Ashland Defeats Minnesota State to Set Up Rematch With GVSU
Release courtesy of Al King and the Ashland Univeristy Sports Information Department
The Ashland University Eagles didn't really win Saturday's first-round NCAA Division II football game at Community Stadium on a wing-and-prayer. It was a wind-and-a-prayer.
The Eagles (9-3) were trailing Minnesota State, 16-13, with 11:56 left in regulation when AU quarterback Billy Cundiff threw deep down the left sideline for wide receiver Joe Horn. The ball went into a wind that was gusting to 25 miles per hour. It fought through rain and snow and ended up in Horn's hands. He tiptoed down the sideline for a 66-yard TD pass that put the Eagles ahead to stay, 20-16.
A 7-yard TD run by freshman tailback D'Marris McCoy with 2:10 left in the game finished off a 6-play, 39-yard drive to give the Eagles' their final margin of victory, 27-16. This is Ashland's fourth trip to the NCAA playoffs and this is the first postseason victory in school history. It sends the Eagles to Grand Valley State next Saturday (Nov. 22), for a rematch against the top-ranked and undefeated Lakers. Earlier this year at GVSU, the Lakers came from behind to beat the Eagles, 48-42.
There would be no trip to Allendale, MI, this coming week without Cundiff's throw, Horn's catch and a Houdini act by the Eagles in the third quarter. The Mavericks (9-3) spent most of the third quarter in Ashland territory. The Mavs had four drives in that quarter that started in Ashland territory and they resulted in two missed field goals, giving the ball away on downs, and a 28-yard field goal by Grady Derheim that gave the visitors a 16-13 lead.
The Mavericks had the wind with them in the quarter. Going against the elements was useless. AU punter Derek Riedel punted twice into the breeze and the kicks went 5 and 6 yards. His average for the day - 5.5 ypp.
"We couldn't keep it straight, it kept moving," said AU head coach Lee Owens of the Eagles' punting foibles.
All of that changed in the fourth quarter when the Eagles got the wind. Going with the wind wasn't easy, but it was preferable to throwing into what was becoming a gale. That's when Cundiff looked for Horn.
"I just got it up and hoped the wind would take it where Joe could catch it," said Cundiff. "It was all Joe. He stayed on his feet and scored."
"We were begging the coaches to throw deep, we wanted the ball, the chance," said Horn. "The wind helped out, the ball stayed on my outside shoulder and I don't know how I stayed in bounds. The wind was in our face in the third quarter and the coaches didn't want to risk it (throwing). We were ready to make plays."
This was a big-time play, as big as any in Ashland history. It's safe to say there hasn't been a quarterback on campus before Cundiff who could have pulled it off.
"I just don't know if I've ever coached a guy who means as much to a team as Billy Cundiff," said Owens. "We're just average without him. He gives us a chance to go out and win next week. He's a competitor and he's real smart."
This was a physical game, but it was also a game that demanded playing with a high level of intelligence. It was fruitless to fight the wind, so both teams pounded away at each other. That probably played into the hands of the Mavericks, a team that relied heavily on the run all season. In the first half, MSU rushed for 181 yards and two touchdowns. Both scores came from running back Ernest Walker, who would finish with 135 yards on 28 carries. Donte Shackelford had 90 yards on 19 carries.
The Mavericks scored first, Walker ending a 12-play, 72-yard drive with a 2-yard run by Walker with 8:18 left in the first quarter. The Mavericks missed the PAT. Ashland responded with a go-ahead score with 11:35 left in the first half, as McCoy took a three-yard pass from Cundiff and found the end zone. Gregg Berkshire's extra point gave the Eagles a 7-6 edge.
The Eagles added six points to their lead when Cundiff scored on a 5-yard run with 3:33 left in the half. That drive stayed alive when from punt formation, linebacker Tom Brenner took the snap and rushed 44 yards for a first down at the MSU 16. Berkshire missed the PAT, leaving Ashland with a 13-6 lead.
The Mavericks drew even when a 6-play, 66-yard drive ended with Walker scooting through the Eagles for 19 yards and a touchdown. The extra point got through the uprights, no certainty on this day, and the game was tied, 13-13 after two quarters.
The third quarter was where the Mavericks lost the opportunity to gain control of the game. Neither team could score in the quarter, but the visitors had chance after chance. They kept pounding away at the AU defense - the Mavs' drives in the quarter began at the AU27, AU30, AU29 and AU40. The Eagles couldn't extract themselves from the hole because throwing into the wind wasn't an option.
"We just felt we were a block away from getting into the end zone," said Walker. "We were positive, we had a good shot. We just kept saying, ‘We'll get the next one, we'll get the next one."
"That definitely was a big part of the game," admitted MSU coach Todd Hoffner. "We had two or three drives inside the 40. We still had the lead going into the win and we weren't able to hold it."
After Cundiff hit Horn with that game-breaking pass play, the Mavericks' chances dwindled. Now they would be trying to come from behind, going into the wind, against a defense that was beginning to gain confidence.
"I think with the weather the way it was, the defense would win the game," said Brenner. "We played with a lot of heart and attitude. When we've played our best those are the two attributes we've leaned on."
While the Mavericks could gain a yard here and there, they couldn't mount a serious drive. McCoy's final TD of the game, that 7-yard burst with 2:10 left on the clock, gave the Eagles' their first postseason win. The meaning of the moment stood them up like that 25-mph wind.
"It hit me how big it was for the players who have gone before," said Owens. "Players who played for Coach (Fred) Martinelli, Coach (Gary) Keller. This victory means as much to them as anyone. There was one piece missing in our proud tradition and that was a playoff victory."
"It's huge," said Brenner, a senior. "We talked after our last regular season game, hoping to have the opportunity to host our first playoff game and win our first playoff game. This could be the last game in this stadium."
Again, it could have been the last one for Brenner and his fellow seniors without that pitch and catch by Cundiff. The AU quarterback finished 8-of-16 for 142 yards, pedestrian totals for him, but as usual, he left the field a winner. In his career, he's 17-5 as the starter.
"Give them credit for a great throw," said Hoffner. "That's a tremendous play, it's tough to throw with the wind as well as against it."
Horn had four catches for 113 yards and for the year, has 1,047 receiving yards. For the first time in school history, the Eagles have two 1,000-yard receivers. Nick Bellanco has 69 catches for 1,070 yards. Horn has caught 65 passes.
Safety Pat Curran had a team-high 13 tackles and Brenner finished with 11. Brenner also had a fumble recovery.
Matt McQuiston had 11 tackles for the Mavericks and Tony Hunter had 10 stops.
