McFadden throws for a career-high 392 yards and two touchdowns as Football's rally falls just short in 48-41 loss at #24 Baldwin Wallace
By Tim Glon
BEREA — Junior Anthony McFadden (Chillicothe/Paint Valley) completed 26-of-44 passes for a career-high 392 yards and two touchdowns to lead Ohio Northern in a 48-41 loss at No. 24-ranked Baldwin Wallace on Saturday afternoon at Finnie Stadium.
The Polar Bears (5-4 overall, 4-4 Ohio Athletic Conference) also got 8 receptions for 173 yards and a score from senior Chad Rex (Bradenton, Fla./Lakewood Ranch) and 101 yards rushing and three touchdowns from freshman Brock Martin (Attica/Seneca East).
Sophomore Chase Rose (Kenton/Upper Scioto Valley) had career-highs of 8 receptions and 117 yards.
The Yellow Jackets (8-1, 7-1) were led by Jake Hudson with 266 yards passing and two scores.
Trailing 41-10 midway through the third quarter, Northern scored on its final five possessions and nearly pulled off the impressive comeback.
McFadden got the rally started when he hit Rex on an 80-yard touchdown pass to make it 41-17 with 7:38 left in the third quarter.
Martin then busted up the middle for a 62-yard touchdown run on a 4th and 2 play to pull ONU within 41-24 with 3:35 left in the quarter.
Martin banged in from 2 yards out with 9:12 left in the game to get within 48-30. McFadden then hit sophomore A.J. Marks (Guysville/Alexander) for a 2-point conversion to make it 48-32.
McFadden hit senior Caleb Saalfeld (Moedsto, Calif./Fred Beyer) on a 12-yard touchdown pass to trim the deficit to 48-38 with 42.2 seconds left. McFadden ran for the 2-point conversion, but it was nullified due to a holding penalty.
Trying for the conversion from the 13, McFadden's pass to Saalfeld was knocked away to keep the score at 48-38.
Junior Greg Dennis (Mount Vernon) recovered ONU's onside kick, giving the Polar Bears the ball at the BW 46-yard line. Dennis finished the game with a career-high 16 tackles to lead the ONU defense.
Senior Chase Watson (Lima/Elida) then made a 36-yard field goal with 8.5 seconds left to get ONU within 48-41, but the ensuing onside kick was recovered by BW and the hosts ran out the clock and hung on for the win.
Baldwin Wallace scored touchdowns on its first two possessions, sandwiched around a 26-yard field goal by Watson, to take a 14-3 first quarter lead.
Martin scored on a 7-yard run to pull ONU within 14-10 with 7:47 left in the half.
Leading 21-10, BW scored twice in the final 27 seconds of the second quarter, including a 100-yard pick 6 on the final play of the half after ONU threw a Hail Mary pass into the end zone, to lead 35-10 at intermission.
Baldwin Wallace outgained Ohio Northern 513-503 in total offense.
The Polar Bears will wrap up their 2018 season next Saturday with a 1:30 p.m. contest at Heidelberg in the annual Bendekovic Bowl rivalry game.