Oilers Soar Past Cardinals in Home Opener | Keys' 50th Win
Findlay, Ohio – The University of Findlay football team got back to their winning ways with a decisive 58-17 victory over the William Jewell College Cardinals on Saturday, Sep. 15. The Oilers home opening win gives them a 2-1 record on the season while the Cardinals, out of Liberty, Missouri, fall to 0-2. With the win, head coach Rob Keys, who has been at the helm since 2011, now has 50 career victories in his time at Findlay.
The Cardinals received the opening kickoff and promptly fumbled it into the hands of the Oilers, giving the home team all the momentum to start the contest. Five plays later, Findlay punched the ball into the end zone. The home team never looked back as they would score 34 unanswered points in the first half.
Findlay would finish the game with 592 yards of total offense while holding William Jewell to just 298. 337 of the Oilers' yards came through the air while 255 were on the ground.
Senior Rhys Gervais completed 16-of-21 passes for 311 yards and two touchdowns in just over two quarters of action. His favorite target was senior Peter Norris who caught five passes for 122 yards and a touchdown. It was Findlay's first 100-yard receiving effort since Airion Kosak had 120 receiving yards against Assumption in the final game of last season.
Sophomore Kijana Caldwell also had a good game, hauling in five balls for 78 yards while junior Nate Slagel has two catches for 75 yards and a touchdown.
Sophomore Brian Benson led the Oilers on the ground with 12 carries and 75 yards. He also scored a touchdown. Three other running backs picked up touchdowns as senior Michael Campbell, junior Richard Wilson, and senior Chauncey Bridges each found the end zone. Wilson and Bridges each scored twice for the Oilers, who totaled six rushing touchdowns on the day.
Defensively, junior Myles Ross led the Oilers effort and finished with seven tackles with two tackles-for-loss. Senior Justice Jenkins, freshman Reggie Micheaux, and senior Cyle Skidmore all had five stops. Micheaux's line included a sack.
Findlay is back at home next week, Sep. 22 when they host last year's Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) champion and no. 12 team in the country, Ohio Dominican. That game will begin at 7:05 pm and will be broadcast as a part of the NCAA Division II Showcase on the NCAA Division II Facebook and Twitter pages.