Pioneers Defeat Oilers 16-3 In Home Opener

The University of Findlay football team suffered a 16-3 loss at the hands of Tusculum College on Saturday, September 4 in their first game of the 2010 season at Donnell Stadium. The Oilers, who had won eight straight non-conference games, fall to 0-1 on the year while the Pioneers improved to 2-0.

The Oilers offense never seemed to get on track as they turned the ball over three times and gave up eight sacks on the afternoon en route to only 211 yards of total offense. The Oilers also converted only 1-of-14 attempts on third down and managed 0.3 yards per rushing attempt.

In comparison, the defense gave up 510 yards to Tusculum but were stout in the red zone, holding the Pioneers to only 16 points and none in the second half.

Offensively, freshman quarterback Zach Tate completed 17-of-27 passes for 190 yards while senior wide receiver DaJerrian Smith made a career-high seven catches for 95 yards.

Sophomore running back Monterae Williams added 59 yards rushing on 15 attempts while senior wide receiver Jonathan Mora chipped in five catches for 43 yards in the loss.

The Pioneers were led by Bo Cordell's 429 yards passing as he completed 35-of-63 attempts. Deonte' Gist was his primary target, hauling in ten passes for 151 yards.

Rashaad Carter added nine receptions for 95 yards and Calvin Britt made five catches for 98 yards in the game.

Defensively, sophomore linebacker Brandon Butler led the team with 11 tackles while junior defensive back Donte Johnson chipped in eight.

Freshman defensive back Kalon Willis added seven tackles and one interception while junior defensive lineman Brandon Cornell stuffed the stat sheet with seven tackles, three tackles for a loss and three quarterback hurries.

Sophomore defensive lineman Richard Sumlin also had an outstanding game for Findlay, contributing seven tackles, three tackles for a loss, one sack and four quarterback hurries.

The Oilers will be back in action again on Saturday, September 11 when they travel to Marquette, Michigan to face Northern Michigan University in their first Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) contest of the season. The game is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. inside the Superior Dome.