It took 11 seconds for the Ashland Eagles to score against the Tiffin Dragons Saturday and from that point on, the Eagles dominated, winning 49-0 at Jack Miller Stadium.

The shutout was Ashland’s first since the 2005 season, when AU blanked Gannon 27-0. Tiffin came into the contest with just one conference win since joining the GLIAC in 2008, and Tim Rose and his defensive squad weren’t about to allow number two. Logan Kerr, who finished with seven tackles and an interception, was a key member of the defense which allowed just 257 yards of offense and forced three Dragon turnovers.

“Our focal point was to come out here and eliminate the big plays,” Kerr said. “We knew going in we had better athletes than them but we couldn’t give them any cheap ones.”

The Eagles received an early Christmas gift on the opening kickoff as Tiffin fumbled a lateral pass. Donnie Dottei recovered the unsuccessful attempt at the Dragons eight-yard line and the Eagles punched the ball in on the next play, with D.J. McCoy scoring his third rushing touchdown of the season. That score was just the beginning of a great day for the junior.

The Eagles would score three more touchdowns in the first quarter to put Tiffin away early. Rocco Pentello, a transfer from Ohio State, scored his first touchdown as an Eagle with 12:47 left in the first half on a three-yard touchdown run. Pentello finished the day with 61 yards rushing.

McCoy would score his second touchdown of the day two minutes later from eight-yards out, making the score 21-0. McCoy didn’t waste time on the Eagles next drive, as he sprinted downfield for a 69-yard score, the longest touchdown run of the year for the Eagles. After the first quarter came to a close, McCoy already recorded his third straight 100-yard game, totaling 131 yards on 11 carries. He finished with 144.

“When D.J. gets going that opens up so much,” starting quarterback Taylor Housewright said. “We were able to run downhill and the offensive line blocked great for him.”

Housewright and Joe Horn also left Jack Miller with impressive stat lines. Housewright completed only 8-of-10 passes, but threw for 204 yards, two touchdowns, and for the third consecutive week, no interceptions. Housewright’s success came mostly from play action passes.

“We have a great run, pass combination,” said Head Coach Lee Owens. “When you have a guy like D.J. who is running as hard and as hot as he is with the ball, it really makes our play action that much better.”

Horn caught three balls for 112 yards and hauled in two touchdowns. Horn’s shortest reception went for 33 yards in the second quarter.

“It’s been fun to watch us grow and our growth showed today,” Horn said. “We proved how good we really are and how far we’ve come. Taylor played great; he made a lot of plays and was not hesitant out there. It was a lot of fun.”

Fun it was. The Eagles coasted in the second half and were able to play three new quarterbacks and four new running backs. The Eagles gained 307 yards on the ground against a Tiffin defense that was giving up nearly 274 yards per game rushing. The Eagles finished the day compiling 524 total yards of offense.

The Eagles travel to Wayne State this weekend to take on the Warriors. Both schools are battling for GLIAC South Division positioning as the Warriors are 5-1, 4-1 GLIAC, and Ashland is now 3-3, 2-3 GLIAC. Kickoff is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.