Clark Rushes for 252 Yards | Oilers Come Up Short vs North Greenville
Tigerville, South Carolina – In a wild game that featured three ties and four lead changes, the University of Findlay football team came up just short on Saturday, Sep. 24 on the road in a non-conference affair with North Greenville University, losing by a score of 34-27 more than 500 miles from home. With that loss the Oilers fall to 1-3 on the year while North Greenville pulls their record even at 2-2.
NGU was first on the board, capitalizing on a quick three-and-out by Findlay and turning it into a field goal.
Trailing 3-0, after three consecutive incompletions to start the game, the Oilers handed the ball off to their standout tailback, sophomore Garret Clark, on the first play of the second drive. His first touch set the tone for the day as he rumbled 75 yards for a score, the second time in his career he has gone 75 yards for a score. The last happened in the fall of last season against Kentucky Wesleyan. Clark would finish the day with 252 rushing yards.
After forcing a punt to get the ball back, Clark's next touch went for 17 yards to open Findlay's next drive. Two plays later, Crusader defender Dantevian Byrd intercepted a batted ball and went 45 yards to the house, putting NGU ahead 10-7.
Two plays later, another interception by the North Greenville defense gave the home team the ball at their own 40 and looking to go ahead two scores. However, on the ensuing third down, Findlay senior Kijana Caldwell got the ball right back with his first interception of the year and fifth of his career.
That would turn into points for the Oilers who went on an eight-play, 55-yard drive over the next four minutes. The drive included seven consecutive running plays, five by Garret Clark and two by sophomore Jayden Farmer. A wrinkle came at the end of the drive with a ten-yard pass from senior Jeremy Hunt to freshman Bryan Hunt for the touchdown, B. Hunt's third touchdown catch in two weeks.
With just over six minutes left in the half, sophomore Austin Snyder drilled a 22-yard field goal to give the Oilers a 17-10 lead.
On the final drive of the half, North Greenville drove 65 yards in five plays, using just 39 seconds of clock. The big play was a 35-yard rush to put the Crusaders in Findlay territory and the touchdown was a 17-yard strike to the front corner of the endzone. The extra point tied the game at 17 going into the half.
The Oilers forced a three-and-out which turned into three points on a 41-yard field goal by Snyder. Eight minutes later NGU matched with a field goal of their own, tying the game at 20.
One of the biggest moments of the game came at the beginning of the fourth quarter. The Oilers got to NGU's 21 yard line but faced a fourth-and-17. Snyder was sent out for a 38-yard field goal try but it was blocked.
The Crusaders, who started the next drive on Findlay's 40, then used three plays of more than ten yards to move quickly down the field. That drive was capped with a three-yard touchdown run.
Findlay answered. After four rushes by Clark, senior backup quarterback Alec Bornhorst completed the first pass of his Findlay career, a 47-yard strike to junior Tanner Schroeder for a touchdown.
Unfortunately for the Oilers, the first play of NGU's next drive was a 78-yard touchdown, putting the home team ahead 34-27 with nine minutes remaining.
Findlay had a chance to respond and went on a methodical drive that took 15 plays and almost seven minutes. The Oilers reached the Crusaders 18 yard line and faced a first and ten from the red zone. On first down, Jeremy Hunt looked for Bryan Hunt in the endzone but the ball was dropped. The next play went for a loss of a yard, setting up a third-and-11. Jeremy Hunt went back to pass and tripped for a loss of 13 yards. After a timeout, the next play went similarly as Hunt scrambled to his right with his eyes downfield. He slipped, causing his left knee to barely scrape the turf before launching the ball to the endzone to Bryan Hunt. He was ruled down for a loss of ten yards. NGU then ran out the clock to end the game.
Findlay outgained North Greenville 439 yards to 423 yards and dominated on the ground, picking up 252 rushing yards. The Oilers also won the time of possession battle as they had the ball for 34:18. However, a pair of interceptions and some big chunk plays hurt the Orange and Black in the pursuit of a win against their Gulf South Conference (GSC) opponent.
The Oilers' top performance came from running back Garret Clark who carried the ball 35 times for 252 yards, the eighth-most yards in a game in program history. He also had a touchdown in the game.
Jeremy Hunt had a tough game in his fourth start, going 10-for-27 for 140 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions. Tanner Schroeder had four catches for 81 yards and a score.
For NGU, Corey Watkins had a solid day out of the backfield, as well, rushing 16 times for 148 yards. Receiver Doug Washington had eight catches for 128 yards.
Next week, the Oilers welcome in the defending national champions and current #1 team in the country, the Ferris State Bulldogs. That game will begin at noon in Donnell Stadium.