The Ashland University football team dominated the Michigan Tech Huskies with a 27-7 victory on Saturday afternoon in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action at Jack Miller Stadium/Martinelli Field.

The Eagles are 4-3 overall and now 4-1 in the GLIAC, with a tie for second place in the conference with Grand Valley State (7-1, 4-1). Ferris State currently sits on top of the conference at 8-0 and 6-0 in the GLIAC.

It was Ashland’s defense that helped lock the game down as they dominated, limiting the Huskies to only seven points, nine first downs and 159 yards of total offense. 71 of those yards came from the Huskies final drive after the game was all but already over.

Eagles head coach Lee Owens thought the defensive put on an impressive performance, he said.

“The story of the game would be the defense,” Owens said. “In college football, any time you can hold a team scoreless for 58 minutes, you’ve played really well. We just keep getting better and better on the defensive side of the ball. Of course, that’s been the case all year long, having a good defensive team.”

On the flip side, AU’s offense was led by redshirt-freshman quarterback Austin Brenner and junior running back Luke Ogi.

Brenner finished the game going 23-for-32 with 198 passing yards in windy conditions.

“Austin, again, had a good day,” Owens said. “He took care of the football and was accurate with his throws, and it wasn’t the best throwing conditions out there.”

Ogi finished the game with arguably one of the best performances of his career as he ran for 105 yards on only 15 carries to go along with a touchdown. This was his first 100-yard rushing game while at Ashland.

“Luke went in and played well,” Owens said. “He’s been steady all year long. I mean, every time he’s gone in to backup Andrew, who maybe the best running back in this league this year, Luke’s answered. So we knew he’d be ready. I wasn’t surprised at all by his solid performance.”
The Eagles big win, however, came at the expense of senior running back Andrew Vaughn, who took a hard hit late in the third quarter and was subsequently taken off the field on a stretcher and into an ambulance.

Owens said that Vaughn’s health is what jumped out the most at him after the game.

“Of course, we’re wishing the best for Andrew,” Owens said. “I think it’s more precautionary than anything else. We’ll get word here in the near future, but obviously, that’s the part of the game that kind of jumps out at you the most right now.”

Vaughn ran for 72 yards on nine carries and made two catches for 28 yards before the hit took him out of the game.

He was able to do this even with a nagging ankle injury from earlier in the week, Owens said.

“He had turned his ankle earlier in the week and I wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to play,” Owens said. “But, then he got in there and started playing so well and then he took that shot at the end.”

The Eagles kicked off the game with a 12-play, 75-yard scoring drive led by Brenner, who capped off the opening drive with an 8-yard touchdown run.

Brenner said that his touchdown run was courtesy of a great play call from the sidelines.

“It was a great play call,” Brenner said. “I mean, their whole defense came in the middle and there was just nobody on the outside.”

Ashland would score again and add to their lead with a 13-yard touchdown run by Ogi, to make it 14-0 with 7:43 left to go in the second quarter.

Michigan Tech couldn’t take advantage of the one chance to get on the scoreboard in the first half, as Huskies kicker Eric Zeboor pulled a 42-yard field goal attempt wide left with 4:40 remaining in the first half.

The Huskies tried to get something going at the beginning of the second half before Ashland senior safety Isaiah Stiverson intercepted quarterback Will Ark to set up the Eagles for a 23-yard field goal by sophomore Satchel Denton to extend the Eagles lead, 17-0.

Denton went on to hit another field goal early in the fourth quarter, this time a 25-yard shot to give AU a 20-0 advantage with 13:46 left to go in the game.

Late in the fourth quarter, the Eagles would score again, capping off a 13-play, 83-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run by freshman tailback Ronald Lee to make the game 27-0.

Michigan Tech was able to get on the board with 48 seconds left in the game with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Ark to wide receiver Jordan Janssen and end the game in the Eagles favor, 27-7.

AU’s offense finished the day with 403 total yards and 23 first downs. The Eagles had a balanced attack with 198 net yards passing and 205 net yards rushing.

Senior wide receiver Kamaron Green led Ashland’s receiving corps with nine receptions for 73 yards. Redshirt sophomore Logan Bolin also chipped in 31 yards on two receptions.

Senior defensive end James Prater Jr. led the Eagles defense in their dominating performance against the Huskies with two sacks, three tackles and two tackles for loss. Prater Jr. now has 42 career tackles for loss with Ashland.

He’s a very dominant force every time he steps foot onto the field, Owens said.

“He’s a dominant force out there,” Owens said. “It looks like the quarterback is going to get free, but the next thing you know, he’s going to the ground and Prater’s got him around his ankles. I’m glad he’s on our team. I wouldn’t want to try to block him, that’s for sure.”

Prater Jr. partially credits last week’s bye week for helping the players nurse their bodies and build anticipation for the next gameday.

“I definitely think the extra rest helped us and everything,” Prater Jr. said. “But having the bye week and taking a week off, it had us eager this week for sure to go out there, get a win and play hard. That’s what we did.”

The Eagles are back on the road next Saturday (Oct. 27) against the Davenport Panthers (6-2, 3-2 GLIAC) for a noon kickoff.