ONU, Fries take big jump in Year 2

ADA — High hopes came at a cost. Now, the Ohio Northern University football team will reach the phase of expectations that will also come at a higher cost. "We know what that looks like now," second-year head coach Andy Fries said. "If we want to meet those expectations, it's going to take even more work than it took to get to this point." A 2005 Norwalk High School graduate, Fries just finished his second season as the head coach at the NCAA Division III school in Ada. After a 5-5 record in 2024, the Polar Bears surged to an 8-2 regular season this past fall. That included a 7-1 mark in the Ohio Athletic Conference. Northern made its fifth postseason appearance in program history in the Opendorse Bowl Series in Canton, and Fries was selected as the OAC Coach of the Year. "You don't want to say it was like night and day, but that's about as close of a description as I can think of," Fries said of his second season. "You go through your first year and don't know what to expect on certain things, so every time out, you get more comfortable in the surroundings and around your team. "The guys know what they are fighting for and why we do things a certain way." Ironically, the season couldn't have started worse than it did. The Polar Bears traveled over three hours to Franklin, Ind. The Bears allowed a halfback pass for a touchdown for 85 yards on the first play from scrimmage and never recovered in the 27-20 loss on Sept. 6. The Grizzlies finished just 5-5 on the season, which proved to be a critical loss for ONU. The Bears won eight of their next nine games, losing only to national powerhouse Mount Union, 33-7, on Oct. 25 in Alliance. But when the Div. III field for the playoffs was announced; the Bears were the first team out of the playoffs. Instead, they were one of four teams invited to play in the second annual Open Dorse Bowl Series at the Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton. The Polar Bears faced Wabash, Ind. in the ForeverLawn Bowl on Nov. 22. The Open Dorse Bowl Series is a two-game series featuring the highest-ranked team to not make the NCAA playoffs from the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference, the North Coast Athletic Conference, the OAC, and the Presidents' Athletic Conference. "The opener was such a catfish game," Fries said. "We went the day of, and it was a bit of a bus ride, and historically a tough place to play. They had a new head coach for them who came back after five years, and he's a walking legend on that campus, so you don't know what to expect. "They scored on that first play of the game, and our guys were kind of rattled a little bit," he added. "We never got on a good offensive footing until the end, and it was just too late. We didn't play to our standard and didn't rise to the occasion." But Fries also said it's fair to wonder if the season would have played out the way it did had ONU won the game. "The mental warfare you also wage with yourself is, I don't know if we have the type of season we did because of the way we lost," he said. "I think that our guys understood we had to really dial in and focus each week and set the tone for the rest of the season. "But to think we'd win eight of the next nine and be the first team out of the playoffs after our last game, I would have been surprised," Fries added. "I didn't know what our team makeup was after that first game, but that resiliency factor of our guys, they showed they didn't let that bother them." ONU's signature win came on Nov. 8 when it hosted No. 22-ranked Baldwin-Wallace, another strong OAC program over the years. Trailing in the fourth quarter, the Bears scored with 6:48 left and held on for a 30-28 victory. "To have a home game that means that much and have the focus across the country on that game was a big moment for the program," Fries said. "That's when our playoffs started. If we wanted a chance to make noise, that was the game to do it. From a program standpoint, it solidified that what we are doing here is working. We're never satisfied, but it showed us what we can be." Fries noted ONU also trailed by 11 in the second quarter against the Yellow Jackets. "From a program standpoint, it was a huge opportunity for us and hopefully a turning point in a lot of ways," he said. "We could have gone a lot of different directions after that first game, but instead we figured out how to get things right, and that game exemplified that. "It was an awesome win for us to beat a top 25 team, and it showed that what we're doing is working in some ways. Now staying at that level is the exciting part and the next challenge." ONU missed the playoffs by just .16 points to end up in the bowl series in Canton. Several unique events happened to keep the Bears out of the playoffs, from a controversial call in a Hope-Alma game in Michigan to Case Western Reserve and Rowan being declared a tie after a lightning strike. Had neither happened, ONU has the point totals to reach the NCAA playoffs. "It would have been huge and it stung," Fries said. "You can go over all those circumstances of other games if you want, but I told the guys it's OK to be disappointed. But ultimately, we didn't take care of business." Instead, Fries and his team quickly turned their attention to the postseason game against Wabash. The team toured the Pro Football Hall of Fame the night before and got the experience of Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, the site of the annual NFL preseason HOF game as well as the OHSAA state championships. "A lot of our guys had not been to the Hall of Fame," Fries said. "When you walk into that stadium, it really hits you how big it has become and how special it is. It was one more week with our seniors, and we again trailed by double digits (17) in the second quarter and rallied." ONU grabbed a 31-24 lead in the fourth quarter against Wabash. However, the Bears gave up a touchdown pass on fourth-and-8 from 23 yards out with just two seconds left. Wabash then went for two and the win and got it in the stunning 32-31 defeat. "We were in control of everything, and then you get your heart ripped out at the end," Fries said. "I'm proud of how they responded, but unfortunately in sports and a lot like life, there is a winner and a loser — and at some point you will have losses that haunt you for a very long time. "That's certainly going to be one of them, but that just means we have a better opportunity. We missed the playoffs by a fraction of a point, and we lost a bowl game by one in the final seconds. If that's not enough of a motivating factor for the guys back, I don't know what is." Ten ONU players were named to the All-OAC teams, with junior Quentin Lehman (Dalton) being named the Offensive Lineman of the Year. But three other starters that were alongside him will graduate along with quarterback Sam Feldman (Springboro) and standout running back Louie Blasiole (Mantua Crestwood). "We'll lose some guys in key spots that we didn't lose a year ago," Fries said. "But we will have two All-OAC guys back on defense and on offense, and all skilled guys at receiver will be back. But as with anything, a lot depends on how fast you can find and develop a quarterback." Fries was hired as the 29th head coach in the 129-year history of ONU football on Dec. 11, 2023, and he is just the school's fourth head coach in the past 38 years. Fries came to ONU after four seasons as assistant coach at Rose-Hulman (Ind.), where he served as offensive coordinator and offensive line coach from 2020 to 2023. After graduating from Norwalk in 2005, Fries went to Otterbein to continue his academic and athletic career. He was a four-year letter winner and three-year starter for the Cardinals from 2005 to 2008. Fries was elected captain his senior year and helped the Cards set records for most wins (9) and reach the NCAA playoffs for the only time in school history. Also a two-time All-OAC first team selection, Fries was named the OAC's Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman in 2008 and was a third team All-American selection by D3football.com. Fries later served as a graduate assistant at Otterbein from 2010 to 2012, then returned to his alma mater after stints at Lakeland College (2012-13) and Wilmington College (2013-15). After one season at Davenport, Mich. in 2019, Fries arrived at Rose-Hulman. The 2009 graduate of Otterbein has a bachelor's degree in communications. He also earned a master's degree in teaching from Otterbein in 2012. He and his wife, Marinda, a 2010 Otterbein graduate, have two children — Madeline (8) and Luke (6). "I try to consider myself a positive person, so the fun part is we have to get the guys here better for 2026," Fries said. "Now instead of having high hopes, there is an expectation. We want to make sure we reach those expectations, and the good thing is now we know what that looks like with everything."