Four Polar Bears named All-OAC in Football for 2023 season

By Wes Mayberry

| 2023 All-OAC Football Team (.pdf) |

ADA — Four Ohio Northern student-athletes were named All-Ohio Athletic Conference in football for the 2023 season in voting conducted by the league's 10 head coaches.

Fifth-year senior defensive lineman Josh Bever (Ashland) and junior safety Dalton Tjong (Cumming, Ga./West Forsyth) were named to the All-OAC First Team, and senior tight end Noah Miller (Coldwater) and fifth-year senior defensive lineman Tyler Irigoyen (Palm Coast, Fla./Flagler Palm Coast) were Honorable Mention selections.

Bever has now been named All-OAC in all five of his seasons at ONU, including three First Team honors. He was the only freshman in the league to earn First Team accolades in 2019 and was also recognized on the First Team in 2022.

Bever ranked second on the team with 66 total tackles (28 solo, 38 assisted) this season to go with team-bests in tackles for loss (13) and sacks (7). His tackles for loss and sack totals both rank fifth in the OAC.

In ONU's final game of the season, Bever set a school record with his 44th consecutive start. He ranks second all-time at ONU in career sacks (37) and tackles for loss (56) and ranks ninth in program history in total tackles (274).

Tjong closed out his junior season tied for first nationally in Division III in total tackles with 122 (50 solo, 72 assisted) and is now a two-time All-OAC selection after earning Second Team honors last year when he led the OAC and was 11th nationally with 110 tackles. In 10 games this season, he also tallied 2.5 tackles for loss and two interceptions.

Tjong was twice named OAC Defensive Player of the Week this season. He posted seven games with double-digit tackles, including 21 against Alma (Mich.), which was two shy of the school's single-game record.

In 29 games at ONU, Tjong has 291 total tackles, which ranks seventh in program history, to go with 5.5 tackles for loss, six interceptions, two forced fumbles and 12 pass breakups.

Miller earned his second All-OAC Honorable Mention selection after also doing so as a freshman in 2020. He played all 10 games this season, finishing second on the team with 26 receptions and had 156 receiving yards and one touchdown.

In 34 career games at ONU, Miller has 65 receptions for 504 yards and four touchdowns.

Irigoyen is a first-time All-OAC selection, closing the 2023 season with 39 total tackles (11 solo, 28 assisted), 4.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and a fumble recovery in 10 games.

He has 90 total tackles, 16 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks in 32 career games at ONU.

The Polar Bears closed the 2023 season by winning three of their final four games, finishing 4-6 overall and sixth in the OAC with a 4-5 mark.