Season Review: Football posts strong close to 2022, enters offseason with positive momentum

By Wes Mayberry

ADA — While the 2022 season presented its share of challenges, the Ohio Northern football team is carrying some positive momentum into the offseason.

That positive momentum stems from the Polar Bears winning their final two games of the season — 42-7 at Otterbein and 21-13 over Wilmington — to wrap up a 3-7 campaign.

"Finishing the Polar Bear way was important for our seniors and the future of the program," 19th-year head coach Dean Paul said. "The late-season success continues an important tradition of finishing strong. Since our staff arrived, the team has won over 80% of our games in weeks 9 and 10. This momentum is an important part of our vision of a return to national prominence."

ONU amassed a season-high 462 yards of offense in the win at Otterbein and then got a career-high 128 rushing yards and three total touchdowns from freshman quarterback Adan Figueroa (Orange City, Fla./University) against Wilmington, which were encouraging signs following a tough first two months of the season.

The Polar Bears opened the year with a narrow 16-13 overtime loss to Alma (Mich.) but rebounded for a 28-13 win at Capital. Losses to then-No. 22 Heidelberg, Baldwin Wallace, then-No. 2 Mount Union, then-No. 25 John Carroll, Muskingum and Marietta followed.

Senior defensive lineman Josh Bever (Ashland) and sophomore punter Jonmichael Elliott (Richmond, Va./Clover Hill) both had standout games during the season en route to earning Ohio Athletic Conference Player of the Week accolades.

Bever was named OAC Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 12 after posting a team-high nine tackles, 2.5 sacks and one forced fumble as the ONU defense held Capital to 34 rushing yards and 182 yards of offense in the victory. Elliott was named OAC Special Teams Player of the Week on Nov. 14 after averaging 35.3 yards on six punts in the win over Wilmington.

Bever went on to be named to the All-OAC First Team, highlighting a list of five Polar Bears to earn All-Conference recognition.

Fifth-year senior defensive lineman Kedarius Woodfork (Brownsville, Tenn./Haywood) and sophomore defensive back Dalton Tjong (Cumming, Ga./West Forsyth) were named to the All-OAC Second Team, and junior defensive back Ed Manning (Sanford, Fla./Seminole) and senior defensive lineman Nichal Johnson (College Park, Ga./Northgate) were Honorable Mention selections.

Bever is now a four-time All-OAC honoree after posting a team-high eight sacks and 11 tackles for loss in 2022. He ranked second on the team with 61 total tackles and added two forced fumbles. He ranked fifth in the OAC in sacks and tied for ninth in tackles for loss. In 34 games at ONU, Bever has amassed 208 total tackles, including 85 solo, as well as 30 sacks and 43 tackles for loss. He ranks second in program history in career sacks and fourth all-time in tackles for loss.

Woodfork finished 2022 with 43 total tackles, three sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss. In 33 games as a Polar Bear, he has 118 total tackles, including 33 solo, to go with 8.5 sacks and 15 tackles for loss.

Tjong put together a stellar season in 2022, leading Northern in total tackles (110), solo tackles (52), assisted tackles (58), interceptions (4) and pass breakups (7). Those totals ranked first, second, second, tied for first and tied for eighth, respectively, in the OAC. He is the 15th member of ONU's 100-Tackle Club, and his 110 tackles rank ninth in program history for a single season. Tjong has 169 tackles, including 84 solo, in his two-year career.

Manning closed the 2022 season with 28 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions, three pass breakups and a fumble recovery. In his three-year career, he has 69 total tackles, including 40 solo, along with three interceptions and 11 pass breakups.

Johnson is now a three-time All-OAC selection. He finished 2022 with 41 total tackles and ranked second on the team in sacks (6) and tackles for loss (10.5) while adding two forced fumbles. He was tied for eighth in the OAC in sacks and ranked 11th in the conference in tackles for loss. In four years at ONU, Johnson has career totals of 120 tackles, including 42 solo, along with 14.5 sacks and 27.5 tackles for loss.

Other impact players included fifth-year senior defensive back Jevon Taylor (Fort Wayne, Ind./North Side), junior linebacker Peyton Wilson (Lima/Shawnee), sophomore defensive back Austin Colon (Cumming, Ga./North Forsyth), senior defensive back Adonis Ables (Panama City, Fla./North Hardin) and freshman defensive back Terrion Ross (Findlay).

Taylor's 20 solo tackles ranked second-best on the team, and his 52 total tackles ranked third-best. Wilson tallied 47 total tackles with 3.5 tackles for loss. Colon, Ables and Ross each had two interceptions in helping ONU finish third in the OAC in that category with 13.

Among ONU's quarterbacks, Figueroa received most of the playing time, finishing the season with 900 yards and seven touchdowns through the air. He also ranked second on the team with 393 rushing yards and had a team-best four rushing touchdowns.

Fifth-year senior running back Brock Martin (Attica/Seneca East) led the ground attack with 550 rushing yards, and senior Jamir Nunley (Cleveland/Mayfield) contributed 242 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Martin also proved to be a significant factor in the passing game, as he ranked second on the team with 24 receptions and finished with 152 yards and a touchdown through the air. He ranks 11th in program history with 2,410 rushing yards and has 21 rushing touchdowns and 3,719 all-purpose yards in his career.

Fifth-year senior receiver Austin Eick (Rossford) finished with a team-high 36 catches and 387 receiving yards to go with one touchdown. Eick's 161 career receptions and 2,593 receiving yards rank second and third, respectively, in program history. Junior L.J. Payton (Wheelersburg) added 20 catches for 327 yards and two scores in 2022.

On special teams, fifth-year senior kicker Dom DiFalco (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional) was 5-for-9 on field-goal attempts with a long of 44 yards and was a perfect 21-for-21 on extra points. He led the team in scoring with 36 points on the season, and his 181 career points rank 11th all-time at ONU. Elliott, meanwhile, averaged 37.7 yards on 60 punts with a long of 76 yards in 2022.

Several Polar Bears were also recognized for their success in the classroom this season. Tjong, Wilson and Martin joined seniors Zach George (Utica/Northridge), Nick Tangeman (Maria Stein/Marion Local) and Cordell Wyatt (Ashland) and juniors Noah Miller (Coldwater) and Connor Rowe (Mantua/Crestwood) as College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honorees.

Tjong, Wilson, George, Tangeman, Wyatt, Miller, Rowe and Elliott joined seniors Zach Binnix (Severna Park, Md.), Toriano Bobbitt (Streetsboro), Jack DiMario (Dayton/Alter) and Robby Levak (Macedonia/Nordonia); juniors Braeden Gedeon (Bellbrook), Hunter King (Canal Winchester) and Bryce Paul (Ada); and sophomores Jake Bever (Ashland), Ashton Church (Gray, Tenn./Daniel Boone), Tyler Clum (Lima/Allen East), Cade Crawford (Carey), Lance Good (Kenton/Hardin Northern), Matt Howard (Liberty Township/Lakota West), Christian Lautenschleger (Grove City/Christian) and Landon Remmert (Marengo/Highland) as Academic All-OAC selections. That group gave ONU an OAC-best 23 Academic All-OAC selections, which was a program record for the football team.

Binnix and George are now three-time Academic All-OAC selections, and Bobbitt, DiMario, Wyatt, Gedeon, King, Paul, Rowe and Wilson are two-time honorees.

With the Polar Bears now well into their offseason, Paul is looking ahead to preparing for what he hopes is a successful 2023 campaign.

"The growth of successful organizations is rarely a straight line. We believe that some of the hardships we have faced recently will help shape our future success," Paul said.