Findlay Stumbles Against Hillsdale | Suffers First G-MAC Loss of Season
Findlay, Ohio – The University of Findlay football team suffered it's first Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) defeat on Saturday, Oct. 23 at the hands of the Hillsdale Chargers by a score of 34-29. With the loss, the Oilers fall to 5-3 on the year with a 3-1 record in conference play. Hillsdale, meanwhile, keeps their title hopes alive as they improve their record to 4-4 with a 3-1 record in the G-MAC, which after today's games, now has four teams tied atop the standings.
Hillsdale came in with a clear strategy; posses the ball. In the game, the Chargers' offense was on the field for more than 39 minutes, the highest time of possession allowed by the Oilers in the Rob Keys era of the program (2011-present).
That strategy put pressure on the Oilers' defense which struggled to respond, allowing 481 yards of total offense including 388 through the air. Along with a large amount of yards allowed, a couple mistakes loomed large for the Oilers.
At the end of Hillsdale's first drive of the second half, confusion on defense caused Findlay to have to take back-to-back timeouts which, as it played out, could have been beneficial late in the contest. Penalties also haunted Findlay as they had seven flags for 78 yards. One of the more critical flags was a roughing the passer call towards the end of the third quarter. On the play, Findlay's Brennan Perry recorded an interception that was called back. Rather than have a turnover, the penalty gave the Chargers a first down. Four plays later, Hillsdale found the endzone to take a 21-13 lead.
Findlay appeared to get the break they needed early in the fourth quarter when linebacker Jack Trombetti batted and intercepted a pass by Hillsdale quarterback Garret Aissen. Trombetti returned the pick 35 yards for a Findlay touchdown, giving the home team the lead at 22-21.
Hillsdale responded with a touchdown to take back the lead and on the first play of Findlay's next drive, quarterback Matt Winzeler threw an interception, giving the ball right back to the Blue and White. Three plays later, the Chargers found the end zone again, taking a 12-point lead with just under seven minutes remaining.
Findlay went on an eight play, 65-yard drive, capped with a touchdown from Winzeler to Tanner Schroeder, but the Oilers simply ran out of time as, due to a lack of timeouts available, Hillsdale was able to milk the remaining clock to seal the victory.
The Oilers finished with 341 yards of total offense, 222 of which were through the air and 119 of which came on the ground.
Winzeler finished the contest 17-of-34 for 222 yards and a touchdown. He threw a pair of interceptions, as well, his first interceptions thrown since the second week of the season. Winzeler's counterpart, Garrit Aissen for Hillsdale, had a career game. The Chargers third string signal caller was thrust into the starting job due to injuries to the top two QBs on Hillsdale's depth chart. Aissen completed 27 passes for 382 yards and three scores, although he did throw a pair of interceptions, as well.
For Findlay, Tanner Schroeder had a career-high with 140 receiving yards in the game. He had seven receptions, one of which went for a touchdown, a ten-yard score in the fourth quarter.
On defense, Marqis Stokes had 12 tackles including a sack while Jack Trombetti and Grey Brancifort each had 11 stops. Trobetti had 1.5 tackles-for-loss and an interception for a touchdown to his credit.
Hillsdale's Isaac TeSlaa had the performance of the afternoon as he had nine catches for 193 yards and three scores to help lead the Chargers to their second victory in Donnell Stadium in their last three tries.
The Oilers will return to play next Saturday, Oct. 30 when they head to Canton, Ohio to take on the Walsh Cavaliers. That game will kick off at noon.