| Kyle Simmons ran for 52 yards and passed for 190 as
Ohio Northern ran away from Otterbein 34-10. Photo by David Rich, d3photography.com More photos from this game |
By Tim Glon
| Box Score |
WESTERVILLE -- Kyle Simmons completed his first 15 passes and No. 11 Ohio Northern's defense did the rest as ONU posted a 34-10 Ohio Athletic Conference football victory at No. 18 Otterbein Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium.
The Polar Bears improve to 2-0 overall and are 1-0 in Ohio Athletic Conference play, while the Cardinals fall to 1-1, 0-1.
Simmons connected on his first 15 passes and finished the day 21-of-31 for 190 yards and two touchdowns. he also ran the ball 11 times for 52 yards.
Brent Donley carried the ball 28 times for 97 yards and a TD.
Northern's defense was outstanding all day. ONU forced four OU turnovers, and had 107 yards in interception returns.
Justin Henck returned one pick 65 yards for a TD and J.J. Mihoci
had a 39-yard interception return to give ONU the ball at the OU
5-yard line, setting up Donley's touchdown.
With Simmons red-hot early, ONU scored on its first two
possessions and built a quick 14-0 first quarter lead.
Northern marched 91 yards in nine plays for a score on its first possession. Simmons hit Evan Elliott on a 4-yard TD pass and is was 7-0 Polar Bears with just 3:45 gone in the contest.
After holding OU to a 3-and-out, Northern marched 69 yards in 13 plays for a second first period score and a 14-0 lead.
Simmons hit Brook Crawford on a 4-yard TD pass with 3:30 left in the opening period.
"The quick start was an important factor for us," ONU head coach Dean Paul said. "I think it took them out of their comfort zone offensively. They are a good team that is tough to stop and our quick start made them change some things. Our defense then played very well. Some of our younger guys stepped up today."
Otterbein scored on the first play of the second quarter when Schlosser hit Fortinel Faustin on a 26-yard TD pass, capping an 8-play, 69-yard scoring drive. The PAT was good and Northern's lead was 14-7 with 14:54 left in the first half.
The Polar Bears extended its lead to 17-7 when Blair Ellenbarger drilled a 33-yard field goal with 6:36 left in the second period. ONU marched 67 yards in 13 plays for the field goal.
The Cardinals used a short field after an interception to kick a 19-yard field goal with 1:10 left in the half to trim the Polar Bear advantage to 17-10 at intermission.
Northern extended its lead on its first possession of the second half, marching 73 yards in 12 plays, and scored on a 32-yard field goal by Ellenbarger to go up 20-10 with 8:35 left in the third.
Two plays later, J.J. Mihoci picked off Schlosser and returned it 39 yards to the OU 5-yard line.
Donley pounded his way in for the score on the next play and Northern led 27-10 with 7:28 to left in the third.
Justin Henck put the game away for the Polar Bears when he returned an interception 65 yards for a touchdown with 11:11 left in the game. Ellenberger's fourth PAT of the game gave ONU a 34-10 lead.
Jesse Richards had nine tackles to lead the ONU defense.
Colton Coy carried the ball 20 times for 86 yards to lead the OU offense.
Northern out-gained Otterbein 356-210 in the contest.
The Polar Bears will return to action next Saturday with a home contest against OAC foe Muskingum at 1:30 pm at Dial-Roberson Stadum.