Findlay Takes Care of Business on the Road
Owensboro, Ky.- The University of Findlay football team picked up a dominant victory against the Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers on Saturday, Oct. 15, winning by a score of 44-7. With the victory, the Oilers, who are now 6-0 against KWC all time, improve to 3-4 and pick up their second Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) victory, moving to 2-2. Kentucky Wesleyan falls to 2-5 overall and 1-3 in G-MAC play.
Upset minded Kentucky Wesleyan got on the board first, scoring a touchdown on the opening drive of the game. In an eight play, 70 yard drive the Panthers found the endzone. It would wind up being their only score of the night.
The Oilers matched the Panthers with an impressive drive of their own, going 75 yards in 13 plays. The drive was capped with a five yard touchdown pass from senior Jeremy Hunt to sophomore Makya Matthews on 4th-and-1.
At that point, the game slowed down as neither team was able to score until late in the second quarter when sophomore Austin Snyder made good on a 48-yard field goal, the second longest of his career.
From that point on, the Oilers dominated, scoring the next 34 points to blow the game open.
The Oilers displayed a balanced offense with 213 yards on the ground and 211 through the air to combine for a total of 424 yards of total offense. On the other side, the Panthers managed just 200 yards of total offense against Findlay's defense which has allowed just seven points in its last two games combined. The Oilers were the beneficiaries from the Panthers turnovers as they recorded four interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns.
The defense was led by freshman Romaro Warren Jr. who recorded seven tackles including 2.5 for loss and 1.5 sacks. Assisting Warren was the reigning G-MAC Defensive Player of the Week, fellow freshman Sam Weihrauch who also had seven tackles. Junior Dalton Rockhold chipped in with six tackles with 1.5 tackles for loss and a half-sack.
Senior Kijana Caldwell and sophomore Shemar Watson each recorded an interception returned for a touchdown in the blowout victory. Findlay's other interceptions came from senior Marqis Stokes and junior Grey Brancifort.
Senior Jeremy Hunt completed 12-of-26 passes for 209 yards and a score. His top target was junior Tanner Schroeder who had four catches for 97 yards. Senior Derek Lynch recorded three catches for 73 yards.
Leading the rushing attack was freshman Jayden Farmer who carried the ball 13 times for a 109 yards, a new career high. He also added one touchdown. Sophomore Garrett Clark also found the endzone on one of his eleven carries for 62 yards.
Sophomore Austin Snyder couldn't miss today as he recorded three field goals on three attempts. He was good from 48 yards, 22 yards, and 43 yards. He was also 5-for-5 on extra points.
The Oilers will be back in action on-the-road Saturday, Oct. 22 as they take on the Hillsdale Chargers at 2pm.