Alten and Moore Earn First Team All-GLIAC
Findlay, OH – The annual all-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) football teams were announced on Tuesday, Nov. 15 by the conference office. The players were voted to their respective awards by coaches around the league and the Oilers, in their final year as a GLIAC team, were well represented.
Junior Jason Moore and junior Andrew Alten were both named as all-GLIAC picks for the first time in their careers.
Moore had a breakout season at wide receiver in 2016 and has been named first team all-GLIAC. The Oberlin, Ohio native finished near the top of the GLIAC in the major receiving categories including receptions (71 | 3rd), yards (1,115 | 3rd), yards per game (101.4 | 3rd), yards per catch (15.7 | 6th), and touchdowns (15 | 2nd). The reliable receiver had more than 100 receiving yards in eight of the Oilers' 11 games this season including seven straight weeks of 100+ yards from Set. 24-Nov. 5. He had multiple touchdown receptions in five games including two games with three touchdown receptions.
The 15 touchdown receptions this season are a school record, passing the mark of 14 set in 1979 by Rick Hatfield. Moore also set a new school record for yards in a season with 1,115 as he passed Lloyd Henry's 2014 season of 1,105 in the final game of the year against Michigan Tech.
One of the anchors of Findlay's offensive line, Andrew Alten, has also been named first team all-GLIAC. Alten appeared and started in ten games this year for Findlay and was essential to the team's offensive success that, for the first time in school history, featured a quarterback with 2,500+ passing yards, a receiver with 1,000+ receiving yards, and a tailback with 1,000+ rushing yards in the same season. This year, the Oilers finished second in the league with 2,933 passing yards and seventh with 2,089 rushing yards, one of only five teams in the GLIAC with 2,000+ rushing yards and 2,500+ passing yards. At 456.5 yards per game, the Oilers offense was fourth-best in the league while the 45 touchdowns scored were sixth. Findlay was also one of just four teams in the league with 18+ rushing touchdowns and 25+ passing touchdowns. Findlay is one of two teams in the GLIAC to have had an offensive lineman on the first or second team in every season since 2009.
Junior running back Chauncey Bridges and sophomore defensive back Chiebuka Chukwuneke have each been named second team all-GLIAC.
Bridges, a 2014 honorable mention all-GLIAC performer, finished second in the league with 218 carries, third with 1,229 yards, and third with 111.7 yards per game. He was one of only four running backs in the GLIAC to average more than 100 yards per game. Bridges and Daiquone Ford (2013) are the only two Findlay backs in the last ten years to have averaged 5.5 yards per carry in a season. Bridges led the team with 1,343 all-purpose yards.
Chukwuneke, a 2015 honorable mention all-GLIAC pick, finished the year with 55 tackles, one forced fumble, one interception, and seven pass breakups. He was one of the keys to Findlay's defensive improvement in 2016. Findlay allowed 286 points, just the fourth time in the last ten years that the Oilers have allowed less than 300 points in a season. Rushing defense was also much improved as the Oilers defense held five opponents to 100 rushing yards or less this season, the most such games in a season under Rob Keys.
In addition, junior Rhys Gervais, junior Anthony Federico, senior Myles Alexander, sophomore Cyle Skidmore, senior Dylan Blunk, and junior Aaron Ivory were named honorable mention all-GLIAC.
Gervais had another phenomenal year at quarterback and finished the season with 2,835 yards, 518 yards shy of his own record for passing yards in a season. He also tossed 27 touchdowns this season, second-most in a season at Findlay behind his own 33 touchdown mark from 2015. His 236 completions and 378 attempts are both new single-season records. This is the second honorable mention all-GLIAC honor for Gervais.
As the Oilers tight end, Federico made 23 receptions for 190 yards. He finished second on the team with five touchdown catches. Those five TDs were second-best in the GLIAC among tight ends. In Oct. 29 game at Grand Valley, Federico made a season-high seven catches for 38 yards and a touchdown. This is the first all-GLIAC honor for Federico.
Earning the second all-GLIAC honor of his career, Alexander, a 2014 honorable mention pick, led the Oilers and finished fifth in the league with 101 tackles. It is the second consecutive season that the Cleveland, Ohio native has led Findlay in tackles. Alexander had four sacks, a career-best 10.5 tackles-for-loss, two forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery.
Skidmore was a force on the defensive line for Findlay and was often found making plays in the backfield. He finished third on the team with six tackles-for-loss, had one sack, and also picked up a fumble recovery. He had a season-high three tackles in four games this season including the Oilers game against Northwood in which he had three tackles and an 11-yard sack. It is Skidmore's first all-GLIAC award of his career.
A staple in the Oilers offense since 2013, wide receiver Dylan Blunk made 60 receptions for 610 yards and caught three touchdowns. In his career, Blunk appeared in 40 games, making at least one reception in 34 of those games. He had 33 straight games with at least one reception dating back to Nov. 16, 2013. This is the second time Blunk has been named honorable mention all-GLIAC as he also earned the award in 2015.
Junior Aaron Ivory had a solid year as he made 35 tackles and forced a fumble for the Oilers' defense. He also have five pass breakups and two interceptions, both of which came in Sep. 9 game against Ohio Dominican. The Cleveland, Ohio product also had five receptions for 61 yards in Findlay's opening day victory over Saginaw Valley State. This is the first all-GLIAC award for Ivory.