Football rallies from 17-point deficit, falls 32-31 to Wabash (Ind.) on 2-point conversion in final seconds of ForeverLawn Bowl

CANTON — Ohio Northern football team rallied from 17 points down, but fell 32-31 on a score and 2-point conversion with two seconds left to Wabash (Ind.) in the ForeverLawn Bowl on a crisp and beautiful Saturday afternoon.

The Basics

• Records: Ohio Northern (8-3 Overall), Wabash (9-2 Overall).
• Venue: Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium - Canton, Ohio.

The Game

• Senior Louie Blasiole (Mantua/Crestwood) had 18 carries for 93 yards and a TD.
• Senior Sam Feldman (Springboro) completed 17-of-31 passes for 208 yards and two TDs.
• Junior Jordan Pettaway (Oregon/Clay) ran 17 times for 82 yards and a score.
• Junior Seth Borondy (Bellbrook) caught 10 passes for 76 yards.
• Blasiole raced in from 28 yards out on the Polar Bears' first possession of the fourth quarter to take a 31-24 lead with 12:39 remaining.
• Wabash drove 69 yards in 13 plays and scored on a 23-yard pass on a fourth-and-8 with two seconds left to pull within 31-30, then added the 2-point conversion on a pop pass over the middle to take a 32-31 lead.
• Feldman got the Polar Bears on the board on their second possession, hitting sophomore Mikey Brown (Wilmington) on a 35-yard touchdown pass to put ONU on top 7-3.
• WC then scored the next 21 points to go ahead 24-7 with 11:14 left in the half.
• Pettaway scored on an 11-yard run with 6:33 left in the half to get Northern within 24-14.
• After an interception by senior Myles Aldrich (Lima/Shawnee), Feldman then hit junior Kyle Celestin (Miami, Fla./Surge Academy) on a 15-yard pass to make it 24-21 with 2:00 left in the half.
• Northern marched 78 yards in 17 plays on its first possession of the third quarter to tie the game at 24-all on a 27-yard field goal by senior Cody Dykes (Apollo, Pa./Kiski Area) with 5:31 left in the period.
• Defensively, junior Jacob Hershberger (Lima/Allen East) had eight tackles, three PBUs and an interception to lead the Northern defense.
• The Little Giants out-gained the Polar Bears 407-396 in total offense.

Notables

• The game between the Polar Bears and the Little Giants is the first of two games on Saturday as part of the Open Dorse Bowl Series, which featured 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 was 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 made its fifth postseason appearance in program history and its first since 2015.
• The Polar Bears 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.
• Saturday's game was the 11th and final game in the 131st season of football at Ohio Northern. Ohio Northern is now 571-529-36 all-time, a winning percentage of .519.
• Blasiole is 8th on the all-time career rushing list with 2,810 yards.
• Junior Jordan Pettaway (Oregon/Clay) currently ranks 15th all-time in ONU history in rushing with 1,992 yards.
• Feldman is 12th all-time at ONU with 3,340 career passing yards.
• Andy Fries is in his second season as head coach at ONU with a 13-8 record, a winning percentage of .619.

Up Next

• Season complete.