September 4th, 2025 8:00pm
For the first time, Ashland University's football team has defeated Indiana (Pa.).
And for the first time in three years, the No. 23 Eagles have started a season at 1-0.
On Thursday (Sept. 4) night, AU scored 13 unanswered points in the second half to top the Crimson Hawks on the road, 13-9. Those are the fewest points Ashland has given up in a first game of a season since 2016 (48-0 home win vs. Mercyhurst).
An Eagle defensive effort which featured four takeaways, five sacks and minus-15 rushing yards allowed was paced by senior defensive end Michael Shimek, whose 3½ sacks were a half-sack shy of his own school record of four.
The minus-15 rushing yards against are AU's fewest in a game since a 49-21 win at Tiffin on Nov. 3, 2012 (minus-27).
IUP scored nine points in the second quarter after a scoreless opening stanza. With 6:15 left until halftime, quarterback Matthew Rueve and running back Randy Washington connected on a 55-yard touchdown pass.
Following a missed extra point, Crimson Hawks kicker Nick Andrasi hit a 44-yard field goal with 69 seconds until the break.
The second half, however, was a different story. Senior quarterback Cameron Blair finished a seven-play, 46-yard drive with a 25-yard touchdown pass to sophomore tight end Jonathan Merrimee. It was Merrimee's first collegiate touchdown, and it came at the 5:31 mark of the third quarter.
With 2:10 to go in regulation, Ashland came all the way back and took the lead at 13-9 when junior tailback Ty'aris Stevenson scored on a 1-yard run – finishing a 10-play, 70-yard drive which took 5:33 off the clock.
After a missed two-point conversion, the Eagles led by four points – with IUP getting one last shot for the win. That shot ended with junior cornerback Isaac Brooks picking off a Crimson Hawks pass for AU's third takeaway of the night, then junior safety E.J. Teah added his own pick for good measure with two ticks to go.
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