Season Preview: Football to focus on self, getting better each day in abbreviated 2020-21 season
By Tim Glon
ADA — Nearly everything about the 2020-21 football season has been unpredictable.
Who will we play? When will we play? What will practice look like? These are just some of the unique questions that continue to face 16th-year head coach Dean Paul and his squad.
For the 2020 Polar Bears, the focus is squarely on what they can control - working hard so that every player and coach gets better every day.
"We are excited to get back out and compete," Paul said. "It will be 482 days between games for us. Playing in the spring feels different. The shortened season will be unpredictable. Our opponent on a given Saturday could change with only a few days notice. With only five games and no scrimmage you need to be able to play at a high level right away. It will be a challenge that we look forward to."
Paul and his staff welcome back 32 lettermen and 11 starters from last year's squad that went 6-4 and finished third in the Ohio Athletic Conference with a 6-3 record.
Junior All-American Brock Martin (Attica/Seneca East) leads the list of six returning All-Conference players this season.
Martin and sophomore defensive end Josh Bever (Ashland) were First Team All-OAC picks a year ago.
Senior receiver Chase Rose (Kenton/Upper Scioto Valley) and junior kicker Dom DiFalco (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional) were Second team All-Conference selections and senior defensive end Jarrett Sitton (Paulding) and junior receiver Austin Eick (Rossford) received Honorable Mention All-Conference honors.
"We feel good about or talent level and our leaders," Paul said. "We will play to win, but also develop depth and develop knowledge of what it takes to compete at the OAC level. With a short season it will be next man up. But more than anything we just excited to play. again."
The following is a preview of the 2020 Ohio Northern football team, by position:
Defensive Line
Four players, including All-Conference ends Bever and Sitton, combined for 26 starts a year ago return on a veteran defensive line.
Bever led the OAC in sacks (10.5) and tackles for loss (16) as a freshman in 2019. He was third on the team with 54 tackles and forced three fumbles.
Sitton was fourth on the team with 49 tackles and finished with 4 sacks and 6.5 TFL.
Junior Gabriel Hirsch (Elyria/Catholic) started five games at tackle and end and had 20 tackles.
Junior Kedarius Woodfork (Brownsville, Tenn./Haywood) had 33 tackles with two starts at tackle last year and has 43 tackles and four sacks in his career.
Sophomore Nichal Johnson (College Park, Ga./Northgate) is also a returning letterman on the defensive front after playing in six games as a rookie in 2019.
"We are very excited about our defensive front," Paul said. " This could be a strength for us this spring. We have a pair of All-Conference players and good depth at all four positions."
Linebacker
Juniors Jacob Bailey (Butler/Clear Fork) and Landon Plank (Ashland) started four games each at linebacker in Paul's 4-3 scheme a year ago and lead the list of returners here.
Bailey had 36 tackles and a sack and Plank had 21 tackles and a sack last year.
The cupboard is well stocked as four more lettermen return with plenty of game experience.
Seniors Lorenzo Brown (Mansfield/Senior) and Kris Sullivan (Lancaster), junior Jared Tepe (Cincinnati/Elder) and sophomore Collin Flynn (Sagamore Hills/Nordonia) all return and will battle with a group of newcomers for action at linebacker.
"Of all our position groups, we have the most turnover at linebacker," Paul said. "We will start three new guys, but our focus on developing depth recently should pay off as we have a large group of returners with good game experience back."
Defensive Back
Three players with starting experience return in the secondary.
Senior Ty Pegram (Medina) has the most playing time with 20 career games and 13 starts at corner over the past two seasons. He has 50 tackles, 12 PBUs and a blocked kick to his credit.
Senior Drew Staczek (Walbridge/Cardinal Stritch) and junior Jevon Taylor (Fort Wayne, Ind./North) combined for 10 starts at safety a year ago.
Senior A.J. Marks (Guysville/Alexander) has started games at running back and receiver in his first three seasons as a Polar Bear and has transitioned to the secondary and will certainly battle for a starting spot either at corner or safety.
Three other returners and three freshmen will also compete for playing time here.
"We have three guys who have played a lot of snaps back for us," Paul said. "A.J. is a great athlete who has excelled for us at any position we ask him to play. We also have some talented young guys that will make the competition for playing time very intense."
Running Back
All-American Brock Martin returns to the starting tailback position in 2020.
He started all 10 games at running back as a freshman, running for 756 yards and earning All-Conference accolades.
With the return of All-American Christiaan Williams a year ago, Martin switched roles and earned All-America honors as all-purpose player. He started all 10 games at fullback, while also playing tight end and receiver, was the team's primary kick returner and played on most of the other special teams units.
Martin and his total of 917 career rushing yards will move back into the starting role as Williams will miss the 2020 season with injury.
Sophomore Jamir Nunley (Cleveland/Mayfield) and junior Limani Laster (Pontiac, Mich./West Bloomfield) will compete with a pair of freshmen newcomers for playing time toting the rock.
"We have a good mix of talent in the backfield," Paul said. "Brock is a great athlete and excels at anything we ask him to do. We also have some speed guys we can go to for a change of pace."
Receiver
All three starters return at receiver, led by All-Conference junior Austin Eick.
Eick has 45 receptions for 779 yards and 13 touchdowns in his career and started all 10 games a year ago.
Senior Chase Rose (Kenton/Upper Scioto Valley) has 15 starts and 953 receiving yards to his credit and senior Ryan Rockwell (Broadview Heights/Saint Edward) has 18 starts and 281 receiving yards in his career.
Senior James McDougald (Bowie, Md./Bridge Tutorial), juniors Collin Coburn (Lakeview/Indian Lake) and Andre Kimble (Marietta, Ga./Kell) and sophomores Jack DiMario (Dayton/Alter) and Jette Morgan (Wooster) are also returning lettermen.
"We have three returning starters and very good depth behind them," Paul said. "We also have receivers with a mix of size, strength and athletism. We feel very good about our receiving corps."
Quarterback
Senior Tyler Smith (Milford) is the lone returning letterman in a wide-open quarterback competition.
Smith has thrown for 54 yards and a touchdown in limited minutes in his career.
Senior transfer Brody Hahn (Louisville) comes to ONU after starting for three seasons at Muskingum, throwing for 6,376 yards and 30 touchdowns and earning two Academic All-OAC honors.
Junior Terevor McConnell (Troy, Mich./Cranbrook) and freshman Blaze Lauer (Lake Orion, Mich.) are also in the mix for the starting spot.
"Brody has gained a great deal of experience playing QB in the OAC and we are glad
to have him on our side," Paul said. Tyler and Trevor have developed into very good quarterbacks and Blaze has been very good in camp. This continues to be a good competition and we feel very good about all four of these guys."
Offensive Line
The front five on offense is the most inexperienced group on the team, but Paul believes it is well stocked with talent.
Sophomore Cordell Wyatt (Ashland) started all 10 games at right tackle as a rookie last season.
Senior Jared Ritenour (Rockford, Ill./Lake Center) started six games at right guard in 2019 and will likely move to left tackle this season, giving the Polar Bears proven veterans at tackle.
Paul expects a fierce competition for the other three starting positions.
Juniors Quenton Stillon (New Philadelphia) and Cy Ungerer (Green Springs/Clyde) and freshman Aidan Thompson (Madison) appear to be in a three-way battle for the two guard positions.
The center spot looks to be a competition between senior Vince VanDerRoest (Canton, Mich./Salem) and sophomore Zach George (Utica/Northridge).
"We have good talent and size up front," Paul said. "We just need game experience. But we feel confident that our guys up front will be a solid group this season."
Tight End
With Martin moving back to running back, sophomore Davey Berner (New Carlisle/Tecumseh) is the lone returning letterman at tight end.
Freshman Noah Miller (Coldwater) will also factor into things at tight end this season.
"Davey improved a great deal in the offseason after seeing some time as a freshman last season," Paul said. "Noah has adapted well to the college game in practice so we fell good about the tight end position this season."
Special Teams
All-American junior Brock Martin is back to return kickoffs and All-Conference junior Austin Eick is back to return punts this season.
All-Conference kicker Dom DiFalco also returns after going 6-for7 on field goals and 40-of-42 on PATs a year ago.
Senior Aaron Everhart (Ada) averaged 34.3 yards per kick as the starting punter with 11 fair catches, 10 downed inside the 20 and only one touchback. last season.
"Our special teams should be a strength for us," Paul said. "We have an All-American, two more All-Conference players and a three-year starter back at the four main special teams positions."
Schedule
The Polar Bears will play five Friday night games in their abbreviated 2020 season, beginning March 12, 2021.
In a one-year scheduling change, the OAC will divide into 5-team East and West divisions.
Northern will play the other four teams in its division in the regular season. April 17 will feature a cross-over game with the first place teams in each division playing for the league title. The second place teams will square off for third place and the third, fourth and fifth place teams will also play.
"The schedule is short so we need to be ready to play right away," Paul said. "This schedule also assumes there will not be complications with COVID-19 protocols or outbreaks. Our goal is to take each day as it comes and appreciate every opportunity we have to play football."
The NCAA has canceled all Fall and Winter Championships for Division III in 20-21.