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9-20-25 FB home win vs. Hillsdale
9
Hillsdale HIL 1-2 , 0-1
26
Winner Ashland ASH 2-1 , 1-0
Hillsdale HIL
1-2 , 0-1
9
Final
26
Ashland ASH
2-1 , 1-0
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
HIL Hillsdale 0 6 0 3 9
ASH Ashland 7 7 9 3 26

Game Recap: Football | | Dusty Sloan, Ashland University Director of Athletic Communications

No. RV Eagles Open Great Midwest, Home Schedule With Traveling Trophy Win Over Hillsdale

The Traveling Trophy stays in Ashland.
 
Ashland University's No. RV-ranked football team opened 2025 Great Midwest Athletic Conference and Jack Miller Stadium/Martinelli Field play on Saturday (Sept. 20) afternoon, doing so with a 26-9 win over Hillsdale in the 49th edition of the Traveling Trophy game.
 
The Eagles improve to 2-1 overall and 1-0 in the Great Midwest. The Chargers are 1-2, 0-1.
 
"All three phases of the game stepped up at the end," said Ashland head coach Doug Geiser. "There was a resolve today amongst the team. They wanted to hang on to the trophy and beat Hillsdale. They competed like Ashland men today. They stuck together, they showed some grit, they were disciplined, very selfless, played for each other."
 
Ashland has won six of seven overall in the series, and three in a row. The Eagles have defeated Hillsdale in each of the last four meetings at home, as well.
 
"It's a huge game," said senior quarterback Cameron Blair. "We know it's going to be a war. Doesn't matter what your record is. They are going to play you tough, and we are going to play them tough."
 
Blair took a read-option run left and went 23 yards for the game's first score with 2:52 left in the first quarter. That capped off an 80-yard, eight-play drive.
 
Hillsdale returned the favor on the first play of the second quarter, as running back Ben Ngishu also ran in for a touchdown from 23 yards out. The extra point was blocked, however, leaving AU with a 7-6 advantage.
 
Blair connected with junior wide receiver Jamari Croom for a four-yard touchdown pass on a slant, and the extra point moved the Eagles to a 14-6 lead with 2:22 left until halftime.
 
Following a fourth-down defensive stand late in the first half, Ashland – which allowed just 105 yards to Hillsdale – took that eight-point lead into the locker room.
 
The Eagle defense extended the lead to 20-6 just 2:50 into the third quarter, when, following a strip sack by sophomore defensive end Elisha Baldridge, fellow sophomore defensive end Darrius Atley ran 17 yards into the end zone for a 20-6 lead (extra point was blocked).
 
Freshman kicker Manaki Watanabe's 37-yard field goal at the 6:06 mark of the third gave the Eagles a three-score lead at 23-6. Hillsdale got those points back 11 seconds into the final period on a 25-yard field goal from kicker Jude Barton.
 
Watanabe's 31-yard field goal put AU back in a three-score lead at 26-9 with 3:20 remaining in the contest.


 
RECAPPING THE ALL-PHASES WIN
  • Blair finished 20-for-26 for 208 yards and a TD in the air, completing passes for seven different players. He also ran for 31 yards and a score.
  • Said Blair, "We have great skill players. We have two really good tight ends. We've got a fullback that's going to hit you in the mouth. And we've got seven or eight receivers that we can put in the game at any time, and they're going to catch the ball."
  • "It took a little bit, even though he had the spring and has been here for five years," Geiser said. "There's not a lot of game time under fire. Cam Blair's flat-out a warrior. I'm extremely proud of the way he stepped up. He played like the kid I recruited five years ago."
  • Baldridge had seven total tackles (four solo), 2½ tackles for loss, two sacks and a forced fumble, while sophomore linebacker Jack Talkington added eight total tackles, 1½ tackles for loss and a sack.
  • With a sack on Saturday, senior defensive end Michael Shimek has 7½ sacks in three games this fall.
  • "We want to beat these guys every year. The Traveling Trophy means a lot," Shimek said. "This game means a little bit more for both sides."
  • Atley finished with the scoop-and-score and a blocked extra point, as the AU defense racked up eight tackles for loss, five sacks and two takeaways.
  • "That's been a strength for us all season," Geiser said of the defensive ends. "I know Mike's getting a lot of accolades because of the sack totals he's putting up, but the other guys are playing hard, as well, and they are making plays when called upon."
  • Said Shimek, "It shows how deep our room is, it shows how great our coaches are."
NEXT UP
Back on the road for another conference game on Sept. 27 at noon at Northwood (3-0, 1-0).
 
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