Oilers Open Season on Thursday Against NMU
The University of Findlay football team will open their season on Thursday, Aug. 30 when they host Northern Michigan University. The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) contest is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in Donnell Stadium.
Special Events
Texas Roadhouse will be providing free food for the first 750 fans to purchase a ticket to the Oilers game against the Wildcats on Thursday. Gates will open at 5:30 p.m.
Sights and Sounds
All Oilers football games can be heard on 88.3 FM "WLFC" or on the internet via their web site.
You can listen to the broadcast by clicking on the following link:
The University of Findlay will also broadcast all of their home football games on the internet. You can watch the games live by clicking on the following link:
UF athletics will also offer live stats for all home games. A link to this process can be retrieved by clicking on the live stats window located on the left side of the Oilers athletic website.
The Series
The Oilers currently trail 11-5 in the all-time series against Northern Michigan University dating back to the 1954 campaign when the Wildcats were victorious by a score of 14-6.
Last season, the Wildcats claimed a 30-23 win in double overtime against the Oilers in Donnell Stadium.
As a team, the Oilers registered 484 yards of total offense on a school record 107 plays. They gained 197 yards on the ground and 287 in the air.
Clay Belton finished the game by completing 26-of-52 passes for 287 yards, but tossed four interceptions in the loss. His 52 passes broke the single game of 49 set by Anthony Lanzara against Saginaw Valley State University in 2008.
Monterae Williams carried 25 times for 143 yards and a score while Alex Kovach hauled in six receptions for 108 yards.
Defensively, Richard Sumlin had 12 tackles, which included 0.5 sacks and 2.5 tackles for a loss.
The two teams have played to an even 3-3 draw in their last six meetings with two of those contests going into overtime.
Head Coach Rob Keys
Rob Keys is currently in his second season as the head coach of the Oilers football team.
Last year, Keys guided the Oilers to a 6-5 record, which included a 6-4 mark in GLIAC play. The record represented a five-win upgrade from the 2010 campaign when the Oilers crawled to a 1-10 mark.
Keys was previously the co-defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator for the Oilers from 2000-04.
In 2010, Keys served as the defensive backs coach at the University of New Hampshire. He helped coach the team to an 8-5 record in 2010 and a spot in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Playoffs. The Wildcats, who were ranked #10 in the nation, were then upended by the #5 University of Delaware Blue Hens 16-3 in the quarterfinals of the tournament.
Before his time with the Wildcats, Keys spent four years as the special teams coordinator, recruiting coordinator and defensive backs coach at Slippery Rock University (2006-10).
Prior to his work at Slippery Rock, Keys served one season as the safeties coach and special teams coordinator at Indiana State University (2005) after his five-year run at Findlay.
Keys also spent three seasons coaching at his alma mater, West Virginia University, coaching running backs, special teams, tight ends, tackles, quarterbacks and wide receivers.
As a player at West Virginia, Keys was a two-year letter winner and a 1995 team co-captain. He won the Mountaineer Club Award twice (1994-95), the highest honor a West Virginia player can receive. He was also given the Scott Shirley Award for the special teams MVP in 1995 and participated in the USF&G Sugar Bowl and Carquest Bowl during his tenure as a player.
Keys graduated from West Virginia in 1996 with a bachelor's degree in physical education and then later earned his master's degree in the same field in 1998 from WVU as well.
He also obtained a post-graduate degree from the Marine Military Academy (Harlingen, Texas).
Coach Keys and his wife, Jenifer, are the parents of three daughters, Katie, Casey and Kaylee.
For Findlay's 2012 coaching staff, please click on the following link:
The Oilers
The Oilers finished last season with a 6-5 record, which included a 6-4 mark in the GLIAC. The record was a five-win improvement from the year before when they finished 1-10.
Findlay averaged 29.4 points per game in 2011, a big improvement compared to the 2010 campaign when they scored only 12.3 points per outing.
Senior running back Monterae Williams returns to lead the offense after being named first team all-conference as a junior.
Williams, who has racked up 3,312 rushing yards during his tenure with the Oilers, needs only 698 yards on the ground this season to become the all-time leader at Findlay. The record of 4,009 career rushing yards belongs to former great Nelson Bolden, whom accomplished the feat from 1977-80.
For Findlay's 2011 season statistics, please click on the following link:
For Findlay's 2012 roster, please click on the following link:
Northern Michigan Head Coach
Chris Ostrowsky was named the 21st head coach of the Northern Michigan University football program on Nov. 30, 2011, after spending two seasons as the offensive coordinator. Ostrowsky came to NMU with over 15 years of coaching experience.
Prior to NMU, he coached at NCAA Division I Northeastern University in Boston, Mass. for three seasons (2007-09). While there, he was the quarterbacks coach, recruiting coordinator and passing game coordinator. At Northeastern, he led freshmen quarterback Matt Carroll to a 65 percent pass completion ratio which was third highest in school history (2009).
Before Northeastern, Ostrowsky was the assistant head football coach at NCAA Division III Widener University in Chester, Pa. from 2005-07. He was the offensive coordinator in 2005 where his offense established 27 new school records. His squads were back-to-back South Atlantic ECAC Bowl Champions 2005-06. Before Widener he had a similar position at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va. from 2002-04.
From 1997-01 Ostrowsky was the head football coach at East Side High School in Newark, N.J. He was named Newark Star Ledger High School Coach of the Year 1998. Ostrowsky turned around a losing program which had lost 18 straight games before his first game of the 1998 season.
The Wildcats
Northern Michigan is coming off of a 4-6 season and were picked to finish seventh in the North Division of the GLIAC in 2012.
Prince Young and John Privitelli return a veteran backfield. Privitelli enters his senior season after an injury plagued 2011 when he appeared in three games. Young led the 'Cats with 960 yards on 202 carries. Both have been GLIAC honorable mention selections during their careers.
Jace Daniels and Chad Anderson anchor the offensive line. Daniels was selected to the GLIAC Second Team in 2011 and returns for his senior year.
Two-time GLIAC second team selection Zach Anderson returns for his senior season on the defensive line. He led the team with 68 total tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss and four sacks in 2011.
Linebacker Ed Knoblock returns for his senior season after an injury shortened two-game campaign. He was NMU's Male Athlete of the Year and a GLIAC first team selection in 2010.
For Northern Michigan's 2011 season statistics, please click on the following link
For Northern Michigan's 2012 roster, please click on the following link:
Piling Up Yards
Senior running back Monterae Williams will have the opportunity to break the school record for career rushing yards during his final season with the Oilers.
Williams has rushed for 3,312 career yards and is only 698 yards shy of eclipsing the record of 4,009, which was set by former standout Nelson Bolden. Bolden achieved the rushing yardage total from 1977-80, helping the Oilers capture the 1979 NAIA National Championship in the process.
The Canton, Ohio native rushed for 937 yards and six touchdowns during his first season in 2009. For his performance, he was tabbed the GLIAC Freshman of the Year as well as second team all-conference.
In his sophomore season, Williams earned honorable mention all-conference accolades with 1,107 rushing yards and four scores. He then followed with 1,268 yards and 18 touchdowns last year as a junior. His performance on the field earned him first team all-conference honors.
Preseason Honors
Eight student-athletes from the Oilers football team earned preseason honors from Ohio College Football as the organization released their FCS/NCAA Division II all-Ohio teams on Friday, Aug. 17.
Senior running back Monterae Williams, junior tight end Jaryd Brown and senior center Scott Dearwester each earned first team honors on the offensive side of the ball while senior defensive tackle Richard Sumlin and senior linebacker Brandon Butler were tabbed first team on defense.
Williams was also tabbed the preseason favorite for Offensive Player of the Year, an award he captured last season.
Junior wide receiver Seth White earned second team honors on offense and as a punter as well while junior offensive lineman Justin Music and junior linebacker Kenny Klatt were also second team selections at their respective positions.
Beginning to Win
Head coach Rob Keys will look to become the Oilers first head coach to start his career with back-to-back winning seasons this year since By Morgan accomplished the feat in 1963-64.
Morgan led the Oilers to a 7-3 mark in 1963 and then went 9-2 in 1964.
Coach Keys finished his first year with a 6-5 record.
Preseason GLIAC Poll
The Oilers football team was picked to finish third in the South Division of the GLIAC as the league office unveiled their annual preseason poll on Aug. 15.
The Oilers received 97 points in the poll, which included one first place vote. Ashland University was picked as the favorite to win the division and received 113 points and ten first place votes.
Ohio Dominican was picked one spot ahead of the Oilers in the poll as they received 108 points to go along with five first place votes.
Grand Valley State University is the favorite in the North Division as the Lakers received 108 points and six first place votes. National runner-up Wayne State University was second, receiving 99 points and four first place votes.
The Oilers finished last season with a 6-5 record, which included a 6-4 mark in the GLIAC. Their record was a five-game improvement from the 2010 campaign, when they finished 1-10.
Links
For complete NCAA Division II football statistics, please click on the following link:
For information about the American Football Coaches Association, please click on the following link:
For more information about NCAA Division II football, please click on the following link:
For more information on the GLIAC, please click on the following link: