Ashland University's football team has its first winning streak of 2023, as a second straight win – 21-7 on Saturday (Oct. 7) night against Walsh at Jack Miller Stadium/Martinelli Field – has put the Eagles back to the .500 mark on the season.
The Eagles are 3-3 overall and 3-1 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, remaining one game behind first-place Tiffin, while the Cavaliers are 2-4, 2-2.
Ashland has won all nine meetings all-time against Walsh on the gridiron.
NOTABLES
- Ashland got on the board first with 15 seconds to go in the opening quarter. Junior quarterback Trevor Bycznski found senior wide receiver Jake McLoughlin for a six-yard touchdown pass and a 7-0 lead.
- The Eagles extended their lead to 13-0 with 1:40 to go until halftime when Bycznski found junior wide receiver Jent Joseph for a 25-yard catch-and-run TD.
- Walsh cut its deficit by taking the second-half kickoff and keeping the ball for 6:37. The drive, which went 90 yards and lasted 15 plays, was capped by a two-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Hayden Wickard to tight end Braeden Elwer.
- Bycznski's third touchdown pass of the game, a 27-yard catch-and-run down the left sideline to junior wide receiver Tony Pannunzio, then Bycznski's two-point conversion run, lifted the Eagles to a 21-7 lead with 8:07 to go in the game.
- Senior tailback Larry Martin finished with 18 carries for 131 yards, as the Eagles ran for 146 yards as a team. Bycznski was 15-for-28 for 232 yards and three TDs.
- On special teams, three of Bycznski's five punts were downed inside the five-yard line.
- Ashland has allowed single-digit points in back-to-back games for the first time since Oct. 8 and 15, 2022.
QUOTABLES
- "We made it hard, didn't we? A lot harder than it had to be," said Ashland head coach Doug Geiser, referring to nine penalties for 75 yards and an unusual amount of dropped passes. "We shot ourselves in the foot, especially in the third quarter, offensively. The guys responded to the challenge we gave them."
UP NEXT
Ashland will go back on the road on Saturday (Oct. 14) at 1 p.m. for another Great Midwest game at Northwood (2-4, 2-2). The Timberwolves won at home on Saturday against Findlay, 33-30.
