Ashland University head football coach Lee Owens has been on the sidelines of football fields throughout the state of Ohio since 1977. 

In that time he has worked at the high school, division one and division two levels. 

So when he says his Eagles effort in their 45-23 win over Findlay on Sept. 27 is among the best he has ever seen on the road, it carries weight.  

“To beat a ranked team, a team that was undefeated, a team that was in first place in the conference, our rival at their stadium on their homecoming and to beat them soundly like we did, its as good of an effort as I have had a chance to be apart of on the road,” Owens said. 

Ashland came out fast with 17 points before the Oilers got on the scoreboard and finished strong with 21 fourth quarter points to put away the 25th ranked squad in division two football. 

The Ashland defense made the first key play of the game, stopping Findlay on a fourth and three on the Oilers’ opening drive.

 AU took over possession and marched down the field, setting up an Anthony McCarthy 29 yard field goal to put the Eagles on the board first, with a 3-0 lead.

The next play was another momentum shifting moment for AU, as freshman Dale Irby recovered a fumble on the kickoff, setting up Ashland deep in Findlay territory.

Jordan McCune capped the Ashland drive with a punishing plunge into the end zone from three yards to put the Eagles in front 10-0, just eight minutes into the contest. 

Following another fourth down stop by the defense, redshirt freshman quarterback Travis Tarnowski led the Eagles on a grueling 10 play 81 yard drive down the field. 

Facing a fourth down on the Oiler four yard line, the first year starter called his own number scoring his first collegiate rushing touchdown. Tarnowski’s score put the Eagles in front 17-0.

“Travis is mature beyond his years, he is making checks and decisions that you don’t expect a player to make until they are a junior or a senior,” Owens said.

Findlay, playing in front just under 3,000 fans on their homecoming weekend, had plenty of fight left in them. 

Behind two Tyler Bugjea field goals and a 46-yard touchdown pass from Verlon Reed to running back Chauncey Bridges, the Oilers scored 13 consecutive points to end the first half trailing by just four points, 17-13. 

Tarnowski produced the response Ashland needed to start the second half, orchestrating an eight play 63-yard drive that he finished, firing a 10-yard touchdown pass to senior Eric Tompkins. 

Tarnowski’s seventh touchdown pass of 2014 campaign pushed the Ashland lead to 24-13.

Findlay delivered a quick response, as once again it was Reed connecting with Bridges to find the end zone, this time from 59 yards out. 

The pair’s second touchdown of the day pulled Findlay to within four at 24-20.

Findlay drove deep into Ashland territory looking to take the lead late in the third quarter.  

But the Ashland defense dug in, forcing their 3rd turnover on downs of the game. 

The Eagle defense bent but they did not break all game, holding the Oilers to 0 for four on fourth down attempts. 

“The story of this game was that Findlay went 0 for five in touchdowns in the red zone and 0 for four on fourth downs,” Owens said. “When it counted, our defense played really well.”

In the fourth quarter the three headed rushing attack for Ashland, senior Anthony Taylor, junior Jordan McCune and sophomore Vance Settlemire took advantage of a worn down Findlay defense. 

Settlemire, playing on his high school field, found a crease in the Oiler defense and 56 yards later he was standing in the end zone. 

The Findlay native was not done on the day, as his first touchdown pushed the Ashland lead to 31-20.

Ashland’s defense got involved in the scoring act in the fourth quarter. 

Senior defensive lineman Chase Hoobler snatched a Reed pass and returned it 36 yards for a house call.  

The Indiana University transfer’s first touchdown as an Eagle pushed Ashland in front 38-20.

“Chase stepped up and made a key play at a key time,” Owens said. “The interception return for a touchdown really ripped their hearts out.”

Settlemire put the game out of reach midway through the fourth quarter. 

Following an Oiler field goal to pull Findlay within two scores at 38-23, the Findlay High School alum took the handoff and exploded 47 yards for the touchdown. 

Settlemire, who finished the game with 121 yards and two touchdowns on just eight carries, earned praise from his head coach.

“Vance stepped up for us,” Owens said. “The two big touchdown runs in the fourth quarter finished the game for us.”

Despite Settlemire’s big day he was not even the leading rusher on the day for Ashland. 

Senior Anthony Taylor rushed for 130 yards on 21 carries while junior Jordan McCune completed the three-headed attack with 19 yards and a touchdown on the ground. 

“Its my toughest job managing the playing time of all three of them,” Owens said. 

“We are lucky enough to have three very talented and unselfish guys. Everybody takes turns being the hero; one week it is Vance, the next it is AT [Taylor] and eventually its Jordan.” 

“All three contributed this week, whether it was Jordan with a really nice touchdown run, Vance with his two touchdown runs or AT [Taylor] going over a hundred yards. We are fortunate enough to have all three.” 

Ashland improved to 3-1 on the season and jumped into second place in the GLIAC south division trailing only nationally ranked Ohio Dominican. 

Up next for AU will be a return to the friendly confines of Jack Miller Stadium as the Eagles host south division foe Malone Oct. 4. 

For coach Owens this was a win that every member of the program helped with.

“This a program win for us. Its our trainers getting guys healthy and getting them on the field, its our strength coach making sure we are in good condition to get through the heat, its our equipment manager making sure we have all of our jerseys, its our film guy making sure we have the film to study, its our scout players during the week helping us get ready. It is a program win for us.”

“My job is easy when everyone else does what they are responsible for really well.”

“We don’t get these kind of wins unless you have a good, solid program.”