Collaboration
Statistical information from the game in this article was provided by Kris Mowry, Brandon Wells and Tony Van Duyne with the Ashland Arrows Broadcasting Network hosted by YouTube.
MILLERSBURG – Quarterback Nathan Bernhard looked at Friday night’s game at West Holmes and noted how hard it has been for the Arrows – or any team – to come away from Knights Stadium with a win.
With that clearly on his mind, the junior quarterback carried Ashland to a roaring, 56-28 rout of West Holmes in the best game of his still-blossoming career.
Bernhard accounted for eight total touchdowns – four passing and four rushing – and more than 500 yards of offense, throwing just one incompletion (23-of-24 passing for 345 yards) on the night.
(Photos by Jason Goings)
Statistically, it goes down as one of the best performances in the 118-year history of the AHS program, as the Arrows also matched their highest scoring total in any game since a 58-7 win in 2012.
“That’s definitely going to be one that I’m gonna remember,” Bernhard said. “It just felt like we couldn’t be stopped (in the first half) and that momentum carried into the second half.
“We were just on it tonight offensively.”
“He really did a great job of reading the defense and our guys got open and made big plays,” Ashland head coach Scott Valentine added of Bernhard. “He had a great night, the offensive line did a great job picking up blitzes and our receivers did a great job, too.”
The end result saw the Arrows (8-0, 4-0 Ohio Cardinal Conference) snap a 16-game home winning streak against OCC teams for the Knights (4-4, 3-2), who had not lost to a league team at home since 2019.
Ashland had not won in Millersburg since 2015, and paired with Lexington’s 29-13 loss Friday to New Philadelphia, the Arrows are a win away from clinching a share of their first OCC crown since 2020.
Bernhard linked up with receiver Tyler Sauder eight times through the air, as the senior also had a career night with 142 yards and a 78-yard score on a third-and-20 reception.
It was that senior class that Bernhard said was particularly at the forefront for Ashland on Friday night.
“Getting that win was special,” he said. “This senior class had never beaten West Holmes – middle school, freshmen, JV, varsity – never beaten them. That was definitely something looming in the back of everyone’s minds going into this.”
West Holmes fumbled the opening kickoff, a miscue that led to Ashland’s first score and set up the entire night.
The Arrows led 28-14 at the half and didn’t let the Knights creep back into it, despite quarterback Morgan Smith also turning in huge passing numbers (23-of-36, 394 yards, 3 touchdowns).
Logan Zollars added 10 catches for 225 yards and two touchdowns for the Knights, but it was Ashland’s show in a game that saw the offenses combine for over 1,000 yards.
Bernhard went for 172 rushing yards and four scores on just 15 carries – including big gainers of 45 and 62 yards on the night – pushing him over 1,000 career rushing yards in the process.
The junior has thrown for at least one touchdown and run for at least one touchdown in all but one game this season. He admitted after Week 7 that he felt he needed to put more on his run game with senior running back Michael Franz out multiple weeks with an injury.
“I think he understands for us to be successful, he’s got to be able to (run the ball when a defense is focusing more on defending the pass),” Valentine said. “When teams are playing man-to-man defense and those guys are turning their backs, all he has to do is find a little seam.”
Receivers Gabe Baith (5-116-1) and Killian O’Brien (6-71-2) combined for three receiving touchdowns. Baith had lengthy receptions of 60 and 32 yards while O’Brien reeled in a 36-yard reception as well.
Defensively for Ashland, Gunner Lacey cleared 250 career tackles in the game and Josh Ingani came down with an interception.
In the kicking game, Carson O’Brien also continued his big season with a record-tying night. His 8-for-8 performance tied an AHS record for PATs in a game. That mark was set by Greg Gallaway in both 2009 and 2011.
It’s the fifth game this season in which O’Brien has made at least five PATs.
“Carson has done a nice job and he comes out and works hard at it,” Valentine said.
All in all, the Arrows are creeping toward the heights of their program-record offense of 2010, when they averaged 40.1 points per game under quarterback Marcus Fuller.
After Friday night, Ashland and Bernhard are averaging 38.4 ppg.
“We’ve got five guys out wide that can all make big plays, and when you have five guys they’ve got to guard, that makes us tough,” Valentine said.
“Then you’ve got Nate running the ball. That really makes us click.”
The Arrows will have their last regular-season road game next week when they travel to Wooster (2-6, 1-4), which picked up its first OCC win of the season Friday against Mansfield Senior (1-7, 1-4) by a 42-24 score.
A win next week locks in at least a share of an OCC crown, with a huge showdown then looming in Week 10 at Community Stadium against Lexington (4-4, 3-1).
“We don’t want a share – we want to be undefeated,” Bernhard said. “We want that 10-0 and we want 6-0 in the conference to be undisputed champs.”
West Holmes will be back at Knights Stadium in Week 9 when it will host New Philadelphia (5-3, 3-2).