ASHLAND — Lee Owens will find out what his team is made of Saturday afternoon.
Ashland had its three-game winning streak snapped last week in Detroit in the most heart-wrenching of ways. The Eagles rallied from a 35-7 deficit to force overtime, only to come up short in a 42-41 loss to Wayne State.
Ashland (4-3, 3-2 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) missed a 33 yard field goal that would have won it in the first overtime, then had an extra point blocked after scoring a touchdown in the second overtime.
AU will try to bounce back when Michigan Tech visits Jack Miller Stadium on Saturday. The Huskies (4-2, 2-2) have won two in a row after last week’s 30-17 win at Davenport, but coach Steve Olson knows his team will have its hands full.
“Ashland is traditionally a very good football team. They’re usually pretty stout up front on both sides of the line of scrimmage. Traditionally they have very good skill people,” Olson said. “In recruiting, they tend to get a lot of the better players in the state of Ohio in Division II.
“They’re consistently solid almost every year, a very good football team.”
The silver lining for the Eagles in last week’s loss came in the form of a ground attack that piled up 328 yards. Quarterback Austin Brenner rushed for 199 yards while tailback Gei’vonni Washington added 121 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries, his fourth straight 100-yard game.
Michigan Tech boasts the GLIAC’s stingiest rushing defenses, allowing just 89.2 yards a game on the ground.
“They’re really good on defense. They’re one of the top statistical defensive teams in the league,” Owens said. “They tackle really well in space, they’re really well-coached and disciplined, so it will be a big challenge.”
The Huskies are 3-1 on the road this year. Ashland is just 1-2 at home on the season.
“We have to have confidence in what it is that we’ve done to this point and what it is we can do,”Olson said, “and be ready to go down there and travel well and come back with a ‘W.’ ”
