By Tim Glon
A school record 14 Ohio Northern players were named All-Ohio Athletic Conference in football for 2016 in voting conducted by the league's 10 head coaches.
Seniors Reed Allen (Whitehouse/Anthony Wayne), Scott Rapps (Bay Village/Bay) and Logan Ray (Van Wert), junior Zach Schmerge (Wapakoneta), sophomore Joe French (Elgin, Ill./St. Edward Central Catholic) and freshman Christiaan Williams (Sidney/Anna) were all selected as First Team honorees.
Senior Kyle Bergman (Coldwater), Cody Cox (Roanoke, Ind./Homestead) and Dan Eller (Medina), juniors Jason Hundley (Saint Cloud, Fla./Harmony) and Nate Jones (Locust Grove, Ga./Community Christian) and sophomore Will Freed (Carlsbad, Calif./San Marcos) were named to the Second Team.
Senior Mike Cunningham (North Royalton) and junior Christian Randolph (Talahassee, Fla./FAMU HS) received Honorable Mention All-OAC kudos.
Allen is a two-time First Team All-OAC honoree as a receiver. He started 32 games over the past three season and led the Polar Bears with 44 receptions for 617 yards and six touchdowns this season.
Allen ended his 33-game career ranked seventh all-time at ONU with 100 receptions and is sixth with 1,738 receiving yards. He also caught 19 touchdown passes and ranks 10th with 40 kickoff returns and 822 kickoff return yards.
Rapps started nine games at defensive tackle this season and is a two-time All-OAC honoree after earning Honorable Mention All-OAC honors in 2015. He was also named Academic All-Conference this season. He led the team with 6.0 sacks and 12.5 TFL and was fourth with 51 tackles.
Rapps played in 27 games and started 20 on the defensive line in his four years at Ohio Northern. He had 123 career tackles to go with 24 TFLs and 11.5 sacks.
Ray is a two-time All-Conference honoree at tight end after earning Second Team honors as a junior in 2015. This season, Ray had 30 receptions for 307 yards and five touchdowns. He played in 36 games with 22 starts in his four seasons as a Polar Bear. He had 43 catches for 527 yards and 8 touchdowns and 35 special teams tackles in his career.
Schmerge is now a two-time First Team All-OAC honoree at middle linebacker. This season, he led the OAC with 103 tackles, including a career-high 20 tackles in the season finale at Baldwin Wallace. He has played in 26 games with 21 starts in his three seasons as a Polar Bear and has 226 tackles, 4 sacks and 13 TFL.
French led the OAC and set an ONU single-season record with 12 made field goals in 2016. He was 12-of-16 on field goals and was 36-of-38 on extra points for 72 points in his first season on the ONU varsity. French was also named Academic All-Conference this season.
Williams, a running back, has rushed for more than 100 yards in all nine of his collegiate games, including a career-high 175 yards in his first outing at Utica (N.Y.) on 9/10/16. His 9-game 100-yard streak is a school record and he ranks 9th all-time at ONU with his nine 100-yard rushing games.
Williams is the only freshman and the 11th player overall in ONU history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. He gained 1,208 yards on 193 carries and had 12 touchdowns and led the OAC with an average of 134.2 rushing yards per game.
Bergman was named Second Team All-Conference as a punter for the third consecutive season. This season, he averaged 38.7 yards on 43 punts with 15 dropped inside the opponents' 20-yard line. He saw action in 36 games as a punter and ranks 6th in ONU history with an average of 37.93 yards per punt and had 37 punts inside the 20-yard line.
Cox has started 40 games at linebacker in his four seasons as a Polar Bear. He had 27 tackles and an interception this season and had 159 tackles in his career.
Eller is now a two-time Second Team All-OAC honoree with 29 career starts at safety. This season, he was second on the team and was sixth in the OAC with 80 tackles. In 36 career games Eller posted 242 tackles, which ranks him ninth all-time in ONU history.
Hundley started all 10 games this season at defensive end. He was eighth on the team with 28 tackles and was second with 5.5 sacks and 9.5 TFL this season. In 22 career games (with 14 starts), Hundley has 66 tackles, 10.5 sacks and 16.5 TFL.
Jones started all 10 games at right guard this season after moving from the defensive side of the ball in his first two seasons at ONU. He is making his first appearance on the All-OAC team.
Freed is a two-year starter at quarterback and was second in the OAC with 2,330 passing yards this season. He completed 190-of-324 passes for 23 touchdowns and had a 137.54 efficiency rating this year.
Freed ranks ninth all-time at Ohio Northern with 3,781 passing yards and has thrown for more than 200 yards in a game 10 times in his 15 career starts.
Cunningham started all 10 games at defensive tackle this season and is now a two-time Honorable Mention All-Conference selection. This season, he had 28 tackles, 2.5 sacks and 5.5 TFL.
Cunningham played in 38 games with 34 starts and has 118 tackles, 12 TFLs, and 4.5 sacks in his career.
Randolph started all 10 games at corner in his first season in the starting lineup and finished the season with 43 tackles, two interceptions and 11 PBUs. In 30 career games, Randolph has 72 tackles, two interceptions and 19 PBUs.
The Polar Bears posted a 5-5 overall record and posted its 20th upper division finish in the OAC in the last 21 seasons, tying for fourth place in the 10-team league with a 5-4 record under 13th-year head coach Dean Paul.
