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FB home win over Thomas More 10-28-23
20
Thomas More TMU 4-5 , 3-4
28
Winner Ashland ASH 6-3 , 6-1
Thomas More TMU
4-5 , 3-4
20
Final
28
Ashland ASH
6-3 , 6-1
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
TMU Thomas More 0 10 3 7 20
ASH Ashland 0 21 0 7 28

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

Eagle Football Staves Off Saints For Fifth Consecutive Win

Ashland University's football team used four touchdown passes, two blocked kicks and timely defense to defeat Thomas More, 28-20, on Saturday (Oct. 28) afternoon at Jack Miller Stadium/Martinelli Field.
 
A fifth consecutive victory moves the Eagles to 6-3 overall and 6-1 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, and they continue to be one game behind first-place Tiffin and tied for second place in the league with Findlay.
 
The Saints, in their first season in NCAA Division II, are 4-5, 3-4.
 
Ashland has clinched its 16th consecutive season with a .500 record or better (2007-19, 2021-23), and the program also has its 17th season of six or more wins this century.
 
NOTABLES
  • Following a scoreless first quarter, Thomas More dented the scoreboard first when quarterback Rae'Von Vaden found tight end Mike Kirch for a 6-yard touchdown pass 46 seconds into the second stanza. The Saints extended their lead to 10-0 with 12:45 to go until halftime on a 40-yard field goal by Luke Iden – following the Eagles' first lost fumble of 2023.
  • Ashland responded with an 18-yard scoring strike from junior quarterback Trevor Bycznski to senior wide receiver Jake McLoughlin at the 10:04 mark. Bycznski's 51-yard catch-and-run touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Tony Pannunzio with 4:28 to go until the break gave AU its first lead of the day at 14-10.
  • Following an intercepted screen pass by junior defensive tackle Collin Strong, it didn't take long for the Eagles to move ahead by 11 at 21-10. Bycznski's third TD toss of the half – a three-yarder to redshirt freshman tight end Brock Henne – gave Ashland a two-score advantage at the 3:16 mark.
  • To start the second half, Iden made his second field goal of the game, a 41-yarder, to move the Saints to within one score at 21-13 just 2:26 into the third quarter. But Bycznski had the answer with 12:18 left in the game, throwing his fourth touchdown pass of 19 yards to junior wide receiver Jent Joseph.
  • Vaden found wide receiver Freddie Johnson for a 14-yard touchdown pass to move the Saints to within 28-20 with 8:57 to play, then Thomas More got the ball back following a punt at its own 13-yard line. Ashland, however, forced a punt and milked the rest of the clock.
  • Bycznski was 18-for-29 for 201 yards and a career-high four touchdown passes
  • Ashland blocked a field goal and a punt on Saturday, moving its season blocked kick total to nine – by seven different players.
QUOTABLES
  • "The kids played physical, hung together," said Ashland head coach Doug Geiser, "and starting 0-2, I challenged the seniors, the lettermen, to have the team stick together, hold the team together, and keep fighting, believe in the process. Now, it's six out of seven, including five straight. Kudos to them. I attribute all that to the team."
  • "It feels good," said Strong. "We opened the season losing two, which kind of hurt, but credit to the guys, the captains and coaches especially, they kept us on track."
UP NEXT
Senior Day and the 2008 team recognition on Nov. 4 at 1 p.m. at home vs. the Oilers (7-2, 6-1).
 
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