Senior Mark Niles headlines 11-man list of Ohio Northern's All-Conference honorees in Football for 2019
By Tim Glon
| All-Ohio Athletic Conference Team (.pdf) |
ADA — Senior linebacker Mark Niles (Miramar, Fla.) headlines a list of 11 Ohio Northern players that have been named All-Ohio Athletic Conference in football for 2019 in vopting conducted by the league's 10 head coaches.
Niles received the Gene Slaughter Award as the league's most valuable linebacker and was a First Team All-Conference selection.
Junior All-American running back Christiaan Williams (SidneyAnna), sophomore running back/kick returner Brock Martin (Attica/Seneca East) and freshman defensive end Josh Bever (Ashland) were also named First Team All-OAC.
Seniors David Haseleu (Pittsburgh, Pa./Montour), Anthony McFadden (Chillicothe/Paint Valley) and Grant Nieszala (Lambertville, Mich./Bedford), junior Chase Rose (Kenton/Upper Scioto Valley) and sophomore Dom DiFalco (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional) were Second Team picks.
Junior Jarrett Sitton (Paulding) and sophomore Austin Eick (Rossford) were Honorable Mention All-Conference selections.
Niles led the league in tackles for the second consecutive year in 2019, averaging 11.9 per game, which was more than two tackles per game better then his closest competitor.
He had 95 tackles in just eight games this year and ended his career ranked ninth all-time in ONU history with 268 tackles in 26 games.
A three-year All-OAC honoree, Niles was named First Team All-OAC in 2019 and 2018 and Second Team All-League in 2017.
Williams is ONU's all-time career rushing leader this season, having gained 4,197 yards in just 29 career games. He passed the previous record of 4,169 by All-American and former NFL standout Jamal Robertson from 1997-2000.
He leads the OAC in rushing with 1,362 yards and an average of 136.2 yards per game this season after missing last season with a knee injury.
Williams is a three-time First Team All-OAC honoree and was named Second Team All-America as a sophomore in 2017.
He also owns the a school record by rushing for 100 or more yards in 25 of his 29 career contests.
Martin is a two-time All-OAC honoree, earning First Team honors as a return specialist this season and Second Team honors as a running back as a freshman in 2018.
He has started all 20 games in his two seasons at Ohio Northern.
This year, he returned 20 kickoffs for 424 yards and ran 42 times for 161 yards and two touchdowns for 858 all-purpose yards.
In his career, Martin has 917 yards rushing, 441 yards in kickoff returns and 1,422 all-purpose yards.
Bever was named First Team All-OAC as a defensive end after leading the league with 10.5 sacks, 16 tackles for loss and three forced fumbles.
He was third on the team with 54 tackles overall in 10 games.
Haseleu is now a two-time Second Team All-OAC honoree at linebacker.
This season, he was second on the team and ninth in the OAC with 82 tackles and led the OAC with three recovered fumbles.
He ends his career with 190 tackles, 5 sacks, 9.5 TFL and 8 PBUs on defense and 254 all-purpose yards and three TDs on offense.
Haseleu started in 20 games at LB and played in nine games with one start at RB and in nine games at DB.
McFadden started 21 games at quarterback and is a two-time Second Team All-OAC honoree.
He completed 146-of-229 passes for 2,047 yards and 25 touchdowns with only four interceptions this season and ranked second in the league with a school-record 171.4 passer efficiency rating.
McFadden wrapped up his career ranked eighth all-time in ONU history with 4,671 passing yards and second with a 61.9 completions percentage.
His career passer efficiency rating of 164.7 shattering the long-standing mark of 150.64 set by Joe Zarlinga from 1995-98.
He also had 51 touchdown passes with only nine interceptions in his 25-game career.
Nieszala earned Second Team All-Conference accolades at center in his first full season as a starter.
He played in 24 career games with 14 career starts, 10 of which came in 2019. Nieszala started eight games at right guard and six games at center in his career.
Rose is a two-year starter at receiver. He caught 26 passes for 538 yards and seven touchdowns in seven games after missing the first three games due to injury.
In 25 career games, Rose has caught 59 passes for 953 yards and nine scores.
DiFalco had an impressive first season as a starter at kicker in 2019.
He was 6-of-7 on field goals with an OAC-long 49-yard field goal and was 40-of-42 on PATs for 58 points.
Sitton is a two-year starter on the defensive line, playing both tackle and end.
He finished the season with 49 tackles, 4 sacks and 6.5 TFL.
In 20 career games, Sitton has 80 tackles, 5.5 sacks and 9 TFL to his credit.
Eick had a spectacular start to his first season as a starter with seven touchdown receptions in his first three games.
He had touchdown receptions in eight of his 10 games this year and finished the campaign with 45 receptions for 799 yards and 13 scores.
The Polar Bears finished the season 6-4 overall and were tied for third in the OAC with a 6-3 league mark under 16th-year head coach Dean Paul.
ONU also clinched its 23rd upper division OAC finish in the past 25 seasons.