Week 1 Preview | Oilers Begin G-MAC Title Defense on Road at ODU
The Game
The University of Findlay football team will begin its' defense of last season's Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) on Saturday, Sep. 3 as they travel to take on the Ohio Dominican Panthers in Columbus, Ohio. Kickoff is slated for noon EST in Panther Stadium on the campus of Ohio Dominican University.
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Tickets for Findlay @ Ohio Dominican Football Game
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Quotes from Coach Allen
Head Coach Kory Allen is in his first year at the helm of the Findlay football program and this Saturday is coaching his first game as such after 16 years on staff in various other roles including offensive coordinator, offensive line coach, and recruiting coordinator.
What's you're feeling heading into the first game day as the head coach of the Oilers?
"It's exciting because the players and the coaching staff have put in a ton of work and have been working very hard to all be on the same page. I'm honestly not thinking about it being my first game as a head coach, I'm thinking about it being our first game of the 2022 season."
What are you expecting out of Ohio Dominican this weekend?
"The names have changed over the years for ODU as they have for us, but the constant that you're going to get is a tough, physical opponent that's not going to beat themselves. If you're going to go down there and have a chance to win, you're going to have to earn it, they won't just give it away."
How do you manage the energy of your team in a season-opener?
"I had an old coach tell me once that he's seen teams that look like they'll run through a brick wall and then come out flat, and vice versa. I think we're going to rely on the fact that we have a veteran group, a lot of guys that have been there and done that. They will be a really good leveling factor for our team and we'll rely on those guys to make sure the pace of our team is right before kickoff and we'll be ready to go."
2022 Findlay Football Coaching Staff
Findlay Oilers (0-0, 0-0 G-MAC)
The Oilers were picked first in the 2022 G-MAC Preseason Poll, and why not. The team has been one of the top teams in the conference since joining the league in 2017 and last season secured the program's first G-MAC title after finish the conference slate 6-1.
There is a mix of returners and new faces from that championship team last season and two of the biggest names are on the offensive side of the ball. Right tackle, senior Michael Jerrell, and tight end, junior Mike Rigerman, are back after breakout seasons in 2021 and have both been named to the D2football.com Preseason Elite 100 list which featured the top Division II players in the country.
Jerrell is simply a beast up front. At 6-5 and 294 pounds, the Indianapolis, Indiana native has become a mainstay on the Oilers offensive line which, under the guidance of coach Allen, has become one of the top groups in the country at their positions. A starter in every game in each of the last two seasons, Jerrell looks to be the next great to wear the Orange and Black in the trenches and will certainly be trusted to do his job in even the most critical situations this season. Senior Ben Farrar and sophomore Brennan Davies, both starters last season, also return on the Oilers offensive line which will be critical to the team's success again.
An all-American last season, junior tight end Mike Rigerman is expected to again be a major part of Findlay's offense, especially early on as the Oilers' settle in with a new quarterback calling the signals. Last year Rigerman was a unanimous first team all-G-MAC selection as he collected 40 receptions for 493 yards and six touchdowns. He capped the year with arguably his most impressive performance, an eight-catch, 178 yard game against #8 Shepherd in the Division II Playoffs.
An area shrouded in mystery thus far has been under center as the Oilers move on from all-conference quarterback Matt Winzeler who graduated last spring. In the information provided, that spot is still not solidified, but Oilers fans can expect either Jeremy Hunt or Alec Bornhorst to take the opening snaps on Saturday.
Hunt, a transfer from the University of Louisiana-Monroe, comes to Findlay after multiple stops in his college career. He began at Division II Central Missouri where he was an all-conference performer in one of the top D2 football conferences in the country. That year he put up 230 yards per game through the air and, in his first start, threw for 405 yards and four touchdowns. Since then, Hunt has played at Trinity Valley Community College, where he was the ninth-ranked qual-threat QB in the country, and then most recently served at ULM where he played in seven games and was responsible for seven touchdowns.
The other option Saturday is Miami (OH) transfer Alex Bornhorst. While his resume includes a couple of years of inactivity due to redshirting, he has impressed coaches with his arm strength and accuracy this fall camp. Coming out of high school in Gainesville, Georgia, Bornhorst, a pro-style quarterback, had multiple Division I offers.
Sophomore Garret Clark will start in the backfield for Findlay after another solid season for the Oilers in which he earned third team all-G-MAC. Junior Tanner Schroeder, sophomore Elijah McLaughlin, and junior Austin Watt will be the three wide outs for Findlay. While these three have not yet been the main weapon for the Oilers' offense, all three have earned valuable playing time and will now look to take that to the next level as the top men on the depth chart.
Defensively for Findlay, the work starts up front where the Oilers boast some heavy hitters. Senior Ervin Besingi and senior Reggie Micheaux are coming off of all-conference seasons and will serve as the ends on Findlay's d-line. In the middle are junior Dalton Rockhold and sophomore Jack Morrison. Rockhold has tallied seven sacks and 11.5 tackles-for-loss while Morrison will be earning his first job as a starter.
Behind them, Findlay's linebackers will be led by junior Grey Brancifort who, despite being injured towards the end of the year, was tops on the team and seventh in the conference with 89 tackles, earning distinction as a first team all-conference player.
Senior Jeremiah Jackson and junior Brennan Perry were both all-conference picks last year and return to their roles as the Oilers cornerbacks while seniors Kijana Caldwell and Marqis Stokes are all-conference safeties who will make life tough for opposing quarterbacks.
Not to be overlooked is the service of kicker Austin Snyder, just a sophomore, who has already made his mark on the program. He is already a two-time all-conference kicker and has made 16-of-20 field goals in his career with a career-long of 51 yards which he achieved last season vs Shepherd in the playoffs.
About the Opponent - Ohio Dominican Panthers (0-0, 0-0 G-MAC)
A team that has historically given the Oilers fits, the Ohio Dominican Panthers out of Columbus, Ohio are once again a team that will vie for a Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) title. Last season, ODU finished 7-4 on the year and had a disappointing 4-3 mark in conference action, with an end-of-game loss at the hands of the Hillsdale Chargers ending their season. Despite that record, the Panthers did have a top-25 victory, a 19-16 win over then #19 Indianapolis on the road.
Entering the 2022 season, ODU is picked fourth in the conference preseason poll which, with the addition of Northwood University, now includes at least a handful of teams that could realistically hoist the trophy at year's end. The Panthers, like the Oilers, are also receiving votes in the preseason American Football Coaches' Association (AFCA) Poll. Tiffin and Ashland are also in that category to begin the year.
Last fall the Panthers relied on a stingy defense to secure a winning record, their 11th consecutive winning season, all of which have come since 2011 which was the team's first year as a member of Division II. ODU ranked second in the G-MAC last season allowing just 20.9 points per game and ranked third allowing just 336.5 yards per game. That defense was led by one of the top defenders in G-MAC history, Dauson Dales, who last year was a first team all-American linebacker after leading the league with 122 tackles and setting ODU's all-time career tackles record with 376. In 2022, ODU will certainly miss Dales as the anchor of that defense.
Offensively, the Panthers score 27.2 points per game and put up 381.5 yards per game, both of which ranked fourth in the league. That offense was led by senior quarterback Evan Ernst who was one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the conference. He led the G-MAC in completion percentage (62.7%) and was ranked third in QB efficiency (138.6). Ernst had a pair of top-ten receivers in David Turner and James Morgan who had 60.3 and 58.1 receiving yards per game, respectively. Pair that attack with running back Fred Pitts who was fourth in the G-MAC in rushing yards per game (67.1), and the Panthers had a very legitimate offensive attack. In 2022, however, all four of those players are no longer on the roster, leaving a lot of question marks surrounding this version of the ODU offense.
The Panthers will also be without the services of their head coach, Kelly Cummings, who was ejected from the final game of last season against Hillsdale and must serve a subsequent one-game suspension. The ejection came as a result of a disagreement with officials on a touchdown call with less than a minute remaining in the game against the Chargers.
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