Oilers Win 31-13 at Hillsdale in ESPN Game
The University of Findlay earned a dominating 31-13 win against Hillsdale College on Oct. 14 in Hillsdale, Mich. The victory at Muddy Waters Stadium pushed the Oilers record to 6-1 on the year with a 3-0 mark in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC).
The Oilers opened the game with a 19-yard field goal by freshman Chris Demler to midway through the first quarter. Findlay then took advantage of a strip sack by sophomore Isaac Miles to go up 10-0 with 5:48 to play in the first half when junior running back Daouda Sylla scored on a five-yard touchdown run.
Up 10-0 late in the second quarter, the Oilers offense went on a 12-play, 90-yard drive that culminated in another Sylla touchdown as Findlay took a 17-0 lead at the break.
The Chargers scored first in the third quarter to cut the lead to ten at 17-7, but the Oilers quickly answered with an 18-yard touchdown scamper from junior running back Michael Campbell. The score pushed the Oilers lead to 24-7 with 9:51 to play in the third quarter.
The Oilers would continue to tack on the points late in the third quarter when junior quarterback Rhys Gervais found sophomore wide receiver Andrew Ogletree for a one-handed, 9-yard touchdown grab to make the score 31-7 with 1:40 remaining in the quarter. The Chargers would then tack on another touchdown early in the fourth quarter to round out the scoring on the afternoon.
Gervais completed a season-high 26-of-37 passing attempts for 332 yards and touchdown to lead the offense. He completed a pass to eight different receivers and helped the Oilers out-gain the Chargers by a 499-306 margin.
Junior wide receiver Jason Moore led the Findlay receivers with six catches for 95 yards while junior tight end Jacob Boucher had five receptions for 48 yards.
Sophomore tight end Luke Stuffel made three catches for 48 yards, junior wide receiver Jacob Allton had three catches for 45 yards and Ogletree made four receptions for 42 yards in the game.
Sylla paced the running attack with 95 yards on 22 carries while Campbell had 12 rushes for 78 yards.
On defense, the Oilers forced two turnovers and recorded five sacks in the victory. Individually, Miles had eight tackles, 1.5 tackles for a loss, 1.0 sacks, a forced fumble and one fumble recovery.
Junior linebacker Tyler Long recorded seven stops while junior defensive lineman Cyle Skidmore, sophomore defensive lineman Grant Kinsinger and sophomore defensive lineman Kenneth Washington each had a sack.
Sophomore defensive back Tyler Lee picked off a pass while junior Chiebuka Chukwuneke broke up two passes.
The Oilers will be back in action again on Friday, Oct. 20 when they host Kentucky Wesleyan College at 7pm in Donnell Stadium for Homecoming.