA Regional rankings. This is the first week of NCAA rankings. At the end of the season, the top six teams in the region advance to the postseason.
AU is 8-0 for the first time since 1972. That 1972 team is the last Ashland unit to go undefeated. A win this week would clinch the GLIAC South Division title for the Eagles.
Last Saturday night, AU won at Malone, 31-7. AU has three regular season games remaining.
Findlay is 5-2 overall and in GLIAC action. Last Saturday, the Oilers won at Lake Erie, 41-7.
Ashland-Findlay
- The Oilers and the Eagles first met in 1924. AU won that game, 33-0 and won the first six times the teams played. Ashland has a 24-14-4 edge in the series. Of the teams on this year's schedule, Findlay is the team the Eagles have played the most – 42 times.
- The Eagles have a five-game winning streak against the Oilers and have won seven of the last eight meetings.
- AU head coach Lee Owen is 7-1 against the Oilers.
- Findlay's last win over Ashland came at Community Stadium in 2006, 7-0.
- AU has scored 34 or more points against the Oilers in five consecutive games.
- Only one of the last five games has been decided by less than 10 points.
- This is Findlay's second visit to Jack Miller Stadium/Martinelli Field.
- AU's longest winning streak against UF is seven games. That occurred from 1962 to 1999. Findlay's best stretch of success against Ashland came from 1938 to 1953 when the Oilers went 7-0-2.
- In 2002, wide receiver Michael Hull set the school single-game record for receptions (14) against the Oilers.
- In 2010, quarterback Taylor Housewright (Ashland, Ohio) threw five touchdown passes against Findlay. That ties the school, single-game mark for TD passes.
- The school record for most kickoff return yardage in game (174) was established by Carlin Isles against the Oilers in 2008.
Ashland-Findlay – 2011
The Eagles forced six turnovers, held the Oilers to 61 yards rushing and got 149 yards and a touchdown from senior tailback D.J. McCoy in a 34-19 victory over the Oilers. AU led, 10-6 after a quarter and 20-6 at halftime. With 9:41 to go in regulation the Eagles were in front, 34-13.
Housewright completed 18-of-21 passes for 223 yards. He threw one touchdown pass – a 61-yard bomb to wideout Anthony Capasso (Columbia Station, Ohio/St. Edward). The Eagles led in total yardage, 418-353. AU controlled the football for the majority of the game, leading in time of possession, 37:12-22:48.
The Eagles intercepted UF quarterback Clay Belton five times. Safety Donnie Dottei (Toledo, Ohio/Whitmer) and cornerback Mike McMillan (Hagerstown, Md./Mendocino C.C.) had two interceptions each and Dottei also had eight tackles. Linebacker Cody Bloom (Napoleon, Ohio) registered a team-high nine tackles (three solo).
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 63-33 at Ashland. He is second in career wins, trailing only Dr. Fred Martinelli (217). Owens is second in career winning percentage (.656) 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 five 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 103-94. 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 traveled to Canton, Ohio's Fawcett Stadium to play Malone last Saturday night. This was the first-ever meeting between the Pioneers and the Eagles. The Pioneers made a good first impression as they proved to be a stubborn foe. Throughout the first half, the Eagles struggled to get into a rhythm. Ashland had a 17-7 lead at the intermission, but for the full 30 minutes, this was a rough go. In those first two quarters, AU was penalized four times for 44 yards, lost a fumble and gave up a 64-yard touchdown pass.
In the second half, AU was able to wear down the Pioneers. The Eagles scored a touchdown in the third quarter to take a 24-7 lead. The Eagles limited Malone to five yards of total offense in the third quarter. By the time the fourth quarter began, AU was in control of the game and went on to win, 31-7.
AU had a season-high 627 yards of total offense. Ashland's first touchdown came when Housewright threw a pass from punt formation to junior Brian Gamble (Massillon, Ohio/Illinois). Gamble, a defensive back-wide receiver, broke free and raced down the sideline 74 yards for a touchdown. That's the longest pass play by Ashland in 2012. Gamble ended the game with two catches for 82 yards and three tackles, a tackle for loss and an interception.
Sophomore tailback Anthony Taylor (Arlington, Va./Washington-Lee) rushed for a career-high 212 yards on 22 carries. Taylor had touchdown runs of 37 and 82 yards. That 82-yard jaunt is the longest run by an AU player in 2012. This was Taylor's third game of 100 or more yards rushing this season.
Housewright ended the game 19-of-30 passing for 309 yards and two touchdowns. In addition to the touchdown pass to Gamble, he hit Capasso with a 23-yard scoring pass. Housewright has 21 touchdown passes this season. This is the second time in his career he's had 20 or more touchdown passes in a season. The senior had 24 touchdown passes in 2010.
The Eagles held Malone to 224 yards. For the second consecutive week, the Eagles allowed only 60 yards rushing. A Malone first quarter touchdown broke a string of six consecutive scoreless quarters for the Ashland defense.
NCAA Numbers
Listed below are Ashland's Top 25 rankings in this week's NCAA statistics.
Individual
Category Player Rank Number
Pass Efficiency Housewright 7 168.68
Total Offense Housewright 17 303.75 ypg
Team
Category Rank Number
Scoring Defense 4 13.50 ppg.
Pass Defense 6 155.38 ypg.
Total Offense 6 494.38 ypg.
Pass Efficiency 6 166.06
Sacks Allowed 9t 0.75
Total Defense 10 276.25 ypg.
Pass Offense 18 292.38 ypg.
Scoring Offense 22 38.25 ppg.
Turnover Margin 23 0.88
Pass Efficiency Def. 24 106.00
GLIAC Numbers
The Eagles lead the GLIAC in total offense, total defense, pass efficiency defense, scoring defense and pass efficiency.
Housewright is the GLIAC leader in touchdown passes (21). He is second in passing yards per game (286.2 ypg.).
Capasso is second in the GLIAC in receptions (49) and fourth in receiving yards per game (89.4). Taylor is seventh in rushing yards per game (92.4) and sophomore tailback Jordan
McCune (Bellville, Ohio/Clear Fork) is 11th in rushing yards per game (68.2). Redshirt freshman Cameron Casey (Rochester, Mich./Adams) is fourth in the GLIAC in kick scoring (50 points). Bloom is eighth in tackles (72).
Purple and Pink
This is the weekend that the Eagles think pink.
In support of breast cancer research, AU will be selling pink t-shirts at this week's game. The shirts can be purchased for $10 apiece and all proceeds from the sale go to the Ashland County Cancer Association. All fans coming to the game are encouraged to wear pink.
League Laurels
Gamble is this week's GLIAC special teams player of the week. This is the first time this season Ashland has had a player earn the weekly honor. This is the first time Gamble has ever received the conference's special teams player of the week award. In 2009, Gamble was named the GLIAC defensive player of the week once. Gamble is also this week's OhioCollegeFootball.com's special teams player of the week.
Regional Rankings
This week's NCAA Division II Region 4 rankings are listed below.
Rank Team Record
1 Colorado State-Pueblo 8-0
2 Ashland 8-0
3 Chadron State 6-2
4 Indianapolis 6-2
5 West Texas A&M 7-1
6 Hillsdale 6-2
7 Saginaw Valley State 6-2
8 Midwestern State 6-1
9 Wayne State 5-2
10 New Mexico Highlands 6-2
Housewright Is Rarely Wrong
Housewright has thrown 347 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 tied for second in career pass attempts with Nick Strance. The only quarterback he trails is Billy Cundiff (1,001). As of this week, Housewright's career completion percentage (65.1) is first, just ahead of Cundiff (64.5).
Housewright is on the verge of setting personal, single-season highs for completions, attempts, yards and touchdown passes. In 2010 Housewright established personal highs for completions (179), attempts (266), yards (2,378) and TD passes (24). This year, Housewright has completed 174-of-258 passes for 2,290 yards and 21 touchdowns.
Housewright threw for 309 yards last week. That's the sixth time in his career he's had 300 or more yards. Four of those games have come this year. At Ferris State, Housewright threw for 438 yards, two yards shy of the school, single-game record.
As Ashland's starting quarterback, Housewright is 22-8 (73.3 percent). Since Housewright became the starting quarterback, here's what AU's plus-minus figures have been - +6 in 2010, +13 in 2011 and +7 in 2012.
Housewright's career numbers can be found below.
Games Completions Attempts Percent Yards TD Int
35 512 787 65.1 6,478 60 12
Passing Fancy
Capasso is in the midst of a productive stretch of games. Last week, he had 100 yards receiving for the third time this season. In his career, Capasso has reached the century mark six times. The senior has had 90 yards or more in four consecutive games. Here's what he's done in the last month.
Date Opponent Catches Yards TD
Sept. 29 Lake Erie 6 93 2
Oct. 6 Ohio Dominican 8 99 0
Oct. 13 Walsh 11 101 2
Oct. 20 Malone 5 123 1
Tick Tock
Being on the clock is often a negative connotation. That's not the case with the Eagles.
Ashland is averaging 33:18 per game in time of possession. Last week at Malone, AU had the ball for 33:17, 19:35 in the second half. It was a similar story against Walsh, the Eagles had the ball for 35:58, 17:41 in the second half. At Ohio Dominican on Oct. 6, Ashland led in time of possession, 38:00-22:00. In the second half of that game, AU led in time of possession, 21:56-8:04.
Owens says that part of the reason for AU's domination of the clock can be traced to the kind of defenses the Eagles are seeing. Owens describes those as "prevent defenses."
"We're not getting a lot of home runs," Owens said. "Teams aren't giving us that. You get kind of impatient, I do. We got one (long ball against Malone), Capasso got behind the safety. But most everything is short and underneath."
Meder Reader
Over the last three weeks, junior defensive lineman Jamie Meder (Parma, Ohio/Valley Forge) has 20 tackles. Meder is a two-time All-GLIAC first team pick and appears to be well on his way to making that team for the third time. He's having as good a season as he did as a freshman and sophomore when he had Jeris Pendleton working with him. Meder said he never worried about his numbers falling off without Pendleton along side of him.
"I wanted to stay positive," said Meder. "I just tried to work harder in the summer. We had some workouts that were grueling."
Meder watches only one statistic when judging his play.
"The only thing I try to do is have more tackles than I did last season," he explained.
Meder says he and Pendleton trade phone calls every week or so. Pendleton is with the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars.
Taylor's Time
Owens noted that one way he determines who gets the bulk of the carries in a game – Taylor or McCune – depends on the matchup with the defense. Against Malone, it appeared that Taylor was the better option.
"Anthony took the game over," said Owens. "It turned into his kind of game. There are certain games against certain defenses where it fits what Jordan does better.
"We're excited about both backs," continued Owens. "We need both. Both are unselfish, they don't complain about how much they get the ball or don't get the ball. We're keeping them healthy, keeping them fresh."
Taylor has 128 carries and has gained 739 yards. McCune has 117 carries and 546 yards. Both seem to be at their best in the second half. Against Malone, 146 of Taylor's 212 yards came in the second half.
"I think we wear out people," Owens said. "It's a little backwards from what a lot of coaches do."
Here's another set of figures that shows how difficult it is to prepare for the Eagles. On first down, AU has run the ball 52 percent of the time and thrown 48 percent of the time.
"We've not looked at a lot of second and long," said Owens. "A lot of our first down passing has been effective."
Get Out the Red Pen
Last week, Ashland was penalized seven times for 85 yards. That total included a couple of holding calls and a roughing-the-punter call. Malone's average field position was its own 31-yardline. Owens expects more out of his special teams in flipping the field.
"Our lack of discipline in terms of penalties and field position on special teams are two huge areas of emphasis," said the AU head coach.
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.
Bloom needs 28 tackles to reach 100 for the season.
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
Malone Taylor Gamble No Recipient
Yard Markers and Milestones
- Last week Taylor became the first AU player to rush for 200 or more yards since D.J. McCoy rushed for 275 yards on 25 carries at Findlay on Oct. 30, 2010.
- 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.
- At home this season, AU has averaged 4,500 fans per game.
- The AU defense has been nearly flawless in the third quarter the last two weeks. Against Walsh, the Eagles allowed seven yards in the third quarter. Last week at Malone, the Eagles allowed five yards. That's 12 yards of total offense allowed in the third quarter over the last two weeks.
- Ashland has outscored the opposition, 173-49 in the first half.
- In the last two games against Findlay, the Eagles have forced eight turnovers. A year ago, AU intercepted five passes.
- AU broke into the AFCA Top 25 the third week of the season, the Eagles were ranked 22nd at Ferris State that Saturday. They jumped to 15 the following week and were 13th when they played Lake Erie. The first week AU was in the Top 10 was at Ohio Dominican on Oct. 6. AU was eighth when it hosted Walsh on homecoming (Oct. 13). AU has been ranked sixth for two consecutive weeks.
The Scouting Report – Findlay Oilers
Head Coach – Rob Keys (Second Season/11-7)
Last Year's Record – 6-5/6-4 GLIAC
Noteworthy
The Oilers already own one impressive road victory this season, a 29-27 decision over nationally-ranked Saginaw Valley State on Sept. 15…under second-year head coach Rob Keys, UF is 3-0 on the road against ranked teams. In addition to the win at SVSU, a year ago the Oilers won at Grand Valley State and Wayne State…Findlay's two losses this season have come at Michigan Tech (35-10) and at home against Ohio Dominican (63-31)…UF has played one overtime game, the Oilers edged Notre Dame in two extra sessions, 43-42…the Oilers may be the best all-around offensive team the Eagles have faced since seeing Indianapolis and Wayne State the first two weeks of the season. The Oilers churn out 194.4 ypg., on the ground and 264.1 ypg…in the air..UF utilizes the spread offense…at Lake Erie, the Oilers had five sacks and forced four turnovers…UF starts only two seniors on defense – defensive tackle Richard Sumlin and middle linebacker Brandon Butler…Keys served as Findlay's co-defensive coach and special teams coach from 2000-04…Findlay was picked to finish third in the GLIAC Coaches' Preseason Poll.
Watch List
Senior running back Monterae Williams became UF's career rushing leader last week. In last week's win at Lake Erie, Williams rushed for 268 yards and five touchdowns on 39 carries. That rushing total is the second highest single-game total in school history. The 5-9, 200-pound Williams is the GLIAC leader in touchdowns (14) and he's second in rushing yards per game (137.7). Last year, the Eagles held him to 35 yards on 13 carries and in 2010 Williams had 36 yards on nine carries…quarterback Clay Belton, a 6-6, 225-pound senior, is fourth in the GLIAC in passing yards per game (261.0). Belton has completed 140-of-235 passes (59.6 percent) for 1,822 yards with 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Belton is a transfer from Maryland…none of the starters on the offensive line weighs in at less than 285 pounds. Center Scott Dearweter, a 6-3, 285-pound senior, looks to be the line's anchor…wide receiver Seth White, a 5-10, 195-pound junior, is seventh in the GLIAC in receiving yards per game (70.4). White has 35 receptions…tight end Jaryd Brown, a 6-2, 225-pound junior, has a team-high 36 catches and three touchdown catches. Brown is ninth in the conference in receiving yards per game (65.7)…middle linebacker Brandon Butler, a 5-11, 225-pound senior, is the GLIAC leader in tackles per game (11.7). Butler has 82 tackles (46 solo)…strong safety Ray Ballard, a 5-10, 180-pound junior, has 35 tackles. In last week's game he had 11 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries…Richard Sumlin, a 6-2, 270-pound senior defensive lineman, has 7.5 tackles for loss (19 yards). Sumlin has 30 total tackles (19 solo)…free safety Jamon McClain, a 5-11, 185-pound junior, has 43 tackles (30 solo) and three tackles for loss (16 yards).
Owens on Findlay
"They're a really good football team. I think it's the best Findlay team we've seen. They beat a playoff team (Saginaw Valley State) on the road. That's not by accident. Their quarterback is as good as we've seen, their tailback is as good as we've seen. Their scheme is as difficult as we've gone against. It will be a real challenge. We know the level of emotion the rivalry game will be played at."
Owens on Williams
"He reads his blocks real well, he accelerates, he's tough. He's been beat up when we've seen him in the past. He's healthy this time. We have to defend against what we consider one of the best backs in the game."
Up Next
The Eagles will visit Tiffin next Saturday (Nov. 3, 1:30 p.m.).
AU
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