No. 12 Eagles Hold Off Falcons, Advance To NCAA Second Round

It was in the high 20s on Saturday (Nov. 19) afternoon at Jack Miller Stadium/Martinelli Field.
 
Ashland University's football team felt a lot warmer than that following its 20-13 win over Notre Dame College in the first-round of the NCAA Division II playoffs. The No. 12-ranked Eagles (10-1) will move on to the second round of the postseason on Nov. 26 at Indiana, Pa. (9-1), while the No. T24-ranked Falcons' season ends at 9-3.
 
"Tough day, as you can imagine. It's three weeks in a row that we've played in inclement weather," said Ashland head coach Lee Owens. "This team's kind of built for that kind of scenario. It's kind of worked out in our favor.
 
"I'm really proud of these guys."
 
Saturday's win is Ashland's third all-time in the NCAA postseason, following 27-16 over Minnesota State-Mankato on Nov. 15, 2008 at Community Stadium, and 21-18 over Northwest Missouri State on Nov. 18, 2017 at Jack Miller Stadium/Martinelli Field.
 
The victory is Ashland's second over NDC this season. In Week 1 of the 2022 season, the Eagles defeated the Falcons at home, 31-14.
 
WHAT HAPPENED

• Following a Falcons interception, Notre Dame took the early lead on a 28-yard field goal from kicker Cameron Shirkey. The Falcons recovered an AU fumble in the first quarter, but punted following that possession.
• Ashland took the ball down the field to end the first quarter and start the second, and tied the game with 13:35 left until halftime on its own 28-yard field goal from redshirt freshman kicker A.J. Rhodes.
• Senior quarterback Austin Brenner shook off the two early turnovers and scored on a five-yard scoring scramble to put AU ahead 10-3. That capped off a 12-play, 65-yard drive, and gave the Eagles the lead with 5:10 until halftime.
• Shirkey's second field goal of the game, a 24-yarder, got NDC closer at 10-6 with 7:14 left in the third quarter. Ashland, however, immediately came back with the answer, with Brenner throwing a 12-yard TD pass to senior wide receiver Garrett Turnbaugh to increase the Eagle advantage to 17-6 with 4:23 left in the third.
• The Falcons scored their first TD of the game 36 seconds into the final quarter on an eight-yard pass from quarterback Isaiah Murphy to tight end C.J. Kiss. Ashland still had a 17-13 lead early in the fourth period.
• Rhodes came back with a career-long 44-yard field goal with 9:21 left in regulation to give the Eagles a touchdown lead at 20-13. Notre Dame marched down the field for the tying score, and faced a fourth-and-six at the AU 10. Junior defensive end Jeffrey Barnett sacked Murphy at the 20-yard line to effectively end the game.
• Ashland officially ended the game with sophomore tight end Nabil Abdus-Salaam recovered a fumble on an NDC punt return at the Falcon 28. Junior wide receiver Jake McLoughlin forced the fumble, his third special teams tackle of the day.
• "He's as good a special teams player as there is in the country," Owens said of McLaughlin. "He makes plays on all the teams, over and over again."

 
THE WRAP-UP

• Junior tailback Larry Martin ran 25 times for 135 yards, as the Eagles racked up 224 yards and a score on the ground.
• Senior wide receiver Logan Bolin caught five passes for 43 yards, and with 182 career grabs, he is one short of Michael Hull's all-time Ashland record of 183.
• The Eagles kept the Falcons to 13 points and 300 yards of offense – well below NDC's season averages of 33.2 points and 366.4 yards per game coming in.
• Ashland has won 10 games in a season for the fifth time (1972, 2012, 2015, 2017 and 2022).