Oilers Travel North for Final Contest of 2016
The Game
Findlay will travel to the Upper Peninsula to wrap up their 2016 season when they take on the Michigan Tech Huskies on Saturday, Nov. 12. The game will be played at 1:00pm.
Sights and Sounds
This week, broadcasts of the game will be provided by Michigan Tech and can be found by clicking the links below:
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The Series
The Oilers trail in the all-time series with Michigan Tech as they have a 4-6 record against the Huskies. Their first meeting was in 2000, a game that ended in a 34-0 loss for Findlay. Their most recent matchup came in 2013 in Findlay as the Oilers used 166 yards passing, 156 yards rushing, and four total touchdowns from Verlon Reed to cruise past Michigan Tech 40-19.
Head Coach Rob Keys
Head coach Rob Keys is in his sixth season at the helm of the Oilers football program in 2016. He has recorded a 37-27 record with the program as a head coach, which includes a 33-26 mark in GLIAC games.
For Findlay's 2016 coaching staff, please click on the following link:
The Oilers
The Oilers hit the road for their final game of the year after picking up a 28-13 win on Senior Day against Northwood. It marked the fourth time this season that Findlay held its opponent to 20 points or less in a game.
The Orange and Black wasted no time getting a lead as they jumped out to a 7-0 lead when junior Rhys Gervais capped off a four play, 50 yard drive with a four yard touchdown run, his first rushing touchdown of the season. Fellow junior Chauncey Bridges would rush for a touchdown of his own early in the second quarter to give Findlay a 14-0 lead.
Before the half, the Timberwolves would go on a run of their own as a touchdown and pair of field goals would make the score 14-13 heading into the break.
The Oilers defense then dominated Northwood as they would not allow a score in the second half. They forced two punts, two turnovers-on-downs, a fumble, and an interception.
Meanwhile, the offense kept clicking. With 8:57 to play in the third quarter, Gervais found Jason Moore for a nine-yard touchdown and with 6:58 to play in the game, Bridges rushed for his second touchdown of the game.
On the day, Bridges rushed for 143 yards and a pair of scores. In the process, he eclipsed the 1,000 yard mark for the season and has now rushed for eight touchdowns this season.
Moore also had a tremendous offensive day for Findlay as he made nine catches for 125 yards and one touchdown. He also eclipsed the 1,000 yard plateau for the season and has had 100+ yards receiving in seven straight games and eight of the season's ten games. His 1,077 yards this season place him in second in UF history for receiving yards in a season while his 13 touchdown catches this season are now tied with Rick Hatfield (1978) for second at Findlay. He has 65 receptions this season, tied with Dylan Blunk's 2015 season for fourth at UF.
Gervais finished 18 for 28 for 233 yards and a touchdown. With that touchdown, Gervais now stands alone at the top of the Findlay record books with 58 touchdown passes in his career passing Bo Hurley who tossed 57 from 1994-1997.
On defense, senior Myles Alexander had his sixth 10+ tackle game of the season as he made 12 stops against the Timberwolves. He also forced and recovered a fumble in the third quarter.
2016 Season Statistics
2016 Roster
The Huskies
The Michigan Tech Huskies enter the final contest of the season with a guarantee that it will be the second-worst under head coach Tom Kearly. The Black and Gold have won less that six games only
once in Kearly's reign, that was a 2-8 season in 2009. The come into the game with a 4-5 record. Of those five losses, three of them have been by seven points or less.
The Huskies are led by senior quarterback Brandon Cowie. He is seventh in the league with 173 completions and 269 attempts and is ninth with 1,878 yards. His completion percentage is fourth-best in the league as he is completing 64.3% of his passes.
Junior John Williams will receive the bulk of the carries for Michigan Tech. So far this season he has racked up 491 yards of 120 carries and leads the team with five rushing touchdowns.
Defensively, freshman Marvin Wright is the leading tackler. The linebacker has 90 tackles, 50 of which have been solo stops. He has three tackles-for-loss and one interception. He has 23 more tackles than the team's second-leading tackler, senior Ben Tauchen (67).
The Huskies return a pair of second-team all-GLIAC performers from last season in full back Alex Sherbinow and defensive lineman Evan Mayer. Neither is having as successful a year as he did a season ago, although Sherbinow is second on the squad with five rushing touchdowns.
2016 Season Statistics
2016 Roster
Record Watch |Rhys Gervais:
After setting multiple season records last season, Gervais is again nearing some season marks. Gervais owns the top two marks for passing yards in a season at Findlay as he has thrown for 2,713 yards this season, 640 yards shy of his mark from 2015.
His 225 pass completions are good for second in a season (record is 228 which he set last season) while his 25 touchdowns are third. He also has 361 attempts, one shy of his record from a year ago.
With another solid season coming to an end, Gervais' name can also be found in the career record book. In Oct. 15th win over Hillsdale, Gervais passed Kevin Crooks (2001-04) for the most completions in
a career. Gervais currently has 453 passes completed. In Oct. 29th game at Grand Valley, Gervais passed Kevin Crooks (2001-2004) for the most passes attempted in a career. He currently has 723.
Perhaps most impressive is the amount of yards Gervais has thrown for in his short time as the quarterback. On October 8 against Wayne State, Rhys passed Bo Hurley to become the school's all-time leading passer. Gervais currently has 6,066 passing yards.
Gervais is now the all-time leader at UF for passing touchdowns in a career with 58. His completion percentage of 62.7% is also currently at the top of the 'career completion percentage' list.
In the win over Hillsdale on Oct. 15, Gervais eclipsed the 2,000 yard mark for the 2016 season making him just the second quarterback in UF history to have multiple 2,000 yard passing seasons. The other
was Clay Belton who threw for 2,039 in 2011 and 2,329 in 2012. With 287 yards in the final game of 2016, Gervais could become the first Oilers quarterback with multiple 3,000 yard passing seasons.
Senior wide receiver Dylan Blunk ranks second all time at Findlay with 154 receptions after leading the team last year with 65 receptions. He needs to reach 178 to pass Lloyd Henry (2011-14), who caught 177 balls, for first.
Blunk is also nearing the top in receiving yards in a career as he currently ranks seventh all-time with 1,841 yds. To reach the top five, Blunk needs to get to 1,942 yards which would tie Mike Chambers (2008-09).
Junior Jason Moore is currently tied for second at UF for receiving touchdowns in a season with 13. Rick Hatfield holds the top two spots with 14 and 13 TDs in 1979 and 1978, respectively. He is also in second at Findlay for receiving yards in a season. He currently has 1,077 yards. He needs just 28 yards to catch Lloyd Henry who had 1,105 receiving yards in 2014.
Links
NCAA Division II Stats
NCAA
NCAA Division II Football
American Football Coaches Association
D2Football.com
GLIAC