Under the lights in front of thousands at Jack Miller Stadium, the Ashland Eagles closed out their dogfight with the Grand Valley State Lakers by hitting a game winning field goal. The last second score gave the No. 11-ranked Eagles a 34-31 win over the No. 19-ranked Lakers.

With the victory, the Eagles clinched at least a share of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship. AU improved to 9-1 overall while being 8-0 in the GLIAC conference. The Lakers fall to 7-3 overall and 6-2 in GLIAC play.

Senior kicker Aidan Simenc was the hero that nailed a 29-yard field goal as time expired to lift the Eagles over Grand Valley State. As a kicker, Simenc had been waiting for a moment like this.

“As a kicker, you always dream about that moment,” Simenc said. “As a fifth-year senior, I know I had to step up and make that kick. I’m just happy it turned out the way it did.”

Simenc reflected on what was going through his head moments before the kick.

“Honestly, I don’t even remember kicking it,” Simenc said. “You kind of just blackout. You just have to go over the mechanics you learned the past eight or nine years.”

Junior running back Andrew Vaughn helped lead AU on the offensive end, rushing for 163 yards to go along with three touchdowns. This was his fourth straight game in which he rushed for over 100 yards.

Vaughn credits Ashland’s offensive line for his play as of late.

“The offensive line has just really picked it up,” Vaughn said. “They have been playing well all year but there has been a certain fire that’s sparked the last couple of weeks where they are just blowing people off the ball and creating huge holes.”

Seeing all the familiar faces in the crowd supporting the team meant a lot to Vaughn.

“It’s really cool, I had a lot of people come out tonight from my high school and a lot of people who graduated before me,” Vaughn said. “It just means a lot for them to support not only myself but the Eagles as well. It’s great to have that hometown feeling.”

Ashland’s defense started the game out strong, with an interception on Grand Valley State’s first possession. Senior whip Tony Peters picked off Lakers quarterback Bart Williams and helped to give the Eagles momentum.

After trading punts in ensuing possessions, AU found the end zone when senior quarterback Travis Tarnowski found freshman wide receiver Logan Bolin for a 6-yard touchdown. This put the Eagles up 7-0 about halfway through the first quarter.

AU got the ball back after another nice defensive stand, but couldn’t take advantage in their next possession. A botched snap by Tarnowski on the punt attempt after put Grand Valley State in easy scoring position.

The Lakers scored with a 3-yard touchdown run by running back Bryce Young-Walls. This tied the game at 7-7 apiece.

Vaughn would help the Eagles widen the gap in the second quarter, cutting up the Lakers defense while rushing for a 53-yard score. This put AU up 14-7 with 3:40 left to go in the second quarter.

Ashland would score one last time before the end of the half with a 43-yard field goal by Simenc. Simenc nailed the kick to put the Eagles up 17-7 at halftime.

On the Eagles opening drive in the third quarter, Vaughn found the end zone yet again to cap off a 10-play, 75-yard drive. The 2-yard rushing touchdown put AU up 24-7.

The Lakers struck back with a 1-yard rushing touchdown of their own by Young-Walls. The touchdown closed the gap 24-14 in the third quarter.

Grand Valley State continued to surge back, scoring the next two scores of the game. The Lakers tied everything up when Williams found wide receiver Nick Keizer for a 10-yard touchdown pass early on in the fourth quarter.

Eagles head coach Lee Owens knew the Lakers would eventually strike back.

“I told the halftime interviewer this thing isn’t over,” Owens said. “They haven’t struck back yet. “We’re going to have to win this on the last play.”

Even though AU allowed Grand Valley State back into the game, Owens felt that their confidence levels never went down.

“I think we felt pretty confident the whole time,” Owens said. “Even going into the game, it was kind of eerie the confidence and focus our players had.”

The Eagles got the lead back with another rushing touchdown by Vaughn. The 2-yard run put Ashland up 31-24 with 7:35 left to go in the fourth quarter.

Grand Valley State responded with an 11-play, 75-yard drive that was capped off by a 6-yard rushing touchdown by Young-Walls. This tied the game at 31 with 3:14 left on the clock.

That was all the Eagles needed to help set up Simenc’s late game heroics. Owens felt confident in Tarnowski and the senior kicker to get the job done like they had all year.

“We went back to things that were working for us, and our guys executed,” Owens said. “You have a fifth-year senior quarterback and a fifth-year senior kicker, you feel pretty good about having a chance to win the thing at the end.”

Ashland had a balanced offensive attack with 248 passing yards to go along with 188 rushing yards.

Tarnowski finished the game going 19-for-36 while throwing 248-yards to go along with one passing touchdown.

Senior wide receiver Jamie Hence led all receivers with 79-yards. Bolin finished the game with 75-receiving yards and a touchdown. Sophomore wide receiver Stanley Jackson Jr. chipped in 72 receiving yards.

On the defensive end, the Eagles were led by junior safety Isaiah Stiverson, who had eight total tackles. Senior cornerback Michael Griffin also helped lead AU’s secondary with two total tackles and four broken passes.

Senior stud Austin Utter collected four total tackles, 212 tackles for a loss and a sack. Utter reflected on the game.

“We didn’t lose faith in each other,” Utter said. “Faith in the guys running the ball, faith in the guys trying to stop the offense. We did what we had to do, and we got the job done.”

Owens couldn’t be happier with the Eagles victory and effort.

“I’m awfully proud of the guys,” Owens said. “It’s hard to beat a team with that kind of tradition and those kinds of players.”

Next Saturday, the Eagles take on the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals (5-5 overall, 3-5 in GLIAC) for their senior day at Jack Miller Stadium for the last regular season game.