While the Ashland football team was celebrating their biggest win of the season, Saginaw Valley was stinging from their recent loss. In the end, the Eagles may have celebrated too much because the Cardinals took it to them, winning 27-6 this past Thursday.

The Eagles played the game on national television with CBS Sports Network, SportsTime Ohio, and FoxSports Detroit all televising the game.

Ashland was ranked No. 23 in the nation for the game but they didn’t play up to that ranking in the game. Early on, the team had a hard time focusing on the ball, costing them chances to score while also creating chances for the Cardinals. In the first half alone the Eagles missed a field goal, had two other attempts blocked, mishandled a punt at their own 10 yard line and fumbled the ball deep in Cardinal territory. Even with all of these mishaps not going the Eagle’s way, they were still only down 7-0 at halftime and still could claw their way back into the game as they had all season.

The lone score of the first half came after the Eagles lost the ball on their own 10 yard line on a punt. The Cardinals took possession, and their quarterback, Jonathan Jennings, found tight end Zach Cecich for a 10-yard touchdown pass. It was the first play after the turnover.

To start the second half, the Eagles drove into the Cardinals’ territory, but came up short when quarterback Taylor Housewright had his pass picked off for only the third time this season. Soon after, Jennings found sophomore receiver Mark Thrash for another 10-yard touchdown pass, and after the PAT the score was 14-0 with the Eagles still down.

Due to a nagging shoulder injury for, the Eagles sent in sophomore quarterback Cole Hudson for Housewright and saw progress, as the Eagles managed to move the ball all the way to the SVSU 3-yard line. The Eagles ended up going for it on fourth down, and on the play Hudson rolled out and looked for H-Back Alex Renner in the back of the end zone, but had the pass broken up to force the turnover.

Late in the third quarter, being pressured heavily by the defense, Hudson fumbled the ball at the 50. The Cardinals recovered the football, and set in motion what would be a ten play scoring drive that would be capped off with a 4-yard touchdown run by Jennings. The extra point was missed though, leaving the lead for SVSU at 20-0.

Any hope for an Eagles’ win diminished in the fourth when Hudson once again fumbled, but this time had it returned for a 63-yard touchdown by SVSU safety Darius Middlebrooks. With the extra point converted, the game was out of reach with the Cardinals up 27-0. Ashland didn’t give up though, as they scored with a minute left in the game on a Hudson pass to wide receiver Anthony Capasso for nine yards. The touchdown pass was the first of Hudson’s career. The extra point missed though, and the final score was 27-6. Ashland was sent home with their four game winning streak snapped.

While the game wasn’t something for Ashland to be proud of, there was a bright side with senior slot back D.J. McCoy returning to form as a very reliable option in the running game. He rushed for 130 yards on 15 carries for an average of 8.7 yards per carry. It was the 12th 100-yard rushing game of his career.

The Eagles hope to regain their composure against Findlay when they host the Oilers 1 p.m. Saturday at Jack Miller Stadium.