Ferris State Earns Decisive Road Victory At Ashland To Stay Perfect On The Year

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Ashland, Ohio - The second-ranked Ferris State University football squad lived up to its ranking on Saturday (Sept. 11) night as the Bulldogs posted a decisive 45-19 road win over the Ashland Eagles at Jack Miller Stadium in Ashland, Ohio, improving to 2-0 on the year.

Senior quarterback Jared Bernhardt continued his impressive early season play with a game-high 210 yards rushing on 14 carries, which included two touchdowns. He also completed eight-of-10 passes for 86 yards in the win.

Ferris State jumped in front 7-0 in the opening quarter when Bernhardt scored from 18 yards away, finishing an 11-play, 68-yard drive. The Bulldogs later made it 14-0 at the end of the first as slot Marcus Taylor hooked up with wideout Xavier Wade on an 83-yard touchdown strike.

After the Eagles cut the margin to 14-3 early in the second quarter, the Bulldogs responded with a 13-play drive covering 54 yards to make it 17-3 at halftime.

FSU started the second half strong as Bernhardt scored his second touchdown only 25 seconds into the second half on a 81-yard touchdown run. Then, only three minutes later, tailback Tyler Minor pushed the advantage to 31-3 on a one-yard carry, finishing a 69-yard drive.

The lead grew to 38-3 with 3:31 remaining in the third when senior Marvin Campbell found pay dirt from one-yard out as the Bulldogs took advantage of the short field following an Ashland interception.

AU did manage to score twice more, once to end the third quarter on Austin Brenner's 24-yard scoring throw and another early in the fourth on Brenner's seven-yard TD run.

However, the Bulldogs put the game away as they drove 65 yards in eight plays with junior QB Evan Cummins capping the scoring with a two-yard touchdown late in the game.

Ferris State rolled up 520 yards of total offense and limited AU to 327 yards. The Bulldogs had 42 carries for 351 yards rushing in the win.

Defensively, senior nickel back Cyntell Williams had a team-high 12 stops with FSU while linebacker Liam Daly added seven total tackles. Both also had a half-sack and tackle for loss.

Ferris State will return home to host Saginaw Valley State for Football Alumni Night next Saturday (Sept. 18) at Top Taggart Field. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. (ET) and tickets can be purchased in advance at FerrisStateBulldogs.com/Tickets.