Turnovers prove costly as Football falls 24-7 in defensive battle with No. 25 John Carroll
By Tim Glon
ADA — No. 25-ranked John Carroll turned three Ohio Northern turnovers into 21 points and held on for a 24-7 Ohio Athletic Conference victory on Saturday at Dial-Roberson Stadium.
The Polar Bears fall to 1-5 overall and are 1-4 in the OAC, while the Blue Streaks improve to 5-1, 5-0.
Both defenses were outstanding on the chilly, breezy afternoon with JCU gaining just 269 yards to 195 for ONU.
The Polar Bear offense marched 75 yards in 16 plays, taking 7:49 off the clock, to pull within 17-7 when freshman Adan Figueroa (Orange City, Fla./University) snuck in from a yard out with 18 seconds left in the first half.
John Carroll turned two Ohio Northern fumbles into a 14-0 lead with 12:50 left in the first half.
JCU took advantage of another ONU fumble to drive 37 yards for a score to make it 24-7 with 8:46 left in the third.
Sophomore Dalton Tjong (Cumming, Ga./West Forsyth) and senior Josh Bever (Ashland) led Ohio Northern's stout defensive performance.
Tjong tied a career-high with 15 tackles from his safety position and Bever had a career-high 12 tackles and a half sack as a defensive end.
Figueroa completed 14-of-26 passes for 82 yards and ran 15 times for 40 yards and a TD and senior Brock Martin (Attica/Seneca East) ran 14 times for 53 yards and caught four passes for 30 yards for ONU.
The Polar Bears will wrap up their three-game homestand on Saturday when they host Muskingum at 1:30 pm at Dial-Roberson Stadium as part of Homecoming at ONU.
