College Notebook: Pleasant pair makes impact on Ashland University's football season

ASHLAND — A pair of Pleasant products helped Ashland University's football team to a 9-3 record overall and 8-1 mark in the Great-Midwest Athletic Conference.

Redshirt sophomore Ethan Enders, a 6-foot-3, 312-pound center on the offensive line, started every game and was picked second-team All-GMAC. The Eagles averaged 31 points per game and 358 yards of offense.

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In 2022, he was the GMAC Freshman of the Year and a first-team all-league selection. He holds a 3.61 grade point average as an accounting major and was named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District team.

Meanwhile, Patrick Blubaugh bided his time as a junior running back for AU. He appeared in nine games and got 29 carries, but his number was called a lot late in the season.

Blubaugh, a 5-8, 191-pounder, ran for a 12-yard touchdown in the season finale at Kentucky Wesleyan, then he earned his first start in the Crossroads Bowl against McKendree. Ashland won the bowl game 23-20 as Blubaugh ran for 108 yards, including a long of 19 yards, on 20 carries.

Four other area players were on the roster for AU: Trinity Keith of Marion Harding, Owen High of Mount Gilead, Brody Wilson of North Union and Will Garrison of River Valley, who earned a tackle in the Kentucky Wesleyan game.

Here are some other athletes from the area who played a fall sport in college this season:

● North Union grad Cayden Lassiter, a 5-10, 180-pound freshman quarterback at Otterbein, played in four games, completing 38 of 81 passes for 447 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. He also rushed for 60 yards and a touchdown on 45 carries.

● The Reid brothers, Josh and Judah, saw action for the football team at Baldwin Wallace. Josh, a 6-foot, 330-pound junior offensive lineman from Highland, appeared in six games. Judah, a 5-11, 265-pound freshman defensive lineman from Mount Gilead, played in two games before injury cut his season short. He had a tackle against Wilmington.

● Jacob Arndt made seven appearances for the Bluffton football team as a sophomore linebacker. The 5-9, 220 Marion Harding grad had eight tackles and a sack with four of the tackles against Anderson, Ind. He was a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference all-academic pick, too. Also on the roster for Bluffton was Highland's Layton Shaffer, a 6-1, 225, freshman tight end.

● North Union's Isaiah Radcliff produced 26 tackles with 19 solos, plus had two pass breakups as a 5-10, 170 sophomore defensive back for Ohio Dominican. He had a season-high five tackles against Ashland.

● A graduate student at Heidelberg, Branden Steckel of Cardington capped his career with six field goals and 36 extra points, averaging 57.4 yards per kickoff with five touchbacks. The 6-foot, 180-pound kicker also punted four times with a long of 41 yards. He was 6-for-8 on field goals this season with a long of 48 yards.

● Cardington teammate Nick McAvoy, a 6-0, 250-pound senior defensive lineman, made 14 tackles for Heidelberg. River Valley grad Jason Malone was a sophomore offensive lineman for the Student Princes.

● Another pair of Cardington products are playing football at Wittenberg. Trey Brininger, a 6-3, 230-pound sophomore linebacker, appeared in nine games. He had five tackles against DePauw and ended the year with 17 including 2.5 for loss and one sack. Nate Hickman, a 6-2, 220-pound sophomore tight end, played in six games and made a catch against Oberlin.

● Freshman Grant Butler of River Valley and sophomore Hayden Bays of Marion Harding were on the football roster at Ohio Northern.

● In golf, a split-season sport between fall and spring, Highland grad Emerson Grassbaugh completed his freshman year with an 80.22 average. He had a season-best 76 against Bluffton which tied for second-best on the team that day. He also tied for 35th with a 77-78-82-80 317 in the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament at River Greens.

● Muskingum freshman Izzy Arnett-Tomasek played in 15 women's soccer matches, scoring a goal and an assist among her six shots and three on-goal this season. The Highland grad scored the team's lone goal in a loss at Otterbein.

● Marion Harding's Taylor Iden, a freshman on the women's soccer team at Tiffin, appeared in two matches this year, logging 18 minutes against Thomas More and 12 against Malone.

● Another Harding alum, Austen Valentine was a freshman defenseman on the men's soccer team at Terra State, starting four times and playing in five.

● Highland twins Dylan and Cody Thomas were freshmen on the men's soccer team at Heidelberg. The midfielders both played in four matches and each earned a shot.

Rob McCurdy is the sports writer at the Marion Star. Anyone who would like to reach out about an area athlete competing in college can contact him at rmccurdy@gannett.com, 419-610-0998, X @McMotorsport and Instagram @rob_mccurdy_star.

This article originally appeared on Marion Star: College Notebook: Football, golf and soccer players earn playing time