Nine Polar Bears named to All-OAC football teams for 2007

Lenny Trusnik

Steve Gunter

By Tim Glon

ADA — Nine Ohio Northern players, led by seniors Lenny Trusnik (Macedonia/Nordonia) and Steve Gunter (Cleveland/Warrensville Heights), were named All-Ohio Athletic Conference in football for the 2007 season in voting conducted by the league’s 10 head coaches.

Trusnik and Gunter were First Team picks.

Seniors Nate Dunnington (Richwood/North Union) and Eric Schroeder (Maria Stein/Marion Local) and juniors R.J. Meadows (Hendersonville, Tenn/Beech), Stephen Gill (Pandora/Pandora-Gilboa) and Jake Fallis (Harrison) were named Second Team All-OAC honorees.

Juniors Chane Porter (Canal Winchester) and Ben Wittwer (Cincinnati/Elder) received Honorable Mention All-OAC picks.

Trusnik is a two-time First Team All-OAC pick as a middle linebacker and received the Bill Edwards Award as the league’s top linebacker.

This season, he led the team and was second in the OAC in tackles with 106 (31 solo). He also had 11.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, an interception, two PBUs and a fumble recovery.

He ends his career ranked fifth all-time with 294 tackles and 10th in sacks with 13.0.

Trusnik was also named the OAC Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 24.

Gunter is making his first appearance on the All-OAC squad. He started all 10 games at corner back for the Polar Bears and finished with 37 tackles (27 solo).

He also had two interceptions, four PBUs, recovered two fumbles and blocked a kick.

In two seasons as a Polar Bear, Gunter had 45 tackles (35 solo), two interceptions, eight PBUs, two fumble recoveries and a blocked kick.

He will represent Ohio Northern and Team USA in the 2007 Aztec Bowl, which will be played Dec. 15 in Chihuahua, Mexico.

Gunter was also named the OAC Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 1.

Dunnington started all 10 games at right tackle this season and is a two-time All-OAC selection after earning Honorable Mention All-OAC kudos last season at left tackle.

A two-year starter, Dunnington started the last 20 games on the offensive line for the Polar Bears.

Schroeder started eight games this season, five at left guard and the final three at center.

He started 14 games over the past two seasons at center, guard and tackle for Ohio Northern.

Meadows is a three-time All-Conference pick after earning First Team All-OAC kudos as a freshman in 2005 and as a sophomore in 2006.

This season, he was second in the league with 892 yards rushing and had seven touchdowns.

He also caught 17 passes for 272 yards and three TDs. Meadows led the team and was fifth in the league in scoring with 62 points on 10 TDs and a two-point conversion.

He led the team and was third in the league with 1,164 all-purpose yards.

Meadows will enter his senior season ranked seventh all-time at ONU with 2,552 rushing yards and eighth in all-purpose yards with 3,065.

Fallis is a two-time Second Team All-OAC pick at defensive tackle, earning the award as a sophomore in 2006, as well.

This season, Fallis started all 10 games and was fifth on the squad with 49 tackles (17 solo). He has started the last 20 games over the past two years.

He had a team-high 14.0 tackles for loss, 5.0 sacks, four PBUs, recovered a fumble and blocked two kicks this season.

Fallis will enter his senior season with 84 tackles (30 solo), 23 TFL, eight sacks, six PBUs, a recovered fumble and two blocked kicks.

Gill is making his first appearance on the All-OAC squad after starting all 10 games at tight end for the Polar Bears in 2007.

He was fifth on the squad with 13 receptions for 170 yards and one TD.

Gill has 13 receptions for 208 yards and a TD in his three-year career.

Porter started seven games this season at strong safety and finished second on the team with 66 tackles (34 solo).

He also had 9.5 TFL, 4.0 sacks, a team-best six PBUs and a fumble recovery.

In his three seasons as a Polar Bear, Porter has 126 tackles (58 solo), 13.5 TFL, 5.5 sacks, 10 PBUs and a fumble recovery.

Porter was also named the OAC Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 22.

Wittwer is a two-year starter at wide receiver and is making his first appearance on the All-Conference team.

This season, Wittwer led the team with 39 receptions and 524 yards and had three TDs. He also returned four punts for 41 yards, returned a kickoff for 21 yards and had 586 all-purpose yards.

He currently ranks seventh all-time at ONU with 88 receptions and is 12th all-time with 1,063 career receiving yards.

The Polar Bears (7-3 overall, 6-3 Ohio Athletic Conference) were third in the OAC, their 12th consecutive upper division finish in the 10-team league.