Zach Schmerge, Christiaan Williams named All-North Region by D3football.com

By Tim Glon

| 2017 All-North Region Football Team (.pdf) | All-Time All-North Region Team |

ADA — Ohio Northern senior linebacker Zach Schmerge (Wapakoneta) and sophomore running back Christiaan Williams (Sidney/Anna) were named Second Team All-North Region for 2017 by D3football.com.

Schmerge is now a 3-time All-Region honoree, earning Second Team honors in 2016 and Third Team in 2015.

He is also a 3-time First Team All-Ohio Athletic Conference honoree and has led the Polar Bears in tackles for each of the past three seasons.

This year, he led the team and was fourth in the OAC with 94 tackles.

Schmerge ends his career ranked third all-time in ONU history with 320 career tackles. In 37 career games, he also had 4.5 sacks, 17 tackles for loss and an interception.

Williams has also earned First Team All-Conference honors in each of his two seasons as a Polar Bear and is making his first appearance on the All-Region squad.

This season, Williams led the OAC with 269 rushes, 1,623 rushing yards and 2,016 all-purpose yards. He was also third in the league with 11 rushing touchdowns.

He also had a league-best and school-record 407 rushing yards in a 51-21 victory over Capital on Oct. 7 this season.

In his two seasons at Ohio Northern, Williams ranks seventh all-time in school history with 2,831 rushing yards. He is also 10th with 462 rushing attempts, is third with an average of 6.13 yards per rush and is seventh with 3,567 all-purpose yards.

The Polar Bears finished with a 7-3 record and were second in the OAC with a 6-3 mark in 2017 under 14th-year head coach Dean Paul.

ONU's second place finish clinched an upper division finish in the league for the 21st time in the past 22 seasons.