Sophomore tailback
Ty'aris Stevenson had a four-touchdown game at Lake Erie earlier this season.
Stevenson did himself one better on Saturday (Nov. 16) afternoon at Jack Miller Stadium/Martinelli Field, scoring five rushing touchdowns in Ashland University football's 44-30 win over Kentucky Wesleyan which clinched the outright Great Midwest Athletic Conference championship.
Ashland concludes the regular season at 8-3 overall and 8-1 in the league – and won the program's 18
th all-time conference title.
The Panthers' season ends at 2-9, 1-8.
"We're still very, very, very, young, and you sometimes go through those situations where those young guys, they go with the ebbs and the flows of the game," Geiser said. "But they kept fighting.
"At the beginning of the season, we weren't playing like an Ashland football team. They had the fight and the grit like an Ashland team, and I'm proud of them cashing in today."
Said Stevenson, "It's just a credit to our offensive line and our receivers. I can't do it on my own. We're a team. Our chemistry is what's helping us, and I'm just doing my part.
"I give all the glory to God. I thank Him first, and I just keep working hard. And we're not done yet."
The Panthers got on the board first, as, with 3:29 remaining in the opening quarter, kicker Cole Cawthorne hit a 49-yard field goal. One play after an Eagle turnover on the ensuing kickoff, quarterback Harrison Burch found wide receiver Kam Sherrard for a 22-yard touchdown and a 10-0 KWC lead.
Ashland struck with a touchdown to cut the deficit to 10-7 when Stevenson went into the end zone on an eight-yard run up the middle. The Eagles then took their first lead of the afternoon with 9:48 to go in the first half on a 38-yard scoring strike from senior quarterback
Trevor Bycznski to sophomore wide receiver
Jamari Croom.
A blocked punt by junior linebacker
Zach Heintz set up a Stevenson 11-yard TD jaunt on the very next play – as two touchdowns in 68 seconds set Ashland up with a 21-10 lead.
Kentucky Wesleyan came back to score on a 33-yard Burch-to-Sherrard touchdown pass, but after a blocked extra point from junior defensive end
Michael Shimek, the Eagles' lead was 21-16 entering the last five minutes of the first half.
Stevenson's third touchdown run of the game, with 1:54 left in the half and from three yards away, lifted Ashland to a 27-16 lead after a missed extra point. But KWC punched back once again, thanks to a 76-yard touchdown pass from Burch to wide receiver Brohns Donaldson – and it was a 27-23 game late in the first half.
Junior kicker
A.J. Rhodes started the second-half scoring with a 21-yard field goal to make AU's lead a touchdown at 30-23, then Stevenson ran in from 29 yards for his fourth score of the game – and second four-TD contest of the fall – for a 37-23 advantage at the 8:08 mark of the third quarter.
The Panthers weren't going away, however, as running back Brandon Mackey scored on a two-yard TD run to cut the Ashland lead to 37-30 with 6:23 left in the third.
Shimek blocked a Panther field goal in the fourth quarter, then the offense cashed in thanks to Stevenson's fifth rushing TD, a two-yard run, to make it a 44-30 lead with 9:50 to go. That score tied the conference record for rushing touchdowns in a game.
SENIORS' SUCCESS…AND THE REST OF THE STORY
- Stevenson ran 35 times for 181 yards and the five TDs.
- "Something's click in the last few weeks," said Geiser. "He's not thinking about it too much. He's letting his ability show through. It's been beautiful to see, and I'm so proud of that kid."
- Senior Day was Saturday, and the Eagle seniors are 32-13 (.711) with two Great Midwest titles, a bowl game win and an NCAA Division II postseason appearance in 2022.
- "That's quite a legacy for this group of seniors," said Geiser.
- Ashland is 5-0 all-time vs. KWC.
- The two teams combined for 73 points and 871 yards.
UP NEXT
The NCAA Division II football playoff selection show on Sunday (Nov. 17) at 6 p.m..
