#5 Ashland (9-0/8-0 GLIAC) at Tiffin (2-7/1-7)
Saturday, Nov. 3, 1:30 p.m.,
Frost-Kalnow Stadium, Tiffin, Ohio
Sights and Sounds
This Saturday's Ashland-Tiffin game will be broadcast live on WNCO-AM (1340) with Matt Brubaker handling the play-by-play and Ken Dworznik providing the commentary. The game can be heard at wncoam.com.
Looking Ahead and Behind
The Eagles are ranked fifth in the country this week. That equals the highest ranking in school history – the 1972 team that went 11-0 was ranked fifth in the country by the Associated Press. In this week's d2football.com poll, Ashland is ranked ninth.
The Eagles are ranked first in the regional rankings. At the conclusion of the season, the top six teams in the region advance to the postseason. The top two teams in the region receive first-round byes. AU was second in last week's regional rankings.
Last Saturday at Jack Miller Stadium/Martinelli Field the Eagles throttled Findlay, 42-21. That clinched at least a tie for the GLIAC championship. AU has wrapped up the GLIAC South Division title.
Ashland is 9-0 for the first time since 1972. The Eagles have two regular season games remaining – this week's date at Tiffin and a home game with Notre Dame on Nov. 10.
Tiffin lost to Ohio Dominican last week, 31-14.
Ashland-Tiffin
- This will be the fifth meeting between the Dragons and Eagles. The series began in 2008. Ashland has a 4-0 lead in the series.
- Tiffin has never scored more than 14 points against AU.
- AU head coach Lee Owen is 4-0 against the Dragons.
- Last year's 57-point margin of victory (70-13) is the fourth largest in school history.
- This is Ashland's third trip to Frost-Kalnow Stadium.
- The 70 points AU scored against the Dragons last year is the second highest point total in the tenure of Owens.
Ashland-Tiffin – 2011
The Eagles scored on three of their first four possessions and seven of their first eight drives on the way to a 70-13 win at Tiffin. AU had a 49-0 lead before the Dragons found their way into the end zone. The Eagles threw for 297 yards and ran for 293 yards. Ashland outgained the home team, 590-341 and averaged 9.1 yards per play.
The Eagles forced four turnovers. Defensive end Matt Stoinoff, now an assistant coach, scored the first touchdown of the game when he returned an interception 25 yards for a touchdown 1:09 into the game.
Tailback Justen White-Reid (Akron, Ohio/Coventry) rushed for 119 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries. Tailback Anthony Taylor (Arlington, Va./Washington-Lee) had 79 yards on 12 carries and tailback Jordan McCune (Bellville, Ohio/Clear Fork) had 71 yards on 15 carries. McCune had two rushing touchdowns and scored another touchdown on a 54-yard pass reception. Quarterback Taylor Housewright (Ashland, Ohio) was 9-of-13 passing for 258 yards and three touchdowns.
Tiffin ran the ball 16 times for 25 yards (1.6 ypc.). The Dragons threw the ball 57 times and completed 32 of those attempts.
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 64-33 at Ashland. He is second in career wins, trailing only Dr. Fred Martinelli (217). Owens is second in career winning percentage (.660) 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 three times (9-0/2012, 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 104-94. 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
Findlay jolted the Eagles by scoring on its opening possession. It didn't take the Eagles long to recover, they answered that touchdown with one of their own and took control of the game by building a 35-7 lead before the Oilers could get back on the scoreboard. This was Ashland's sixth consecutive victory over their rivals to the West. This victory also clinched the GLIAC South Division championship.
The Oilers never found a way to control the Eagles on the ground – Ashland rushed for 277 yards. Sophomore tailback Anthony Taylor (Arlington, Va./Washington-Lee) went over 150 yards rushing for the second consecutive week. He had 165 yards on 24 carries. McCune, another sophomore, was like a battering ram as he had four rushing touchdowns on 12 carries. McCune had 65 yards and his touchdown runs were 4, 7, 11 and 3 yards. McCune is the first AU running back to rush for four touchdowns in a game since Jon Schroeder did it at Mercyhurst in 1997.
The short passing game served the Eagles well last week. Sophmore tight end Logan Slavinski (Bellville, Ohio/Clear Fork) had three catches for 23 yards and a touchdown. Of Housewright's 12 completions, five went to tight ends or the fullback. The one receiver who managed to stretch the field was sophomore wide receiver Eric Thompkins (Canton, Ohio/South), who had three receptions for 56 yards. Housewright was 12-of-16 passing for 170 yards.
After allowing that score on the opening drive, the AU defense shut down the Oilers until the game was out of reach. UF tailback Monterea Williams, one of the GLIAC's top ground gainers, was held to 83 yards on 24 carries. He had 46 yards in the first quarter. Senior defensive back Mike McMillan (Hagerstown, Md./Mendocino College), junior linebacker Cody Bloom (Napoleon, Ohio) and junior defensive lineman Jamie Meder (Parma, Ohio/Valley Forge) had 10 tackles apiece. Senior defensive lineman Tyler Houska (Wadsworth, Ohio/Medina Highland) had six tackles and two sacks (12 yards). Junior defensive back Brian Gamble (Massillon, Ohio/Illinois) picked off his team-high third pass of the season.
NCAA Numbers
Listed below are Ashland's Top 25 rankings in this week's NCAA statistics.
Individual
Category Player Rank Number
Pass Efficiency Housewright 6 171.00
Total Offense Housewright 27 289.89 ypg.
Team
Category Rank Number
Scoring Defense 5 14.33 ppg.
Pass Efficiency 6 168.29
Sacks Allowed 6t 0.67
Total Offense 7 489.11 ypg.
Total Defense 11 289.00 ypg.
Pass Defense 16 170.11 ypg.
Scoring Offense 20 38.67 ppg.
GLIAC Numbers
The Eagles lead the GLIAC in seven major statistical categories – total offense, rush defense (118.99 ypg.), pass efficiency defense (111.01), total defense, scoring defense, pass efficiency and sacks allowed.
Housewright is the GLIAC leader in touchdown passes (23). He is second in passing yards per game (273.3) and pass efficiency.
Senior wide receiver Anthony Capasso (Columbia Station, Ohio/St. Edward) is third in the league in receptions (50) and fourth in receiving yards per game (80.4). Redshirt freshman kicker Cameron Casey (Rochester, Mich./Adams) is fourth in kick scoring (56 points). Anthony Taylor (Arlington, Va./Washington-Lee) is seventh in the conference in rushing yards per game (100.4/904 total yards). Bloom is eighth in the GLIAC in tackles (82) and McCune is tied for eighth in scoring (72/8.0 ppg.).
Regional Rankings
This week's NCAA Division II Super Region 4 rankings are listed below.
Rank Team Record
1 Ashland 9-0
2 Colorado State-Pueblo 9-0
3 Chadron State 7-2
4 Indianapolis 7-2
5 West Texas A&M 8-1
6 Saginaw Valley State 7-2
7 Missouri S&T 8-1
8 Midwestern State 7-1
9 Grand Valley State 7-2
10 New Mexico Highlands 7-2
Housewright Is Rarely Wrong
Housewright has thrown 363 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's streak is the longest in NCAA Division II history. The only quarterback in any NCAA division with a longer streak is Russell Wilson (North Carolina State, 2008-09) with 379 consecutive passes without a pick.
Housewright is second at AU in career touchdown passes, career yards passing, career completions and career pass attempts. As of this week, Housewright's career completion percentage (65.3) is first, just ahead of Cundiff (64.5).
Housewright has set personal highs this year for completions, pass attempts and yards. He needs one more TD pass to equal his career high (24, 2010). This year, Housewright has completed 186-of-274 passes for 2,460 yards and 23 touchdowns.
As Ashland's starting quarterback, Housewright is 23-8 (74.2 percent). In his career, he's directed the Eagles to victories over three teams ranked in the nation's Top 20. Two of those teams were ranked in the Top 10.
Housewright's career numbers can be found below.
Games Completions Attempts Percent Yards TD Int
36 524 803 65.3 6,648 62 12
More Interception Talk
Some AU fans last week chided the AU athletic department for mentioning Housewright's streak. They come from the school of thought that a broadcaster should not mention when a no-hitter is in progress for fear of jinxing the pitcher.
Housewright doesn't buy into any of that.
"It will happen, it should have happened already," admitted Housewright.
Housewright made a good point that as a quarterback, he needs to be careful, but he can't be so careful that he's hesitant to take risks. There are times when a quarterback has to gamble that he can get a ball through heavy coverage. There are instances where a quarterback needs to throw the ball deep down the field in what might could be described as a low percentage pass.
"You have to make smart, aggressive decisions," said Housewright.
"I've not mentioned it once and I've not mentioned it to the offensive staff," said Owens. "We talk about taking care of the football each week, not forcing the ball, but we do that every week."
Owens concedes that to have a streak like this, some good fortune is involved. But this is not just dumb luck. The quarterback who started at AU before Housewright, Billy Cundiff, is the NCAA Division II record holder for lowest interception percentage for a career and a season. That means for six seasons, AU quarterbacks have treated the football like a rare family heirloom.
"Our system has been quarterback friendly in terms of keeping guys healthy and making good decisions," said Owens when pressed about the success of Housewright and Cundiff in protecting the football. "It slows down everything for them, they don't get surprised by a read."
Owens said that early in Housewright's career, the coaching staff discovered several plays he wasn't comfortable with. Those were deleted. As for the other plays in the game plan, it's obvious that Housewright has an exceptionally good handle on those.
Seeing Red
The Eagles are scoring on 91 percent (43-of-47) of their trips into the red zone this season. That's Ashland's best figure since the statistic started being tabulated in 2007. AU has scored touchdowns 74 percent of the time (35-of-47) it has reached the red zone. Listed below are AU's year-by-year figures in the red zone.
2011 – 80% (35-44) 2008 – 74% (45-61)
2010 – 81% (44-54) 2007 – 78% (43-55)
2009 – 84% (62-74)
Southern Express
Over the last two weeks, sophomore tailback Anthony Taylor (Arlington, Va./Washington-Lee) has rushed for 377 yards on 46 carries (8.2 ypc.). For the year, Taylor has gained 904 yards. Taylor has a chance to become just the second AU player in five years to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. The last player to rush for 1,000 yards was D.J. McCoy (1,344 yards) in 2010.
"I think we've seen a progression in his play," noted Owens. "He's a better tailback today than he was in week one. I was watching some cutups from week one and he's better today. He sees the field better, his balance is better, he has a little juke to him, guys are missing him in the open field."
Owens also points out that Taylor has improved in catching the ball out of the backfield and in pass protection. Last week against Findlay, on a second-and-six play from the UF 18-yardline, Taylor slipped out of the backfield and caught a pass for a 13-yard gain. That led to the touchdown that put AU ahead, 21-7.
"He couldn't do that in week one," said Owens.
Loosening Up At Tight End
Slavinski, AU's sophomore tight end, had his best game of the season last week. He had three catches for 23 yards, including a 5-yard touchdown grab.
Slavinski saw more time against the Oilers than he had at any time this year. There's a reason for that – the sophomore had a great week of practice and he's settling in at tight end. At the beginning of the season, the Eagles moved him from fullback to tight end due to the presence of two rookie fullbacks – Steve Nagy (Hudson, Ohio) and Jordan Crayon (Toledo, Ohio/Rogers).
"It took the first part of the season for him to get comfortable," explained Owens. "That's as well as we've had a tight end play in a long time. He was our one-back tight end and our H-back."
Close-Out Corner
McMillan has consistently given the Eagles a cornerback who can make receivers disappear. Owens and the coaching staff have a great deal of confidence in his ability to shut down the best receivers in the conference.
"We had him on an island a bunch," said Owens, thinking back to the Findlay game. "Mike is so consistent. Last year against Findlay was a big deal for him. This year's Findlay game was a big deal. Last Thursday after practice we looked out and there was Mike working on his backpedal. He's so conscientious about things all the time."
Owens says that as good as McMillan's physical tools are, his mental makeup is even better.
"He has the great mentality to be a corner," explained the AU head coach. "He turns the page. If you worry about a pass caught against you, you're in trouble. Mentally, he can put it away."
Where Do They Go From Here?
Owens said the offensive line took a major step forward against Findlay and probably played its best game of the season. The defense, after allowing a touchdown on the first possession of the game, shut down the Oilers. The special teams were solid in every facet.
So, why is Owens walking around with a furrowed brow this week?
The way the AU head coach sees it, his team has several obstacles to get by this week. First of all, last week was a rivalry game and with that comes an emotional rush. What happens the next week against a foe who's really a newcomer on the schedule (this is the fifth meeting)? This week's practices have been affected by rain and wind. A year ago, Tiffin threw the ball 57 times against AU. That figures to happen again this Saturday and with the conditions in Ashland this week, simulating that offense was next to impossible.
To combat all of this, Owens said he would look for ways to increase the intensity of this week's practices. He planned to match the starting offense against the starting defense.
"We'll go good on good," said Owens. "That's unusual. I'm so worried we'll take a step backward. When we make it competitive, they (players) turn it up. I think we need to do more of that this week."
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 18 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
Findlay Triplett Lerman/Houska Winters
Yard Markers and Milestones
- McMillan, Meder and Bloom had 10 tackles each last week. That's the first time Ashland had three players reach twin figures in tackles since Sept. 18, 2010 against Hillsdale when Carmon Wolfe had 13 tackles, Julian Goodwine recorded 12 stops and Tarrell Lewis was in on 11 tackles.
- 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.
- Capasso has 50 catches this season. This marks the sixth time under Owens a receiver has had 50 or more catches. This is the second time Capasso has reached that level – he had a career-high 53 catches in 2011.
- AU has scored 30 or more points in seven consecutive games. The last time that happened was in 2010. The Eagles also had a seven-game streak of 30+ games in 2007. AU has never scored 30+ points in eight straight games.
- The Eagles have outscored the opposition, 194-56 in the first half this season. In the second quarter, AU has a 105-21 edge.
- Three teams have scored 21 points against AU this season. No team has scored more.
- No one can accuse the Eagles of dallying around. Twice this season AU has played a game in under 2:20 – 2:17 vs. Wayne State and 2:18 vs. Walsh.
- 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) and then spent two weeks at No. 6.
The Scouting Report – Tiffin Dragons
Head Coach – Gary Goff (Second Season/2-18)
Last Year's Record – 0-11/0-10 GLIAC
Noteworthy
Head coach Gary Goff is in his second season as the head coach…the Tiffin offense is called the Air Raid Offense and last year, quarterback James Capello set a school, single-season record for completion percentage (.692)…after going winless a year ago the Dragons have two wins this year. Tiffin downed McKendree in its opener, 23-13 and has a conference victory against Notre Dame (27-22)…Tiffin enters this week's game with a two-game losing streak. Last week, the Dragons lost at Ohio Dominican, 31-14. At halftime, the Dragons trailed by just, 21-14…this is Tiffin's fifth year playing GLIAC football.
Watch List
Quarterback Dan Pitts, a 6-4, 210-pound junior, has completed 114-of-184 passes (62.0) for 1,165 yards with seven touchdowns and three interceptions. Pitts completed 22-of-38 passes last week for 286 yards and two touchdowns…Capello has completed 108-of-171 passes (63.2) for 956 yards with six touchdown passes and five picks…wide receiver Obadiah Dykes has 45 receptions for 599 yards (13.3 ypc.). The 6-2, 203-pound senior has reached the end zone three times…Marcus Beaurem, a 5-11, 185-pound sophomore wide receiver, has 35 receptions for 291 yards (8.3 ypc.). Beaurem has returned 10 kickoffs and is averaging 17.8 ypr…running back Kevin Humphrey, a 5-9, 202-pound senior, gained a team-high 78 yards on 13 carries last week at ODU. That was his second game of the season…Tiffin's leading rusher is Dominique White, a 5-9, 205-pound junior. White has 438 yards on 91 trips (4.8 ypc.)…defensive back Brandon Person, a 6-1, 185-pound junior, has a team-leading 69 tackles (45 solo) with two interceptions…defensive lineman Joseph Collard, a 6-4, 240-pound junior, has 54 tackles (26 solo)…Stefan Willis, a 6-0, 185-pound freshman defensive back, had 12 tackles at Ohio Dominican. Willis has returned 12 kickoffs and averages 18.4 ypr…Seth Petkoe handles the kicking and punting chores. He's 6-of-9 on field goal tries and is averaging 37.8 ypp.
Up Next
The Eagles return home to play Notre Dame next Saturday (Nov. 10, 1 p.m.). That's also Senior Day.
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