Football: Marietta (4-3 Overall, 3-3 OAC) at Ohio Northern (5-2 Overall, 4-2 OAC)

Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017, 1:30 pm - Dial-Roberson Stadium, Ada, Ohio

| Game Notes (.pdf) |

Saturday's Contest: Today is the fourth home game and the eighth game overall of the 2017 season for Ohio Northern. With a victory, ONU would clinch its 11th winning season in the last 13 years.

ONU Head Coach Dean Paul: Paul is in his 14th season at ONU with a 94-47 record. Paul is ONU's all-time winningest coach in ONU football history. He is 133-59 in 18 seasons overall and is 12-1 against MC.

MC head coach Andy Waddle: Waddle is in his 5th season at MC with a 12-35 record. He is 0-4 against ONU.

ONU Last Week: Ohio Northern overcame five turnovers and a missed 22-yard field goal with 24 seconds left to win 7-6 at Muskingum on Saturday. ONU was led by RB Christiaan Williams, who ran 38 times for 168 yards and ONU's only touchdown. QB Will Freed completed 16-of-28 passes for 188 yards for ONU. Clinging to a 7-6 lead late, Northern fumbled the ball at the Muskingum 9-yard line with 2:50 left in the game. The Muskies promptly marched 86 yards and got to the ONU 3-yard line. But a 22-yard field goal with 24 seconds left was wide right and the Polar Bears escaped with the 7-6 victory. ONU head coach Dean Paul became the school's all-time career wins leader with his 94th win as a Polar Bear. ONU drove into MU territory on each of its 5 second half possessions, rolling up 308 yards of offense. ONU took the second half kickoff and marched 75 yards in 11 plays for a 7-6 lead. The next four trips into Muskie territory ended up with a failed fake field goal attempt, a pair of interceptions and the fumble at the MU 9-yard line. ONU out-gained MU 361-268 in total offense.

ONU Leaders: The ONU running game is led by All-OAC RB Christiaan Williams (203 att, 1,253 yards, 6 TDs). All-OAC QB Will Freed is 138-of-227 passing for 1,781 yards and 17 TDs. WR Chad Rex (34 rec, 620 yards, 8 TDs), RB Christiaan Williams (29 rec, 254 yards), WR Malachi Nolletti (26 rec, 298 yards, 2 TDS) and RB Rodney Holmes (26 rec, 210 yards, 1 TD) and lead the receiving corps. LB Mark Niles, LB Zach Schmerge and S Andrew Valenti lead the defense with 57, 52 and 43 tackles, respectively. DL Justin Croswell leads the team with 3.5 sacks.

MC Last Week: Marietta scored 37 straight points and dominated #24 Heidelbergin a 44-21 Homecoming victory at Marietta. The win was MC's first over a ranked opponent since a 25-22 win over #7 Otterbein in 2009. All-America RB Roger Walker ran the ball 25 times for 189 yards and 4 TDs. The Pioneers racked up a season-high 337 yards on the ground and went over 500 total yards for the first time this year finishing with 563.

MC Leaders: The MC running game is led by RB Roger Walker (121 att, 780 yards, 9 TDs) and RB Tanner Clark (58 att, 262 yards, 1 TD). QB Darrien Fields is 126-of-182 passing for 1,403 yards and 17 TDs. WR Ryan Van Meter (32 rec, 404 yards, 2 TDs) and RB Andrew Barker (25 rec, 311 yards, 5 TDs) lead the MC receivers. LB Garrett Davis, LB Eric Klopfenstein and LB Caleb Boy lead the defense with 64, 47 and 46 tackles, respectively. LB Jake Tracewell leads MC with 2.0 sacks.

Last Year's Game: Ohio Northern scored on its first four second half possessions to snap a 21-all tie and post a 45-29 victory at Marietta. QB Will Freed, RB Christiaan Williams and LB Zach Schmerge all had big days to lead ONU. Offensively, Freed completed 19-of-26 passes for 282 yards and 3 TDs and ran five times for 39 yards and a fourth score and Williams ran 23 times for 162 yards and 2 TDs and caught two passes for 67 yards and a third score. Schmerge led the Polar Bear defense with a game-high 15 tackles, one sack and two forced fumbles.The two teams combined for 1,007 yards of total offense and 53 first downs in the game. Northern held a 282-219 advantage in passing, while Marietta out-gained ONU 287-219 rushing and 506-501 overall.

ONU Statistical Leaders:

All-Time Series: ONU leads the series between the two schools by a 33-9-1 margin. ONU has won the last 10 in the series, including a 45-29 win in Marietta in 2017. ONU is 16-4 in games played in Ada and is 5-1 vs. the Pioneers at Dial-Roberson Stadium.

Tickets: Tickets are priced at $7 for adults and $3 for seniors and non-OAC students and children.