Oilers Stumble Against #2 Ferris St.
Findlay, OH - The University of Findlay football team suffered their first loss of the season on Saturday, September 9, a 48-27 loss at the hands of the second-ranked team in NCAA Division II, Ferris State. With the loss, the Oilers fall to 1-1 on the year while the Bulldogs begin their season at 1-0.
Ferris State got the scoring started less than a minute into the game when senior standout quarterback Reggie Bell ripped through the defense for an 85-yard touchdown run.
Findlay remained unphased and answered with a touchdown of their own less than five minutes later, a 19-yard score from junior Rhys Gervais to junior Jason Moore, the first of three touchdown receptions by Moore in the game. The extra point was missed which made the score 7-6 with 10:42 to play in the first quarter. The game looked to be a shootout, but 32 accepted penalties would slow the game down with both teams struggling to put together clean drives.
The Bulldogs would extend their lead to 17-6 before Findlay's next score. This score came on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Gervais to sophomore Andrew Ogletree. It was the first touchdown of Ogletree's young career.
21 unanswered points by Ferris State would make the score 38-13 with 9:20 to play in the third quarter. It was too much for the Oilers to overcome as the lead for the Bulldogs would not get inside 21 for the remainder of the game.
The Oilers put up 338 yards of total offense on 234 yards passing and 104 yards on the ground. Led by Bell, the Bulldogs put up 653 yards on the strength of 413 on the ground. Bell ran for 216 yards and scored four touchdowns on 18 carries.
Findlay got a big game from Jason Moore who caught nine balls for 125 yards. He scored three touchdowns. Moore's 125 yards pull him to within just 24 yards of the top five all-time receiving yards at Findlay. He is chasing Mike Chambers (2008-2009) who is currently in fifth all-time with 1,942 yards.
Quarterback Rhys Gervais threw the ball 27 times and completed 18 in the loss. He had 215 yards through the air for three scores. He also had a pair of interceptions in the contest.
Senior Daouda Sylla was the leading rusher for the second time this season. He picked up 80 yards on nine carries.
Junior Justice Jenkins was the leading tackler with 11 stops that included one and a half sacks. Senior Rhonald Houston also had double-digit tackles with ten while junior Francis Cutchember had nine.
The Oilers are back in action next week when they head to Liberty, Missouri to play William Jewell College. It will be the first time ever that the two teams meet on the gridiron. That game will begin at noon.