Eagles Survive For Homecoming Win Over Storm, 42-41

It was a special victory for Ashland University's football team on Homecoming on Saturday (Oct. 23) afternoon.
 
Following the 42-41 win at Jack Miller Stadium/Martinelli Field, who the first player to ring the victory bell? Injured junior quarterback Austin Brenner.
 
"We've been in so many close games where we played a lot better and didn't win," said Ashland head coach Lee Owens. "To be in a close game and really not have our best day, and get a couple breaks at the end and find a way to win a game, it feels good and we're going to take it.
 
"Having Austin Brenner here's a big deal. Homecoming is about family, and the Eagle football family, he's such a big part of that. And to be able to give him the game football, it meant a lot to our team today."
 
The Eagles improve to 3-4 overall and 2-2 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, while the Storm are 4-4, 1-3.
 
WHAT HAPPENED

• The Storm took the game's first drive and went 64 yards in 11 plays, and went ahead 7-0 on a five-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Gerald Gardner to wide receiver Nate Dantley.
• Ashland didn't waste any time countering, tying the game on its first possession. Sophomore tailback Larry Martin scored on a five-yard run to cap a 10-play, 62-yard drive. Martin then ended the next drive with his second scoring jaunt of the first quarter, an 11-yarder, for a 14-7 Eagle advantage.
• Lake Erie came back for the second tie of the game at the 14:09 mark, as Gardner found tight end Jack Howard for a one-yard score.
• The Eagles took the lead once more with 8:39 left until halftime, when junior safety Justin Moore took a bouncing punt 67 yards to the end zone for a 21-14 advantage. The Storm came back on the ensuing drive and knotted the score for a third time on a one-yard TD dive from Devin Brown.
• Freshman quarterback Trent Maddox found junior wide receiver Malik Wooldridge in stride for a 53-yard scoring strike to once again give the Eagles the lead at 28-21 with 1:50 left to the break. The first-half pattern continued with 22 seconds left, as Gardner found Josh Hufstetler for the tying 28-yard touchdown toss.
• In the game's first 30 minutes, the two teams ran up 56 points, 29 first downs and 470 yards of offense.
• After the Eagles punted on their first drive of the second half, the Storm missed a 25-yard field goal. The scoring pace for both teams slowed down considerably, then Lake Erie went up 35-28 after a Gardner-to-Eric Daniels 15-yard scoring strike with 2:01 to go in the third quarter.
• Early in the fourth quarter, Ashland got back even again – the fifth tie of the contest – when senior fullback Austin Williams dove in from a yard out. Sophomore tailback Gei'vonni Washington then went 16 yards on a handoff for the go-ahead score at 42-35 following an interception by junior defensive tackle Curtis Roupe.
• Lake Erie scored on a 25-yard TD pass from Gardner to Daniels, but the extra point hit the left goalpost – leaving the Storm down by a point with 6:08 to play. Ashland proceeded to run the clock out for its third win of the season.

 
NOTES

• Martin (15 carries, 138 yards, two TDs) and Washington (18 carries, 100 yards, one TD) each reached the century mark in rushing, as the Eagles ran for 297 yards as a team.
• Junior linebacker Michael Ayers once again paced the AU defense, recording 12 total tackles and two stops for loss.
• In addition to the punt return score, Moore added 10 total tackles.

 
UP NEXT
Ashland will finish the home portion of the 2021 schedule on Oct. 30 at 1 p.m. against Hillsdale (4-4, 3-1).