Oilers to Open Season at Hillsdale
The Oilers football team will open their season at Hillsdale on Sep. 5. The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) contest is scheduled to begin at 7 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 video link for the Oilers football game against Hillsdale is below:
Live stats will also be available for all contests. A link to retrieve the live stats can be found on the schedule page of the website.
Coach Keys Weekly
Don't forget to tune into 88.3 FM "WLFC" for Coach Keys Weekly. The radio show will be aired live from Fricker's every Monday evening during the season. The show is aired live from 6-6:30 p.m. on Monday evenings. Fans are encouraged to attend the show so they can listen live over the sound system and enjoy the great food Fricker's has to offer.
Fans are also encouraged to send questions in for coach Keys through Twitter. Please send questions during the show to Tim Montgomery and Jason Granger at @Oilersonair.
For more information on Fricker's, please click below:
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The Series
The Oilers currently trail in the all-time series against Hillsdale by a 16-8 margin dating back to the 1925 campaign when the Chargers were victorious by a score of 18-0.
Last season the Oilers came away with a 46-38 win over the Chargers in Donnell Stadium to open the year. They were led by Verlon Reed, who accounted for all six of their touchdowns.
Reed finished the day with 176 rushing yards and four touchdowns. He also passed for 293 yards and two scores as well.
Lloyd Henry caught nine balls for 129 yards while Anthony Linnear churned out 74 yards on 18 carries.
Harold Jones-Quartey and Tory Clark led the defense with 11 tackles apiece while Nathan Morris made ten stops.
Head Coach Rob Keys
Head coach Rob Keys is in his fifth season at the helm of the Oilers football program in 2015. He has recorded a 26-17 record with the program as a head coach, which includes a 23-16 mark in GLIAC games.
For Findlay's 2015 coaching staff, please click on the following link:
The Oilers
The Oilers are coming off of a 5-6 season in 2014 and were picked to finish third in the South Division of the GLIAC this season. They return four players who earned all-conference honors last year and five overall that have earned all-league accolades during their career.
Senior running back Daiquone Ford was a first team all-conference pick in 2013, senior left tackle Chris Reaper earned second team all-conference honors last year and sophomore running back Chauncey Bridges, junior linebacker Myles Alexander and junior kicker Tyler Bugeja were all honorable mention selections in 2014.
2014 Season Statistics
2015 Roster
The Chargers
The Chargers went 4-7 last season and were picked to finish sixth in the GLIAC North Division this year.
The Chargers offense scored 21.3 points per game last season and will be led in 2015 by sophomore running back Bennett Lewis, who racked up a team-high 598 yards and six touchdowns on the ground in his first year. Junior running back Jack Wiseman also returns after rushing for 430 yards and six scores.
Senior wide receiver John Haley returns after catching 32 passes for a team-high 643 yards and five touchdowns while junior defensive back Austin Koneval leads the defense and is back after making 67 tackles.
2014 Season Statistics
2015 Roster
Racking up the Points
The Oilers have had a high powered offensive attack during head coach Rob Keys tenure with the program. During his time with the Oilers, the team has scored over 40 points 14 times.
Moving on Up
Senior running back Daiquone Ford ranks tenth on the Oilers all-time rushing list with 2,549 career yards. Ford is chasing Lawrence Coleman for ninth place on the all-time list. Coleman racked up 2,739 career yards for Findlay from 1982-85.
Ford, who has battled injuries during his career with the Oilers, had a monster sophomore campaign when he was a regional finalist for the Harlon Hill Trophy, the NCAA Division II equivalent of the Heisman Trophy. The Myrtle Beach, S.C. native racked up 1,789 rushing yards, the second highest single-season total in school history, and also darted his way to 24 touchdowns, the best total in the history of the program.
To Be the Best, You Have to Beat the Best
The Oilers 2015 schedule is arguably the toughest in all of NCAA Division II. They play two nationally-ranked teams and three other squads who have received votes in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Preseason NCAA Division II poll.
The Oilers will face Tarleton State on the road in their second game of the season. Tarleton State received 11 votes in the poll and have historically been a mainstay in the top-25. They then play Ashland on the road in week four. Ashland totaled 56 votes in the poll and sit at 30th in the nation. After playing Ashland, the Oilers have a home game against 6th-ranked Ferris State in week five. In week eight, the Oilers will travel to 24th-ranked Grand Valley State and in week nine, Findlay hits the road to take on Wayne State, who received 12 votes in the poll.
Preseason USA College Football All-Americans
Senior offensive tackle Chris Reaper was tabbed a preseason NCAA Division II All-American by American Football Networks and USA College Football on June 18.
Reaper, who was a second team all-GLIAC pick last season for the Oilers, has started all 32 contests in which he has played during his tenure with the team.
Last season, Reaper helped pave the way for the Oilers to average 448.4 yards per game and 35.3 points per contest. His blocking allowed Findlay to set a new school record for passing yards in a season with 2,944 as well.
The Toledo, Ohio native was also an honorable mention all-conference selection in 2013.
In addition, junior linebacker Myles Alexander, sophomore running back Chauncey Bridges and junior kicker Tyler Bugeja were all named honorable mention All-American.
Alexander racked up 62 tackles on last year, which included 9.5 tackles for a loss. He led the team with 4.5 sacks and also recovered and forced two fumbles.
Bridges led the Oilers ground attack with 643 rushing yards in 2014. He averaged 5.4 yards per carry and also scored six touchdowns on the ground. Bridges also caught 14 balls on the year, three for touchdowns.
Bugeja tied a school record with 14 fields in his first season with the Oilers. He only missed one field attempt on the season and had a season-long 47-yard field goal against Northern Michigan on Nov. 15, 2014.
All three players were honorable mention all-conference picks for the Oilers in 2014.
Links
NCAA Division II Stats
NCAA
NCAA Division II Football
American Football Coaches Association
D2Football.com
GLIAC