Meadows leads No. 12 Ohio Northern to 27-9 victory at Muskingum

By Tim Glon

NEW CONCORD — R.J. Meadows ran 30 times for 167 yards and a TD to lead No. 12-ranked Ohio Northern to a 27-9 victory at Muskingum Saturday afternoon at McConagha Stadium.

Meadows reached the 100-yard plateau for the second time in as many games this season and for the 10th time in 18 career games.

Jeff Pankratz completed 10-of-19 passes for 101 yards and a TD.

The Muskies were led by Charles Saulter, who ran 18 times for 66 yards and a score.

Northern (2-0 overall, 1-0 Ohio Athletic Conference) limited Muskingum (0-2, 0-1) to 228 yards of total offense, including just 69 in the second half.

ONU had 226 yards rushing and 136 in the air for 365 total.

Northern started quickly, as freshman Michael Busch returned the opening kickoff 33 yards to the Muskingum 42-yard line.

Three plays later, Meadows ran in from 29 yards out to give ONU a 7-0 lead just 1:14 into the contest.

The Muskies got on the board on their second possession when Bryan Gulley nailed a 40-yard field goal with 5:31 left in the first. MC marched 51 yards in 11 plays for the score after recovering a bad snap from center by ONU at the MC 26.

Muskingum took a 9-7 lead with 10:59 left in the half when Charles Sauter raced in from 21-yards out to cap a quick, three-play, 79-yard TD drive. Jake Fallis blocked the PAT.

Northern regained the lead at 10-9 on its next possession as Jake Heaphy drilled a 31-yard field goal with 6:04 left in the half. Busch returned the MC kickoff 50 yards to the Muskie 45-yard line to set the Polar Bears up with another short field.

The Polar Bears struck on their first possession of the third period when Jeff Pankratz hit David Delk on a 22-yard TD pass with 10:03 left in the quarter.

Travis Stephens bulled in from a yard out on the first play of the fourth quarter to give the Polar Bears a 24-9 lead. Northern marched 59 yards in eight plays, scoring on a fourth-and-goal.

Heaphy capped the scoring with a 26-yard field goal with 4:22 left in the game.

"A road win in the OAC is a good win," ONU head coach Dean Paul said. "That said, there are many things we need to improve on. We need to get more consistent on offense. We did a much beter job defensively in the second half. Muskingum had a good game plan and had us on our heels early."

Busch had an outstanding day on special teams, rolling up 105 all-purpose yards. He had two kickoff returns for 83 yards, including a 50-yarder, and returned three punts for 22 yards.

The Polar Bears will return to action next Saturday when they host John Carroll in a 1:30 pm OAC contest at Dial-Roberson Stadium.