Football to face Wabash (Ind.) in ForeverLawn Bowl on Saturday at Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton

By Tim Glon

ADA — The Ohio Northern football team will face North Coast Athletic Conference foe Wabash (Ind.) in the ForeverLawn Bowl on Saturday at the Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton.

The game between the Polar Bears (8-2 overall) and the Little Giants (8-2) is the first of two games on Saturday as part of the Open Dorse Bowl Series, which features the highest-ranked team to not make the NCAA tournament from the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference, the North Coast Athletic Conference, the Ohio Athletic Conference, and the Presidents' Athletic Conference.

Westminster (Pa.) (7-3) from the PAC will face Mount Saint Joseph (6-4) from the HCAC at 6 pm.

Ohio Northern is the highest ranked team in the series, finishing the regular season ranked No. 36 in the NCAA's NPI standings. Wabash is ranked No. 46, Westminster is No. 65 and MSJ is No. 95.

ONU is making its fifth postseason appearance in program history and its first since 2015.

The Polar Bears, guided by second-year head coach Andy Fries, finished second in the Ohio Athletic Conference with a 7-1 league mark after being picked to finish fifth in the league's preseason coaches poll.

Wabash finished third in the NCAC with a 6-2 league mark.

Northern is led on offense by senior running back Louie Blasiole (Mantua/Crestwood), who is second in the OAC with 1,306 rushing yard and a league-best 19 touchdowns this season.

Senior quarterback Sam Feldman (Springboro) has completed 158-of-260 passes for 2,184 yards and 18 TDs and has ran 66 times for 324 yards and five TDs.

Junior receiver Seth Borondy (Bellbrook) has caught 46 passes for 738 yards and five TDs.

Defensively, junior safety Jacob Hershberger (Lima/Allen East) has 49 tackles, three interceptions and 7.5 TFL to lead the Northern defense.

The Little Giants are led by quarterback Brand Campbell, who has completed 133-of-216 passes for 20 touchdowns.

Northern is 5-4 all-time in post-season play. In 2015, ONU won at Franklin (Ind.) 27-22 in the first round of the NCAA III Playoffs before falling at No. 3-ranked Wisconsin-Oshkosh in the second round.