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By Nate Buscher, BuscherN@Findlay.edu
Findlay Oiler football team falls short in season opener against Truman State. This past Saturday Sept. 2 at noon the University of Findlay Oilers took on the Truman State Bulldogs at Donnel Stadium.
Players like sophomore wide receiver Peyton Otte team knew they’d have their work cut out for them. Truman State is regarded as a top tier football program in the NCAA Division 2.
“Truman State is a real good team, but we got some returning starters that are looking to start off the year with a good win,” Otte said.
The game was sweltering hot, and it was apparent that the players were feeling the heat.
Tight end Adam Thorbahn said the weather plays a role.
“It wasn’t enjoyable, you could just feel the sun beating down on you,” Thorbahn said. “The turf field definitely intensified the heat.”
Unfortunately, the Oilers weren’t able to get the win, but they showed they could hang with other top talent in Division 2. Findlay was first to get any points on the board after QB Alec Bornhorst completed a touchdown pass to tight end Mike Riggerman. However, it didn’t take long for Truman State to add a touchdown themselves when wide receiver Zach Zerwig caught a touchdown pass from QB Nolan Hair.
Truman State then kicked a field goal. Before halftime the Bulldogs Nolan Hair threw an interception to Jordan Grimes, who returned it into the redzone. This helped set up a Findlay field goal right before the half. This resulted in the halftime score being 10-10.
By halftime the heat was starting to take a toll on the players, several players from both teams were seen cramping on the sideline, and a couple on the field. This caused some delays in the game and led to several players needing to be stretched out by athletic trainers.
Coming out of halftime Truman State received the ball. They wasted no time and within two minutes Mason Huskey took it 66 yards to the house. Findlay’s offense tried to counter but got pummeled by the Bulldog defense.
Findlay came close to putting up a score when the made it to the redzone, but Bornhorst’s pass was deflected and landed in the arms of a Truman State defender.
Truman State managed to add a field goal before the end of the game, resulting in a final score of 10-20 with the Oilers suffering a loss in their season opener.
Findlay hopes to rebound this week with a game in Pleasantville, New York against Pace University. Oilers freshmen running back Connor Smith says they’re ready.
“We are picking up the intensity this week,” Smith said. “Coach keeps saying we need to get this bad taste out of our mouths. We are looking to adjust some things on defense and hopefully ramp up the offense.”
