Streak Reaches Four with Dominating Win Over Lake Erie
Postgame with Head Coach Kory Allen (88.3 WLFC - Tim Montgomery)
Findlay, Ohio - The University of Findlay football team welcomed the Lake Erie College Storm to Donnell Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 29 and came away with a 42-17 victory. Despite nearly numbers of total offense, the Oilers relied on a stingy run defense to stop the Storm from any thought of an upset and, with the win, Findlay improves its' win-streak to four games. The Oilers have now also won ten consecutive games against Lake Erie. With the win, the Oilers move to 5-4 on the year and are now 4-2 in Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) play. Lake Erie falls to 3-6 overall with a 3-4 record in the conference.
The game was not completely derived of all drama as Lake Erie came up with a big stop on Findlay's opening series, stopping the Oilers on fourth-and-one at the 50-yard line to force a turnover on downs.
An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty gave the Storm possession on the Findlay 35 and three plays later, a 27-yard touchdown pass gave Lake Erie a 7-0 lead.
Findlay went three-and-out on their next possession which led to a Lake Erie drive that distanced 60 yards on 14 plays. The Storm reached Findlay's one yard line, but on fourth-and-goal from the one, Jack Morrison and Romaro Warren Jr. stuffed Storm quarterback Gerald Gardner, giving the Oilers possession.
After struggling offensively, Findlay then embarked on a 16-play drive that measured 99 yards and took nearly eight minutes. The drive was capped by a one-yard run by sophomore Garret Clark, tying the game at 7-7.
Then the game began to turn.
Findlay forced a three-and-out and then went on another touchdown drive which was scored by senior Derek Lynch.
Lake Erie would kick a field goal with one minute to play in the half, making the score 14-10.
The Storm did regain the lead at 17-14 with a touchdown on their first drive of the second half, but the Oilers went on to score 28 unanswered points to secure a victory and end the upset threat.
Findlay would pick up 346 yards while Lake Erie had 319. The glaring stat of the game came courtesy of the Oilers' rushing defense as they held Lake Erie to -25 yards on the ground. It's the first time the Oilers have held a team to negative rushing yards since Kentucky Wesleyan had -9 in 2018 and the fewest yards allowed rushing since Mercyhurst managed to rush for -66 yards in 2003.
On the flip side, the Oilers rushed for 206, accounting for all six of the team's touchdowns.
Leading the ground attack was Garret Clark who had 22 carries for 118 yards and two scores. It's the sixth time in his career that Clark has eclipsed the 100-yard mark in agame.
Through the air, senior Jeremy Hunt went 7-for-11 for 100 yards while senior Alec Bornhorst was 7-for-12 for 40 yards. Hunt rushed for 33 yards on six carries.
Junior Mike Rigerman and sophomore Mitch Nielsen each had 51 yards receiving. Rigerman did so on six receptions while Nielsen had two. The 51 yards are a new career-high for Nielsen.
Findlay's standout on defense was sophomore Johnny Harris. He made eight tackles in the game including 2.5 tackles-for-loss and a sack. He also had a pair of pass breakups.
Senior Kijana Caldwell had seven tackles and an interception in the game, his fourth interception of the season and the eight of his career.
Sophomore Jack Morrison had five tackles including a sack and a fumble recovery while Romaro Warren Jr. had five tackles including 1.5 tackles-for-loss and a sack.
As a team, Findlay combined for ten tackles-for-loss, the first time since October 30 of last year that the Oilers have had at least ten TFL in a contest.
The Oilers will wrap up their home slate of games next week, November 5 with a contest against Walsh University. That game will kick off at 3:00 pm.