Dominating all-around performance leads No. 19 Football to 49-6 Senior Day victory over Baldwin-Wallace

Jeremy Wyant

By Tim Glon

| Box Score |

ADA — No. 19-ranked Ohio Northern got dominating performances from its offense, defense and special teams units and rolled to a 49-6 Ohio Athletic Conference football victory over Baldwin-Wallace Saturday on Senior Day at Dial-Roberson Stadium.

The Polar Bears improve to 6-2 overall and are 5-2 in OAC action after posting their fifth consecutive victory, while the Yellow Jackets fall to 2-6, 2-5.

Northern also clinched its 14th consecutive upper division finish in the OAC.

Ohio Northern dominated all three phases of the game on a windy, wet day.

ONU out-gained BW 252-126 on the ground, 132-85 through the air and had a pair of special teams touchdowns in the game.

Senior Jeremy Wyant had a career-high 10 tackles and a fumble recovery as the Polar Bear defense limited BW to 211 yards of total offense, 95 of which came after ONU had built a 49-0 lead with 12:55 left in the game.

Junior Brent Donley had another outstanding day carrying the ball, gaining 151 yards on 27 attempts with a touchdown.

Sophomore Seadrick Marshall carried the ball 11 times for 67 yards and a TD and junior Kyle Simmons completed 9 of 18 passes for 132 yards and touchdowns passes to senior Justin Linzy, sophomore Jordan Chopp and junior Michael Busch for ONU.

Kyrell Crook carried the ball 18 times for 65 yards and John McGraw ran 15 times for 34 yards and a TD for BW.

"I'm pleased that our players are finding different ways to win gamnes each week," ONU head coach Dean Paul said. "BW has outstanding personnel, so we knew we were facing a tough challenge. Add to that the strong winds and wet field conditions, and I am especially happy with how we performed. We played with confidence, played hard and were solid in all three phases of the game. Our guys are preparing very well all week in practice and that is a big reason we have been successful on Saturdays."

Ohio Northern's 49-point output is the most of the season and marks the sixth consecutive game in which the Polar Bears have scored 35 or more points, which is one short of the school record seven game streak in 1999.

The game was played with winds gusting up to 35 miles per hour on a wet, muddy field that was soaked after more than an inch of rain fell overnight.

After neither team picked up a first down in any of its first three possessions, Ohio Northern would score touchdowns on seven of its next nine possessions.

Taking over at its own 36-yard line, nine Donley runs and an incomplete pass accounted for a 64-yard TD drive and Northern was on the board with 4:15 left in the first quarter.

A 1-yard run by Donley capped the drive and senior Jake Heaphy nailed his first of seven PATs on the day to put ONU ahead 7-0.

Marshall scampered in from 13 yards out on the Polar Bears' next possession, capping a 13-play, 69-yard drive, to put ONU up 14-0 with 11:36 left in the half.

Northern's special teams would get its first of two touchdowns on the day just 1:35 later when junior Eric Wenzler blocked a BW punt and sophomore Chad Coward scooped up at the 10yard line and walked into the end zone for a touchdown and a 21-0 lead.

Simmons then hit Busch on a 1-yard TD pass with 10.9 seconds left in the half to give ONU a comfortable 28-0 lead at intermission.

Chopp scored his first collegiate touchdown when he caught a 28-yard pass from Simmons with 7:25 left in the the third period, extending Northern's lead to 35-0.

Simmons then hit Linzy on a 19-yard TD pass to make it 42-0 with 13:10 left in the game.

On the ensuing kickoff, Marvin Mitchell stripped the ball from the BW returner and ran 34 yards for a touchdown and a 49-0 Polar Bear advantage.

BW got its score on a 2-yard run by McGraw with 7:47 left in the game.

Northern out-gained BW 384-211 in total offense.

The Polar Bears will be on the road for their final two regular season contests, playing at No. 16 Capital next Saturday and at Wilmington on Nov. 14.