Football: Ohio Northern (8-2 Overall) at Franklin (8-2) - NCAA III Playoffs 1st Round

Saturday, Nov. 21, 2015, Noon, Faught Stadium, Franklin, Ind.

| Game Notes (.pdf) | NCAA III Playoffs Site |

Saturday's Contest: Saturday's game is a First Round game of the NCAA Division III Playoffs. ONU is making its fourth playoff appearance and its first since 2010. The Polar Bears have a 4-3 record and are 3-0 in First Round games, having defeated Hanover (Ind.) 56-14 in 1999, Millikin (Ill.) 47-21 in 2000 and Wittenberg 37-14 in 2010. FC has been to the playoffs six consecutive years and eight of the past nine seasons.

ONU head coach Dean Paul: Paul in his 12th season at ONU with an 83-39 record. He is 123-51 in 17 seasons overall and is 4-0 against FC.

FC head coach Mike Leonard: Leonard is in his 13th season at FC with a 100-42 record. He is 0-0 against ONU.

How They Got In: Ohio Northern received one of just six Pool C at-large bids to the NCAA III Playoffs, while Franklin won the Heartland Athletic Collegiate Conference regular season title with an 8-0 record and was the HCAC's Pool A automatic qualifier.

ONU Last Week: RB Justin Magazine tied a school record with 6 rushing TDs and WR Devon Price became ONU's all-time career receiving yardage leader as Ohio Northern defeated Otterbein 42-10 on Senior Day on Sat. Magazine led the Polar Bears with 204 yards rushing on 25 carries and six touchdowns, tying the record six rushing touchdowns by ONU Hall of Famer, All-American and NFL alumnus Jamal Robertson, set against Marietta in 2000. Price finished the contest with 113 receiving yards on eight receptions, becoming the ONU career leader in receiving yards with 3,051, passing former ONU All-American Steve Vagedes, who had 3,036 receiving yards from 1995-99. The Northern defense was led by S Justin Tello with 12 tackles and DT Scott Rapps with five tackles, three sacks and 4.0 tackles for loss. Magazine finished the day with TD runs of 5, 7, 3, 12, 1 and 35 yards. His 204 yards rushing was a career high and is the second time in the last three games he finished with 200 or more yards on the ground. Ohio Northern out-gained Otterbein 462-212 in total offense. ONU led 7-0 after the first quarter, 28-0 at halftime and 35-3 after three periods.

ONU Leaders: The ONU running game is led by All-OAC RB Justin Magazine (225 att, 1321 yards, 22 TDs) and QB Ricardo Johnson (45 att, 299 yards, 6 TDs). QB Will Freed has completed 105-of-186 passes for 1,584 yards and 10 TDs and QB Ricardo Johnson has completed 55-of-83 passes for 850 yards and 8 TDs. WR Devon Price (78 rec., 1067 yards, 5 TDs) and WR Reed Allen (25 rec, 559 yards, 5 TDs) lead the ONU receivers. LB Zach Schmerge, S Dan Eller and S Justin Tello lead the ONU defense with 98, 82 and 74 tackles, respectively. DT Scott Rapps leads ONU with 4.5 sacks.

FC Last Week: Franklin (Ind.) won its eighth straight game, defeating Hanover (Ind.) 53-13 in the 2015 Victory Bell Classic on Sat. With the victory, Franklin Head Coach Mike Leonard won the 100th game of his coaching career. The Grizzlies completed an undefeated Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference season for the fifth time in the past six years and won their sixth straight league title. QB Chase Burton completed 30 of 38 passes for 443 yards and 3 TDs. FC led 14-0 after one quarter and 37-0 at halftime and out-gained HC 576-205 in total offense.

FC Leaders: The FC running game is led this season by RB Ty'Rante Files (100 att., 676 yards, 6 TDs) and RB Kole Stogner (84 att, 412 yards, 5 TDs). QB Chase Burton is 263-of-390 passing for 3,560 yards and 34 TDs. WR Lee Wroblewski (52 rec., 812 yards, 11 TDs) and WR Mason Deal (50 rec., 751 yards, 8 TDs) lead the FC receivers. DB Jeremiah Windell, LB Austin Day, and LB Lucas Windell lead the FC defense with 74, 46 and 46 tackles, respectively. DL Nate Bryan and DL Nathan Adams lead FC with 3.5 sacks each.

ONU Statistical Leaders

All-Time Series: Saturday's game is the first meeting between the two schools.

Head Coach Dean Paul: Paul in his 12th season at ONU with an 83-39 record. He is 123-51 in 16 seasons overall and is 8-3 against OU.