Ashland Wins Defensive Battle Over #2 Bulldogs In D2 National Showcase Game

Ashland, Ohio - The nationally #2 ranked Ferris State University football team fell by a score of 20-3 to the Ashland Eagles on Saturday (Sept. 23) at Jack Miller Stadium in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play in the NCAA Division II National Showcase game live on ESPN3.

Ferris State's defense put up a stout performance, allowing less than 250 total yards for the second consecutive week. However, the Eagles similarly stifled the Bulldog offense, allowing just 228 yards to Ferris State.

The Eagles opened the scoring at 12:11 of the opening quarter when Aidan Simenic hit a 34-yard field goal for a 3-0 edge in the contest.

Ferris State responded with 2:31 to play in the opening quarter when senior kicker Wyatt Ford knocked through a 42-yard field goal to even the score at 3-3.

The score stood until Ashland marched back down the field late in the half and quarterback Travis Tarnowski found Cameron Baker for a three-yard touchdown strike with 4:28 to play in the half. After a turnover on the ensuing kickoff, Simenic hit his second field goal of the half to make it 13-3 Ashland going into halftime.

While neither team put up points in the third quarter, the Eagles got back on the board at 12:48 to play when Andrew Vaughn stretched into the endzone after a 9-yard carry for a touchdown and a 20-3 final score.

Ferris State was led on the ground by senior running back Jahaan Brown, who had 13 carries for 75 yards. Junior wide receiver Malik Taylor made five grabs for 54 yards for the Bulldogs as well. 

On defense, senior linebacker Terrell Porter made eight total tackles to lead Ferris State, including two for a loss. Junior defensive end Zach Sieler finished the contest with three tackles for a loss to lead the Bulldogs in that category.

The Eagles were led by Tarnowski's 177 passing yards and a touchdown strike through the air. Tarnowski also punted nine times for 284 yards with six falling inside the 20-yard line.

Ferris State returns home to take on the Wayne State Warriors in the annual Homecoming game on Saturday (Sept. 30) at Top Taggart Field. The contest is slated for a 3 p.m. (EST) kickoff.