Five Polar Bears selected to represent Ohio Northern, Team Stars & Stripes in 2014 Tazon de Estrellas bowl game

December 9, 2014

By Tim Glon

ADA — Five Ohio Northern football players will represent Ohio Northern and Team Stars & Stripes in the 2014 Tazon de Estrellas (Stars Bowl) football bowl game on December 20 in Cholula, Mexico.

Seniors Patrick Angle, Adam Best, Michael Howell, Steven Kenny and Dillon Kwiat will all play for Team Stars & Stripes, making the the largest ONU contingent in the game to date.

Team Stars & Stripes consists of 41 NCAA Division III all-stars representing schools from all over the country and will face a team of Mexican collegiate all-stars from its premier CONADEIP league.

The game will kickoff at a time yet to be announced in the Templor de Dolor (House of Pain Stadium) on the campus of Universidad de las Américas Puebla.

This is the sixth annual game under the current format. This group of five will bring the total to 16 Polar Bears who have participated in the game.

Angle is a 2-time All-Ohio Athletic Conference honoree at quarterback and ended his career as ONU's all-time completion percentage leader at .623.

In two seasons at ONU after transferring from Youngstown State, Angle completed 357-of-573 passes for 4,313 yards and 39 touchdowns, a quarterback rating of 144.15. He also ran for 480 yards and eight scores.

This season, he completed 185-of-297 passes for 2,334 yards and 23 touchdowns and had a QB rating of 150.49.

Best was a two-year starter at defensive end and was fifth on the team with 41 tackles and had a team-high 8.5 TFL this year.

He ended his career with 86 tackles and 12.5 TFL and one interception return for a touchdown.

Howell was a three-year starter at right tackle for the Polar Bears and is an Academic All-Conference honoree.

A four-year letterman, he started 27 games in his career. He is also a multi-year member of the ONU Football Unity Council and has made the Dean's List five times in his first six semesters as a mechanical engineering major.

Kenny is a three-time All-OAC award winner, earning the honor as both a defensive end and a linebacker.

This season, Kenny was a Second Team All-Conference selection at end. He was fourth on the team with 42 tackles and was second with 5.5 TFL.

In his four-year career, Kenny had 207 tackles, 19 TFL and 4 sacks.

Kwiat is a three-year starter and two-time All-Conference pick at middle linebacker and led the team in tackles each of the past two seasons.

This year, he led the team with 79 tackles and had 5.5 TFL and an interception.

In his four seasons on the ONU varsity, Kwiat amassed 255 tackles, 16 TFL and had two interceptions.

The NCAA Division III all-star roster, known collectively as Team Stars & Stripes, will fly to Mexico on December 14 to prepare for the game under head coach Don De Waard, the defensive coordinator at Central College (Iowa). The veteran of previous Tazón de Estrellas games and its predecessor the Aztec Bowl won on his head-coaching debut in 2012 as the Americans triumphed 32-15 at La Fortaleza Azul in Guadalajara and is 2-0 as the head coach of the American team.

The 17th annual post-season game in Mexico for NCAA Division III stars will feature a 41-man Team Stars & Stripes roster selected from 18 D-III schools who will travel to Cholula for a combination of two-a-day practices with an opportunity to explore the region before the Saturday game. They will also experience the local culture and participate in a community service project.

Team Stars & Stripes owns a 3-2 series lead over Mexico and is riding a 2-game winning streak after a 29-7 victory in Monterrey last year.

Stars & Stripes also won 32-15 in 2012 in Guadalajara and 48-7 in 2010 in Toluca, while Mexico won 45-27 in 2011 in Puebla and 24-12 in 2009 in Atizapan de Zaragoza.

The Polar Bears posted a 7-3 record and a fourth place finish in the OAC with a 6-3 record in 2014 under 11th-year head coach Dean Paul.