Ashland defense flexes its muscle in playoff pummeling of UMD

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 (10-2) and pulling away for what easily was its largest margin of victory ever in a playoff game.

“That is a very explosive offense and for our defense to hold them to seven like that, that’s a tremendous, tremendous job,” AU head coach Doug Geiser said.

“They had us against the wall and we were pressing to make plays in the second half of that football game,” Bulldogs head coach Curt Wiese said. “They had us on our heels.

“When you do that you make mistakes and the game can get out of control on you.”

By the final whistle, Ashland had held UMD to 33 points below its scoring average (40.3 ppg) and nearly 200 yards below its average of 432.9 per game (247). National champions in 2008 and 2010, the Bulldogs entered Saturday with their highest national ranking (No. 7) in seven years and their first outright title in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference since 2012.

They had a dual-threat redshirt senior quarterback in Kyle Walljasper who was responsible for 252 points this season – second-most in the nation coming into the postseason.

But interceptions from safeties E.J. Teah and Chaz Cole, along with forced fumbles by Michael Shimek and Slade McClaskey, led to UMD’s undoing. The four takeaways tied a season-high for the Eagles and helped them lock in their sixth-ever 10-win season.

“We came out knowing we had (to force turnovers),” Ashland senior safety Izzy Vasquez said. “… For them to have seven points, it’s thanks to the turnovers and our coaches.”

Vasquez was AU’s leader in interceptions in the regular season with three – one of 10 Eagles with a pick entering Saturday. He also was in on the first big tide-turning play of the game.

When Duluth had a 7-minute drive stall inside the red zone late in the second quarter, Ashland’s Nico Traczyk blocked a 30-yard field-goal attempt that could have cut the AU lead to 17-10. Vasquez scooped it up and ran it 38 yards to midfield. That swing play – the Eagles’ ninth blocked kick this year – helped them maintain a two-possession, 17-7 lead into halftime. The four turnovers then followed on UMD’s first four possessions of the second half.

Walljasper finished 15-of-32 through the air for 152 yards and led the Bulldogs on the ground (22 carries, 45 yards).

He had only five interceptions in the regular season and the Bulldogs had just 13 turnovers – allowing just 22 points off those mistakes. But AU scored 13 points off its four forced turnovers Saturday. While he surpassed 10,000 career yards of offense in the game, the 6-1, 240-pound Walljasper said Ashland’s defense gave him some looks the team hadn’t practiced for.

“We knew they were going to be a really good defense and we just had to execute almost everything properly,” he said, “and that just didn’t happen.”

The Eagles collected five sacks, with 2.5 coming from end Elisha Baldridge, 1.5 from Shimek – who led the nation with 16 in the regular season – and the final one from end Russell Twining. That stop went for a safety to cap the scoring with 2:26 left to play.

It was a statement game during which the Eagles proved their defensive dominance in the regular season was no hoax. Ashland came into Saturday as Division II’s leader in sacks (44) while also second in total defense (244.5 ypg) and sixth in scoring defense (14.8 ppg).

Geiser heaped praise on his defensive coordinator, Tim Rose, emphasizing that his use of Ashland’s depth is next-level.

“Tim is amazing – he’s probably forgotten twice the amount of football I’ll ever know,” Geiser said. “He’s in his 62nd year of coaching and there’s nothing he hasn’t seen.”

“We probably played 20-30 guys today,” Geiser said. “We tell them, across the team, the expectation is for the position – it’s not for the man, it’s for the position. So if you’re good enough to be on the field, you’re expected to perform.”

It wasn’t just the turnovers and sacks for Ashland, either.

Duluth star tight end Luke Dehnicke came into the contest with 1,074 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns, but he was limited to just 45 yards on four catches by AU.The Bulldogs also had converted nearly 50 percent of their third-down plays for first downs prior to Saturday, but Ashland held them to a 3-for-14 effort on those plays. Eagles linebacker Jack Talkington led all players with 13 tackles, Baldridge had eight and Vasquez had six.

“Defensively they had a lot of third-down (stops) in that first half that were super critical,” Wiese said. “That maybe would have given us an opportunity to gain a little bit of field position.”

Without question, Saturday’s defensive performance will go down as one of the best in Ashland history. Not only did the Eagles hold UMD to its fewest points in a game since 2019, but their turnover margin of +4 was better than in any of their previous 13 playoff games.

The Bulldogs’ biggest play Saturday ended up coming on the opening kickoff, when return man DaShaun Ames ran it back 64 yards to the AU 33-yard line. That set up a Walljasper 3-yard touchdown run and a quick 7-0 lead. But Duluth went scoreless for the final 56 minutes.

“We had great field position to start, got everything we wanted right away, came out and scored (to go) up 7-0,” Walljasper said. “You’re thinking, ‘Wow, we’re gonna jump on these guys quick and maybe get the ball rolling really fast.’ But that didn’t happen.”

Now, the 18th-ranked Eagles get No. 1-ranked defending national champion Ferris State (12-0) on the road. It’s a program that has won three of the last four Division II titles and is riding an FSU-record 26-game win streak. Prior to their 65-14 demolition of Northwood on Saturday, the Bulldogs already led the nation in total offense (515.4 ypg) and scoring offense (52.7 ppg). The challenges don’t get any bigger, but if Ashland is to make a run at Ferris State, it will need another game for the ages from its defense.

“As far as comparing it to any defenses I’ve been around here in 22 years, it’s pretty good, I know that,” Geiser said.

“It’s kind of like ranking your children – you don’t want to pick a favorite one at this point. But I will say this: Right now I love the 2025 defense.”