'Berg Falls to Polar Bears

After a low-scoring first half, the Ohio Northern University Polar Bears managed to retain the lead for the rest of the game against the Heidelberg College Student Princes, and added some to it for a final score of 35-10. The loss drops Heidelberg to 3-6 overall, 2-6 in the Ohio Athletic Conference, while ONU rises to 6-3 overall, 5-3 in the OAC.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Polar Bears scored first in the seventh minute of the second. R. J. Meadows ran the ball in 12 yards for ONU and Jake Heaphy booted the ball for the extra point, putting the team up 7-0. But Heidelberg refused to go quietly into the locker room for halftime, and managed to record a field goal off the foot of Jesse Hawkins (Georgetown, Ky. / Scott County) right as the clock hit zero. The 47 yard field goal was a career record for Hawkins.

ONU came out strong in the second half, and just under halfway through the third quarter they would score another touchdown. This time a six yard pass from Ben Wittwer would find Kyle Simmons in the end zone. Along with another good kick from Heaphy, the play would put the Polar Bears up 14-3. Heidelberg answered just three minutes later, however, and scored its only touchdown of the day as Steve West (Huron, Ohio / Huron) found Joe Richardson (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio / Cuyahoga Falls) from eight yards out. Hawkins extra point was good.

The Polar Bears dashed any hopes the Student Princes may have had of a comeback, however, and scored one more touchdown before the start of the fourth quarter. They would go onto score twice more before the completion of the game to deliver Heidelberg the loss for the day, but not before the Berg managed to force a fumble from within the red zone.

Offensively, Aaron Jonhenry (Berea, Ohio / Berea) led the way in rushing for the Berg with a net gain of 62 yards, while Adam Hogner racked up 82 yards for Ohio Northern. On the receiving end of things, Lucas Bauer (Huron, Ohio / Huron) made four catches for a total 15 yards for Heidelberg, and David Delk made a game-high five catches for ONU for a total of 63 yards. West threw for 123 yards, while Ohio Northern’s Simmons recorded 242 yards, a career-high.

On defense for Heidelberg, Chris Strawser (Circleville, Ohio / Circleville) led with 13 tackles, while Vaughn Klein (Galloway, Ohio / Central Crossing) followed close behind with 12 and the team’s lone sack of the day. Josh Horn led the way for Ohio Northern with a total nine tackles, and combined with Chris Stone for a total four sacks. The Polar ended up recording seven sacks on the day.

The Student Princes return to action Saturday, November 10 against Muskingum. It is the Berg’s last home game for the year and also Parent’s Day. Kick off is set for 1:30 p.m.