Football drops defensive battle to No. 21 Baldwin Wallace 17-14
By Tim Glon
ADA — Ohio Northern and No. 21-ranked Baldwin Wallace got locked in a defensive battle on Saturday afternoon at Dial-Roberson Stadium.
BW kicked a 19-yard field goal with 1:29 left in the third quarter and held on for a 17-14 Ohio Athletic Conference football victory.
The Polar Bears fall to 4-5 overall and are 3-5 in the OAC, while the Yellow Jackets improve to 8-1, 7-1.
Northern had a 4th-and-3 at the BW 23-yard line with 4:02 left in the game. Facing a stiff wind, a 40-yard field goal would have been a difficult task, so ONU was forced to leave the offense on the field to keep the drive alive but was intercepted at the BW 6.
The visitors then picked up three first downs and ran out the clock to hold on for the win.
Senior Brody Hahn (Louisville) completed 14-of-28 passes for 159 yards and two TDs and senior All-American Brock Martin (Attica/Seneca East) ran 11 times for 61 yards to lead the ONU offense.
Freshman Adonis Ables (Radcliff, Ky./North Hardin) scooped up a fumble and ran 36 yards to the BW 13-yard line to put ONU in position for the first score of the game.
One play later, Hahn hit senior Chase Rose (Kenton/Upper Scioto Valley) on an 13-yard TD pass to make it 7-0 with 8:07 left in the first quarter.
Baldwin Wallace responded on its next drive, marching 55 yards in 11 plays to get even at 7-7 with 2:31 left in the quarter on a 1-yard run by Jon Murray.
A short punt gave BW the ball at the ONU 37 and it took the Yellow Jackets five plays to go ahead 14-7 with 14:23 left in the half.
Northern tied the game at 14-14 on its first possession of the second half when Hahn hit senior Austin Eick (Rossford) on a 44-yard touchdown pass with 10:38 left in the third.
Sophomore Peyton Wilson (Lima/Shawnee) had a career-high 18 tackles to lead the Ohio Northern defense.
Baldwin Wallace out-gained Ohio Northern 335-251 in total offense.
The Polar Bears will return wrap up their season next Saturday when they host Heidelberg at Dial-Roberson Stadium in the annual Bendekovic Bowl.
