Football: Heidelberg (6-3 Overall, 5-3 OAC) at Ohio Northern (5-4 Overall, 5-3 OAC)
Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019, 1:30 pm - Dial-Roberson Stadium, Ada, Ohio
Saturday's Contest: Saturday's contest is the final game of the 2019 season for Ohio Northern. It is also the annual Bendekovic Bowl between ONU and HU. ONU is 541-501-36 in 125 seasons of play, a winning percentage of .518.
Bendekovic Bowl: Saturday's game will be the ninth annual Bendekovic Bowl, which honors the late Ronnie and Jason Bendekovic, who served as assistants at ONU and Heidelberg, respectively. HU owns a 7-1 record in the series, including a 49-17 win in Tiffin a year ago.
ONU Head Coach Dean Paul: Paul is in his 16th season at ONU with a 106-57 record, a winning percentage of .650. Paul is ONU's all-time winningest coach in ONU football history. He is 146-69 in 20 seasons overall and is 8-7 vs. HU..
HU head coach Scott Donaldson: Donaldson is in his 4th season at HU with a 24-15 overall record. He is 3-1 vs ONU.
Last Year's Game: Heidelberg scored 22 third quarter points to break open a tight game and posted a 49-17 victory over Ohio Northern in the eighth annual Bendekovic Bowl on a cold and blustery day in Tiffin. ONU played the game without seven starters on defense and three more on offense. QB Mason Williams completed 8-of-19 passes for 80 yards and a TD in his first collegiate start and QB Tyler Smith came off the bench to complete 4-of-9 passes for 54 yards and a score. RB Brock Martin ran 30 times for 106 yards and RB A.J. Marks ran 11 times for 43 yards for ONU. Heidelberg out-gained ONU 391-270 in total offense.
ONU Last Week: Ohio Northern scored on its first three possessions, then got a key fourth quarter stop to hang on for a 35-28 victory over Baldwin Wallace at Dial-Roberson Stadium. With the victory, ONU also clinched its 23rd upper division OAC finish in the past 25 seasons. QB Anthony McFadden completed 12-of-17 passes for 155 yards and 3 TDs and ran 16 times for 52 yards and a TD to lead the ONU offense. RB All-American Christiaan Williams ran 22 times for 118 yards and a touchdown, making him just the second player in Ohio Northern history to eclipse the 4,000-yard mark in his career. WR Chase Rose had five receptions for 109 yards and two scores for ONU. LB David Haseleu tied his career-high with 13 tackels to lead the ONU defense. BW out-gained ONU 429-328 in total offense.
ONU Leaders: The Ohio Northern running game is led by All-American RB Christiaan Williams (206 att, 1,279 yards, 10 TDs) and QB Anthony McFadden (100 att, 251 yards, 12TDs). QB Anthony McFadden is 129-of-202 passing for 1,724 yards and 23 TDs against just 3 INTs. WR Austin Eick (39 rec, 615 yards, 11 TDs) and WR Chase Rose (24 rec, 522 yards, 7 TDs) lead the receivers. LB Mark Niles, LB David Haseleu and DE Josh Bever lead the defense with 95, 70 and 46 tackles, respectively. Niles leads the team and the OAC with 95 tackles and Bever leads the OAC with 14.0 TFL and 3 forced fumbles and is second with 8.5 sacks.
HU Last Week: #9 John Carroll had a 65-yard punt return to set up a 14-yard TD run with 7:37 left in the game to down Heidelberg 17-13. QB Jimmy Gephart threw for 201 yards and a TD on 17-of-40 attempts. On the ground, RB Jace Grossman carried the ball 20 times for 84 yards. LB Zach Blackiston had nine tackles and the Hu defense recorded 4 interceptions in the game. JCU out-gained HU 407-285 in total offense.
HU Leaders: The HU running game is led by RB Tayy Yarby (156 att, 861 yards, 10 TDs) and RB Jace Grossman (70 att, 402 yards, 3 TDs). QB Jimmy Gephart is 165-of-266 passing for 2,276 yards and 26 TDs. WR Marco Matthews (40 rec, 749 yards, 10 TDs), WR Dimitri Denick (43 rec, 529 yards, 7 TDs) and WR Kevion Belcher (36 rec, 512 yards, 8 TDs) lead the HU receivers. LB Zach Blackiston, LB Tyler Matuszak and DB Elijah Brechbill lead the defense with 68, 58 and 44 tackles, respectively.
Closing in on the All-Time Record: All-American RB Christiaan Williams ranks second all-time at ONU with 4,090 career rushing yards. He needs just 80 yards to break the school record by All-American and former NFL standout Jamal Robertson, who ran for 4,169 yards from 1997-2000.
ONU Statistical Leaders:
Rushing Yds. |
Passing Yds. |
Receiving Yds. |
Tackles | Sacks | ||||||||||||||
1. | C.Williams | 1,279 | 1. | McFadden | 1,701 | 1. | Eick | 615 | 1. | Niles | 95 | 1. | Bever | 8.5 | ||||
2. | McFadden | 251 | 2. | Rose | 499 | 2. | Haseleu | 70 | 2. | Niles | 7.0 | |||||||
3. | Martin | 106 | 3. | Marks | 205 | 3. | Bever | 47 | 3. | Sitton | 3.0 |
All-Time Series: ONU leads the series between the two schools by a 46-36-5 margin. Hu has won 3 straight and 7 of the last 8 in the series, including a 49-17 win in Tiffin last year. ONU 26-15-2 against HU in Ada and is 5-2 in games at Dial-Roberson Stadium.