It’s not every day that you see a 56-year record get snapped. But, one of those days occurred on Nov. 1, when one of the longest-standing records in the Ashland football program was broken. Redshirt freshman Manaki Watanabe snuck a 59-yard field goal to close the second quarter of Ashland’s 23-16 victory over Walsh. This broke the school record from 1969, when Gary Kester made a 52-yarder.

Not only was this a monumental moment in Eagles football history, but that field goal could be a huge moment in the season overall. At the time of the score, Ashland had been struggling to find consistent offense, but that field goal gave the Eagles momentum heading into the second half that eventually led to the win, keeping their hopes of a GMAC title alive.

For Watanabe, this was an incredible moment that ensured he had made the right decision to play college football. “During high school, my plan was to play soccer in college, but around junior year, I made the decision to play college football instead and started taking kicking seriously,” Watanabe said. As time went on through his high school soccer career, his football coaches told him to give kicking a shot, and it has paid off.

In the most high-pressure situations, Watanabe believes that kicking comes down to your mentality. “Kicking is 90 percent mental, and the rest is going through your routine to kick a good ball in games,” he told The Collegian. “Words cannot describe the feeling I had when I made the 59-yarder.”

Watanabe is now 14-for-15 on field goals this season, which ranks number one in the nation percentage-wise.

The Eagles have won their last seven games, all in Great Midwest Athletic Conference action. Watanabe thinks that Ashland’s versatility on all sides of the ball have allowed the team to flourish. “Our offense and defense have been on a roll,” Watanabe said, “But I think special teams is what changes the game. Our head coach, Doug Geiser, takes pride in our special teams and how well we do on all three sides of the ball.”

Watanabe and the Eagles look for their eighth straight win in a huge game on Nov. 8 against the Findlay Oilers. Findlay is also an undefeated 7-0 GMAC team, who has not lost a single game this season with a 9-0 overall record.

Live game coverage can be found on wrdlfm.com, ashland.edu/jdm-streaming and ROCK Entertainment. For more on the Eagles, you can visit goashlandeagles.com.