ASHLAND — The Eagles own home field advantage in their chase for the Great Midwest Athletic Conference championship.
Ashland will play four of its final six games at Jack Miller Stadium, beginning with Saturday’s GMAC encounter with Walsh. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
“We like playing in front of our fans at Jack Miller Stadium,” AU coach Doug Geiser said. “That’s always been a great atmosphere for us. We’ll revel in that.”
AU (2-3, 2-1) is a game behind conference co-leaders Findlay and Tiffin after last week’s 20-6 win at Ohio Dominican. The Eagles are 8-0 all-time against Walsh (3-2, 1-2).
“As far as I’m concerned, they’re 3-2 and we’re 2-3. They’re the favorite going into the game,” Geiser said. “We’ve got to show up and go win the game.”
Ashland turned in its best defensive performance of the season last week against ODU. The Eagles surrendered just 224 yards of total offense and limited the Panthers to 13 rushing yards on 16 attempts.
“Right from the first kickoff, the kids came out inspired, with a lot of enthusiasm,” Geiser said. “(We) got back to Ashland football, playing physical. That was great to see.”
Ashland got a huge boost from its special teams units last week. AU blocked a field goal attempt in the second quarter, an extra-point in the third and a punt in the fourth. Ashland leads all of Division II football with seven blocked kicks on the season.
What’s more, Dezmin Lyburtus returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter after Ohio Dominican had cut Ashland’s lead to 13-6. It was AU’s first kickoff return for a touchdown in seven years.
“Let’s look to change the game, that’s our motto on special teams,” Geiser said. “I think we’ve set a good start to that.”
Walsh ranks fourth in the 10-team GMAC in scoring defense, allowing 20.6 points a game. The Cavaliers allow 121.6 rushing yards per game. Linebacker Cam Hollobaugh ranks second in the GMAC with 45 tackles. Freshman linebacker Nate Watkins leads the league with 10.5 tackles for loss.
Offensively, running back Dom Jennings leads the Cavaliers with 283 yards and three touchdowns on 58 carries. The Cavaliers use three different quarterbacks. Dalys Jett completed 9-of-14 passes for 110 yards in last week’s 30-16 win at Lake Erie.
“They’ve got two mobile quarterbacks and they’re running the quarterback a little more than they have,” Geiser said. “They vary their attack a little bit.
We’ve got to find a way to beat the Cavaliers on Saturday.”