Second Half Struggles Haunt Oilers vs Lindenwood
Findlay, Ohio - The University of Findlay football team was the host for their final non-conference regular-season game of the season on Saturday, Sep. 25 as the Lindenwood University Lions came to town. The Oilers came up short in the matchup against their Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) foe by a score of 28-16 and fall to 2-2 on the season. With the win, Lindenwood, who was ranked 21st in the country in the AFCA Preseason Poll, improves to 2-2.
Defense was the story in the first half. Findlay received the ball to start the game and drove 73 yards in 14 plays before Austin Snyder nailed a 28-yard field goal to give the Oilers a 3-0 lead eight minutes into the game.
On Lindenwood's first offensive series, they drove the ball deep into Oilers' territory and had a first-and-goal from the two-yard line. Findlay's defense stood tall, forcing a turnover on downs while stopping four straight rushing attempts by Lions' starting tailback, Nash Sutherlin.
Findlay then went 75 yards the other way before a turnover-on-downs of their own.
The next four possessions ended with a punt as halftime came with the Oilers on top by a score of 3-0.
Lindenwood made the necessary halftime adjustments and, after receiving the ball to start the half, scored their first touchdown of the day just four minutes into the second half. The score began a run of 21 unanswered points by the Lions spanning into the fourth quarter.
Needing points with 13 minutes remaining in the game, Findlay brought dipped into their bag of tricks as Matt Winzeler passed to his left to Ruben Flowers. Flowers then turned and launched the ball to a wide-open Derek Lynch who caught the ball at the 30-yard line and raced into the endzone untouched for the Oilers first touchdown of the game.
After a score by Lindenwood, Findlay's Josh Booker had a one-yard rushing touchdown but it was not enough as the home team took the 12-point loss.
For two teams that came in averaging more than 40 points allowed, the defenses played a big role. Findlay managed just 320 yards of total offense, 151 of which came on the ground. Lindenwood, however, put up 461 yards including 208 on the ground.
Josh Booker was the leading rusher for the Oilers, picking up 64 yards on 15 carries. He also had a touchdown, his third of the year. Derek Lynch had four carries for 36 yards and Garret Clark, who left the game early after a targeting penalty by Lions' linebacker CJ McClure, had 30 yards on five carries. Lynch was the leading receiver with 57 yards on three receptions while Clark also had three catches for 26 yards.
Jeremiah Jackson, Jack Trombetti, and Grey Brancifort each had ten stops for the Oilers' defense. Ervin Besingi finished with seven tackles and added to his league-best tackles-for-loss with two more on Saturday.
The Oilers are back in action on Saturday, Oct. 2 when they travel to Lake Erie to take on the Storm. That game will kick off at 3:00 pm.