TD run with 1.7 seconds left give BW a
21-18 victory over No. 17 Ohio Northern

By Tim Glon

ADA — Nick Ranello scored with 1.7 seconds left to lead Baldwin-Wallace past No. 17 Ohio Northern 21-18 in an Ohio Athletic Conference football thriller Saturday afternoon at Dial-Roberson Stadium.

Both teams now stand at 5-3 overall and 4-3 in OAC play.

R.J. Meadows led a Polar Bear comeback from a 14-3 halftime deficit and finished the day with 130 yards rushing and a TD and 51 yards receiving with a score.

His 51-yard TD on a screen pass from Kyle Simmons with 1:34 left in the game gave Northern an 18-14 lead.

But the Yellow Jackets answered with a 9-play, 59-yard TD drive to claim the victory.

Anthony Gardner hit Vinny Latessa on a 15-yard pass to put the ball at the BW 2-yard line with 28 seconds left in the game.

Ranello tried the left side of the line and gained a yard, forcing BW to call its last timeout with 23 seconds to play.

Ranello tried the left side again on the second-and-goal play and Lenny Trusnik and Chane Porter stopped him for no gain.

The tackle by Trusnik was the last of his career-high 20 stops in the game.

With the clock running, BW got its final play off with about four seconds left and Ranello's run off the left side found the end zone for the game-winner.

"BW did a good job of maintaining their composure and getting the final play off in time," ONU coach Dean Paul said. "It came down to one play and he got in for the score. I was very proud of the way we battled back to take the lead. This was two good teams playing hard every down for 60 minutes."

Trailing 14-3 at halftime, Meadows scampered in from 21 yards out with 5:03 left in the third period. Simmons' ran it in for the 2-point conversion and it was 14-11 BW.

The Yellow Jackets took a 7-0 lead with 12:11 left in the half when Gardner ran in from 31 yards out to cap a 12-play, 97-yard scoring drive.

Jake Heaphy pulled ONU within 7-3 with a 34-yard field goal with 8:50 left in the half.

BW extended its lead to 14-3 at intermission with a 7-yard pass from Gardner to Latessa with 25 seconds remaining in the half.

Gardner led the Yellow Jackets by rushing 16 ttimes for 100 yards and a score and completing 11-of-17 passes for 83 yards and a TD.

ONU out-gained BW 315-313 in the contest.

Porter had 12 tackles and a PBU to go with Trusnik's 20 tackles to lead the ONU defense.

The BW defense was led by Luke Chronister with 12 tackles and a PBU.

The Polar Bears will return to action next Saturday when they host Heidelberg on Senior Day at Dial-Roberson Stadium.