By Tim Glon
ST. LOUIS, Mo. — Ohio Northern overcame a nightmarish start and an early 17-0 deficit to defeat Washington (Mo.) 31-24 in the 2014 season opener on a beautiful Saturday afternoon at Francis Field.
The Polar Bears (1-0 overall) rolled up 492 yards of total offense and held the ball for more than 35 minutes after struggling mightily in the first 17 minutes of the game.
Junior tailback Justin Magazine rushed 28 times for a career-high 154 yards and a score and junior receiver/kick returner Devon Price caught eight passes for 130 yards and a TD and finished with 220 all-purpose yards to lead the Polar Bear offense.
Senior quarterback Patrick Angle also had an outstanding day, shaking off an early interception to finish 18-for-24 passing for 220 yards and a score and ran 14 times for 75 yards and two scores.
The host Bears (0-1 overall) were led on offense by J.J. Tomlin, who completed 28-of-42 passes for 228 yards and three touchdowns.
"It was a nightmare start, but I am very proud of the way we maintained our composure," ONU head coach Dean Paul said. "We were not making plays and committing penalties in every phase of the game. But because our players and coaches believe in what we are doing, we knew that we were just one play away from changing momentum. And our guys kept playing hard and kept believing.
"To come from 17 down, on the road, to beat a playoff team is something that doesn't happen often. I told our guys that not many teams in the country can do what they accomplished today."
Trailing 17-0 with 13 minutes left in the half, Northern scored on five consecutive possessions, putting up 31 unanswered points, to take a 31-17 lead midway through the third period.
Washington dominated play early, scoring on an 8-yard touchdown pass just 3:49 into the contest after an interception gave the Bears a short field.
The Bears made it 10-0 on a 36-yard field goal with 3:57 left in the first quarter and went up 17-0 with a 2-yard touchdown pass with 13:16 left before halftime.
Northern got on the board on a 22-yard field goal by junior Andrew DiMario with 9:30 left in the half to pull ONU within 17-3.
Angle hit Price on a 69-yard screen pass with 5:41 left in the half and Northern was within 17-10.
"That screen pass to Price was a huge play," Paul said. "It swung momentum into our favor in a big way. We got our offense rolling after that. Defensively, we did a nice job of playing more disciplined."
On ONU's next possession, Angle found Reed Allen on a 46-yard pass to put the ball on the WashU 10. Magazine plowed over from 10 yards out on the next play to tie the game at 17-all with 4:27 left before intermission.
The second quarter offensive onslaught continued as ONU marched 68 yards on its final possession of the second quarter and took a 24-17 lead when Angle ran in from 4 yards out with 32 seconds left in the half.
Northern committed 99 yards of penalties in the first 30 minutes, but also amassed 281 yards of offense to come from behind and claim the 7-point halftime advantage.
On its first possession of the third quarter, Ohio Northern kept its offense rolling. Angle capped a 14-play, 80-yard drive with a 12-yard TD run at the 5:11 mark of the third period and it was 31-17 Polar Bears.
Washington answered with a 74-yard TD drive to pull within 31-24 with 3:12 left in the third period.
Northern marched into Washington territory on its next three possessions, but were unable to get the game clinching score.
A sack took ONU out of field goal range with 5:47 left to play and DiMario's 31-yard field goal with 3:51 left was blocked.
But the final drive ended inside the Bears' 25-yard line with the Polar Bears taking a knee and running out the clock.
"We still have some challenges moving forward," Paul said. " Obviously we need to start faster and we need to put games away when we have the chance. But overall it was a very good win for our program."
ONU out-gained WU 492-348 in total offense, including a 272-120 advantage on the ground.
Defensively, senior linebacker Dillon Kwiat had 10 tackles and junior corner Melvin Williams had eight tackles to lead Ohio Northern.
The Polar Bears will kick off the Ohio Athletic Conference portion of their schedule Sept. 20 at Baldwin Wallace.