Football improves to 7-0 in international competition with 53-6 victory over Louth Mavericks in Ireland
May 24, 2026
BALROTHERY, Ireland — Junior Adam Sherick (Lebanon) threw for 274 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Ohio Northern football team to a 53-6 victory over the Louth Mavericks of the American Football Ireland league on Sunday afternoon.
| Ohio Northern Europe History |
The Basics
- Venue: Balbriggan Football Rugby and Football Club - Balrothery, Ireland.
The Game
- Sherick completed 16-of-21 passes for 274 yards and four touchdowns.
- Sophomore Zach Olechnowicz (Akron/Revere) carried five times for 95 yards and two touchdowns.
- Junior Seth Chamberlin (Wooster) ran 8 times for 48 yards and a score.
- Senior Matt McKeown (Brighton, Mich.) caught four passes for 94 yards and a TD.
- Northern controlled the game from the onset against the top-level Irish team, scoring just 2:03 into the contest when Olechnowicz ran in from 24 yards out to make it 6-0.
- Sherick then hit senior Eric Row (Oregon/Clay) on a 24-yard TD strike and it was 13-0 with 4:20 left in the opening quarter.
- Sherick hit McKeown on a 41-yard TD pass on Northern's third possession to make it 19-0 just one play into the second quarter.
- The score was 26-0 at halftime after Sherick hit senior Louie Blasiole (Mantua/Crestwood) on a 9-yard TD pass on the last play of the half.
- Olechnowicz raced in from 61 yards out on the second play of the third quarter to extend the Polar Bear lead to 33-0.
- After a 67-yard run by senior Andrew Shiban (Sagamore Hills/Holy Name), senior Jordan Bassler (Monroe, Mich.) banged in from a yard out to make it 40-0 with 7:24 left in the third.
- Chamberlin plowed in from 3 yards out with 23 seconds left in the third to give ONU a 47-0 lead.
- The Mavericks got on the board on a nice 54-yard touchdown pass from player/coach Ty Henry to O. Finn early with 8:41 left in the game.
- Northern wrapped up the scoring with a 30-yard TD pass from Sherick to McKeown on the final play of the game.
- The ONU coaching staff was going to take a knee, but the Irish players and coaches wanted to continue playing, resulting in ONU's final score.
- The Polar Bears out-gained the Mavericks 461-79 in total offense.
Notables
- The game between the Polar Bears and the Louth Mavericks is the seventh international game in ONU history.
- The game was played with 12-minute quarters, as is standard in international competition.
- Because the Mavericks are in the middle of their AFI season, the game was played with 1-hand touch on the quarterbacks, which resulted in numerous sacks, and with limited special teams play.
- The game was also played on a 90-yard field - which is the standard length of a rugby field.
- Complete statistics and a full play-by-play will be posted on ONUSports.com at a later date.
- Andy Fries is in his second season as head coach at ONU with a 13-8 record, a winning percentage of .619.
Up Next
- The Polar Bears will open their 2026 regular season on Sept. 5 at Adrian (Mich.)
