TIFFIN – Bendo Bowl IV was an offensive coach's dream – a game that Ronnie and Jason Bendekovic would have loved.
The #23 Heidelberg University football team outlasted Ohio Northern University, 69-52, on a picturesque fall day at Hoernemann Stadium. The Student Princes move to 4-0 in the Bendo Bowl, a game played in honor of Ronnie and Jason, who, at the time of their passing, served as offensive assistants at ONU and the Berg.
THREE STARS
- The Mees Family – Quarterback Michael Mees enjoyed a career day, throwing for 410 yards and five touchdowsn and rushing for game-high 116 yards and a score. With 74 touchdown passes, Michael set a new program record for career TD tosses, passing Andrew Miller's mark of 69 set in 2010.
Two of Michael's touchdowns went to his older brother James. James had three catches for 44 yards, including the two scores – the first of his Heidelberg career.
- Donteea Dye – Wide receiver Donteea Dye showed why his teammates selected him as a team captain. Hours after giving an impassioned pregame speech, Dye caught 12 passes for 213 yards and two touchdowns, all career highs.
- Stephen Smith – For the second time this season, the junior kicker/punter scored 15 points. Smith converted all nine extra points and kicked two field goals – a 25-yarder and a 37-yarder, a career long.
BROKEN RECORDS
In addition to Mees' career TD mark, tailback Cartel Brooks became the Student Princes' rushing king in the first quarter. With a seven-yard carry, Brooks had amassed 4,082 career yards, passing the mark of 4,077 yards set by Jeff Brock in 1999
KEY MOMENTS
Ohio Northern (2-1, 1-1 OAC) scored on a one-yard rush by quarterback Patrick Angle with 3:29 remaining in the second quarter. It cut the HU lead to 31-28 and put pressure on the Student Princes, who were going to kick off to start the second half.
Heidelberg (2-1, 1-1 OAC) regained the two-score advantage with a three-play 73-yard drive. The drive started with a 43-yard rush by Dye on a reverse and an 18-yard touchdown pass to Zach Hogya.
Undaunted, the Polar Bears scored quickly, capping a four-play 72-yard drive with a 37-yard pass from Angle to Reed Allen. But again, ONU gave the quick-strike 'Berg offense too much time.
With 1:05 remaining, the Tricolor marched 60 yards in six plays and found the end zone yet again. The touchdown, a six-yard pass from Mees to Dye, capped off a frenzied final 3:29 of the half and allowed HU to head to the locker room with a two-score lead, up 45-35.
HOW WE SCORED (and the two times we didn't)
On the opening drive of the game, Mees found Dye for a 61-yard completion on 3rd-and-9. It put Heidelberg in the red-zone, where the drive stalled. Smith split the uprights for a 3-0 lead.
Following an ONU punt, Heidelberg's second drive ended with a fumble by Brooks on a pass play. The Polar Bears recovered and capitalized four plays later and took a 7-3 lead.
The next HU possession, the first of six straight TD drives, was propelled by two completions to Nick DeLisa. It was capped by a 10-yard pass from Mees to Dye. DeLisa finished with 91 yards on six catches.
ONU's next possession ended with an ill-fated fake field goal. Brian Lacey found the end zone for the first of his two touchdowns on the day. The tailback scored from 10 yards out, giving HU a 17-7 lead.
Heidelberg answered an early second quarter touchdown by ONU with another Lacey score. This one, a 24-yard scamper put HU ahead, 24-14.
With the lead cut to three, Mees quickly drove the Berg down to the two-yard line. From there, Brooks plowed ahead into paydirt, sealing off a four-play 82-yard drive. Brooks' touchdown set off the 28-point scoring frenzy between the teams in the final moments of the half.
The Polar Bears opened the second half with a booming 44-yard field goal by Andrew DiMario, cutting their deficit to 45-38. Heidelberg responded with a field goal of their own, Smith's 37-yarder.
After the Polar Bears offense scored again, cutting the HU lead to three, the ONU defense forced a three-and-out and Heidelberg punted for the first – and last – time of the game.
Despite allowing 650 yards, the HU defense stood tall when it mattered. With a chance to tie or take a lead, the ONU offense sputtered. DeLisa returned the ONU punt for 33 yards and the HU offense rediscovered its rhythm.
Two Lacey rushes and four Mees passes put Heidelberg back into the end zone. This drive ended with the first of the Mees-Mees connections, a 22-yard dart down the hashes.
Up 55-52, Heidelberg's offense began to give ONU a steady dose of Brooks, who had 21 yards on four carries on the drive. It ended with the second Michael-to-James Mees touchdowns.
ONU's next drive ended with a missed field goal, which gave The Berg the ball with 3:20 to play. Michael Mees capped the scoring and his career day with a 59-yard rush for a touchdown.
The game ended on a strip-sack of Angle by Ryan Malloy, who forced and recovered the fumble as time expired.
FOR THE POLAR BEARS
Angle threw for 393 yards and four touchdowns, completing 27 of his 40 passes. He rushed for 77 yards and two scores.
Justin Magazine rushed for 104 yards on 19 carries.
Receiver Devon Price had seven receptions for 116 yards and six carries for 68 yards
QUOTABLE
Heidelberg head coach Mike Hallett on rebounding after last week's loss at John Carroll: "We stumbled on offense last week so we definitely wanted to come out and play much better ... I think we did that today.
Hallett on the up-tempo offense: "We play at a pretty fast tempo the majority of the time ... We felt like if we started going fast we were going to be able to gas their defense a bit and it would open up a couple running and throwing lanes for our offense."
Hallett on ONU QB Angle: "He's a very good player. If you don't get pressure on him he can sit back there and tear you apart. Luckily at the back end of the game we started getting after him, putting on pressure and forcing him to run out of the pocket and that was definitely an advantage for us."
Michael Mees on setting records and career highs: "I feel great. The game was a lot close than I wanted it to be but I came out here to win, not to break records or anything, I came out here to play football and win ... It's nice to see [the records] after the fact but in the game it's all about football.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
The 729 yards of total offense was a program best, surpassing the short-lived record of 696 yards set in the 72-7 opening win over Alma.
The 121 combined points is the most in Heidelberg history, breaking the previous record of 110 (60-50 loss to Capital in 2010).
In Heidelberg games to have 100+ combined points, the Student Princes are only 2-3.
In his last three starts against ONU, Mees is 61-for-92 with 1,060 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Dye has 19 receptions for 485 yards and six touchdowns in his career against the Polar Bears.
ONU held the advantage in possession, 40:09 to 19:51. Statistically, HU scored a point every 17.26 seconds.
UP NEXT
The Student Princes hit the road next Saturday, traveling to Otterbein for the Rhine River Cup. Kickoff with the Cardinals is slated for a 1:30 p.m. start.