This fall, the Northern Review will recap every Ohio Northern football game from the perspective of the crew that called the game for WONB 94.9. This includes Brett Wonders, a P5, and John Kramer, a graduate assistant currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Forensic Accounting and Assurance Services. While I (Grant Pepper, a sophomore Multimedia Journalism major) am usually in the press box with the crew, I have other duties.
Saturday afternoon brought another season of Polar Bear football to the forefront, as ONU welcomed Utica (N.Y.) to Dial Roberson Stadium. The Bears were picked to finish third in the OAC Preseason Media Poll, behind Mount Union and John Carroll, who were picked first and second respectively. Utica was a 7-win team the previous year, hailing from the prestigious Empire 8 conference (which went 2-0 versus the OAC in week one).
There were many questions heading into week one for Ohio Northern. Among them…
1. Who is Will Freed and what is he doing starting at quarterback as a freshman?
ONU now enters life after the Pat Angle era, and the starting quarterback job was up for grabs this summer. The main competition came down to Freed versus sophomore Ricardo Johnson versus senior Connor Devine, and Freed emerged victorious. By the time the clock struck triple-zeros on Saturday afternoon, everyone in Dial-Roberson Stadium knew who Freed was.
2. Will Devon Price be healthy enough to play?
Rumors following a recent knee injury put Price’s ability to play into question. And even with a brace, will he be the same Devon Price that the Bears could rely on last year?
3. Who are the Utica Pioneers?
Ohio Northern and Utica had never played before, so there were a lot of questions heading into the game simply about the guys on the opposite sideline. Will ONU’s defense be able to hang with a Utica team that scored 42 points and racked up 484 yards in a week one win over Misericordia University?
All three of those questions would be answered on the field Saturday, in a 29-22 Ohio Northern victory. The Bears would lead 7-0 early in the first quarter when Freed threw a 73-yard bomb to junior wideout Reed Allen. Momentum swung back towards Utica, however, when the Polar Bears failed to score on the next three possessions.
ONU fumbled at the Pioneer 16-yard line, missed a 34-yard field goal, and botched a snap that set the Bears back to Utica’s 45- yard line after starting the down at their 17.
During this time, Utica scored on a 68-yard touchdown pass to tie the game. They would eventually take a 10-7 lead into the half after converting a 36-yard field goal as time ran out.
The second half did not start much better for the Bears.
Utica marched down the field and made a 34-yard field goal on their first possession of the third quarter. On ONU’s next possession, Utica’s Derrick Sekuterski intercepted Freed deep in Polar Bear territory and returned the pick to the Ohio Northern 2-yard line. Utica scored a touchdown on a first down pass but failed the two-point conversion, as they led 19-7 with just under nine minutes left in the third quarter.
Freed found redemption in ONU’s next possession, however, as he threw another beauty of a touchdown pass to Allen to bring the score to 19-14.
In what was an offensive-minded third quarter, Utica and quarterback Teddy Van-Galen drove down the field in seven plays to set up a 35-yard field goal on the next possession. The Pioneers would go into the fourth quarter leading 22-14.
But the fourth quarter would be a different story. The Bears had the wind at their backs and they turned on the jets.
Freed and receiving targets such as Price, senior tailback Justin Magazine and senior wideout Justin McCray led the Polar Bears down the field on an 8-play drive to begin the quarter. Freed fired a pass to Allen in the endzone to cut the lead to two, but ONU would fail the 2-point conversion.
On the next possession, sophomore Landry Hostetler made the play of the game; he blocked a Utica punt deep in their own territory, giving ONU the ball at the Pioneer 7-yard line.
With a new sense of energy in Dial-Roberson Stadium, the Bears scored quickly on a Magazine rushing touchdown to give them their first lead in what seemed like an eternity. Their 2-point conversion failed, but ONU still led 26-22 with 13 minutes left in the game.
Senior kicker Andrew DiMario added three more to ONU’s score with a 33-yard field goal on the Bears’ next offensive possession.
Although Utica blocked DiMario’s next field goal attempt late in the fourth quarter, the Polar Bears would string together multiple crucial stops to seal the game. While it helped that ONU had favorable wind in the fourth quarter, many key players also stepped up for the Bears on Saturday to get the win.
Freed, in his first collegiate game, threw for 439 yards and three touchdowns while completing 75 percent of his passes. Price led the team with 10 catches for 141 yards on the day. On the defensive side of the ball, sophomore linebacker Zach Schmerge recorded a remarkable 16 total tackles, only six of them assisted.
Here are our commentator’s keys to ONU’s big win Saturday:
Brett: “For me, the key to the game was the offense closing out drives in the second half. I don’t think the score truly reflected the way Ohio Northern controlled the entire game, as the Polar Bears left about 17 points on the field in the first half with the missed field goal, fumble in the red zone, and mishandled snap that took them from inside the ten to outside of field goal range. The second half was an entirely different story though, as Will Freed and Ohio Northern were able to close out four different scoring drives. It was a great response by the team to actually finish the job in the third and (especially) fourth quarters.”
John: “The key for ONU on Saturday was momentum. With a young team, especially at critical positions like quarterback and middle linebacker, it would have been easy to give in a couple times during the game. Every time the defense gave up a big play, the offense would answer with an extended drive their next time out. Conversely, when the offense turned the ball over, the D really stepped up.”
ONU answered many questions on Saturday.
Will Freed? No joke. Price’s knee? He’s still got it. And as for Utica? Warm up the bus.
The Polar Bears improved to 1-0 with the victory, while Utica fell to 1-1. Ohio Northern will host Baldwin Wallace next Satur- day in a night game, with kickoff at 7 p.m.