An awakened giant is precisely what Ferris (1-1) faced as No. 23 Ashland University (1-1) bounced back to earn a 44-23 win over the Bulldogs in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener for both teams. Ashland was coming off a loss to Bloomsburg, in a battle of nationally-ranked teams in week one, and got the wake-up call.
“We just had to keep chipping away,” Ashland head coach Lee Owens said of his team's offense approach against the Bulldogs. “Our best plays were coming off of play action. We were determined to get our running game going. I really blame myself last week for giving up on it too soon."
Owens and company did not give up on the running game this week as D'Marris McCoy was superb running the football as he carried it 19 times for 111 yards with two touchdowns. In all, Ashland rushed for 228 yards (200 of which came in the second half). This week, Ashland rushed the football with confidence, passed it with confidence, competed with confidence on special teams (blocking two Ferris punts) and played with confidence on defense.
“We were humbled a little bit last week,” continued Owens. “We had our heads up in the clouds. We went over there and they hit us in the nose. It was probably a good lesson for us.”
Time will tell if this will be a good lesson for the Bulldogs who now go on the road next week to face Findlay in Ohio with a noon kickoff.
Photo taken by Ed Hyde
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