Ohio Northern 56, Wittenberg 24
Nov 27, 1999
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Ohio Northern scored 31 points in the first 20 minutes of play and went on to a 58-24 victory at Wittenberg in the second round of the NCAA playoffs at Edwards-Maurer Field. The Polar Bears (11-1) defeated their second consecutive foe on the road to advance to the quarterfinal round. ONU will play at No. 1 Mount Union (11-0), a 42-33 winner against fifth-seeded Augustana, on Saturday, Dec. 4. Nov 27, 1999
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Ohio Northern
Shane Franzer threw for four TDs and ran for another to lead ONU. He threw TD strikes of 8, 41, 55 and 71 yards and completed 18-of-30 passes for 351 yards. The ONU defense held the vaunted Wittenberg running game in check, allowing the Tigers (11-1) only 11 yards rushing in the first 50 minutes of play. WU scored twice and rolled up 135 yards on its final two drives against the ONU second team defense. Casey Donaldson ended the day with 139 yards and a TD on 21 attempts to lead the hosts.
Jamal Robertson led the Polar Bear ground game with 91 yards and one score on 24 carries. ONU All-American candidate Steve Vagedes hauled in five passes for 140 yards and a TD, punted twice for a 55.0-yard average, including a 63-yarder, and returned three punts for 24 yards. Jeremy Agozzino caught three passes for 110 yards and two TDs.
"This was a great team victory for Ohio Northern," ONU head coach Tom Kaczkowski said. "We played exceptional on both sides of the ball. I’m very pleased with the way we handled Wittenberg’s running attack and our offense was outstanding. We had many outstanding efforts today. "This victory is a reflection of how difficult it is to play in the Ohio Athletic Conference every week. That tough schedule has us very well prepared to go on the road and face outstanding teams like Wittenberg."
Ohio Northern scored on its first four possessions and rolled up 542 yards of total offense en route to its ninth consecutive win. On Northern’s first possession, Franzer capped a 58-yard drive with an 8-yard pass to Troy Welsch with 2:33 gone in the game. Robertson scored from 20 yards out on a draw play on the Polar Bears’ next possession, giving the visitors a 14-0 advantage with 9:18 left in the first.
Jeremy Presar’s 37-yard interception return, off a Kendall Knight deflection, set ONU up at the Wittenberg 23-yard line. Six plays later, J.R. Cipra nailed a 29-yard field goal, his first of three on the day, and it was 17-0 ONU with 3:44 left in the opening stanza. Franzer hit Jeremy Agozzino on a 41-yard TD strike the next time the Bears got the ball, capping an 83-yard drive to put Ohio Northern ahead 24-0 with 25 seconds left in the first period. Scott Sweat returned a fumble 25 yards for a score with 10:58 left in the first half to give the Polar Bears a commanding 31-0 advantage. Len Van DeVelde hit Wittenberg quarterback Anthony Crane, jarring the ball loose, and Sweat rumbled in for the score.
The Tigers got on the board on a 14-yard pass from Crane to Labon Storts with 7:14 left in the half. Wittenberg marched 71 yards in nine plays to make it 31-7. Wittenberg pulled within 31-10 at halftime on a 28-yard field goal by Ryan Walker with 1:09 left in the first half. Northern regained control of the contest when Brad Lohr intercepted Crane on the first play of the third quarter, giving the Bears the ball at the Wittenberg 34-yard line. Cipra hit an 18-yard field goal with 13:25 left in the period to give ONU a 34-10 lead.
After holding the Tigers without a first down on the next series, Northern put the game away. Franzer hit Agozzino on a 55-yard bomb down the left sideline, giving the Polar Bears a 41-10 lead with 10:06 left in the third quarter. Northern marched 74 yards in five plays for the score. Franzer scored on a 12-yard bootleg run on ONU’s next possession to put the Polar Bears ahead 48-10 with 4:15 left in the third period. Franzer then hit Vagedes on ONU’s next play from scrimmage. Vagedes caught the ball on a 10-yard hook, then did the rest himself on the 57-yard TD pass play. ONU led 55-10 with 3:18 left in the third quarter.
The Polar Bears used a roughing the kicker penalty and a fake punt to score three points on their next possession. J.R. Cipra’s 38-yard field goal at the 10:39 mark of the fourth quarter gave ONU a 58-10 lead. Wittenberg pulled within 58-17 when Casey Donaldson scored from six yards out with 5:58 left in the game and Tigers ended the scoring on a two-yard pass from Chris Damico to Michael Aljancic with 38 seconds remaining in the contest.