Ashland University football had not beaten the Grand Valley State Lakers since 1993.

Despite not playing against GVSU in football since 2009, the Lakers had dominated the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic conference matchup with the Eagles in many different sports and as an athletic program as a whole.

Grand Valley has consistently edged out Ashland in the Learfield Cup Standings the past decade, the award given to the best all around athletic team in the country. 

That script completely switched on Nov. 1 when the Eagles traveled to Allendale, Mich. and dominated the Lakers 37-14.

Not only did the win help Ashland overcome a 21-year drought against GVSU, but the win was also critical in the Eagle’s NCAA Division II playoff hopes.

AU (8-1, 8-1) flexed its muscles in the first half of the game, scoring 20 points thanks to two touchdown passes from Eagle quarterback Travis Tarnowski and two field goals from kicker Aiden Simenc. 

Tarnowski’s first touchdown pass occurred with the Eagles already leading 3-0 with 5:10 left in the first quarter.

After the Eagle’s offense started the drive on their own two-yard line, Tarnowski connected with receiver Dan Piko for a 27 yard score to put Ashland up 10-0 after the extra point. 

That score put Ashland up 10-0 early in the game and it wouldn’t be the last time that Tarnowski and Piko teamed up for a big play in the game. 

In the second quarter, Tarnowski threw a ball down the left sideline and Piko made a diving, one-handed catch on third down to move the chains for Ashland. 

Piko’s catch ended up earning national recognition as the third-ranked play on ESPN Sportcenter’s “Top Ten” plays. 

Piko’s catch would help set up another Simenc field goal in the second quarter put Ashland up 13-0, but Ashland wasn’t done scoring as they got the ball back with just over two minutes to play in the half. 

The Eagle’s signal caller would orchestrate a 10 play, 76-yard drive that ended with an 18-yard touchdown strike to receiver Kamaron Green to give Ashland the 20-point advantage entering halftime. 

Tarnowski completed six of eight passes for 50 yards on the drive.

The first half was also an impressive performance by the Eagle’s defense.

In addition to giving up zero points in the half, Ashland held Grand Valley to 139 total yards in the first half and caused the Lakers to turn the ball over on downs twice. 

Ashland would carry its offensive momentum over from the first half into the second when running back Anthony Taylor sprinted 37 yards to the end zone to give Ashland the 27-0 lead with 5:41 left in the third quarter.

After turning the ball over on downs again to start the half, Grand Valley (4-5, 4-4) finally got onto the scoreboard with 1:55 remaining in the third quarter.

Laker quarterback Heath Parling threw a 28 yard score to receiver Jamie Potts, making the score 27-7 after the extra point. 

Ashland would answer a drive later with another Anthony Taylor touchdown run, this time from 15 yards out, to put Ashland in complete control of the game leading 34-7 with 12:33 left to play in the game.

Taylor finished as the game’s leading rusher with 123 yards on 19 carries. Taylor is currently fourth in the GLIAC in rushing with1107 yards and rushing touchdowns with 12. 

Tarnowski finished the game completing 27 of 49 passes for 349 yards and two scores. Tarnowski is ranked third in the conference with 1917 total passing yards. 

His favorite target for the game was Piko, who tied a career high in catches with nine for 112 yards.

It was the 20th 100-yard receiving game for Piko in his Ashland career. 

 Other notable individual performances for Ashland against the Lakers included those of linebackers Cody Bloom and Chris Harvey. 

Bloom, who is ranked third in the GLIAC in total tackles (84), had a game-high 12 tackles. Harvey added eight more tackles including 1.5 sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss.

As a whole, Ashland’s defense ranks first in the conference in points allowed per game. The team’s season average is 17.1 points per game, while they have only allowed an average of 11.0 points per game in their past five contests. 

Simenc finished the game making all three of his field goal attempts and all four extra point tries. 

Ashland has now won six games in a row, which is the team’s longest winning streak since winning its first 11 games in 2012. 

AU is now ranked 22nd in the AFCA Coaches’ Poll and remains the seventh-ranked team in Super Region Four. The top six teams in the super region qualify for the NCAA playoffs. 

Ashland’s final regular season game of the season will be Nov. 8 at 20th ranked Michigan Tech in Houghton, Mich. on the state’s upper peninsula. 

Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.