The Eagle football team is swimming in uncharted waters in 2010. Over the last three seasons, the Eagles have won 23 of their 34 games and have made the playoffs twice.

The going has been tough as of late though, as the Eagles fell Saturday, Sept. 25, to the Northern Michigan Wildcats, 23-19, for their third consecutive loss and are now 0-3 in the GLIAC.

The last time the Eagles opened up a GLIAC season winless through three games was back in 2002, when they finished 2-9.

Head coach Lee Owens is optimistic about his team and their potential despite the slow start.

“We’re disappointed but not discouraged,” Owens said. “We’re 1-3 but we’re a couple of plays away from sitting here saying we are 4-0. We have a signature win and we may have beaten the best team we’ve played.”

The Eagles jumped out front early with Gregg Berkshire connecting on the first of four field goals on the day from 44 yards away with just over nine minutes remaining in the first quarter.

Berkshire also converted from 20, 40 and 50 yards out, setting a new career-long with the 50-yard field goal.

The Eagles let their 6-0 lead slip away in the second quarter, as Wildcat quarterback, Carter Kopach ran for two touchdowns on back-to-back possessions from 41 and 52 yards away. The Eagles went into the half trailing 14-6.

“He [Kopach] is a really good running quarterback,” Owens said. “He made one run where they emptied the backfield and Julian [Goodwine] got caught behind the umpire in the middle of the field. He had two big runs but other than that, we really contained him well.”

D.J. McCoy was not contained on the afternoon, carrying the ball 28 times for 137 yards, 80 of which came in the second half as he notched his first 100-yard rushing performance of the season.

The Eagles couldn’t take advantage of McCoy’s physical running attack, as the Eagles continued to settle for field goals in Wildcat territory in the second half.

“D.J. made some great efforts and broke some tackles; he really ran with an attitude,” Owens said. “If D.J. continues to run like that and we can open up the passing game with Taylor [Housewright], our confidence will continue to improve.”

The Eagles failed to score an offensive touchdown on the day, but found pay dirt off of a fumble recovery returned for a touchdown by Quinton Scott. Scott made six tackles in the game while recording a sack and an interception.

The defense, however, failed to stop the Wildcats when it mattered most.

With seven minutes remaining and Ashland leading 19-16, Kopach led the Wildcats on a 12-play, 75-yard go-ahead scoring drive, capped off by a Jared Buss five-yard touchdown run. Rockne Belmonte’s extra point concluded the scoring at 23-19.

“Our defense played lights out,” Owens said. “We gave up one or two big plays and I really felt after we kicked the field goal to go ahead, I didn’t think there was any way they would score on us.”

The Eagles did improve as a team, recording five sacks, forcing two turnovers and not turning the ball over on offense, the first time that’s happened since the season opener against Bloomsburg.

The Eagles return home this Saturday to take on the Northwood Timberwolves at 1 p.m.

for AU’s homecoming.

The Eagle football team is swimming in uncharted waters in 2010. Over the last three seasons, the Eagles have won 23 of their 34 games and have made the playoffs twice. The going has been tough of late though, as the Eagles fell Saturday, Sept. 25 to the Northern Michigan Wildcats, 23-19 for their third consecutive loss and are now 0-3 in the GLIAC.

The last time the Eagles opened up a GLIAC season winless through three games was back in 2002, when they finished 2-9. Head coach Lee Owens is optimistic about his team and their potential despite the slow start.

“We’re disappointed but not discouraged,” Owens said. “We’re 1-3 but we’re a couple of plays away from sitting here saying we are 4-0. We have a signature win and we may have beaten the best team we’ve played.”

The Eagles jumped out front early with Gregg Berkshire connecting on the first of four field goals on the day from 44 yards away with just over nine minutes remaining in the first quarter. He also converted from 20, 40 and 50 yards out, setting a new career-long with the 50-yard field goal.

The Eagles let their 6-0 lead slip away in the second quarter, as Wildcat quarterback, Carter Kopach ran for two touchdowns on back-to-back possessions from 41 and 52 yards away. The Eagles went into the half trailing 14-6.

“He [Kopach] is a really good running quarterback,” Owens said. “He made one run where they emptied the backfield and Julian [Goodwine] got caught behind the umpire in the middle of the field. He had two big runs but other than that, we really contained him well.”

D.J. McCoy was not contained on the afternoon, carrying the ball 28 times for 137 yards, 80 of which came in the second half as he notched his first 100-yard rushing performance of the season. The Eagles couldn’t take advantage of McCoy’s physical running attack, as the Eagles continued to settle for field goals in Wildcat territory in the second half.

“D.J. made some great efforts and broke some tackles; he really ran with an attitude,” Owens said. “If D.J. continues to run like that and we can open up the passing game with Taylor [Housewright], our confidence will continue to improve.”

The Eagles failed to score an offensive touchdown on the day, but found pay dirt off of a fumble recovery returned for a touchdown by Quinton Scott. Scott made six tackles in the game while recording a sack and an interception.

The defense, however, failed to stop the Wildcats when it mattered most. With seven minutes remaining and Ashland leading 19-16, Kopach led the Wildcats on a 12-play, 75-yard go-ahead scoring drive, capped off by a Jared Buss five-yard touchdown run. Rockne Belmonte’s extra point concluded the scoring at 23-19.

“Our defense played lights out,” Owens said. “We gave up one or two big plays and I really felt after we kicked the field goal to go ahead, I didn’t think there was any way they would score on us.”

The Eagles did improve as a team, recording five sacks, forcing two turnovers and not turning the ball over on offense, the first time that’s happened since the season opener against Bloomsburg.

The Eagles return home this Saturday to take on the Northwood Timberwolves at 1 p.m.