Season Review: Football departs 2021 encouraged about prospects for 2022

By Wes Mayberry

ADA —The Ohio Northern football team displayed great promise throughout the 2021 season under 18th-year head coach Dean Paul.

"Our goals are extremely ambitious every season. Ultimately, we didn't reach our goals and expectations this season, but we are very encouraged by how small the gap is between where we are and where we want to be," Paul said.

The Polar Bears finished the year at 4-6 but were competitive in every game. Their six losses came by an average of just five points, and they gave the three nationally ranked opponents on their schedule — No. 4 Mount Union, No. 21 Baldwin Wallace and No. 22 John Carroll — all they could handle.

ONU got out to a hot start in 2021, winning four of its first five games. That stretch was highlighted by a 62-27 victory over Wilmington in which senior quarterback Brody Hahn (Louisville) threw for a school-record 502 yards and seven touchdowns. He tallied 351 passing yards and a school-record six touchdowns in the first half alone en route to becoming the first Polar Bear in program history to eclipse the 500-yard passing mark in a game. His 29 completions tied his own school record from the delayed 2020 season in the spring, and the seven touchdown passes were the most for an ONU quarterback since 1998. It was all part of a very impressive day for the ONU offense.

"It was very encouraging to see a number of different players step up and make big plays for us in that game," Paul said. "Brody made some really good throws, and we had some phenomenal catches. We had good protection, and we seemed to be clicking on all cylinders."

The Polar Bears capped that stretch with an exciting fourth-quarter comeback from a nine-point deficit for a 34-33 win over Marietta on Homecoming.

Sitting at 4-1, the Polar Bears proved to be a tough out for John Carroll, as they trailed 24-17 with 6:56 to play before eventually falling 27-17. Two games later, Northern held a 28-20 lead at Mount Union with 5:06 remaining in the third quarter in what became a 42-35 defeat. The Polar Bears fell by just three points against another ranked foe in Baldwin Wallace the following week.

"There's a fine line between reaching your goals and coming up a little bit short, and whenever you come up short of your goals, the first thing you want to do is see where you are relative to where you want to be," Paul said. "While we didn't quite get the job done in those games, we are extremely encouraged that there are lessons to be learned and growth that we displayed throughout the year that we can use to springboard ourselves into 2022."

Senior receiver Austin Eick (Rossford), junior defensive end Josh Bever (Ashland) and Hahn led the way for the Polar Bears this season as D3football.com All-Region 4 honorees. Eick and Bever were Second Team All-Region honorees, while Hahn was a Third Team All-Region selection.

Eick, a First Team All-Ohio Athletic Conference pick in 2021, caught 60 passes for 1,037 yards and an OAC-best 12 touchdowns this season, becoming just the sixth Polar Bear to reach the 1,000-yard receiving mark in a season. The three-time All-OAC honoree ranks fifth in program history with 125 receptions and is sixth with 2,206 receiving yards to go with 29 touchdowns over the span of 34 games.

"Austin was extremely consistent and very reliable," Paul said. "He is a playmaker and a great leader on this team, and we're excited to have him back for one more year."

Bever earned Second Team All-OAC honors this year and is a three-time All-OAC selection. He finished the season with 66 tackles, a team-high 6.0 sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss. In his three seasons as a Polar Bear, Bever ranks fifth in ONU history with 22.0 sacks and is 10th with 32.0 tackles for loss to go with 147 tackles in 24 games.

"Josh has been one of the better defensive linemen in this conference for the last three years, and we expect him to build on his success and have his best year yet in 2022," Paul said.

Hahn, a two-time All-OAC honoree and First Team selection in 2021, had a record-setting season in his second year as a Polar Bear after transferring from Muskingum, where he was a three-year starter. He completed 203-of-357 passes for school-records of 3,061 yards and 32 touchdowns this season, adding 410 yards and five touchdowns on the ground. He was a two-time OAC Player of the Week and capped his season by playing in the FCS National Bowl, where he was 4-of-6 passing for 28 yards and ran for 51 yards and a touchdown as part of his team's 67-16 win.

In just 14 games as a Polar Bear, Hahn threw for 4,270 yards, which ranks 10th in program history, and 42 touchdowns. In his five seasons as a collegian, Hahn threw for an impressive 9,147 yards and 72 touchdowns.

"We really enjoyed having Brody in the program the last two years," Paul said. "He made a lot of plays and sparked the team with his ability to make key plays in critical moments. We're going to miss him."

Seniors Brock Martin (Attica/Seneca East), Jared Ritenour (Rockford, Ill./Lake Center), Chase Rose (Kenton/Upper Scioto Valley) and Jarrett Sitton (Paulding) and junior Nichal Johnson (College Park, Ga./Northgate) rounded out ONU's eight All-OAC selections this season. Martin, Ritenour and Rose were named to the Second Team, and Sitton and Johnson were Honorable Mention selections.

"Jared, Chase and Jarrett continued to improve each year throughout their careers," Paul said. "Brock and Nichal are both returning next season, and we feel like they can be a key part of the leadership and overall unity of our team going forward."

With all players being granted an extra year of eligibility after the 2020 season was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Martin joins Eick as those who plan to return to ONU next season.

Martin, a three-time All-OAC honoree, carried the ball 141 times for 626 yards and five touchdowns and returned 15 kickoffs for 308 yards to finish with 934 all-purpose yards this year. He was named an OAC Player of the Week after helping lead the Polar Bears to a 34-10 season-opening win over Denison with 118 rushing yards and a touchdown on 28 carries.

In 34 career games, he ranks 14th all-time at ONU with 1,860 rushing yards to go with 21 rushing touchdowns. He also has caught 27 passes for 270 yards and has returned 44 kickoffs for 887 yards to amass 3,017 all-purpose yards in his career.

Ritenour has been selected All-OAC in both of his seasons as the starter at left tackle for ONU in 24 career games.

Rose, a three-time All-Conference honoree at receiver, caught 43 passes for 817 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2021. In his 38-game career, he ranks seventh in ONU history with 114 receptions and is seventh with 2,058 yards to go with 23 scores.

Sitton, a three-time All-OAC pick at defensive tackle, finished this season with 55 tackles, 5.5 sacks and a team-high 11.0 tackles for loss. In 33 career games, Sitton has 156 tackles, 14.5 sacks and 24.0 tackles for loss.

Johnson has started all 14 games at defensive end the past two seasons and is a two-time All-OAC honoree. He finished this year with 51 tackles, 2.0 sacks and 7.0 tackles for loss. In 20 career games, he has 79 tackles, 8.5 sacks and 17.0 tackles for loss.

Additionally, senior kicker Dom DiFalco (Murraysville, Pa./Franklin Regional), senior defensive back Jevon Taylor (Fort Wayne, Ind./North) and sophomore linebacker Peyton Wilson (Lima/Shawnee) were recognized by the conference this season as a Player of the Week.

DiFalco made field goals of 22 and 40 yards, went 4-for-4 on PATs and had touchbacks on three of his six kickoffs in ONU's comeback win over Marietta.

Taylor earned his honor after recording two interceptions that sparked a 21-0 scoring run that helped ONU take the 28-20 lead at Mount Union. He finished the season with a team-high four interceptions.

Wilson was named a Player of the Week after tallying a career-high 18 tackles and his first sack of the season against Baldwin Wallace. He ranked second on the team in tackles this year with 78.

Senior linebacker Johnny Rupp (Maumee/Anthony Wayne) also played well this season, leading ONU in tackles with 87.

Additionally, this year was a highly successful one for the Polar Bears in the classroom, as a program-record 20 players were Academic All-OAC selections, which led the conference.

That list included seniors Hahn, Martin, Toriano Bobbitt (Streetsboro), Jack Lehr (York, Pa./Dallastown), Trevor McConnell (Troy, Mich./Cranbrook), James McDougald (Bowie, Md./Bridge Tutorial) and Zak Smith (Minneola, Fla./Lake Minneola); juniors Zach Binnix (Severna Park, Md.), Jack DiMario (Dayton/Alter) and Cordell Wyatt (Ashland); and sophomores Wilson, Cory Fortkamp (Celina), Braeden Gedeon (Bellbrook), Zach George (Utica/Northridge), Hunter King (Canal Winchester), Jackson Langley (Evansville, Tenn./Rhea County), Bryce Paul (Ada), Connor Rowe (Mantua/Crestwood), Takuya Sai (Tokyo, Japan/Keio) and Isaac Stall (Pandora/Pandora-Gilboa). This marked the third such honor in the careers of Lehr, Martin, McConnell and Smith, and the second for McDougald and Binnix.

"A key piece of our program vision is academic excellence, and we're really pleased with what our guys did in the classroom in 2021," Paul said. "We feel like that can be a good springboard to being where we want to be on the field in 2022."

With the Polar Bears now well into their offseason, they're looking ahead to what they hope is a highly successful 2022 season.

"We've approached this offseason being relentless to attack every single detail, and we will be working extremely hard to find those details and make sure we learn from that in 2022," Paul said.