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Methodical Oilers
Stop Eagles, 22-14 |
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They don’t sell Orange Crush much these days. It’s gone to soda pop heaven, along with Cherokee Red and Diet Rite. The Orange Crush days haven’t been seen in Findlay lately either. A year ago, the Oilers were 9-2 and nationally ranked. This year, the Oilers are 5-3, 4-3 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. But don’t for one minute think that Findlay has lost its fizz. The Oilers proved they weren’t flat Saturday evening (Oct. 25) at Donnell Stadium in Findlay, OH, hanging a 22-14 loss on Ashland in a GLIAC football game. AU is 2-7, 2-6 in GLIAC play. The Eagles had their chances to win this game. AU led, 14-12 at halftime. But Ashland gained only 104 yards in the second half. Plus, every time there was a big play to be made, it was the Oilers who made it. “We’re in it right to the end,” said head coach Gary Keller. “I think as coaches, once we look at the film, we’ll see we had more opportunities. We have to take advantage of those opportunities. Our execution could be better. We had an opportunity to win the game.” It looked like the Oilers would put the win away early. Findlay scored on its first two drives. However, both long marches resulted in field goals, not touchdowns. UF took the opening kickoff and went 55 yards in 12 plays for a 26-yard Jeff Pax field goal. The second time the Oilers had the ball, they moved 82 yards in 14 snaps for a Pax 29-yarder. Findlay had the ball for 11:01 of the first quarter. AU wrestled the momentum away from the home team in the second quarter. The key was holding the Oilers to field goals on those first two drives. AU’s second possession of the game ended in a 3-yard TD run by junior tailback Jason Schwalm. He had a 35-yard run in the sequence and sophomore running back Thad Schlichter pounded through the Oilers for 15 yards on one carry. Sophomore kicker Austin Wellock’s extra point put the Eagles in front, 7-6 with 11:11 remaining in the first half. AU took the lead with 47 seconds left in the half when freshman quarterback Nick Strance bolted into the end zone from seven yards out. Strance was in midst of one of his better games of the season. He completed 16 of 34 passes for 155 yards and wasn’t intercepted. His completion percentage would have been better had his receivers not let him down in several key situations. “I thought this was a big game for Nick,” said Keller. “Give Findlay credit, they can bring it. We had some passes dropped. We have to get everybody clicking. Everybody’s got to make plays.” Findlay made the play that changed the game with 33 seconds left in the first half. Running back Michael Simpson, playing because starter Robert Campbell was absent due to a death in the family, took a dump-off pass from quarterback Kevin Crooks and weaved his way through the Eagles 65 yards for a touchdown. Even though the Oilers missed the two-point conversion and trailed, 14-12 at halftime, the momentum had shifted. “That hurt us bad,” admitted Keller, who watched the Eagles miss tackle after tackle on the play. “It shouldn’t happen, but it did.” Findlay reclaimed the lead with 5:40 remaining in the third quarter when Pax nailed his third field goal. His 18-yarder gave the Oilers a 15-14 edge. With 11:06 to go in regulation, Findlay found the end zone for the second time in the game, Simpson ending a nine-play, 43-yard march with a 2-yard TD run. That put the final nail in AU’s coffin. Findlay constantly had the upper hand in the field position game in the second half. Ashland’s average starting position in the third quarter was its own 18 and the situation didn’t improve much in the fourth quarter when AU’s average starting point was its own 21. Asking an offense that’s 12th in the league in scoring to march up and down the field against an Oilers defense that’s sixth in the conference in total defense is a big request. “We didn’t give the offense a chance to work out of it,” lamented Keller. “We didn’t have good field position.” Schwalm finished the game with 96 yards on 19 carries. AU’s leading receiver was sophomore wide receiver Trent Seay, who had six catches for 50 yards. Freshman wide receiver Brandon Gilmore had four grabs for 58 yards. Defensively, sophomore linebacker Devin Conwell had 15 tackles (five solo), four tackles for loss (21 yards) and 2.5 sacks (21 yards). Senior defensive back Toure Carter was in on 10 tackles (three solo). Simpson gained 70 yards on 23 carries for the Oilers. Crooks was 20 of 31 passing for 212 yards. Findlay outgained the Eagles, 329-273. Neither team had a turnover. Ashland will be at home next Saturday (Nov. 1), hosting Indianapolis at 1:25 p.m. |