BLOG 15: Meredith: Team believed in its ability to upset Ashland

By Sandy Gholston

Ferris State senior receiver Cole Meredith helped the Bulldogs topple nationally-ranked Ashland University in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football game Saturday at Community Stadium in Ashland, Ohio. (Photo/Sandy Gholston)

ASHLAND, Ohio – Cole Meredith was soaked in his own sweat, but still wore his ear to ear smile that stretched across his face as he stood on the turf of Community Stadium following Ferris State’s stunning 25-24 come-from-behind victory over No. 24 Ashland University Saturday afternoon.

Meredith, the former prep football star at Big Rapids High School, heard of what some of the so-called experts – outside of the program – had to say about the Bulldogs’ chances of springing an upset of the Eagles. The popular sentiment was that the possibility of an upset ranged anywhere from slim to none – depending on the day. Meredith, who grabbed three catches for 44 yards, sensed he and teammates maintained faith in their chances.

“Belief is what got us this win. … Everybody out there on the field, in those Ferris uniforms, believed in each other and believed we could come into this stadium and get this win,” Meredith said. “Nobody was really listening to what people in the media had to say about how we weren’t going to be able to win and how we had no chance. We weren’t caught up in looking at the rankings or anything like that. The thing we focused on was what we needed to do to get the win.”

The offense was a big part of Ferris’ ability to escape Ashland’s clutches with a win. Redshirt freshman quarterback Tom Schneider completed 11-of-27 passes for 151 yards as the coaching staff allowed him more leeway to attack the Eagles’ defense down the field. Rahseem Jones-Salaam, a Baldwin native, had three catches for 29 yards while Tom Hogue hauled in two receptions for 35 yards. On the ground, Hogue finished with 66 yards and a touchdown, Schneider had 57 yards with a score and Dan Underhill made a surprising, but effective showing as he rushed twice for 13 yards and a touchdown.

Schneider, playing in his second collegiate game, showed big-time improvement between week one and week two – the kind of improvement most typical in football.

“Love the guy,” Meredith said with a smile. “Tom is stepping up and he’s playing the way we know he can play and the way he knows that he can play. He’s the kind of guy that when you’re watching him out there playing football … you wouldn’t know he was a freshman unless you looked him up in the book.”

If you have any questions, ideas or comments feel free to contact Sandy Gholston at sgholston2@netzero.com