The Wilmington College football team travels to Ada 1:30 p.m. Saturday for their final road game of the season to face Ohio Northern.
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"ONU is a very good football team that is well coached," said Wilmington head coach Stacey Hairston. "They have some playmakers on both sides of the ball."
The Polar Bears bring in a defense fresh off a dominating performance against Marietta. They held the Pioneers without a first down in the first half, and Marietta managed just 112 yards in the game. Senior Dillon Kwiat is one of the best linebackers in the OAC, and he leads the team with 61 tackles.
On the season, ONU is allowing 32.5 points per game – which is sixth in the OAC. They are allowing nearly as many yards through the air (205.9) as on the ground (208.5).
"Defensively, LB Dillon Kwiat is as good as they come at that position," said Hairston. "Their secondary will challenge you and they are very good at it. They can completely shut down an offense when they are clicking on defense."
If Ohio Northern has a weakness defensively, it's their inability to get to the quarterback. The Polar Bears come into the game with just one sack.
Offensively, they sport two of the most explosive players in the OAC in running back Justin Magazine and receiver Devon Price. The duo provides the perfect complement to quarterback Patrick Angle, who has thrown just two interceptions in over 200 attempts. He is completing 63.4 percent (154-for-243) of his passes for 1,856 yards and 17 touchdowns.
"Patrick Angle is just as good as (JCU's Mark Myers and Mount Union's Kevin Burke)," said Hairston. "I believe he developed into a true overall conductor of their offense this season. The other two quarterbacks have been doing what they do for a couple of years now. Patrick is capable of moving the ball and making plays just like the other two mentioned quarterbacks."
Magazine is ninth in the OAC with 84.9 yards per game, while Price leads the league with 54 receptions. His 681 yards receiving is fourth in the league. However, the Polar Bears are far from a three-person show.
"If you focus solely on Justin and Devon, they have other players that are capable of hurting you, and they have shown that throughout the season," said Hairston. "Reed Allen is a player that we have to watch very closely as well. But we must make sure to try and limit what Justin or Devon can do."
Freshman Blake Valenzuela (Keystone Hts., FL/Keystone Hts.) will be the fourth signal caller to make a start for Wilmington. He was fairly effective in his limited action last week, going 8-of-17 for 122 yards and an interception. Valenzuela guided the Fightin' Quakers on their only touchdown drive of the game. You can expect to see him and freshman Daniel Crusan (Miami, FL/Palmetto) taking snaps in the game.
Sophomore running back Chase Manica (Shelbyville, OH/Shelby County) comes into the game needing 267 yards to reach the 1,000-yard plateau on the season.
Defensively, junior Nick Williams (Cleveland, OH/Fairview) looks to get back on track after not recording double figure tackles in the last two games. He fell from leading the league to fourth in the past two weeks.