Oilers Take on Lake Erie in Midst of Historic Stretch
The Game
The Oilers return home after beating up the Walsh Cavaliers to earn their first ever Great Midwest victory. Saturday, Oct. 7 will see the Lake Erie Storm invade Donnell Stadium for a Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) contest slated to begin at 7:00 pm.
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 Great Midwest Network:
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Don't forget to tune into 88.3 FM "WLFC" for Coach Keys Weekly. The show is aired at 7:00 pm on Tuesdays.
Fans are also encouraged to send questions in for coach Keys through Twitter. Please send questions throughout the week on Twitter Tim Montgomery @Oilersonair.
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The Series
Findlay and Lake Erie have met five times in their history that dates back to their initial meeting in 2010, a 48-45 win by the Storm. Overall, the Oilers have a 4-1 record against the Green and White that includes a dominating 58-13 win in their most recent matchup in 2016.
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 42-28 record with the program as a head coach, which includes a 35-26 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 is looking to win its fourth consecutive game for the first time since 2013 when the Oilers finished the season with wins against Lake Erie, Ashland, Malone, and Walsh. It would be just the second time since Rob Keys has been the head coach that Findlay won four games in a row and just the third time since Findlay officially joined NCAA DII play in 2000.
In their previous three wins, Findlay has outscored their opponents 163-20, the largest three-game point differential (143) since the Oilers outscored opponents 187-22 (165) over a three game stretch in 1997, the Oilers' last NAIA National Championship season. If Findlay can hold Lake Erie to 20 points or less, it would be the first time since 2009 that an Oilers team has held an opponent to 20 points or less five times in a season. At the current rate of 12 points per game allowed, Findlay is on pace to allow just 132 points which would be the least amount of points allowed in a regular season since 1996 (99 points allowed).
Last week in Canton, the Oilers got their first taste of Great Midwest football action and came away with a decisive 47-3 victory over Walsh University. Junior Adam Bertke got the start at quarterback in place of the injured Rhys Gervais and performed well, throwing for 281 yards and three touchdowns. It was the first time that someone other than Gervais has started at quarterback for Findlay since Verlon Reed, now a member of the Salt Lake Screaming Eagles of the Indoor Football League, quarterbacked his last career game on Nov. 15, 2014.
But it has been the defense that has taken over in recent games and that squad has been sparked by the play of junior Aaron Ivory. On Sep. 23, Ivory became the first Findlay player in three years to return an interception for a touchdown and the following week against Walsh, Ivory again recorded a pick-six and also led the team in tackles.
2017 Season Statistics
2017 Roster
The Storm
The Lake Erie Storm enter the contest with a 1-4 mark overall and a 1-1 record in Great Midwest play. The 0-4 start to begin the year marks the second consecutive year in which the Storm have lost their first four games and is the eighth straight year in which they have lost four of their first five games (started 3-2 in the 2009 season).
After a 27-point loss to begin the year on the road, the Storm returned home in back-to-back weeks and were dealt 51 and 27-point losses by Tiffin and Urbana, respectively. After another 51-points loss, this time to Ohio Dominican, the Storm earned their first victory of the year last week, Sep. 30, when they hosted the defending Great Midwest Champion, Alderson Broaddus.
When Lake Erie has the ball in their possession, they are extremely young as they have no seniors that have gained a yard of offense. That youth has been apparent on the score board with the Green and White putting up just 7.2 points per game, the lowest total in the GMAC and the second-lowest total in the nation (only Lock Haven out of the Pennsylvania State Athletics Conference is scoring less PPG | 6.6).
The defense has not been much better as the Storm are allowing 444.6 yards of offense per game. That is good for fifth in the Great Midwest but ranks 134 in the country.
Head Coach Gerald Hazzard, who took over with four games left in the 2016 season, earned his first win as a head coach with last week's win over Alderson Broaddus. He now has a record of 1-8 to begin his career in Painesville.
Historic Start
With a 4-1 start to the season, the 2017 squad is tied for the best start to a season since Rob Keys took over as head coach in 2011 (only other 4-1 start came in 2012). If the Oilers earn a victory against the Storm, their 5-1 start would be the first since 2009.
Dominating Opponents
Findlay has won three straight games by 35 or more points, the only time that has happened in the NCAA Division II era of Oilers football. The last time that happened in program history was in 1997, a season in which the Oilers finished undefeated and won an NAIA National Championship.
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.
Defensive Improvement
In 2015, the Oilers' defense was giving up 468.3 yards per game, second-to-last in the GLIAC, ahead of only Lake Erie who gave up 533.5. In 2016, Findlay turned up the pressure on defense, limiting opponents to 386.3 yards per game, eighth in the GLIAC. That improvement showed on the scoreboard as their scoring defense improved from 37.2 ppg to 26.0 ppg allowed.
In their Week 1 win over Tiffin, the Oilers surrendered just 13 points and then in Week 4, Findlay shutout Tuskegee, their first shutout since beating Malone 38-0 in 2014. Findlay's defense leads the conference in scoring defense as they are allowing just 16.2 points per game, 21st in the country in that stat.
This year, Findlay's defense leads the Great Midwest Athletic Conference in INT (6).
Links
NCAA Division II Stats
NCAA
NCAA Division II Football
American Football Coaches Association
D2Football.com
Great Midwest