Oilers Come From Behind to Defeat Tarleton St.
The University of Findlay football team came away with a 35-34 win over Tarleton State University on Sep. 12 in Stephenville, Texas to improve to 2-0 on the season.
The Oilers found themselves down 31-14 early in the third quarter, but battled their way back to get a key road victory in a game that featured 1,082 yards of total offense. They started their rally when sophomore quarterback Rhys Gervais found sophomore wide receiver Jason Moore for a 15-yard touchdown pass with 10:18 to play in the third. Gervais then threw a 6-yard touchdown pass late in the third quarter to senior wide receiver Tim Szabo to cut the lead to three at 31-28 to cap a 99-yard drive that started with a big goal line stand by the defense.
The Texans would tack on a field goal at the 8:25 mark of the fourth quarter, but the Oilers would answer with a 2-yard touchdown run by freshman running back Marcus Jones, his second of the day. The score would put the Oilers up 35-34 and their defense took over from there as sophomore defensive back Ta'Vaughn Morton recovered a fumble to give Findlay the ball back. The Oilers offense then ran out the clock to get a win over 1,000 miles from home.
Gervais had another great game with 343 passing yards and three touchdowns. He completed 19-of-31 passing attempts and his favorite target was Moore, who caught five passes for 116 yards and two scores.
Senior running back Daiquone Ford had a monster game at running back for the Oilers, rushing 20 times for 196 yards. Teammate Chauncey Bridges, a sophomore running back, had 13 carries for 83 yards as well.
Junior wide receiver Dylan Blunk caught five passes for 57 yards while Szabo recorded four catches for 75 yards. Sophomore wide receiver Airion Kosak also had a good game, catching two balls for 61 yards.
Sophomore linebacker Daouda Sylla was all over the field on defense and recorded a team-high 12 tackles. Junior safety Evan Rinke recorded nine tackles while junior linebacker Myles Alexander also made nine stops.
As a team the Oilers churned out 598 yards of total offense and recorded 31 first downs.
The Oilers will return home to host Tiffin University next week. The game is scheduled to take place at 7 p.m. in Donnell Stadium. Fans who bring a canned food item to support the City Mission will receive $2 off their admission price.