ASHLAND — They met in the regular season opener and will renew hostilities in the opening round of the Division II playoffs at Jack Miller Stadium.
Fourth-seeded Ashland (9-1) will host No. 5 Notre Dame (9-2) in a Super Region One first-round game at 1 p.m. Saturday. The Eagles beat the Falcons 31-14 back on Sept. 1, but Ashland coach Lee Owens said much has changed since that first meeting.
“I don’t know if there is anything good (about a rematch),” Owens said. “In football at all levels, it’s tough to beat a team twice, particularly a good football team.
“The revenge factor is on their side. I’m sure they’re going to come down here hungry to avenge that early-season loss.”
Notre Dame fell to Frostburg State 33-30 in double-overtime on Oct. 8, but hasn’t been challenged since. The Falcons have won five in a row, outscoring those five opponents by a combined score of 163-34. Notre Dame clinched the outright Mountain East Conference championship with last week’s 27-3 win over Alderson Broaddus.
Ashland won an outright Great Midwest Athletic Conference title, but sputtered down the stretch before last week’s 41-10 win over Kentucky Wesleyan. The Eagles picked up narrow victories over Ohio Dominican (14-7) and Tiffin (28-20) before falling 36-20 at Hillsdale on Oct. 29. AU had its hands full again the following week, beating Lake Erie 31-23.
“We’re actually going into the game as a big underdog. Six of the seven national commentators on (d2football.com) picked Notre Dame to win that football game,” Owens said. “It doesn’t surprise me. They finished strong … They’ve had great experience in the playoffs in this region. Many people see that victory over them in the first game as a fluke.
“Having to play that team again, it’s going to be difficult.”
What’s more, Ashland could be without their top two running backs. Gei’vonni Washington has battled injuries throughout the season and didn’t dress for last week’s win over Kentucky Wesleyan. Larry Martin has been a workhorse in Washington’s absence, but was knocked out of the game in the third quarter last week and is working through concussion protocol.
“Talk about being an underdog, without our two tailbacks we’ll be a different football team,” Owens said Tuesday. “We just won’t know anything until later in the week. We’ll see what happens. You’ve got to have a plan if we don’t have them.
“When you think about the game … that we beat them, ‘Geo’ had 150 yards and Larry had 120 yards. If we don’t have those two guys I don’t know how we make up for that.”
Quarterback Austin Brenner threw for five touchdowns in the snow last week, two each to Logan Bolin and Garrett Turnbaugh. Bolin, who missed most of last season with a groin injury, needs seven catches to become AU’s career receptions leader. He’s second on the career list with 177 grabs, six behind Michael Hull (183). He’s also second on AU’s career list with 2,423 receiving yards, trailing only Joe Horn (2,681).
“I’m just having a lot of fun,” Brenner said. “I’m just happy to be here, happy to be around the guys. This is why I came back, to be around these guys and have the opportunity to play extra football. We want to keep it going.”
Notre Dame reached second round of the playoffs last year. The Falcons played in the national semifinals in 2018 and the national quarterfinals in 2019 (there was no Division II postseason in 2020 because of the pandemic).
“We’re playing a team that has had great success and won the regional several times in the last couple years,” Owens said. “I’m really surprised the (Division II playoff) committee didn’t send us to Notre Dame with the way they finished and the fact that they feel we were in a slide at the end.
“We know it’s going to be a tough challenge. … We have to be ready.”
