Football keeps playoff hopes alive, rallies for thrilling 30-28 victory over No. 22 Baldwin Wallace

ADA — The Ohio Northern football team kept its playoff hopes alive with a thrilling 30-28 victory over No. 22 Baldwin Wallace on a chilly and overcast Saturday afternoon.

The Basics

• Records: Ohio Northern (7-2 Overall, 6-1 OAC), #22 Baldwin Wallace (7-2 Overall, 5-2 OAC).
• Venue: Dial-Roberson Stadium - Ada, Ohio.

The Game

• Senior Louie Blasiole (Mantua/Crestwood) had career-highs of 37 carries and 165 yards. He also caught four passes for 3 yards and a TD.
• Senior Cody Dykes (Apollo, Pa./Kiski Area) made three field goals, including the go-ahead 33-yarder with 6:48 left in the game.
• Senior Sam Feldman (Springboro) completed 12-of-27 passes for 138 yards and two TDs and ran 11 times for 58 yards.
• Northern took the opening kickoff and marched 61 yards in 12 plays to take a 3-0 lead on a 22-yard field goal by Dykes with 5:16 gone in the contest.
• The Yellow Jackets returned the ensuing kickoff 90 yards for a TD and a 7-3 lead.
• After an exchange of punts, Feldman hit sophomore Raffi Stauffer (Irwin/Fairbanks) on a 40-yard TD pass to make it 10-7 Polar Bears with 5:47 left in the first quarter.
• Blasiole scored on a 1-yard TD pass from Feldman with 22 seconds left in the half to get ONU within 21-17 at intermission.
• Feldman snuck in from a yard out with 6:11 left in the third to make it 28-24.
• Dykes nailed a 27-yard field goal with 14:51 left in the game to get Northern within 28-27.
• On its next possession, Ohio Northern marched 57 yards in 15 plays, taking 6:33 off the clock, to go up 30-28 Dykes' 33-yard field goal at the 6:48 mark.
• Junior Jacob Hershberger (Lima/Allen East) intercepted a BWU pass near midfield on the ensuing possession with 4:59 left.
• Junior Matt Serdinak (Sagamore Hills/Walsh Jesuit) pinned the Yellow Jackets at their own 8-yard line with a 39-yard punt with 2:26 left in the game.
• Three plays later, senior Myles Aldrich (Lima/Shawnee) had a strip sack and senior Kolten Berner (Springfield/Northwestern) recovered the fumble at the BW 17 yard line with 1:46 left.
• Northern then ran out the clock to hang on for the victory.
• Baldwin Wallace was led by Charlie Bubonics, who was 10-of-22 passing for 158 yards and a score and ran six times for 27 yards and a score.
• Defensively, Aldrich had eight tackles and a strip sack to lead ONU.
• The Polar Bears out-gained the Yellow Jackets 332-253 in total offense and held the ball for 38:37.

Notables

• The Polar Bears entered the game ranked No. 47 in the NCAA's latest NPI rankings and will likely move up after Saturday's victory.
• The NCAA Division III Playoffs feature a 40-team bracket with 27 automatic bids and 13 at-large selections.
• #2 Mount Union clinched the OAC's automatic bid this season with its 30-19 win over Marietta, meaning ONU will need a victory next week in hopes of being of the top 13 teams that are eligible for at-large selections.
• BWU leads the series between the two schools by a 34-15-1 margin. The series is tied at 5-5 in games played at Dial-Roberson Stadium.
• Ohio Northern remains in second place in the OAC with its 6-1 mark, one game behind #2 Mount Union (7-0) and one game ahead of #22 Baldwin Wallace (5-2) and Heidelberg (5-2).
• Saturday's game was the ninth of 10 in the 131st season of football at Ohio Northern. Ohio Northern is now 570-528-36 all-time, a winning percentage of .518.
• Blasiole is 11th on the all-time career rushing list with 2,473 yards.
• Junior Jordan Pettaway (Oregon/Clay) currently ranks 15th all-time in ONU history in rushing with 1,910 yards.
• Feldman is 12th all-time at ONU with 2,847 career passing yards.
• Andy Fries is in his second season as head coach at ONU with a 12-7 record, a winning percentage of .632.

Up Next

• The Polar Bears will return to action on Saturday when they travel to Otterbein in the regular season finale.