Football turns in dominating defensive performance in 27-17 victory Muskingum

NEW CONCORD — Sophomore Louis Blasiole (Mantua/Crestwood) ran for a career-high 124 yards and a game-clinching touchdown and the Ohio Northern defense had a dominating performance in a 27-17 football victory at Muskingum on a beautiful Saturday afternoon at McConagha Stadium.

The Basics

• Records: Ohio Northern (2-5, 2-4 OAC), Muskingum (3-4, 2-4 OAC)
• Venue: McConagha Stadium - New Concord, Ohio

The Game

• Ohio Northern's defense turned in a dominating performance, limiting the Muskies to only 298 yards of total offense and just 10 points allowed.
• Junior Brennon Norris (Steubenville/Indian Creek) hit senior Hunter Kesler (Oakwood/Paulding) on a 39-yard touchdown pass to give ONU a 7-3 first quarter lead.
• Junior Jonmichael Elliott (Richmond, Va./Clover Hill) made it 10-3 with a 28-yard field goal with 9:15 left in the half.
• Elliott made it 13-3 with a 21-yard field goal 4:18 into the third quarter.
• Norris then hit junior Jordan Dean (Euclid/Villa Angela-Saint Joseph) on a 37-yard touchdown pass with 3:53 left in the third to give the Polar Bears a 20-3 advantage.
• Muskingum's Ja'Lin Goodman then returned the ensuing kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown and the Northern lead was 20-10 heading into the final period.
• The Muskies got the ball back and drove to the ONU 3-yard line, where senior Collin Flynn (Sagamore Hills/Nordonia) forced a fumble that senior Connor Rowe (Mantua/Crestwood) recovered to keep the 10-point lead in tact.
• The Polar Bears then slammed the door on the hosts, marching 97 yards in 16 plays, taking 8:40 off the clock, scoring on a 2-yard run by sophomore Louis Blasiole (Mantua/Crestwood) to make it 27-10 with just 2:28 left in the game.
• Blasiole carried the bulk of the load on the final drive, carrying the ball 10 times for 77 yards and the score. He finished with 26 carries for 124 yards.
• The Muskies drove 80 yards against Northern's prevent defense for a score with 1:23 to go.
• Senior Noah Miller (Coldwater) recovered the onside kick and ONU took three knees to run out the clock.
• Norris finished 13-of-27 passing for a career-high 289 yards and two scores.
• Defensively, Flynn had 10 tackles and Rowe and senior Ed Manning (Sanford, Fla./Seminole) had 9 tackles each for Ohio Northern.
• ONU out-gained MU in total offense 394-298.

Notables5

• Dean Paul is in his 20th season as head coach of the Polar Bears with a 119-76 career record at ONU.
• Today's game was the third consecutive road game this season for Ohio Northern.
• Senior Josh Bever (Ashland) now has 36 career sacks in 41 career games. He ranks second all-time in ONU history. All-American and 10-year NFL veteran Jason Trusnik holds the school record with 43.0 sacks from 2002-06.
• Bever is also second in ONU history with 51.0 TFL in his career.

Up Next

• The Polar Bears will return home for the first time in a month on Saturday when they host Marietta as part of Homecoming Weekend festivities at Dial-Roberson Stadium.