Box Score Prior to Saturday night, Ashland University's football team averaged 64.8 points per game all-time against Lake Erie College.
The 2014 season lid-lifter, therefore, went according to form, as the Eagles bettered their per-game average against the Storm in a 66-21 victory at Jack Miller Stadium/Martinelli Field.
"That's a really good offensive football team," Ashland head coach Lee Owens said of Lake Erie. "They had a lot of starters back. For the most part, our defense held them in check."
The win not only got Ashland's season off on the right foot, it also introduced the rest of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference to redshirt freshman quarterback Travis Tarnowski. Tarnowski, seeing his first collegiate action, was 18-for-29 for an AU stadium-record 374 yards and three touchdowns to three different receivers.
"When I talked to coach O and Coach (quarterbacks/passing game coordinator Tom) Stacy at the end of spring (practice), they said I had a good spring. They both told me, 'Come in and just act like you're going to be the starter. Study film like you're going to be the starter, because you never know what's going to happen.' I'm glad they gave me that advice. I definitely appreciate their trust in me and their confidence in me, because without them, I couldn't have done what I did."
Ashland ran out to a 28-0 first-half lead in a variety of ways. First, senior running back Anthony Taylor scored a 6-yard touchdown run, but the extra point was missed. Then, Tarnowski found senior wide receiver Eric Thompkins for a 32-yard touchdown pass.
Senior running back Jordan McCune scored on a 4-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter, but a second missed PAT left the score at 19-0. Just 10 seconds later, however, AU junior safety Kyle Tomko tackled Lake Erie quarterback Tyler Eden in the end zone for a safety, putting the Eagles ahead 21-0.
Tarnowski's second TD pass of the night – a 33-yard strike to senior wide receiver Dan Piko – put Ashland on top 28-0. The Storm got on the board on running back Anthony Bilal's 12-yard touchdown run late in the first half.
Ashland led 31-14 midway through the third quarter, and Lake Erie was on the verge of potentially gaining some more momentum, but Taylor sprinted 57 yards on a run for his second score of the game. He then scored his third rushing touchdown of the game – a 13-yarder – later in the third to put the game out of reach.
The Eagles racked up 673 yards of total offense in the victory, including big rushing nights from sophomore Vance Settlemire (nine carries, 99 yards, one touchdown), McCune (nine carries, 98 yards, two touchdowns) and Taylor (15 carries, 85 yards, three touchdowns). Piko caught eight passes for 135 yards and a score.
Ashland's defense, despite allowing 200 yards and two touchdowns on ground to Bilal, was bend-but-don't-break, yielding 415 yards but just three touchdowns. The Eagles also got the safety and forced two turnovers.
Senior linebacker Cody Bloom had 12 total tackles and a tackle for loss, while Tomko had the safety, nine total tackles, a sack and two tackles for loss.
In all, the Eagles had 13 tackles for loss.
The Eagles will play their second home night game in a row on Sept. 13, taking on fellow 1-0 GLIAC foe Walsh at 7 p.m.
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FB / DUSTY SLOAN
