Ashland University redshirt freshman quarterback Travis Tarnowski was well aware of his role in the game plan entering the Eagles’ opening game against Lake Erie on Sept. 6. 

With running backs Anthony Taylor, Jordan McCune, and Vance Settlemire on the team, all head coach Lee Owens could have hoped for from his quarterback playing his first collegiate game was to get the ball in the hands of those running backs and make smart decisions when his number was called on to throw the ball.

Tarnowski did all those things.  

But his performance far exceeded any description of a “game-managing” quarterback.

Tarnowski threw for a Jack Miller Stadium record 374 yards and three touchdowns and completed 18 of 29 passes to lead the Eagles in a trashing of Lake Erie College 66-21. 

He attributes his great success in game one to a mindset given to him by the coaching staff last spring. 

“They told me ‘Come in and act like you’re going to be the starter’,” Tarnowski said. “I’m glad they gave me that advice. I definitely appreciate their trust and confidence in me, because without them, I couldn’t have done what I did.”

What impressed Coach Owens more than Tarnowski throwing accurate passes and spreading his three touchdowns out to three different receivers in the game was his ability to control the action before plays even started. 

“What he did at the line of scrimmage with his checks for a redshirt freshman was really impressive,” Owens said. “He got us into good plays all night.” 

One of those checks at the line of scrimmage came just before Tarnowski’s first touchdown pass of the game – a 32-yard lob to senior receiver Eric Thompkins who beat his man in one-on-one coverage.

 That score would put the Eagles up 13-0 in the first quarter and the scoring wouldn’t stop there. 

Ashland (1-0, 1-0) would run the score up to 28-0 after a McCune touchdown run, a safety by Kyle Tomko, and another passing touchdown from Tarnowski to Dan Piko before Lake Erie finally responded with a touchdown of its own to make the score 28-7 at the half. 

“That’s a really good offensive football team,” Owens said. They had a lot of starters back. For the most part, our defense held them in check.”

 Senior linebacker Cody Bloom led Ashland with 12 tackles while Tomko added nine tackles and a sack in addition to his safety.

In the second half, Ashland’s offense wouldn’t let up as the Eagles’ trio of running backs took over the game. 

Taylor, McCune, and Settlemire all rushed for at least 85 yards and combined for six rushing touchdowns. 

“I try to get them all the ball and it’s hard to do,” Owens said of his running backs. 

“I tell those guys all the time that as long as we’re productive and we’re winning, it doesn’t matter how many carries they get or who scores. And they’ve all bought into that.”

Perhaps AU’s most important touchdown came from Taylor in the 3rd quarter. With the score at 31-14 the senior tailback sprinted for a 57-yard score, eliminating any chance for the Storm (0-1, 0-1) to make a comeback. 

What also killed any chance for Lake Erie to win the game was the team’s lack of discipline. The Storm was flagged for 15 penalties and lost 144 yards of field position.

Ashland outgained Lake Erie’s offense 662 yards to 404 in the game, and took advantage of its chances in the red zone, scoring a touchdown on all six of its trips inside the Lake Erie 20-yard line. 

One of the few blemishes for Ashland in the game was the inability to stop the Lake Erie’s running game early. 

Storm running back Anthony Bilal ran for 92 yards in the first quarter and 149 yards in the first half.  

The Eagles adjusted and only allowed Bilal to run for 51 yards in the second half and he finished with 200 yards rushing. 

“(Bilal) is a really good player and I thought he kept us on our heels most of the night,” Owens said. “They’re going to score a bunch of points this year.” 

Although it’s just one game, the ability for AU to run and throw the ball as they did against the Storm was something that hadn’t been seen since the Eagles GLIAC title season in 2012. 

That team had experience at quarterback in a three-year starter Taylor Housewright. 

AU did its damage this week with a rookie signal-caller. 

“If I were Lake Erie, I would have done the same thing they did defensively,” Owens said. “Fortunately for us, we had [Tarnowski] answer and he made some throws for us.”

“It was just football out there,” Tarnowski said. “We played great, executed well, and we did a lot of things right.”

AU’s next game is on Sept. 13, at home against Walsh, who won its first game of the season against Tiffin 45-10. 

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.