Findlay Takes on Malone in Final Home Game
The Game
For the final time this season, the Oilers will play in Donnell Stadium as they take on the other team from Canton, the Malone Pioneers. The game is scheduled for Nov. 3 at 1:00 pm with Senior Day festivities taking place during pregame.
The Series
Findlay and Malone have faced off seven times with the Oilers earning the win in each of those meetings.
The teams first squared off in 1995 in the second round of the NAIA Playoffs. Findlay won that game 15-7 on their way to a 10-1-2 record and an NAIA National Championship.
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 Stream
Video streaming for the contest will be produced by University of Findlay TV and will stream live on the Great Midwest Digital Network.
Coach Keys Weekly
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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Head Coach Rob Keys
Head coach Rob Keys is in his eighth season at the helm of the Oilers football program in 2018. He has recorded a 54-33 record with the program as a head coach, which includes a 39-28 mark in conference games. He has coached Findlay to winning records in six of his seven seasons including last season when he lead the Oilers to their first ever NCAA Division II Playoffs.
For Findlay's 2018 coaching staff, please click on the following link:
Findlay Oilers (6-3, 4-2 G-MAC)
Since alternating wins and losses for the first six weeks of the season, the Oilers have now won three consecutive games as they head into their final home game of 2018. At 6-3, Findlay is currently fourth in the Great Midwest standings with just one game remaining against the top three teams, a matchup with #15 Tiffin in the final week of the season.
After a home loss to Hillsdale on Oct. 6, Findlay has won three straight, although they have not made it easy on themselves. In the last three weeks, the Oilers have turned the ball over 11 times including five times in each of the previous two contests. That turnover margin has led to wins against Alderson Broaddus and Walsh that were less decisive than OilerNationmay have expected, but nevertheless, have come out on top.
Sophomore Brian Benson has shined in the last two games after rushing for a season-low, five yards against Charleston on Oct. 13. Benson ran for 161 yards and three scores at Alderson Broaddus and followed that performance up with a 40 carry, 233 yard, three touchdown performance against Walsh last week at a cold and rainy Donnell Stadium. Benson has shot up among the league's top running backs as he now is third in the Great Midwest with 742 yards on the ground while his average of 7.1 yards per carry and 12 touchdowns both rank first in the league.
With the return of Jason Moore two weeks ago, Findlay's passing game has turned it's focus to the senior out of Oberlin, forcing the ball Moore's way to the tune of 14 catches and 278 yards in just a pair of games. Because of that, it's easy to overlook the work of junior Andrew Ogletree who is in the midst of his best season in the Orange and Black. Ogletree has had three consecutive games of 65 or more receiving yards and leads the team with 393 receiving yards despite missing two weeks of the season due to injury.
2018 Season Statistics
2018 Roster
Malone Pioneers (2-6, 1-5 MEC)
The Pioneers, picked sixth in the G-MAC preseason poll, opened up the 2018 season with a loss against the NAIA Concordia Cardinals, a six year old program out of Ann Arbor, Michigan. After beating winless Lake Erie in week two, Malone dropped four straight contests and five out of the next six, brining them to Findlay with a 2-6 record. Despite multiple losses, the Pioneers have shown that they can compete as they lost to G-MAC co-leader Hillsdale by just ten and scored 55 against Alderson Broaddus last week, falling 60-55.
At 34.1 points per game, Malone has the fourth-best scoring offense in the league, just five points per game behind Findlay which leads at 39.1. However, what the Pioneers gain on offense is often offset by a struggling defense that is allowing 41.5 points per game, second-worst in the league.
Leading the Pioneers is a redshirt sophomore Deandre Clayton, a dual-threat quarterback who transferred in from Clarion University after spending two seasons with the Golden Eagles. This season, Clayton has thrown for 1,988 yards and 14 touchdowns and has only been intercepted five times. On the ground, the 6-2, 210-pound quarterback has rushed for 410 yards on 109 attempts. His rushing yards are 11th in the conference but are most among quarterbacks in the league.
Listed as the starter at running back on this week's two-deep is redshirt senior Matt Blasiole. Blasiole has played in eight games this season and has just eight carries for 105 yards. He has yet to score a touchdown for the Pioneers.
Redshirt junior Christian Mathews is the leader of the defense for the Pioneers, leading the team with 61 tackles including 1.5 for loss. His 61 tackles are T7 in the league.
Links
NCAA Division II Stats
NCAA
NCAA Division II Football
American Football Coaches Association
D2Football.com
Great Midwest