Findlay Holds Home Opener vs Northwood Saturday Night
The Game
Football is back in Findlay as they Oilers open up their home slate on Saturday, Sep. 14 as they host Northwood University in a game set to kickoff at 7:00 pm.
The Series
Northwood holds a 12-10 advantage in the series between the two former GLIAC members. The last time these teams met was in 2016 in Findlay, a game the Oilers won by a score of 28-13. Findlay has won two consecutive against the Timberwolves, winning in 2016 and 2015, but prior to that, NU won the previous eight out of nine matchups.
Radio Coverage
Every Oilers football game will be broadcast on 88.3 WLFC and can be listed to locally on the radio or streamed online at WLFC.com.
Video Stream
Video streaming for the contest will be produced by Findlay's UFTV and will stream live on the Great Midwest Digital Network.
Click any of the options below to find the contest live:
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Head Coach Rob Keys
Head coach Rob Keys is in his ninth season at the helm of the Oilers football program in 2019. He has recorded a 56-34 record with the program as a head coach, which includes a 46-29 mark in conference games. He has coached Findlay to winning records in seven of his eight seasons including last season when he lead the Oilers to their first ever NCAA Division II Playoffs.
For Findlay's 2019 coaching staff, please click on the following link:
Findlay Oilers (0-1, 0-0 G-MAC)
Losing two iconic Oilers such as quarterback Rhys Gervais and wide receiver Jason Moore left some major question marks for this Oilers football squad, especially on the offensive side of the ball. After one week of action it's hard to know for sure what fans can see week-in and week-out, but some of those questions may have been answered.
Findlay knew their experienced offensive line was going to be a strength coming into the 2019 campaign and last Thursday against #2 Ferris State, those five players were a major factor. Facing a defense that returned nine of their 11 starters from a national runner-up team in 2018, Findlay's o-line surged in the trenches, making room for running back Brian Benson to rush for 180 yards, the first time a player has rushed for 150+ yards against the Bulldogs since Ken Iheme from Fort Hayes St. ran for 162 against Ferris in the Super Region Three Semifinals in 2017. Findlay's offensive line also provided security for quarterback Matt Winzeler, not allowing the first year Oilers' signal-caller to be sacked.
Winzeler began his career at Findlay with decent game, giving Oilers fans a glimpse of what looks to be another in a long line of stellar quarterback play at UF. Winzeler did not commit a turnover and threw for 225 yards and two touchdowns in his first game including a perfect 37-yard touchdown on Findlay's first series to first-year receiver Ruben Flowers. Findlay's new QB also showed grit, diving into contact to score a two-yard rushing touchdown with less than a minute to play in the game. Flowers, an Independance Community College transfer, caught ten passes for 156 yards and a score in his Findlay debut.
The Oilers' defense was solid as well, allowing Ferris State to make just 19 first downs in the game and forcing the powerful offense into four punts. Jack Trombetti was the leading tackler, making 11 stops from his linebacker position, while transfers Richard Sheler and Eriq Fadahunsi finished with nine and seven tackles, respectively. Safety Christopher Jefferson played well to kick off his sophomore season, making five tackles and recording an interception.
2019 Season Statistics
2019 Roster
Northwood (0-1, 0-0 GLIAC)
Northwood had a solid run under the late head coach Pat Riepma who coached from 1993-2007. In that time the Timberwolves put together nine winning seasons including three trips to the NCAA DII Playoffs. In the 11 years since, Northwood has managed just two winning seasons (2009 & 2017), the latest of which came two years ago when NU finished 7-4.
Coming off a 3-7 season, expectations outside the Timberwolves locker room were low, but in the first week of the season, Northwood showed some grit as they nearly knocked off a team that was one win away from making the playoffs a year ago, Tiffin. The Dragons held a 22-17 lead in that game before intentionally taking a safety with two seconds on the clock made the score 22-19. Northwood lateraled the ball multiple times and returned the ensuing punt for a touchdown, but it was waved off as there was an illegal forward pass on a lateral attempt.
In that game, Northwood did as they have historically done, rushing the ball nearly twice as often as they throw it (although a 42-yard touchdown pass from Grant Dunatchik to Bryant Kift did find its way to #8 on Saturday's edition the ESPN SportsCenter Top 10 (pictured above)). Northwood ran for 186 yards and threw for just 100 and was outgained by 202 total yards. Despite that and throwing four interceptions, the Timberwolves kept the contest closer than many expected heading into the week.
Returning all-GLIAC players from last season include junior offensive lineman Damon Sutton, who earned second team all-conference, and senior defensive back Dimitri Abro, senior wide receiver Alex Spicuzzi, and sophomore defensive back Keenan Williamson who all earned honorable mention status.
Taking the reins at quarterback will be senior Joe Garbarino. Garbarino has been the starter since day one, although last season he missed time due to injury. While at Northwood, the dual-threat quarterback has completed 156 passes in 336 attempts for 2,272 yards while rushing the ball 315 times for 1,300 yards. He has thrown for 15 touchdowns and rushed for 17 touchdowns and has been intercepted 17 times.
Links
NCAA Division II Stats
NCAA
NCAA Division II Football
American Football Coaches Association
D2Football.com
Great Midwest