Findlay Looks to Bounce Back Against William Jewell
The Game
The Oilers make the 10 hour trip to Liberty, Missouri to take on the Cardinals of William Jewell out of the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) on Saturday, Sep. 16. The game, which kicks off at noon (CT), 1:00 pm (EST), will be the first ever meeting between the two schools on the gridiron.
Radio
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:
Video
Video for the contest will be provided on the GLVC Network:
Live Stats
Live stats will be available for all contests. For THIS WEEK'S STATS, click the link.
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The Series
This is the inaugural contest between the Oilers and Cardinals.
Head Coach Rob Keys
Head coach Rob Keys is in his seventh season at the helm of the Oilers football program in 2017. He has recorded a 39-28 record with the program as a head coach, which includes a 34-26 mark in conference games. Keys has led the Oilers to five winning seasons in his six years as head coach.
For Findlay's 2017 coaching staff, please click on the following link:
The Oilers
The University of Findlay football team looks to get back on the winning track after a 48-27 loss at the hands of No. 2 Ferris St. on Sep. 9. Their opponent this week, the William Jewell Cardinals, also played a top ranked team in No. 3 Texas A&M Commerce last week. That game ended in favor of the Lions by a score of 59-6 with the Cardinals only score coming on the final play of the game.
Findlay looked solid in their season-opener against Tiffin on Aug. 31 behind a stellar game from senior Daouda Sylla. He rushed for 183 yards and a G-MAC record three touchdowns in that victory. The Oilers then ran into Ferris St. who proved why they are chosen as a contender for the Division II national title. Despite a 21 point loss, the Oilers got a big performance from junior Jason Moore. Moore caught nine passes for 125 receiving yards and scored three touchdowns en route to earning his first ever conference Player of the Week honor.
Sylla is the team's leading rusher at 130.5 yards per game. He has carried the ball 37 times this season and has scored three touchdowns while picking up 7.1 yards per carry. He, along with senior Chauncey Bridges, who has rushed 27 times for 148 yards, make for a dangerous duo out of the backfield.
Junior quarterback Rhys Gervais, who holds nearly every passing record in the 125 year history of Findlay football, has completed 26-of-46 passes for 361 yards and four touchdowns. Look for those numbers to improve as Gervais will be throwing against a defense that is giving up nearly 300 passing yards per game.
2017 Season Statistics
2017 Roster
The Cardinals
The William Jewell Cardinals, who first played NCAA Division II football in the 2012 season, enter the contest with an 0-2 record overall and are currently in eighth place in the GLVC standings. WJC was picked seventh out of eight GLVC teams in the conference's preseason coaches' poll. Southwest Baptist was selected as the conference's favorite to win the title.
Last season, William Jewell, which has played football since 1888 and has compiled a record of 577-445-51, finished 1-9 on the year, last place in the GLVC. They began their season with nine straight losses before picking up their lone win in the final week of the season.
Under head coach Shawn Weigel, who is now in his third year, the Cardinals are 5-16. However, the Red and Black have 41 returning letterwinners (21 off | 18 def | 2 st) and 18 starters (8 off | 8 def | 2 st).
Key returners for the Cardinals include senior running back Trejuan Mask who last season was named second team all-GLVC in 2015. That year, he rushed 133 times for 612 yards. He scored seven touchdowns. Despite that success, last season Mask only ran for 157 yards on 39 carries. Wide receiver Bulla Graft is another second team all-GLVC returner. Last year, Graft had 658 receiving yards and scored five touchdowns.
Defensively, senior Isaac Dozier is the team's leading tackler at linebacker. A year ago he earned second team all-GLVC while racking up 82 tackles including 66 solo tackles. Dozier has eight tackles through two games this season.
Against Top-25 Teams
The Oilers have a 2-10 record against nationally ranked opponents since head coach Rob Keys took over the Oilers football program in 2011. Their two wins came against #22 Wayne State (43-42 OT) in 2011 and against #10 Saginaw Valley State (29-27) in 2012. The Oilers will take on nationally ranked Ferris State University in Week 2 of the 2017 season.
G-MAC Preseason Poll
The Oilers were picked to finish third in the eight-team Great Midwest Athletic Conference this season. Findlay received two first place votes and is selected to finish behind Ohio Dominican and Hillsdale College. Alderson Broaddus, last year's G-MAC champion, received one first place vote.
Links
NCAA Division II Stats
NCAA
NCAA Division II Football
American Football Coaches Association
D2Football.com
Great Midwest