Box Score Saturday night at Miller Stadium/Martinelli Field, midway through the first half, Northern Michigan quarterback Cody Scepaniak and Ashland head coach Lee Owens both pulled up lame.
Scepaniak never returned. Owens never wanted to leave.
The Eagles scored 31 second quarter points, 17 points in the last 2:44 of the half, on the way to a 52-24 victory. The win is AU's first of the season. The Eagles are 1-3, 1-2 in GLIAC play. The Wildcats are 1-2 overall and in the league. Northern Michigan hasn't won in Ashland since 1990.
Scepaniak got roughed up by an AU defense that was surly after seeing the Eagles fall behind 10-0. The injury Owens sustained was self-inflicted. After watching freshman tailback Vance Settlemire score on a 47-yard pass from freshman quarterback Tra'Von Chapman, Owens sprinted down the sideline to offer his congratulations. That's when his calf gave out on him.
"I ran down to congratulate him and I was hobbled the rest of the game," said Owens of his pulled calf muscle. "That was a mistake."
That was one of the few miscues the Eagles made in the second quarter. The key play that turned the game around for AU came 20 seconds into the frame when tailback Anthony Taylor broke free and ran 75 yards for a touchdown that cut the NMU lead to 10-7. Taylor would finish with 119 yards on 19 carries. This was his third 100-yard game of the season.
"Once AT broke that long run it kind of boosted us up," said Chapman.
In the first quarter, Taylor had eight carries for one yard. The Wildcats seemed to have his every move down pat.
"It was scary," admitted Owens. "They were playing a heavy box and taking chances with their blitzes."
The Chapman-to-Settlemire touchdown pass came with 8:23 to play in the half and put the Eagles in front, 14-10. With 2:44 to go before halftime, freshman Anthony McCarthy kicked the first field goal of his college career, a 26-yarder, to extend the lead to 17-10. McCarthy took over the placement chores after winning a competition on Thursday with incumbent Greg Gallaway. McCarthy ended up going 7-for-7 on extra point attempts and making his lone field goal try. Asked if that was enough to give him the starting job, Owens replied, "Maybe we'll have another competition next week."
With 1:17 to go before the intermission, the AU special teams got into the act. Cory Blackstock blocked a punt and defensive back Kyle Tomko scooped up the ball and ran 17 yards for a touchdown. McCarthy's extra point made it 24-10.
"We hadn't been electric, we hadn't scored," said Owens of his special teams.
On their next possession, the Wildcats couldn't get a first down and the Eagles used two timeouts to stop the clock. On a third-and-10 play from the NMU 25, Tomko intercepted a Dustin Thomas pass at the AU 45-yardline and returned the ball 34 yards to the NMU 21-yardline. Thomas was in the game because Scepaniak was out with his leg injury.
After a running play lost six yards, Chapman threw a perfect pass to Dan Piko in the corner of the end zone. The play covered 27 yards and AU took a 31-10 lead to the locker room.
The Wildcats never challenged from that point forward. In the second half, AU scored on touchdown runs of 5 and 3 yards by Settlemire and freshman quarterback Austin Bruns hit a wide-open Matt Schweitzer in the end zone with a 9-yard pass.
Bruns completed 6-of-7 passes for 84 yards and a touchdown and Chapman was 9-of-16 for 164 yards and two touchdowns. Chapman rushed for 30 yards on five carries. The two didn't alternate series, at times they alternated plays.
"Offensively, this isn't half of what we can do as a team," said Chapman. "Practice makes perfect. This week we practiced, practiced, practiced. Every play we ran this week we practiced 20 times a day. Tonight, compared to last week was do or die. There are no excuses, I'm a quarterback and I have to pick the offense up."
Owens said after the game he's still not comfortable switching back and forth between the two rookie quarterbacks. Chapman insists it's no big deal.
"For me, it's not hard at all," said the transfer from Pittsburgh. "I respect all the coaches and Coach Owens. They've been doing this a long time. Whatever they want to do, I'm not going to disagree with that. Austin Bruns has been here all summer, busted his butt. He deserves to start."
Both quarterbacks were aided by a ground game that accounted for a season-high 251 yards (6.3 ypc.). The Eagles were 7-for-11 on third down conversions. Those two numbers go hand-in-hand.
"What did they rush for – 251 yards?" asked NMU coach Chris Ostrowsky. "That lends itself to short down and distance. That led to their success."
AU led in total yardage, 507-375. Piko had six receptions for 113 yards. The defensive charge was led by defensive lineman Jamie Meder, who had 10 tackles (five solo).
Scepaniak was 10-for-14 for 117 yards before he departed. Thomas was 8-for-11 for 102 yards and two touchdowns. Keyondre Craig caught five passes for 112 yards and a touchdown.
The Eagles will play at Lake Erie next Saturday (Oct. 5, 1 p.m.).
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