Oilers, Storm to Battle on Saturday
The University of Findlay football team will host Lake Erie College on Saturday, Oct. 26. The GLIAC game is scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. in Donnell Stadium.
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 have a 2-1 record against the Storm dating back to the 2010 campaign when Lake Erie won by a score of 48-45 on a last second field goal.
Findlay came away with a 41-17 win at Lake Erie last season behind 268 rushing yards and five touchdowns from Monterae Williams.
The Oilers defense also forced four turnovers and came away with five sacks in the victory.
Ray Ballard spearheaded the Oilers defensive efforts with 11 tackles, 2.5 tackles for a loss, two sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
Eric Palmore-Lett added 13 stops while Josh Lee made two sacks to go along with six tackles.
Head Coach Rob Keys
Head coach Rob Keys is currently in his third season at the helm of the Oilers football program and has his team off to a 4-3 start.
In his second season with the Oilers, Keys posted a 7-3 record with the same mark in GLIAC competition. The Oilers showed improvement from their first season under Keys and saw six players earn either first or second team all-conference honors.
Keys led the Oilers to a 6-5 record during his first season as head coach, which included a 6-4 mark in the GLIAC. The win total marked a five-game improvement from the year before and included standout wins against Grand Valley State University and Wayne State University.
The Oilers, who had lost 11 straight to GVSU, claimed a 26-20 win on the road against the Lakers in the fourth week of the season and then defeated #22 Wayne State University on the road by a score of 43-42 in overtime to close the campaign.
Keys, who was hired as the head coach of the Oilers football program on December 16, 2010, previously served as 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.
For Findlay's 2013 coaching staff, please click on the following link:
The Oilers
The Oilers were defeated by a score of 41-21 against #18 Ohio Dominican last week in Columbus, Ohio.
Daiquone Ford recorded 113 rushing yards on 29 carries while Verlon Reed rushed for 84 yards on seven carries before an injury ended his game in the first half.
Devontae Payne had 122 passing yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 68 yards on six carries.
Defensively, Harold Jones-Quartey led the team with 12 tackles.
Freshman running back Anthony Linnear added four rushes for 26 yards and a score while senior tight end Jaryd Brown made four catches for 45 yards and a score.
For Findlay's 2013 season statistics, please click on the following link:
For Findlay's 2013 roster, please click on the following link:
The Storm
The Storm are 2-5 on the year with a 1-4 mark in conference play. They are coming off of a 55-50 loss at Malone last week despite accumulating 833 yards of total offense.
Brendan Gallagher paces the offense and has thrown for 2,082 yards and 15 touchdowns. He has also rushed for 397 and three scores as well.
Anthony Bilal leads the ground attack with 1,127 rushing yards to go along with 15 touchdowns.
Tommy Jackson has caught 41 passes for 554 yards and five scores while Shane VanFleteren has made 33 receptions for 354 yards.
Tanner Wells leads the defense with 65 tackles and 6.5 tackles for a loss.For Lake Erie's 2013 season statistics, please click on the following link
For Lake Erie's 2013 roster, please click on the following link:
Record Catching
Senior wide receiver Seth White broke the school record for career receptions in the Oilers 35-14 win at Tiffin on Oct. 12. White now has 142 catches during his career.
White also ranks sixth all-time at Findlay with 1,847 career receiving yards and is chasing Hatfield for fifth place. Hatfield accumulated 1,920 receiving yards during his career.
In addition, senior tight end Jaryd Brown is seventh all-time with 120 career receptions and seventh all-time with 1,481 career receiving yards.
He is chasing Jason Hamby (1995-98) for sixth place on the all-time receptions list. Hamby caught 127 passes for the Oilers during his tenure with the team.
An Elite Offense
The Oilers rank second in the GLIAC and tenth nationally in yardage per game, racking up 517.4 total yards per contest. They are ranked third in the conference in passing yards per game at 287.1 and rank fifth in rushing yards per game with 230.3 per outing.
Individually, junior quarterback Verlon Reed ranks second in the GLIAC and 18th nationally in total offense per game at 345.8.
A Workhorse Back
Sophomore running back Daiquone Ford ranks third in the GLIAC and sixth in the nation in rushing yardage per game, churning out 153.9 yards per contest.
Ford ranks third in the league in rushing touchdowns with 13 on the year, which is also the eighth best total in the nation, and leads the GLIAC with 193 rushing attempts.
He has run for over 100 yards in six games this season and posted a career-high 229 yards in the Oilers 38-21 win at McKendree on Oct. 5.
Airing it Out
Junior quarterback Verlon Reed is ranked fifth in the GLIAC and 12th nationally in completion percentage at 67.4 and ranks fourth in the conference in passing yards per game at 255.9.
Reed is also in fourth place in the GLIAC in touchdown passes with 11 so far.
The signal caller is on pace to break the school record for passing yards in a season as he has racked up 1,791 so far. The record of 2,329 passing yards was set by Clay Belton last year.
Reed threw for a career-high 363 yards against Northern Michigan on Sept. 14, one yard shy of the school record 364, which was set by former quarterback Billy Noonan against Ashland on Nov. 8, 2008.
Putting Points on the Board
The Oilers are averaging 35.7 points per game on the year, the sixth best total in the GLIAC.
Moving the Chains
The Oilers are averaging 25.6 first downs per game, the second best total in the GLIAC. Their first down average is also the 14th best mark in the nation.
Sticky Hands
Junior wide receiver Lloyd Henry leads the conference in receptions with 53 on the year. He is also the league leader in receiving touchdowns with six on the season and ranks third with 101.1 receiving yards per game.
The Garfield Heights, Ohio native ranks 17th nationally in receptions and 23rd in receiving yards.
Henry is also on pace to break several school records this season. He has a chance to break records for receptions in a season and receiving yards in a season. He currently has 53 receptions for 708 yards.
Mike Chambers (2008-09) holds both marks. He had 74 receptions in 2008 and posted 1,027 receiving yards in 2009.
Senior wide receiver Seth White is ranked tenth in the conference in receiving yards with 466 and is 18th in the league with 30 catches.
Playing on an Island
Junior defensive back Feraris Golden is ranked second in the conference and 15th nationally in passes defended with 11 on the year. He has broken up eight passes and recorded three interceptions, the fifth best total in the GLIAC.
Teammate Harold Jones-Quartey, a junior defensive back as well, ranks seventh in the GLIAC with seven passes defended on the year.
The Swiss Army Knife
Senior Seth White does a little bit of everything for the Oilers football team. On the year, White has made 30 receptions for 466 yards and three touchdowns. He has also made 4-of-6 field goal attempts and connected on 18-of-19 point after attempts.
White is also averaging 38.3 yards per punt and has placed nine inside the 20-yard line. For good measure, White has also recorded 33 passing yards and caught one two-point conversion on the year.
Antagonizing the Quarterback
Junior defensive end Kevin Brewton ranks second in the GLIAC with 5.5 sacks on the year. He also ranks ninth in the league with 7.0 tackles for a loss.
Returning for Records
Senior running back Demetrius Trapps is tied for first all-time at Findlay in kick returns with 64 attempts and ranks second all-time in career kick return yardage at 1,396.
He is tied with Carey Lennox (2000-03) for first place in returns and is chasing Lennox in the return yardage department as well. Lennox recorded 1,463 return yards during his tenure with the team.
Getting Good Field Position
The Oilers are averaging 26.2 yards per kick return, the second best mark in the GLIAC. Their total is also the tenth best mark in all of NCAA Division II football.
Freshman defensive back Tory Clark ranks second in the GLIAC and 15th nationally with a 29.4 kick return average.
GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week
Junior quarterback Verlon Reed was named the GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 30 after passing for 166 yards and two touchdowns. He also added 156 yards rushing and two scores on the ground in the Oilers 40-19 win over Michigan Tech on Sept. 28.
Record Smashing
The Oilers threw for 427 yards in their 41-31 loss at Northern Michigan on Sept. 14, which established a new school record. The previous record of 364 passing yards in a game was set in a 45-38 loss to Ashland on Nov. 8, 2008.
A Bolt of Lightning
Junior wide receiver Nathan Morris returned a kickoff 91-yards for a score against Urbana on Sept. 5 to mark the first time an Oilers player had accomplished the feat since the 1991 campaign.
Milan Smith was the last Oilers player to return a kick for a score and he did it from 92 yards out on Oct. 19, 1991 against Geneva College.
The school record for the longest kick return is 93 yards, accomplished by Adam Burdette against Wayne State during the 2000 campaign.
Morris was also named the GLIAC Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance in the win over Urbana.
Racking up the Points
The Oilers scored 51 points in their win over Urbana this season. Under head coach Rob Keys, the Oilers have hung 50 or more points on an opponent twice now. They also accomplished the feat in a 50-27 victory against Tiffin in 2011.
The team has scored over 40 points in a game eight times since Keys took over control of the program in 2011.
Captains
Senior tight end Jaryd Brown, senior offensive lineman Justin Music, senior Seth White and senior Jamon McClain were voted as captains for the Oilers football team in 2013.
GLIAC Preseason Poll
The Oilers were picked to finish third in the GLIAC South Division this year, receiving 69 total points and one first place vote in the annual coaches poll.
The Oilers finished the 2012 campaign with a 7-3 record, which was good for a tie for second place with Ohio Dominican in the South Division.
Preseason All-American Honors
Senior defensive back Ray Ballard was voted a 2013 preseason NCAA Division II All-American by USA College Football.
Ballard, a second team all-conference performer last year for the Oilers, was tabbed a first team All-American by the organization.
Senior wide receiver Seth White also earned praise from the organization and was tabbed a preseason honorable mention selection.
Preseason All-Ohio
Ohio College Football released their annual preseason All-Ohio teams on Aug. 6 and four Oilers were tabbed first team.
Senior wide receiver Seth White, senior tight end Jaryd Brown and senior offensive lineman Justin Music all earned first team honors on offense while senior defensive back Ray Ballard captured first team honors on the defensive side of the ball.
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: