Oilers Use Big Plays for 51-33 Win over Urbana
The University of Findlay football team used a variety of big plays to claim a 51-33 win over Urbana University on Thursday, Sept. 5 in their first game of the year at Donnell Stadium.
The Oilers began their season with a goal line stand on the first possession of the game and then got a huge offensive play from senior wide receiver Seth White, who caught a 62-yard pass from junior quarterback Verlon Reed on their fifth offensive play of the game. The pass play set up White for a 20-yard field goal, which he connected on to make the score 3-0 in favor of the Oilers with 6:32 left in the first quarter.
On the ensuing possession, the Oilers forced a fumble and then watched sophomore running back Daiquone Ford blast past the defense for a 38-yard touchdown run. The Oilers missed an opportunity for the two-point conversion, but went up 9-0 with 5:38 remaining in the opening period.
White would add a 35-yard field goal at the 3:30 mark of the first quarter as the Oilers ended the period with a 12-0 lead.
The Blue Knights would then score two touchdowns in the second quarter to take a 14-12 lead as the clock was winding down. The Oilers received a big play from junior defensive back Feraris Golden however as he intercepted a pass and ran the ball back 36 yards for a score with only 58 ticks left in the first half.
Leading 19-14 in the third quarter, Reed once again hooked up with White who raced the ball into the end zone for a 29-yard touchdown reception to give the Oilers a 26-14 advantage. After a touchdown by the Blue Knights, junior wide receiver Nathan Morris took the ensuing kickoff and returned it 91 yards for a touchdown. The score put Findlay up 34-20 and was the first kickoff return for a touchdown by an Oilers player since Milan Smith did it against Geneva College on Oct. 19, 1991 from 92 yards away.
White would tack on another field goal early in the fourth quarter before Urbana found the end zone again to make the score 37-27 in favor of the Oilers with 11:59 left. A 56-yard kick return by Demetrius Trapps then setup a 33-yard pass from White to Reed, getting the Oilers in scoring position again. Reed then found senior tight end Jaryd Brown for a seven-yard touchdown pass to give Findlay a 44-27 advantage with 11:28 remaining in the game.
After a score by the Blue Knights, Ford once again scored on a rushing play, this time from two yards away with 1:50 to play to round out the scoring in the game.
The Oilers gained 475 yards of total offense and forced five turnovers in the win. They recorded 327 yards passing and gained 148 yards rushing.
The Blue Knights racked up 537 total yards, gaining 450 through the air as D.J. Mendenhall completed 37-of-56 attempts to go along with four touchdown tosses.
Ford racked up 172 yards rushing on 27 carries while Reed completed 22-of-28 passing attempts for 294 yards.
Junior wide receiver Lloyd Henry racked up seven catches for 97 yards while White hauled in six passes for 115 yards. His six receptions gives him 118 for his career at Findlay, which ranks seventh all-time. His yardage total also moved him into seventh place all-time in the Oiler record books with 1,496 receiving yards.
Brown caught five passes for 56 yards for the Oilers as well.
Senior linebacker Kenny Klatt led the defense with ten tackles, a sack and a forced fumble while Golden racked up nine tackles, an interception and three pass deflections.
Senior defensive back Ray Ballard added eight tackles, a sack and an interception for the Oilers as well.
Findlay will hit the road next week to take on Northern Michigan University at 1 p.m. in Marquette, Mich.