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FB
20
Ashland ASH 7-1 , 5-1
36
Winner Hillsdale HCO 5-4 , 4-3
Ashland ASH
7-1 , 5-1
20
Final
36
Hillsdale HCO
5-4 , 4-3
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
ASH Ashland 7 3 10 0 20
HCO Hillsdale 7 7 8 14 36

Game Recap: Football | | Dusty Sloan, Ashland University Director of Athletic Communications

No. 6 AU Football Loses At Hillsdale, 36-20

On Saturday (Oct. 29) afternoon in Michigan, the No. 6-ranked Ashland University football lost for the first time in 2022, dropping a 36-20 decision to longtime rival Hillsdale in the Traveling Trophy game.
 
The Eagles are 7-1 overall and 5-1 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, and are tied in the loss column with Tiffin atop the league standings. The Chargers are 5-4, 4-3.
 
As announced by the NCAA on Monday (Oct. 24) afternoon, Ashland is one of 10 teams under consideration for a spot in the NCAA Division II postseason from Super Region 1. The next super region rankings, which will be in rank order, are on Monday (Oct. 31) afternoon.
 
WHAT HAPPENED
  • Ashland took the opening kickoff and methodically went down the field to take the early lead. Capping off a 16-play, 80-yard drive, senior quarterback Austin Brenner went into the end zone on a 10-yard touchdown run for a 7-0 Eagle advantage.
  • Hillsdale countered and tied the game at 7 on its first possession with a TD following a 10-play, 79-yard drive which ended with a one-yard scoring run from quarterback Luke Keller.
  • Another long Eagle drive – 10 plays and 61 yards – resulted in AU taking the lead thanks to a 25-yard field goal from redshirt freshman kicker A.J. Rhodes with 4:53 left until halftime.
  • The back-and-forth of long scoring drives continued as, with 53 seconds until halftime, Charger running back Michael Herzog scored on a one-yard run to put Hillsdale ahead 14-10 at the break.
  • Rhodes finished off a 10-play, 65-yard drive midway through the third quarter with a 32-yard field goal to make it a 14-13 contest. The Chargers countered with a 42-yard touchdown pass from Keller to H-back Ty Williams, then a two-point conversion, to move to a 22-13 lead.
  • Faced with a two-score deficit (largest of the season against AU) late in the third quarter, the Eagles got to work, starting with a 55-yard scoring pass from Brenner to senior wide receiver Garrett Turnbaugh to cut their deficit to 22-20.
  • The Chargers, however, got the lead back to nine points at 29-20 when sophomore defensive back Jackson Gillock intercepted Brenner and took it back 17 yards for a score. Hillsdale then got the ball back on the next AU drive after a fumble by junior tailback Larry Martin, and drove the length of the field for the capping score, a seven-yard run by Herzog with 3:56 to go.
 
THE WRAP-UP
  • Turnbaugh turned in his third consecutive 100-yard receiving game, grabbing six passes for 126 yards and the TD. Brenner was 21-for-34 and 265 yards, one TD and one interception passing.
  • Ashland's linebackers – senior Michael Ayers and junior Jackson Myers – each had 12 total tackles, while Ayers added a tackle for loss and a half-sack.
 
UP NEXT
Ashland's last regular-season road game will be Nov. 5 at 4 p.m. against Lake Erie (3-6, 3-4).
 
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