Ohio Northern rallies for 39-31 victory at Wilmington in season finale

By Tim Glon

WILMINGTON — Ohio Northern scored on four consecutive second half possessions to rally for a 39-25 victory at Wilmington in the season finale Saturday afternoon at Williams Stadium.

The Polar Bears wrap up their season with a 7-3 overall record and a 6-3 Ohio Athletic Conference mark.

The Quakers end the year 2-8 overall and 2-7 in the OAC.

Northern trailed 25-14 with 8:33 left in the third period before freshman Kyle Simmons led the Polar Bears to three touchdowns and a field goal the next four times they had the ball.

R.J. Meadows ran 22 times for 107 yards and caught three passes for 41 passes and a TD and Simmons completed 20-of-24 passes for 155 yards and three TDs and ran nine times for 63 yards and a TD to lead Ohio Northern.

First, Simmons hit Ben Wittwer on a pretty 17-yard TD pass play with 2:15 left in the third period to make it 25-20. He then hit David Delk on the 2-point conversion pass and the Bears were within 25-22.

On WC's ensuing possession, Jake Davis sacked Billy Blackburn and Jeff Busching recovered the fumble, giving Northern the ball at the Wilmington 25-yard line.

Simmons hit Meadows on a 25-yard TD strike on the next play and the Polar Bears had the lead back at 29-25 with eight seconds left in the third period.

Simmons broke loose on a 56-yard touchdown run on Northern's next possession. Jake Heaphy's extra point gave the Polar Bears a 36-25 lead with 11:22 left in the game.

Heaphy capped the ONU rally with a 24-yard field goal, giving the Polar Bears a 39-25 lead with 6:42 left in the game.

Blackburn hit Jeremy Stuckey on a 4-yard TD pass with 41 seconds left in the game, but the PAT failed and Northern's lead was trimmed to 39-31.

Wilmington's onside kick sailed out of bounds and the Polar Bears had the victory.

"I was pleased that we made some big plays that turned the game around," ONU head coach Dean Paul said. "We were reeling in the third quarter a bit, but buckled down and made some big plays. We're very happy to send our seniors out on a two-game winning streak."

Lenny Trusnik had nine tackles to lead the ONU defense.

Northern scored on its first possession when Kyle Simmons hit Sam Amidon on a 21-yard touchdown with 6:57 gone in the contest. Northern marched 82 yards in 10 plays using 4:07 off the clock, to take a 7-0 lead.

Wilmington answered on its next possession, scoring on a 26-yard pass from Billy Blackburn to Brandon Hiatt with 6:23 left in the half. A bad snap on the PAT left the Polar Bears with a slim 7-6 lead.

The Quakers took the lead when Brandon Heim interception Jeff Pankratz and returned it 56 yards for a touchdown. The PAT again failed, hitting the right upright, and Wilmington led 12-7 with 5:03 left in the opening period.

Northern went on top 14-12 when Rob Pascarella blocked a WC punt, Cullen Rasmussen recovered it and ran it one yard for a TD with 11:50 left in the half.

Wilmington regained the lead when Chad Otte scored from 12 yards out to make it 18-14. The 2-point conversion pass from Blackburn failed and the lead remained 18-14 with 11:00 left in the half.

The Quakers extended their lead when Blackburn snuck in from a yard out with 8:33 left in the third period. The PAT by Trevor Stutz gave the hosts a 25-14 advantage.