No. 12 Eagles Lose Late At No. 16 Crimson Hawks

In one of only two Top 25 NCAA Division II football matchups to begin the 2023 season, No. 12 Ashland University lost 24-17 to No. 16 Indiana, Pa., on Thursday (Aug. 31) night.
 
Thursday night's game was a rematch of a 2022 second-round D-II postseason game, a 19-13 Eagle loss. This is the first time the Eagles have started a new season against the team which was the last opponent the year before since 1959-60 (Manchester). In 1959, then-Ashland College ended with a 14-12 home loss to Manchester, but turned around to begin 1960 with a 13-0 road win.
 
Ashland's defeat came despite the Eagles forcing three turnovers and blocking two IUP punts.
 
After Eagle freshman defensive tackle Brady Winner blocked an IUP punt following the first drive of the game, Ashland punted the ball back to the Crimson Hawks. IUP then went 86 yards in 10 plays to open the scoring on a 3-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Karst Hunter to wide receiver Derek Lockhart.
 
A second AU blocked punt, this one by redshirt freshman cornerback Isaac Brooks, in the final minute of the first quarter put the ball at the Crimson Hawks' 1-yard line, and senior tailback Larry Martin went in from a yard out to knot the score at 7 with 14 seconds to go in the opening period.
 
The Eagles missed an opportunity to take the lead in the second quarter after a short field goal went wide, then IUP used a 74-yard pass to set up a 2-yard scoring strike from Hunter to wide receiver Quinn Zinobile for a 14-7 Crimson Hawks lead with 23 ticks left in the first half.
 
After IUP missed its own field goal late in the third quarter, Ashland took advantage and re-tied the game at 14 with 14:14 left in regulation on a 8-yard rushing touchdown by senior wide receiver Dezmin Lyburtus.
 
Yet another Crimson Hawks special teams miscue, this one a muffed punt recovered by junior wide receiver Jent Joseph at the IUP 2-yard line, set up sophomore kicker A.J. Rhodes for the go-ahead 18-yard field goal for Ashland's first lead of the night at 17-14 with 8:12 left in the fourth.
 
A 27-yard IUP field goal with four minutes to play gave the game its third tie score at 17-all. The Crimson Hawks then had one more shot to win at the end, and did so on a 46-yard Hunter-to-Zinobile touchdown pass with 1:20 to go.
 
NOTABLES

• A defensive effort which collected five sacks and 10 tackles for loss was led by senior linebacker Jackson Myers, who had 3½ tackles for loss among his eight total tackles, and sophomore safety Bobby Young, who recorded nine total tackles and an interception.
• IUP out-gained AU by a 366-189 margin.

 
UP NEXT
The first home game of 2023 at Jack Miller Stadium/Martinelli Field, Sept. 9 at 7 p.m. against No. 1-ranked Ferris State.