2009 Polar Bear gridders hope to continue where they left off in 2008

By Tim Glon

The Ohio Northern football team hopes to pick up in 2009 where it left off in 2008.

The Polar Bears finished strong last year, winning five of their last six games to finish third in the Ohio Athletic Conference, their 13th consecutive upper-division finish.

Something the ONU faithful hope is different from last season is the slow start, when Northern dropped its first four games.

Sixth-year head coach Dean Paul welcomes back 15 starters and 36 lettermen from last year’s squad that finished 5-5 overall and were 5-4 in league action.

Experience will be an asset for ONU with 24 seniors on the squad and 25 players on this fall’s roster that have started at least one game in their careers.

“I was pleased with the way we responded last year after a slow start,” Paul said. “Our players understand that it is important to come to camp prepared and have a productive preseason. Our first three opponents are all nationally ranked teams that went to the playoffs last year. With as strong as our early-season schedule is, we are pleased at how our players have responded to that in the off-season.”

Northern welcomes back eight starters on offense, five starters on defense and return a three-year starter at kicker and punter.

“We feel very optimistic about our chances to improve upon last season. We know the Ohio Athletic Conference will pose a great test, but we looking forward to the challenge.”

Here is a breakdown of the ONU football team, by position:

Offensive Backfield

The offensive backfield should be a major strength for the Polar Bears in 2008 with the return of First Team All-Conference running back Brent Donley.

Donley, a junior, ran for 679 yards and seven touchdowns while starting only the final six games as a sophomore last year. He eclipsed the 100-yard mark four times in 2008, including a 163-yard effort in a victory over Capital.

Junior Kenton Sneed (51a, 303y, 2TD) also returns at tailback with one career start to his credit.

Junior Kyle Simmons (83-of-157, 800y, 8 TD) and senior Max Rothacker (35-of-61, 305y, 3 TD) each started games last year and give the Polar Bears a great deal of depth behind center.

Simmons is a two-year starter with 10 career starts and Rothacker posted a 1-1 record in his two starts a year ago when Simmons was out with an injury.

Junior Evan Elliott and senior David Turner both return to battle for the starting fullback position.

“We have a large number of talented returners in the backfield,” Paul said. “We ran the ball very well over the past few seasons, but need to improve on the passing game, which I have confidence that we will do. Donley and Sneed have proven to be an very strong combination and we have the luxury of having two proven quarterbacks with starting experience back to compete for the starting job.”

Receivers

The receiving corps will be a young but talented group in 2009.

Senior Brook Crawford (24 rec, 274y, 4 TD) is the lone returning starter at receiver, but junior Michael Busch (17 rec, 209y, 2 TD) is a two-year regular in the receiving rotation.

Crawford and Busch finished 1-2 in receiving a year ago for ONU.

Senior Justin Linzy (4 rec, 18y) and sophomore Ryan Fleming (1 rec, 10y) are speed guys that qualified for the NCAA Championships as part of ONU’s 4x100-meter relay team.

Junior Michael Fisher also returns and will contribute this season.

The tight end position is wide open with Kevin Grassman, Andy Park and Jared Oehler leading the list of candidates for the starting job.

“We are excited about returning our top two receivers from a year ago,” Paul said. “We do have talented guys at each position, but we will be inexperienced. We are excited about the development of this group.”

Offensive Line

The deepest position for the Polar Bears is the offensive line, as seven players return with starting experience here.

Seniors Pat Smith, Andrew Benchic and Rick Ingold and junior Pat Dochenetz all return after starting a combined 37 games a year ago.

Benchic (First Team) and Ingold (Second Team) earned All-Conference honors in 2008.

Senior 340-pound guard Steve Francis started all 10 games at right guard in 2007 and returns healthy after missing last year with an injury.

Sophomores Alex Subler and Dave Beale started twice and once, respectively, as freshmen last year.

Senior Eric Rich and junior Justin Southwick also return, giving the Polar Bears nine returners on its preseason depth chart.

“We have one of the deepest and most talented offensive line in our recent history,” Paul said. “This area should be a strength. We feel excited about the depth and unity of this group.”

Defensive Line

Senior Second Team All-OAC defensive end Josh Horn is the lone returning starter on the Polar Bear defensive line.

Sophomore Trygve Henrikson leads the list of prospects for the other defensive end spot.

The tackle positions are wide open, with seniors David Young and Jeremy Wyant the front-runners entering preseason camp.

“Horn and Henrikson are returning lettermen, so we have a solid base to build on,” Paul said. “We do have a group of youngsters that will battle for starting spots and playing time.”

Linebacker

Seniors Jake Myers, Gabe Washington and Adam Jones have 40 career starts between them and give the Polar Bears a great deal of experience at the all-important linebacking positions.

Northern has good depth, as senior Zach Rouch and juniors Marcus Bodamer and Josh Bowman back from last year’s 2-deep.

“We feel very good about the potential of our linebackers,” Paul said. “Myers had a solid season at middle linebacker last year and Washington and Jones have played a lot of football in the last three years. The combination of having an All-OAC player, two other starters and a large number of returners should provide great competition here.”

Secondary

The Polar Bears return five players that combined for 19 starts a year ago from last season’s injury-plagued unit.

Junior All-OAC honoree Jesse Richards was the only secondary player to start all 10 games in the same position in 2008, and gives ONU an anchor at free safety in 2009.

Junior Zack Click was on the 2-deep at strong safety last year and looks to be one of the top candidates for the starting spot this year.

Senior Eric Wenzler has 17 starts at corner back and is back healthy after missing the final seven games last year due to injury.

Senior Stefan Buchanan, junior Justin Henck and sophomore Vince Calloway all got starts at corner back after Wenzler went down.

Senior Bernard Curry, juniors Kyle Gilbert, Drew Knigga and J.J. Mihoci and sophomore Chad Coward all return as lettermen and will battle for playing time in the defensive backfield.

“We are fortunate to have a very deep group of returners in the secondary that will create a great deal of competition,” Paul said. “We have talent, speed and experience. Several of these young men can play multiple positions, which gives us flexibility.”

Special Teams

Senior All-Conference honoree Jake Heaphy returns to handle the place kicking and punting duties for the fourth consecutive year.

Heaphy has nailed a school record-tying 19 career field goals in just 25 attempts, including 4-of-7 from 40 yards and beyond, and has made 46 of 48 of his extra point attempts in his first three seasons as a Polar Bear.

As a punter, he is averaging a solid 37.8 yards on his 114 attempts.

Busch handled most of the punt and kickoff return duties last year, while Buchanan and Knigga also have experience returning kickoffs.

“Jake has performed well both as a kicker and a punter,” Paul said. “He’s done a very good job holding down both jobs, as his All-Conference honor would indicate. We hope that our newcomers can provide some competition and depth. We’ve also got some athletic guys returning that have demonstrated good return skills.”