Oilers Fall 48-45 On Last Second Field Goal
The University of Findlay football team fell 48-45 on a last second, 22-yard field goal to Lake Erie College on Saturday, October 23 at Donnell Stadium. The loss gives the Oilers a 1-7 record on the season with a 1-6 mark in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC).
The Oilers and Storm combined to score 93 points in the game while racking up 49 first downs and 1,002 total yards. The 45 points by the Oilers were only eight points less than their output all season long.
After battling back and forth all game long, the Oilers took a 45-35 lead on a 17-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback John Soli to senior wide receiver DaJerrian Smith with only 17 ticks left in the third quarter.
As was the norm during the afternoon, Lake Erie answered Findlay's score with a 6-yard pass from Nick Yeager to Sean Bedevelsky to cut the lead to three points at 45-42 with 13:50 remaining in the game.
After a few failed possessions by both teams, Soli threw an interception at the Oilers 36-yard line, which eventually led to a 21-yard field goal by Sam Marcotte.
Tied at 45-45 with 6:40 left on the clock, the Oilers converted one first down and then went backwards from there as they were forced to punt. The Strom then took the ball at their own 19-yard line and marched down the field to set up the game-winning field goal by Marcotte with no time remaining in the game.
As a team, the Oilers totaled 368 yards of total offense and recorded 230 of those yards on the ground. The Storm meanwhile racked up 634 yards of total offense as the Oilers gave up a school record 441 through the air.
Sophomore running back Monterae Williams paced the offense with a career-high 202 yards on 30 carries. Williams also scored two touchdowns on the afternoon.
Soli finished the game by completing 14-of-27 passes for 138 yards and three scores.
Senior wide receiver Dustin Zielaskiewicz recorded seven receptions for 68 yards and two scores while Smith hauled in four catches for 45 yards and a score.
Bedevelsky led the Storm with 441 yards passing, completing 34-of-50 attempts with four touchdowns. He also rushed for 59 yards and two scores on the day as well.
Brandon James caught nine passes for 120 yards and two scores, David Romeo made seven catches for 103 yards and Andre Wells totaled four receptions for 100 yards for Lake Erie.
Defensively, sophomore linebacker Brandon Butler made a career-high 15 tackles while freshman linebacker Kenny Klatt registered 13 stops.
Junior defensive lineman Craig Hoying made 11 tackles to go along with three tackles for a loss and a sack while senior defensive back Bryon Rizzi had ten stops and two pass break-ups.
The Oilers will be back in action again next Saturday when they host Ashland University at noon.