Three recovered fumbles and a late field goal lifted the No. RV Ashland University football team to a 9-7 win over Northwood on Saturday (Oct. 26) afternoon at Jack Miller Stadium/Martinelli Field.
The victory, the Eagles' sixth in a row, moves them to 6-2 overall and 6-0 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference – maintaining their lead atop the league. The Timberwolves are 4-4, 2-4.
"Two really good teams back to back," said Ashland head coach
Doug Geiser. "You go through a stretch where you're playing a lot of emotional games, a lot of tight games, a lot of good games against really good teams. And Thomas More and Northwood are really good teams.
"The kids did a great job fighting through. Special teams made some plays in key moments."
With 4:37 to go in the opening quarter, the Eagles struck first on an 18-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback
Trevor Bycznski to sophomore wide receiver
Jamari Croom. The extra point was blocked, but AU led 6-0.
"We put too much work in to come up short," Croom said. "We got the job done. No matter the situation, we always keep our head down and keep chopping wood, playing with confidence."
Late in the first period, Ricky Pearson returned an intercepted screen pass six yards to put the Timberwolves up 7-6.
The score stayed the same until the fourth quarter, when, following a fumble recovery by senior whip
Isaiah Clark, junior kicker
A.J. Rhodes nailed a 23-yard field goal to put the Eagles up 9-7 with 6:25 left in regulation.
Ashland survived a 48-yard field goal attempt which sailed wide left as the last seconds ticked off.
MORE BIG-TIME AU DEFENSE…AND THE REST OF THE STORY
- Ashland's defense recovered three fumbles on Saturday, giving it 13 takeaways in the last four games.
- "What can you say about the defense? The defense just played tremendous," Geiser said. "They pitched a shutout. The defense has played their tails off. I'm glad we have (defensive coordinator) Tim Rose on our team."
- Senior defensive end Jeffrey Barnett had two sacks among seven total tackles, while sophomore Ben Holzopfel finished with eight total tackles and two forced fumbles.
- Of Barnett, Geiser said, "I knew it was going to take him a little bit to knock the rust off. I figured hopefully, by about this time, he would knock the rust off. He looks like the same player he did in 2022 as this point."
- "We have a good to great player at every position, and that's what we emphasize," said Barnett, who leads the team with 6½ sacks in 2024. "The theme this week was the '85 Bears. They had one of the best defenses. We just watched the '85 Bears…and we all came in today with '85 Bears."
- Eagle interior defensive line coach John Saccomen coached in his 349th career game on Saturday, passing College Football Hall of Famer Dr. Fred Martinelli for most in program history.
UP NEXT
Back on the road on Saturday (Nov. 2) at 1 p.m. at Lake Erie (2-6, 1-5).
