Ashland U football brings three-game winning streak into matchup with Lake Erie
Two teams heading in opposite directions will tangle Saturday when Lake Erie College visits Ashland for a Great Midwest Athletic Conference football game.
AU (4-3, 4-1) will ride a three-game winning streak into the 1 p.m. game against Lake Erie (1-6, 0-5) at Jack Miller Stadium.
The Storm has been struggling, losing five in a row — all in GMAC games — since its lone victory of the season over Northern Michigan.
The Eagles had their best all-around game of the season last Saturday in a 35-3 defeat of Northwood on the road while Lake Erie fell 50-0 to league-leading and undefeated Tiffin.
“It was probably our most complete performance of the year,” AU coach Doug Geiser said about the win at Northwood.
“Offensively, we were efficient all day. We established the run so it allowed us to be unpredictable. And it really helped our third-down conversions. It was out first game over 50 percent for the year.
“Defense played lights out like always … and special teams as well.”
Playing in rainy weather, the Eagles established the run early and kept calling up the ground game, rushing 50 times for 277 yards against the Timberwolves. That effort earned the offensive line the offensive Player of the Game honor.
Senior tailback Larry Martin led the way with 18 carries for 142 yards and two scores. His 61-yard burst in the first couple of minutes set the tone for the day, and his two early short scoring runs gave the Eagles a 14-3 lead.
With the run game working well, junior quarterback Trevor Bycznski also had a productive day, finishing 16-for-24 for 198 yards and three touchdowns to receiver Dezmin Lyburtus, who now has 42 catches for 449 yards and seven TDs for the season.
AU finished with 475 total yards against Northwood, its best one-game total since last season at Lake Erie on Nov. 5.
“The run game is what started it for us,” Geiser said. “We were able to run the ball early and stay on schedule. That makes being able to navigate third downs a lot easier.
“It all comes from the run game and more importantly being balanced run and pass more than anything else.”
Complementing the offensive performance, the Eagle defense also had a big day with eight tackles for loss and two sacks. The Timberwolves managed just 195 total yards and a field goal.
While the Eagles continued their upward trend at Northwood, Lake Erie’s struggles were magnified in the 50-point loss to league-leading Tiffin. Compounding the problems, the Storm was without leading receiver Jovohn Tucker, starting running back Raphael Jones Jr. and defensive leader Jorge Sanchez.
“They’ve encountered a lot of injuries recently, especially the last three weeks,” Geiser said. They’re going through a little adversity with that.
“Division II a lot of times it’s about depth and they’ve lacked the depth in that respect.”
Lake Erie’s best weapon is quarterback Xeavier Bullock. On the season, Bullock has carried 84 times for 250 yards and two touchdowns, and completed 93 passes in 197 attempts for 1,203 yards with five touchdowns and six interceptions.
Running backs Keed Kpoto, Corey Polk and Jones have contributed 131 total carries for 374 yards. Tucker has 30 receptions for 566 yards and three touchdowns.
“Offensively, they run a little different scheme,” Geiser said. “They’re very, very high-powered. They throw it all over the place, so it extends the game.
“(Bullock) is the trigger guy. He’s very dynamic for them. He’s their leading rusher and their leading passer, so you know you’re going to have some quarterback runs in there that we’re going to have to defend.”
AU has an 8-1 record all-time against Lake Erie and has scored an average of 57 points in those nine games. But the last two meetings with the Storm have been closer – a 42-41 victory in 2021 and a 31-23 victory last year.
“They’ve been able to score with us,” Geiser said about the last two meetings. “You know you’re going to have to score when you go into that game.”
Saturday’s clash will be AU’s 99th homecoming game and the beginning of a stretch of three home games in the last four regular season games at Jack Miller Stadium.
With their win streak, the Eagles continue to stay a game behind first-place Tiffin in the GMAC standings.
“There is a confidence there now,” Geiser said. “I don’t know if it ever lagged but it’s nice to have that confirmation and the guys are rolling right now.
“Our seniors did a great job, our captains did a great job keeping the group together. We went through adversity and now we’ve won four out of five. So it’s been nice and it’s nice to be able to come back home and play in front of our fans.”
This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: College Football: previewing Ashland's matchup with Lake Erie
