Ashland University rallies for G-MAC football win over Lake Erie

Ashland University needed some second-half magic from Austin Brenner and Logan Bolin and a dominant performance from Larry Martin to avert a second consecutive Great Midwest Athletic Conference loss Saturday at Lake Erie.

Martin ran 226 yards on 40 carries and Brenner and Bolin hooked up for touchdown passes of 14 and 9 yards as the Eagles rallied for a 31-23 victory.

Perhaps still suffering a hangover from a 36-20 loss the previous week at Hillsdale, Ashland (8-1, 6-1) trailed 7-0 and 10-3 early before Brenner threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Garrett Turnbaugh and Martin ran 2 yards for another score to put the Eagles ahead 17-10 in the second quarter.

But the Storm tied it 17-17 at halftime and then took a 23-17 lead when Altwjuan Beck-Lindsey ran 38 yards for a touchdown early in the third quarter. The PAT was blocked by Ashland's Andrew Douglas.

That's when Brenner (12-of-20 passing, 179 yards, three touchdowns, one interception) and Bolin (three receptions, 35 yards) went to work.

Their first score capped an eight-play, 70-yard drive to give the Eagles a 24-23 lead with 10:07 to play in the third quarter. Their second TD concluded an 11-play, 70-yard march to put AU up by eight with 7:32 to play in the fourth quarter.

Lake Erie (3-7, 3-5) reached the Ashland 18-yard line on its ensuing possession before turning the ball over on downs, and the Eagles ran out the final 5:15 to secure the victory.

This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Larry Martin leads Ashland over Lake Erie in G-MAC football