No. RV Eagles Open Campaign With Home Defeat To No. RV Crimson Hawks

In the 2024 lid-lifter at Jack Miller Stadium/Martinelli Field on Thursday (Sept. 5) night, the No. RV Ashland University football team lost a 19-10 game to fellow No. RV Indiana, Pa..
 
The loss snaps the Eagles' eight-game winning streak, which came at the end of the 2023 season.
 
"We made too many mistakes to win the game against a good football team," said Ashland head coach Doug Geiser. "In all three phases. You start on special teams first. We pride ourselves on winning the game on special teams, and we gave up 10 points on special teams, in essence.
 
"I thought offensively, we need more than 10 points. You've got to get points when they are there for you to get. Bottom line is they made more plays than we did to win the game."
 
Following a bad punt snap, IUP opened the game's scoring with 7:38 left in the opening quarter on an 11-yard touchdown run by running back Adam Houser. The Crimson Hawks extended their lead to 10-0 thanks to a 33-yard field goal from Nick Andrasi with 1:57 remaining in the first.
 
Another Andrasi field goal, this from 31 yards, put IUP ahead 13-0 with 10 ticks to go in the first half.
 
Ashland took the opening drive of the second half and went 94 yards for its first points of the night. Senior quarterback Trevor Bycznski found senior wide receiver Jent Joseph on the run down the right sideline for a 35-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 13-7.
 
The Crimson Hawks, however, went back up by two scores with two minutes remaining in the third quarter. Quarterback Karst Hunter connected with wide receiver Maurice Massey for a 15-yard score and a 19-7 advantage.
 
On the last play of the third quarter, junior kicker A.J. Rhodes hit a 38-yard field goal – but Ashland went into the final period down two scores at 19-10.
 
To begin the final stanza, IUP went down the field – chewing up clock along the way. A punt came after taking 6:02 off the clock, which didn't leave the Eagles with much time. Ashland's fourth-and-21 attempt from the Crimson Hawks' 36-yard line came up short, and the visitors got the ball back with 4:51 to play.
 
…AND THE REST OF THE STORY

• Bycznski was 23-for-35 for 279 yards and a touchdown.
• Sophomore linebacker Jack Talkington made a team-high 13 tackles (10 solo) and had a tackle for loss, while junior safety Bobby Young picked off a pass.
• "He did a nice job," Geiser said of Talkington. "Jack's got a great sense for the ball. He doesn't play like a sophomore."
• "Defense, I thought, played their tails off. They hung in there. We had the defense on the field way too long."
• IUP is 5-0 all-time against Ashland.

UP NEXT
A Week 2 game on Sept. 14 at 6 p.m. at No. 3 Ferris State (0-1, home game on Saturday (Sept. 7) night vs. Lake Erie).