NCAA Football Week 8 Thread

Ohio Northern 21, Mount Union 14

Oct 22, 2005

ALLIANCE, Ohio ? R.J. Meadows ran for three first half touchdowns and the Ohio Northern defense did the rest as No. 20 ONU ended No. 2 Mount Union?s 110-game regular season win streak 21-14 Saturday afternoon at Mount Union Stadium.

The Polar Bears improve to 6-1 overall and 5-1 in the Ohio Athletic Conference, while the Purple Raiders fall to 6-1, 5-1.

The victory moves Ohio Northern into a three-way tie for first place in the OAC with Mount Union and John Carroll, all with 6-1 records.

Meadows ran for 104 yards on nine carries and three TDs in the first half and finished the day with 148 yards on 21 carries. It marks the third consecutive game he has eclipsed the 100-yard mark.

Adam Quirk completed 15-of-22 passes for 108 yards.

The ONU defense was dominant all day, limiting the high-powered Mount Union offense to 331 yards and only seven points, which came with 2:24 left in the game.

?I was very proud of how we competed today,? ONU head coach Dean Paul said. ?We knew coming in that we would need to limit our mistakes and capitalize on every opportunity. We talked about maintaining our composure and winning the next play. We believed in ourselves. Our defense played very well today and we did a good job on offense of moving the ball when we needed to and taking care of the ball.?

Mount Union had not lost at home since Oct. 15, 1994, when Baldwin-Wallace topped MUC 23-10 in Alliance.

The Polar Bears captured the momentum early, when Shawn Toal recovered an onside kick on the opening kickoff, giving ONU the ball at the ONU 46-yard line.

It took Ohio Northern nine plays to get on the scoreboard, taking a 7-0 lead when R.J. Meadows plowed over from three yards out with 2:51 gone in the contest.

Meadows plowed over from 1-yard out on ONU?s next possession, giving the Polar Bears a 14-0 lead with 3:04 left in the opening period.

After holding MUC on downs, Meadows raced 68 yards down the sideline to put the ball on the Purple Raider 7-yard line. With a fourth-and-goal at the MUC 1-yard line, Meadows plowed over for his second score of the half.

Mt. Union pulled within 14-7 when Justin Stickley blocked a Brian Lee punt and Matt Kostelnik returned it 42 yards for a TD with 9:29 left in the half.

Northern responded with an 11-play, 72-yard drive, capped on a nifty 24-yard TD run by Meadows. Brad Hemphill?s PAT was good and ONU led 21-7 with 3:12 left in the opening half.

Mount drove to the ONU 1-yard line just before halftime, but a goal-line stand by the Polar Bears, stuffing Robinson on three straight plays, kept the score at 21-7 at intermission.

Mt. Union pulled within 21-14 on a 35-yard TD pass from Mike Jorris to Maxwell Smith on a fourth-and-8 with 2:24 left in the game. The Raiders traveled 93 yards in 10 plays, converting on two fourth downs, in the drive.

Rusty Midlam had three interceptions, including one in the end zone to thwart a MUC drive in the third quarter, to lead the ONU defense. Midlam, ONU?s all-time career interception leader, tied his own single-game school record with his three picks and now has 20 in his career.

Lenny Trusnik had 11 tackles and a sack and Rick Danison had nine tackles and a sack for ONU.

Aaron Robinson carried 20 times for 115 yards and Mike Jorris completed 13-of-27 passes for 184 yards to lead Mount Union.

ONU had the ball for 36:25, while Mount Union had the ball for 23:25.

The Polar Bears will return to action next Saturday at 1:30 pm when they host Capital at Dial-Roberson Stadium.

Now THAT is an upset.