ADA, Ohio – The Baldwin Wallace University football team closed out the road portion of its 2019 regular season schedule as it was defeated by Ohio Northern University in an Ohio Athletic Conference by a final score of 35-28 on Dial Robinson Field inside Dial-Roberson Stadium.
BW (7-2, 6-2 OAC) fell to 30-14-1 in the all-time series against Ohio Northern (5-4, 5-3).
Offensively for the Yellow Jackets, freshman quarterback Keagan Armitage (Ashland) completed 26-of-44 passes for 286 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Sophomore All-OAC running back Jon Murray, Jr. (Cincinnati/Withrow) led the ground game as he rushed for 62 yards on 20 carries with one touchdown. Junior wide out Iyan Mitchell (Tampa, Fla./Robinson) led the aerial assault as he caught eight passes for 112 yards. Defensively, senior linebacker Josh Liberati (Lisbon/David Anderson) had a game-high 13 tackles and recovered a fumble.
The Polar Bears were led by senior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC quarterback Anthony McFadden as he completed 12-of-17 passes for 155 yards with three touchdowns. McFadden also rushed for 52 yards with a touchdown. Junior All-American running back Christiaan Williams led the ground game with a game-high 118 yards on 22 carries with one touchdown. Junior wide out Chase Rose led the receiving corps as he caught five passes for 109 yards with two touchdowns. Defensively, senior All-OAC linebacker David Haseleu had a game-high tying 13 tackles.
Ohio Northern opened the scoring when McFadden connected with Rose on a 70-yard pass play at the 10:14 mark. Sophomore placekicker Dom DiFalco added the extra point. The Polar Bears pushed its lead to 14-0 when McFadden and Rose hooked up for the second time on an eight-yard pass at 3:17. DiFalco tacked on the extra point. BW cut the lead down to 14-7 when senior tight end Mitchel Yehl (Portville, N.Y./Central) caught his second career touchdown on an eight-yard pass from Armitage. Freshman placekicker Dean Sarris (Canton/GlenOak) booted the extra point with 13 seconds remaining.
Ohio Northern opened the second quarter scoring and extended its lead to 21-7 when McFadden scored on a nine-yard quarterback keeper. DiFalco hit the extra point at the 10:44 mark. The Yellow Jackets responded when Mitchell scored on a 16-yard reverse at 7:21. Sarris added the extra point to cut the lead down to 21-14. The Polar Bear answered when McFadden connected with sophomore wideout Austin Eick on a 10-yard pass play. DiFalco hit the point after pushing the lead to 28-14 with one minute remaining.
BW cut the lead down and opened the third scoring when it used a 12-yard and 95-yard drive after the Yellow Jacket defense forced a turnover on downs. Murray, Jr. cut the lead down to 28-21 on a one-yard run at the 3:42 mark. Sarris tacked on the extra point.
After a BW turnover, Ohio Northern opened the final quarter scoring on a one-yard run by Williams to push the Polar Bear lead to 35-21 at 10:33. DiFalco booted the point after. The Yellow Jackets responded with a 15-play and 80-yard drive capped off on a one-yard quarterback sneak by Armitage at the 4:45 mark. Sarris added the extra point to cut the lead down to 35-28.
BW closes out the 2019 regular season on Saturday, November 16 when it hosts an OAC, Seniors' Day and 31st Gold Bowl Trophy game against crosstown rival and No. 10 nationally-ranked John Carroll University on Tressel Field inside The George Finnie Stadium at 1:30 p.m.