ASHLAND – It never stopped raining Friday night at Community Stadium.
Similarly, the Ashland football team can’t seem to stop winning.
Kicking off their home schedule on a soggy night with visiting Linsly High School – a program out of West Virginia – the Arrows forced five first-half punts and punished the Cadets, 35-0.
It marks the first 3-0 start for Ashland since 2020 and it came on an evening when AHS hosted its first-ever Military Appreciation Night.
The story through two weeks had been all about offense. The Arrows and standout junior quarterback Nathan Bernhard had scored their most points through two games (94) since 1998 (97).
But it was the defense taking center stage Friday as fans broke out their orange-and-black umbrellas and braved the elements.
By the time the Arrows went ahead 28-0 on their first drive of the third quarter, they had a 15-3 advantage in first downs.
The dominance led to Ashland’s second straight shutout at Community Stadium, following its 34-0 victory over Wooster in last year’s home finale.
“The whole day we knew the rain was going to be a big issue, but we’ve got to make sure it’s (only) an issue for (Linsly),” said AHS junior linebacker Gunner Lacey, who tallied a sack and multiple tackles for loss one week after collecting his 200th career tackle. “For us, we’ve just got to live it.
“Going in, we weren’t going to be phased by that at all; we just love the rain.”
It was clear the passing game wasn’t going to be a huge factor from the get-go, as the teams combined for six drops inside the contest’s first 10 minutes.
But the Arrows used a batch of chunk-yardage runs on the game’s fourth drive from Grayson Baith to gain momentum.
The sophomore (8 carries, 84 yards on the night) forced his way into the end zone from 5 yards out with 3:22 left in the first to crack the scoreboard.
Ashland kicker Carson O’Brien – who navigated the wet conditions well all night long – converted his first of five PAT kicks to make it 7-0. The junior has made five PATs in each of Ashland’s first three games.
The hosts scored at least once in every quarter and overcame the game’s only two turnovers as Bernhard accounted for the final four touchdowns.
Through the air, the junior finished 7-of-15 for 135 yards, hitting Gabe Baith for a 23-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter and finding sophomore Killian O’Brien for a 74-yard score early in the fourth.
Bernhard also had rushing scores of nine and five yards, totaling 59 ground yards on nine carries.
“We knew the weather was going to be a factor and was going to limit our passing game a little bit,” said Bernhard, who has 13 total touchdowns through three games. “But I think it showed that we’re a lot grittier team than we were last year; we struggled against Lexington in the rain last year and did not play nearly to our potential.
“We came out tonight, played a much better game and dominated every facet.”
Linsly (0-2) entered the night a rather inexperienced squad. Roughly 10 of the program’s players from the last two seasons are currently on college rosters.
The Cadets had dropped a 52-0 outcome in their season-opener a week earlier against Pennsylvania power Westinghouse. That team was the Class 2A state runner-up in 2023, when it finished 13-1.
Things didn’t get any easier for the Cadets against Lacey and his AHS teammates.
Ashland forced five punts in the first half and turned over Linsly on downs on all three of its second-half drives.
The Cadets and junior quarterback Braden Wade (6-for-23, 119 yards passing) advanced to the Ashland 9-yard line late in the third and got as close as the AHS 20 early in the fourth.
But a few tackles by senior Tyler Sauder – who also cleared 200 career tackles in Week 2 – and a few errant passes kept the visitors out of the end zone on those drives.
Junior Brandon Briggs and seniors Tyler Holt and Jayden Goings also had a few key stops for the Arrows, who held Linsly to just 52 yards on 24 carries.
Had it not been for a 34-yard reception by Jaxon Murray on their final drive, the Cadets would have finished just 2-for-11 on third down and would have been held under 140 yards of total offense for the night.
Ashland coach Scott Valentine said the shutout was good to see after his team had allowed 56 points through two weeks this season.
“We had way too many mental mistakes defensively (in the first two weeks),” the coach said. “It was either that we were giving them too much or they weren’t paying attention.
“We had to figure that out this week and I thought we did. Our defensive staff put a great game plan together.”
Murray pulled in Bernhard’s first interception of the season in the second quarter and the Cadets also forced a fumble in the fourth.
But Linsly simply looked overmatched.
Ashland totaled nearly 250 yards and 13 first downs on the ground, showcasing a speedy but ferocious attack.
“They had eight guys back (defending the pass),” Valentine said. “… There weren’t many throwing lanes, so we ended up trying to run the ball and we got them out of position a bit.”
The home crowd got to see some offensive flash in the fourth quarter as well.
After Bernhard and the fleet-footed Killian O’Brien hooked up for 161 yards and three touchdowns on four catches in their 52-29 Week 2 win at Marion Harding, the duo connected big again Friday.
O’Brien broke free and outran the Cadet defense down the left sideline for his 74-yard score early in the fourth quarter to set off the running clock.
“When you get the ball in his hands he’s a kid who can make a play,” Bernhard said of the budding sophomore.
Ashland will have its second of three consecutive home games next week when its opens Ohio Cardinal Conference play against visiting New Philadelphia (2-1). The Quakers kicked off the season’s OCC schedule Friday with a 28-7 road win at Wooster (1-2).
They also dealt the Arrows a 28-0 blanking last season.
“We’re a year older and we have a lot of guys back, so that maturity and the growth they made in the offseason has really led to where we’re at now,” Valentine said.
“But when you start league play, it’s a battle each week.”