Lynch Makes History in Overtime Thriller
Findlay, Ohio – It had been six years since the University of Findlay football team played in overtime. That changed on Saturday, Sep. 11 with a night game against the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. The Oilers picked up a thrilling 34-28 victory in the game to pick up their first win of the season. UNCP, which earned a forfeit victory over their original opponent for today's game, fall to 1-1.
Until Thursday morning, the Oilers were planning to head into the weekend with a bye. On Thursday morning, Pembroke called offering to travel the 617 miles north due to a cancelled game against West Virginia Wesleyan, a game that was later determined by the Mountain East Conference (MEC) to be a forfeit. Findlay accepted the challenge and officially had their home opener moved up by two weeks.
Neither team held more than a one touchdown lead throughout the game.
With the score tied 28-28 heading into the fourth quarter, every possession was magnified. The Oilers had a pair of interceptions in the quarter that ended promising drives, but the defense stood tall, forcing a turnover on downs and a punt to keep the score knotted through four quarters.
The Oilers won the coin toss in the extra period and elected to defend. On second down, Pembroke quarterback Josh Jones, who threw for 368 yards, lofted a ball to a wide open Jai'Veon Smalls on the Oilers two yardline. Smalls caught the pass but fell out of bounds for an incomplete pass. On third and ten, Findlay junior Ervin Besingi broke into the backfield and sacked Jones for a loss of ten, forcing the Braves to attempt a 52-yard field goal which was missed wide left.
On Findlay's possession, junior Derek Lynch picked up 21 yards on three plays before junior Matt Winzeler found tight end Mike Rigerman for a touchdown, ending the game.
The story on Saturday night came down to one player. That player was Findlay junior Derek Lynch. The Bloomfield Hills, Mich. native wowed fans with a 45 carry, 303 yard performance on the ground, cementing his place in the Oilers' record books. His 303 yards rank second all-time at Findlay for rushing yards in a game, second behind Daiquone Ford who rushed for 317 against Lake Erie in 2013. Lynch's 45 carries on Saturday were the most all-time in a game for the Oilers. Both his carries and yards in the game set new Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) records. Lynch had a pair of touchdowns and averaged 6.7 yards per carry.
The Oilers put up 534 yards of total offense while holding the Braves to 390. Findlay had 210 yards through the air and 324 on the ground. Pembroke was pass heavy as they had 368 passing yards and just 22 rushing yards.
Austin Watt was the Oilers' top receiver, picking up 91 yards on five catches. Marlin Richardson had two catches for 39 yards while Jake Brown had three catches for 31 yards and a touchdown. Mike Rigerman had three catches, two of which were for touchdowns.
Sophomore Grey Brancifort led the Oilers with 13 tackles including a half tackle-for-loss. Marqis Stokes had nine tackles including an interception while Ervin Besingi had four stops that included two sacks.
The Oilers will go back on the road on Saturday, Sep. 18 to take on Southwest Baptist at 2:00 pm.