By Doug Haidet ASHLAND – It would be easy to view them as a trio of dominoes loaded with football talent, tipping over along a pathway to Ashland University. Ashland High School senior linebacker Gunner Lacey announced his commitment in mid-January to suit up for the Eagles. A few weeks later, his classmates – lineman Budda Martin and kicker Carson O’Brien – made the decision to follow in his footsteps. Ever the entertaining conversationalist, Martin thought about the situati

By Doug Haidet ASHLAND – The wheels didn’t just come falling off Saturday for the Minnesota Duluth offense. The Ashland defense ferociously ripped them off – then the Eagles scrapped the rest of the car, too. By the end of their first-round NCAA Division II playoff game inside Jack Miller Stadium, the visiting Bulldogs were stuck with a 32-7 trouncing and a long trip home. Ashland (10-2) forced turnovers on four consecutive drives in the second half, slowly burying Duluth (10

By Doug Haidet ASHLAND – If Michael Shimek was asking around for a hype man, the first guy in line would be Ashland University defensive ends coach Andy Tabler. Now in his sixth season on the AU staff, Tabler still remembers watching film of Shimek getting to the quarterback while starring as a first-team All-Ohioan at Hoover High School. The recollection is so vivid, Tabler even remembers the number on Shimek’s jersey – No. 18 – as if it was the passcode to his ATM card. “Yo