Oilers Travel to #12 Grand Valley St.
The Game
The Oilers will head to Allendale, Mich. to take on 12th-ranked Grand Valley State on Saturday, Oct. 24. The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) contest is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in Lubbers 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:
If you can't watch the game in person, you can view the contest by clicking on the following link to retrieve Grand Valley State's video stream for the game:
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 Grand Valley State 12-3 dating back to the 1971 season when Findlay came out on top by a score of 70-6.
Last season the Lakers defeated the Oilers by a score of 42-36 in Donnell Stadium. Verlon Reed finished the game by completing 28-of-42 passing attempts for 299 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 86 yards on 13 carries.
Lloyd Henry caught ten balls for 130 yards and a score while Tim Szabo caught six passes for 88 yards and a touchdown.
Nathan Morris racked up 114 yards in kick returns and his 100-yard kick return for a score in the game marked the first time a NCAA Division II player had accomplished the feat since Brandon Scott did it for Central Washington on Nov. 24, 2007. His school record breaking return also bettered the old mark of 93 yards, which was set by the Oilers Adam Burdette against Wayne State in the 2000 campaign.
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 30-20 record with the program as a head coach, which includes a 26-19 mark in GLIAC games.
For Findlay's 2015 coaching staff, please click on the following link:
The Oilers
The Oilers came away with a 37-34 win in overtime against Northwood last week on Homecoming. Northwood got the first possession of the extra session and the Oilers defense came up huge by holding them to a field goal. The Oilers then took control of the ball and didn't waste any time as Rhys Gervais connected on a 25-yard touchdown pass to Dylan Blunk on their first play.
The Oilers rolled up 500 yards of total offense and were led by Gervais and his 301 passing yards. The signal caller completed 16-of-26 passing attempts for three touchdowns. Blunk meanwhile caught six passes for 111 yards, which also included two touchdown grabs.
Daiquone Ford rushed 14 times for 73 yards and a touchdown while sophomore running back Chauncey Bridges carried 11 times for 55 yards. Myles Alexander had 15 tackles to lead the defense.
2015 Season Statistics
2015 Roster
The #12 Lakers
The 12th-ranked Lakers defeated then 12th-ranked Michigan Tech by a score of 38-21 last week. Bart Williams paced the Lakers with 280 passing yards and three touchdowns.
Overall the Lakers are 6-1 on the season with a 5-1 record in GLIAC play. Williams has thrown for 1,747 yards and 20 touchdowns while Brandon Bean has caught 33 passes for 628 yards and six scores.
Matt Judon leads the defense and has racked up 11.5 sacks so far.
2015 Season Statistics
2015 Roster
Moving on Up
Senior running back Daiquone Ford ranks fifth on the Oilers all-time rushing list with 3,215 career yards. Ford is chasing Dana Wright for fourth place on the all-time list. Wright racked up 3,335 career yards for Findlay from 1984-86.
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.
During his career, Ford has 12 career 100-yard games. His best game came in a 48-27 win over Lake Erie on Oct. 26, 2013 when he set school records with 44 carries for 317 yards and six touchdowns.
Ford has also rushed for 35 career touchdowns.
An Explosive Offense
The Oilers are averaging 525.1 yards of total offense on the season, the second best total in the GLIAC and the fourth best average in NCAA Division II.
Findlay's passing offense is averaging 327.9 yards per game, which is the ninth best total in the nation. They also lead the league in passing yards per contest.
Riding Rhys
Sophomore quarterback Rhys Gervais is leading the GLIAC in passing yards per game at 327.9 He has completed 149-of-232 (64.2%) passing attempts with 22 touchdowns and 5 interceptions.
Gervais ranks seventh nationally in passing yards per game (327.9) and total passing yards (2,295). He also ranks sixth in passing touchdowns (22) and 15th in total offense (336.1).
Gervais leads the conference in passing yards per game, total passing yards and passing touchdowns. He ranks third in the GLIAC in total offense.
Spreading the Wealth
The Oilers have three receivers ranked in the top-10 of the GLIAC in receiving yards per game. Junior Dylan Blunk (82.7) ranks sixth, senior Tim Szabo (73.6) ranks seventh and sophomore Jason Moore (72.3) checks in eighth.
Blunk, Szabo, Moore and sophomore tight end Anthony Federico have all caught five touchdown passes as well, the ninth best total in the GLIAC.
Lighting Up the Scoreboard
The Oilers are averaging 38.6 points per game this season. Their point per game total is the fourth best in the GLIAC and the 25th best mark in NCAA Division II football.
Chasing Records
Sophomore quarterback Rhys Gervais is on pace to break several passing records this year. Through five games, Gervais has completed 149-of-232 passing attempts for 2,295 yards and 22 touchdowns.
Verlon Reed holds the single-season school record for passing completions in a season (210), passing attempts in a season (357) and passing yards in a season (2,712). All those records were established in 2014. Bo Hurley set the single-season touchdown mark in 1997 with 26 scores.
Links
NCAA Division II Stats
NCAA
NCAA Division II Football
American Football Coaches Association
D2Football.com
GLIAC