Ashland brought its hardhat and lunch pail to Jack Miller Stadium/Martinelli Field on Saturday afternoon, defeating Walsh in a convincing 30-0 homecoming victory.

The win makes the Eagles a perfect 7-0 overall and 6-0 in the GLIAC, marking the first time AU has started off the season 7-0 since 1991. Ashland is also ranked No. 6 in the latest American Football Coaches Association Division II Coaches’ Poll, up from eighth last week.

Ashland’s victory was keyed by the defense’s sixth consecutive quarter of shutout football, led by junior linebacker Cody Bloom and his nine tackles.

“We played great out there today,” Bloom said. “A lot had to do with the offense, though, too. They were winding the clock down pretty much most of the game.”

The offense did just that, holding possession for 35:58 and generating four touchdowns and a field goal without throwing an interception or losing a fumble.

“I think the fact that we’re able to sustain some drives and convert some third downs and keep the chains moving is just the total game plan,” Ashland head coach Lee Owens said.

Senior quarterback Taylor Housewright continued his impressive season, throwing for 300 yards and two touchdowns, both to wide receiver Anthony Capasso in the first quarter.

“(Housewright is playing) awesome. He’s amazing. He’s like Peyton Manning out there,” Capasso said.

Capasso caught a 20-yard pass on the game’s opening drive and a nine-yard pass with 3:53 left in the first.

The 20-yard catch was a fake pitch to the running back that caught the defense off guard, allowing Capasso to find the end zone untouched.

“I saw a window in the beginning and I saw a linebacker come and thought (Housewright) was going to get rid of it, you know, to another guy, and then I found another hole and I was in the end zone,” Capasso said.

In the win, Housewright continued his streak without an interception that goes back to last year’s 27-6 loss to Saginaw Valley State on Oct. 20. He has thrown the ball 317 times since then.

Oddly enough, neither team lost a fumble or threw a pick in the game, but the Eagles defense was able to force five three-and-outs and didn’t allow the Cavs to enter the red zone once. The only scoring opportunity for Walsh was a 40-yard field goal attempt by Tim Carter, who missed the target wide right in the second quarter.

“We came out ready to play and that was just our mindset from the get-go,” Bloom said. “Our defensive line played great.”

The shutout marks AU’s second shutout on the season, making it the first time since 1993 that an Ashland team has shut out multiple teams in a season.

“Defensively, I think we took a big step forward,” Owens said. “In the past during the season when we would have a let up or two, we’d give up a big play and we didn’t do that.”

The Cavaliers were only able to generate 116 yards of total offense and feature running back Toba Olarewaju rushed for only 53 yards. Quarterback Jack Dawson had a mere 56 yards passing on 12 attempts.

The Eagles, on the other hand, racked up 478 yards of total offense, with running backs Anthony Taylor (70 rushing yards) and McCune (64 rushing yards, two touchdowns) having productive days.

McCune found the end zone twice, once on a one-yard rush in the second quarter and the other on a 14-yard scamper in the third.

Rounding out the scoring for the Eagles was Cameron Casey’s 28-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. Casey went three of four on PATs.

The loss drops Walsh to 2-5 overall and 1-5 in GLIAC play, while the win has the Eagles thinking about moving their record to 8-0 with a win over Malone on Saturday at Fawcett Stadium in Canton.

“The only thing I’m focused on right now is Malone,” Bloom said. “We’ll come in tomorrow, we’ll fix what we need to fix and we’ll get ready for Malone. And that’s all that matters right now.”