Perfect no more: Ashland University suffers first loss of season at Hillsdale
Two fourth-quarter turnovers Saturday afternoon at Hillsdale spelled doom for the Ashland University football team's dreams for an undefeated season.
The Eagles trailed by two points heading into the final quarter of the Traveling Trophy game, but an interception and a fumble allowed the Chargers to run away with a 36-20 Great Midwest Athletic Conference victory.
Ashland (7-1, 5-1), which entered the game ranked No. 6 in the American Football Coaches Association poll, are tied in the loss column atop the G-MAC standings with Tiffin, although the Eagles hold the head-to-head tiebreaker.
The Chargers (5-4, 4-3) led 14-10 at halftime and 22-13 late in the third quarter before Ashland drew close on a 55-yard touchdown pass from fifth-year senior quarterback Austin Brenner to senior wide receiver Garrett Turnbaugh, who caught six passes for 126 yards.
But, after the Eagles forced a punt, Hillsdale's Jackson Gillock intercepted a Brenner pass and returned it 17 yards for a score to make it 29-20 with 12:11 to play. Brenner, who also ran 10 yards for touchdown in the first quarter to open the scoring, finished 21-of-34 passing for 265 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
But the Eagles weren't done. They took the ensuing kickoff and marched 59 yards on six plays to get into the red zone, but junior running back Larry Martin fumbled the ball back to the Chargers on the Hillsdale 14-yard line.
The Chargers then methodically drove 86 yards on 11 plays, capping the drive on Michael Herzog's clinching 7-yard TD run with 3:56 to go. Herzog finished with 80 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries. Martin led Ashland with 68 yards on 16 carries.
This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Late turnovers doom Ashland University in G-MAC loss at Hillsdale
