Homecoming Game | Findlay Hosts Kentucky Wesleyan at 4:00 pm
The Game
The second week of Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) play has Kentucky Wesleyan traveling to Findlay for the Oilers' Homecoming Game, a 4:00 pm kickoff in Donnell Stadium.
Tickets
To purchase presale tickets for this contest, please visit athletics.findlay.edu/tickets
Media
Video streaming of the contest will be produced by UFTV and will broadcast on the Great Midwest Digital Network.
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Head Coach Rob Keys
Head coach Rob Keys will enter his 11th season at the helm of the Oilers football program in 2021. He has recorded a 70-41 record with the program as a head coach, which includes a 34-26 mark in GLIAC games and a 22-7 mark in G-MAC games.
For Findlay's 2021 coaching staff, please click on the following link:
The Series
Findlay is a perfect 4-0 all-time against the Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers in a series that began in the 2017 season. The series has been extremely one-sided as the Oilers have won each game by at least 25 points and have scored 50 or more points in three of the four matchups. This is the second time KWC has come to Donnell for the Oilers' Homecoming Game. The first was in 2017, a night game that ended with a 68-14 Findlay victory in the first-ever matchup between UF and KWC.
Findlay Oilers (3-2, 1-0 G-MAC)
The Oilers got the Great Midwest Athletic Conferece (G-MAC) schedule started with a win last week against Lake Erie by a score of 37-10. The Storm were picked last in the conference preseason poll. Next up is Kentucky Wesleyan who was picked seventh out of eight in the preseason.
Findlay hangs their hat on a balanced offensive attack that ranks second in the G-MAC right now at 482 yards per game. The Oilers are the only team in the conference with more than 1,000 yards rushing and more than 1,000 yards passing which makes them a challenge for opposing defenses. That offense has put up 32.6 points per game and has scored a league-leading 23 touchdowns.
Leading the charge on the ground is Derek Lynch who remains the top back, in terms of yards, in the conference. The Bloomfield Hills, Michigan native has rushed for 486 yards on 75 carries this season and has scored five touchdowns. Josh Booker has 41 carries for 230 yards and three scores, as well, but the official backup on the two-deep is Garret Clark who is back from injury and has 25 carries for 161 yards this year. Still in the back pocket of that running back room is former Don Hansen all-American, Brian Benson, giving the Oilers more than enough options at that position.
Quarterback Matt Winzeler is coming off his best performance of the season, a game in which he completed 16-of-27 passes for a season-high 338 yards. He also threw for a pair of touchdowns, giving him ten on the season which ranks second in the conference.
Findlay's defense finally put together a solid game last week as they allowed just ten points, the least amount of points they have allowed in a game this season. But, for a unit that has struggled, a couple of players have stood out and remain threats for offenses around the G-MAC. Linebacker Grey Brancifort is in the midst of a breakout season and leads the team and is second in the league with 52 tackles. He has had four consecutive games with more than ten stops. While Brancifort has been all over the field, one player has been living in opponent's backfields, and that is Ervin Besingi. Findlay's junior defensive lineman leads the G-MAC with 7.5 tackles-for-loss and 5.5 sacks through five games and is making 3.8 tackles per game. His ability to get to the quarterback is something to keep an eye on, especially in a late-game situation.
2021 Season Statistics
2021 Roster
Kentucky Wesleyan (2-3, 0-1 G-MAC)
The Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers were selected seventh out of eight in the preseason poll at the beginning of the season, and with just seven wins in the previous four seasons combined, that ranking is justified. However, much like Lake Erie a week ago, the Panthers have been better than their preseason ranking and history might indicate.
Through four games this season, KWC is 2-2 with wins over Kentucky State and William Jewell. Although those victories aren't exactly signs of a program turnaround, the Panthers' most recent loss to perennial G-MAC title contender Ohio Dominican might just be a sign that KWC is moving in the right direction.
In the first week of conference play, KWC had a tall order as they hosted their fellow Panthers out of Columbus, Ohio. Ohio Dominican jumped out to a 20-3 lead and the game looked like it would end up being the route that might have been expected. KWC refused to roll over and, in the 1:00 they had left before the half, drove 50 yards in three plays to cut the deficit to ten before the half. A touchdown in the third and one more in the fourth gave KWC 21 unanswered points and a four-point lead.
Later, trailing by six with 2:28 to play, Kentucky Wesleyan went 75 yards in nine plays to tie the game with 22 seconds remaining, needed just an extra point to complete the upset. The extra point was blocked and returned 93 yards for a score, putting Ohio Dominican on top 32-30. KWC managed to recover the ensuing onside kick and ended up with a 42-yard field goal attempt for the win. But again, that kick was blocked, ending the game. While the game ended in a loss for Kentucky Wesleyan, the Panthers from Owensboro had sent a message to the rest of the league that it will not be the punching bag it has been in the past.
With two-year starting quarterback Wiley Cain still recovering from an injury sustained in the spring season, junior Christian Arrambide has filled in nicely this season and will take the bulk of the snaps for KWC. Through five games, Arrambide has completed 92-150 passes (61%) for 1,219 yards and a league-leading 11 touchdowns. The gunsligner can get himself into trouble though as he also leads the confernce with 9 interceptions thrown this season.
The strength of this team lies in it's defense, specifically in the secondary. The Panthers will start a pair of 6-2, 205-pound all-conference corners in Shedrick Kirk and Kishawn Walker. Those two are first and second in the league in interceptions this season with four and three, respectively. They both also rank in the top six in the conference in passes defended.
Linebacker Jalen Humphrey, a second team all-G-MAC performer in the spring, is also a force on defense and leads the Panthers with 43 tackles this season while ranking second in the conference, behind Findlay's Ervin Besingi, with 7.0 tackles for loss.
Links
NCAA Division II Stats
NCAA
NCAA Division II Football
American Football Coaches Association
D2Football.com
Great Midwest