Oilers Host Battlers in Homecoming Game
The Game
Findlay returns home for their annual Homecoming Game on Saturday, Sep. 28 at 3:00 pm when they will take on the Alderson Broaddus Battlers. It will be the Oilers second conference game of the season while Alderson Broaddus is playing their first.
The Series
The series between Findlay and Alderson Broaddus is short as the teams have only met twice, with the first meeting happening in 2017. The Oilers are 2-0 against the Battlers with scores of 70-28 and 45-43 in 2017 and 2018, respectively.
Radio Coverage
Every Oilers football game will be broadcast on 88.3 WLFC and can be listed to locally on the radio or streamed online at WLFC.com.
Video Stream
Video streaming for the contest will be produced by UFTV and aired on the Great Midwest Digital Network.
Click any of the options below to find the contest live:
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Head Coach Rob Keys
Head coach Rob Keys is in his ninth season at the helm of the Oilers football program in 2019. He has recorded a 57-35 record with the program as a head coach, which includes a 46-30 mark in conference games. He has coached Findlay to winning records in seven of his eight seasons including last season when he lead the Oilers to their first ever NCAA Division II Playoffs.
For Findlay's 2019 coaching staff, please click on the following link:
Findlay Oilers (1-1, 0-0 G-MAC)
After a heartbreaking setback in the season opener against Ferris St., the Oilers rebounded to earn a win in their home opener over Northwood University, a game in which they scored 31 points, all of which came in the first half. Findlay then hit the road to take on Ohio Dominican in the NCAA DII Showcase Game of the Week on ESPN3. The Panthers made it six consecutive wins against the Oilers, defeating the Orange and Black 21-10.
With almost a full slate of conference and regional games ahead, Findlay still has everything to play for including the program's first G-MAC Championship and another berth in the NCAA DII Playoffs.
Junior quarterback Matt Winzeler has gotten more comfortable with the Oilers offense and is coming off of a game in which he completed 23 passes for 253 yards, both season highs. Sitting behind an offensive line that has allowed just three sacks and is among the national leaders in tackles-for-loss allowed, Winzeler will feel confident going up against an Alderson Broaddus team that has the lowest defensive efficiency rating in the conference. His favorite target thus far has been Ruben Flowers who, after a big introduction in the opener against Ferris St., had 12 catches against ODU, tied for fourth-most in a game by any Oilers receiver and the most in a game since 2016 when Dylan Blunk set the Findlay record at 15 catches against Wayne St.
In just two full seasons of playing time, junior Brian Benson already has seven games where he has rushed for more than 100 yards, six consecutively, including two games where he finished north of 200 yards. Benson will be chomping at the bit to get on the field against the Battlers who boast the league's worst run defense, allowing more than 300 rushing yards per game, almost 100 more yards per game than the next worst team in the G-MAC.
2019 Season Statistics
2019 Roster
Alderson Broaddus (0-3, 0-0 G-MAC)
Alderson Broaddus is on the tail end of a three-game road stretch that, thus far, has not been kind to them. After a home opening loss to Glenville State, the Battlers droped a 70-16 contest at the hands of Chowan University, a DII school competing in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association. It is currently Chowan's only win of the year. Alderson Broaddus then traveled to take on #25 Bowie State, who now has jumped up the national rankings to #23, and lost that game 42-14. Certainly, being outscored 112-30 leaves a nasty taste in the Battlers' mouths and they will hope to end that trend and spoil Findlay's homecoming.
If history has anything to say, this matchup will again be high scoring as, in two meetings, these teams have combined for 186 points.
The offense will be led by redshirt-senior Joe Czelusniak who, last season, threw 25 touchdown passes and helped lead an offense that scored 37 points per game. This season, Czelusniak is completing less than 50% of his passes and has thrown six interceptions, but still has managed 634 yards and five touchdowns through the air. All five starters on the offensive line from a year ago return for AB which has to be comforting for Czelusniak as he has only been sacked twice this season.
A team that splits their play calling fairly evenly between rushing and passing, the Battlers have had four players on the team with at least ten carries out of the back field. Jaques Buchannon is the leader with 37 carries and 149 yards, but backup Nicholas Bishop is averaging 7.0 yards/carry with 112 yards on 16 touches. Job Whalen and Jalen Jackson each have at least ten carries and more than 50 yards on the ground.
Defensively, the Battlers have struggled, allowing 46 points per game and 312 rushing yards per game, and 527 yards of total offense per game, all the worst in the league. AB is also the only team in the G-MAC that has yet to record an interception
Links
NCAA Division II Stats
NCAA
NCAA Division II Football
American Football Coaches Association
D2Football.com
Great Midwest