Saturday night in Ashland was a night to remember for the football team and fans. The Ashland Eagles went into Saturday’s contest with a 0-1 record after the heartbreaking loss of 27-20 to Bloomsburg in week one.

The Eagles lost star running back D.J. McCoy to a high ankle sprain early in the game, and on the scoreboard they went down 17-0 after three quarters. The Eagles came out flat, but they fought back and never gave up, scoring quickly to tie the game at 17 with less than six minutes left on the clock. The Huskies would drive down the field and take the lead for good on the next drive.

After the week one loss, their first since Sept. 25, 2010 against Northern Michigan, Ashland was left with a bad taste in their mouth. The eagles finished last season on a seven game win streak and a loss in week one was an unfamiliar sight for most of these veterans.

Week two would prove differently as the Eagles were playing their first home game of the season. It would be their first GLIAC game and night game of the season.

There was a lot to look forward to for the Eagles as they saw some positive in last week’s loss. After D.J. McCoy went down in the game with an injury, Coach Owens put in true freshmen running backs Jordan McCune and Anthony Taylor, who rushed for a combined 144 yards.

The Indianapolis Greyhounds (1-1) came into a packed house at Jack Miller Stadium to play the Eagles. The Eagles came in ready to play a tough game against a Greyhounds team led by quarterback Chris Mills, who threw for three touchdowns in a week one win against Kentucky Wesleyan.

The game lasted three and a half hours, the longest game played in Ashland history. In this four overtime thriller, the Eagles prevailed 39-36 on a game-winning touchdown by freshman tailback Jordan McCune.

“I told (Indianapolis) coach (Bob) Bartolomeo after the game it’s a shame someone had to come out behind on the scoreboard, and there were no losers in this game,” Ashland head coach Lee Owens said.

Freshman tailback Jordan McCune was the hero of the game for Ashland after several hard-fought runs through many broken tackles for the Eagles. He would finish the game with 84 yards on the ground and two touchdowns.

“He ran through Bloomsburg the first week of the season. We had shots at him, we just didn’t finish. We talked about finishing. We didn’t finish, they did,” Bartolomeo said.

The Eagles went down early in the game again after the Greyhounds struck first with two field goals and jumped out to a 6-0 lead. The Eagles would cut the lead in half with a 47-yard field goal from Gregg Berkshire, which made Berkshire the all-time leading scorer for Ashland.

After the Greyhounds went up 13-3, the Eagles drove down the field, led by junior quarterback Taylor Housewright, and scored to cut the lead to three. McCune ran in from one yard for the score.

Housewright connected with freshman wide receiver Eric Tomkins on a beautiful 44-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to take the lead 17-13.

That wouldn’t be enough after Mills drove down the field with 1:50 left. The drive was capped by a 30-yard touchdown throw to Mar’Quone Edmunds.

The tandem of Mills and Edmunds paired up for three touchdowns and 168 yards. Mills had a great game with a total of 342 yards passing and the three touchdowns, making it tough on the Eagles’ battered secondary.

The Eagles lost defensive back Logan Kerr on a scary play that left him unconscious and carted off the field. Kerr is out indefinitely after suffering a severe concussion.

Housewright drove right back down the field and set up a 38-yard field for Berkshire with 3 seconds left on the clock. He converted to send the game into overtime.

The pressure that Berkshire felt throughout the night was enormous, as he had to kick three field goals in two different overtimes.

In the fourth overtime, the Eagles made a huge stop against the Greyhounds, holding them to a field goal. The stadium was energetic; you could feel the excitement as the Eagles began their possession in the fourth overtime.

The final play of the game came when Housewright handed the ball to McCune at the 8-yard line. McCune spun out of a tackle and dove into the end zone for the game-winning touchdown.

The crowd at Jack Miller was loud and proud of the Eagles team that fought back from ten points down, through four overtimes and won a thriller against the Indianapolis Greyhounds.

A couple of players that played a key part for the Ashland win were defensive lineman Matt Stoinoff and Jeris Pendleton, who both finished with 1.5 sacks each.

Ashland will play Hillsdale (1-1) at 7 p.m. Saturday on the road. The Chargers are coming off a stunning upset victory over Grand Valley State. The Eagles look forward to this conference game and will be playing off momentum from their previous win.