Interceptions Doom Oilers vs Ohio Dominican
Findlay, OH – The University of Findlay football team dropped their first game of the 2016 season on Saturday, September 10 to Ohio Dominican University. The Oilers are now 1-1 overall and 1-1 in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play after the 49-37 loss at the hands of the Panthers.
Ohio Dominican got on the board ten minutes into the game with a touchdown to put them up 7-0. After the Oilers answered with a field goal to make the score 7-3, the Black and Gold scored 21 unanswered points before the break to take a 28-3 lead heading into the locker room.
The Oilers were able to cut that defecit to 35-30 when junior Rhys Gervais found freshman tight end Luke Stuffel for a touchdown to begin the fourth quarter.
On the next possession, the Findlay defense stood strong and forced a punt, however an interception by the Panthers' Gus Dimmerling would end that threat.
Another defensive stop came when junior Aaron Ivory picked off ODU quarterback Grant Russell, giving the Oilers the ball, down by five, with 9:12 on the clock. But the very next play, another interception from Gervais gave the Panthers the ball back on their side of the field. The capitalized with a touchdown, making the score 42-30.
Another interception out of the hand of Gervais would ice the game, although the Panthers did add another touchdown to end the game 49-30.
Interceptions were not an issue in the Oilers week one victory over Saginaw Valley State, but against the Panthers, they proved costly time and again. In all, Findlay turned the ball over five times, all uncharacteristic interceptions off the hand of Gervais. The five interceptions tie Clay Belton's five picks against Ashland on October 29, 2011.
Gervais also wrote his name in the record books by throwing 59 passes in a game, which breaks the previous mark of 52 set by Belton vs. Northern Michigan in 2011, and completing 34 passes in a game, which breaks the old mark of 32 set by Belton against Saginaw Valley in 2012.
The junior quarterback threw for 392 yards and had three touchdowns. His two favorite targets were juniors Jason Moore and Airion Kosak. The duo combined for 22 catches and 283 yards.
Defensively, the Oilers were led by sophomore Rhonald Houston who picked up 11 tackles in the contest. Senior Myles Alexander also reached double digits with ten tackles, including 0.5 tackles for loss and one forced fumble.
Findlay will be back on the field next Saturday, September 17 when they travel to take on #5 Ashland University.