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By Zak Reinhart
reinhartz@findlay.edu
On Saturday, the undefeated Oilers went into the game against the similarly undefeated Northwood knowing that only one team would remain unbeaten.
Unfortunately for Findlay fans, this time around, it was the Timberwolves who would outlast them in a 34 – 11 win, dropping Findlay to no. 16 in the AFCA polls.
Findlay entered this game with high hopes, having been ranked No. 9 in the AFCA polls the week before and holding aspirations of climbing even higher. Northwood entered the contest as the 23rd-ranked team in the AFCA polls with the same goal.
Defensively, the Oilers struggled. Northwood quarterback Ethan Hamby was slicing the Findlay defense, completing 28 out of his 31 passes for 273 yards and 3 touchdowns. The Timberwolves as a team were solid in the run game as well, rushing for 156 yards and 2 touchdowns. Despite a rough defensive outing, Findlay still saw good play from key players. Jon Slaper had 11 tackles on the day, 2 of which were tackles for loss. D’Andre Wright, Braden Watson, and Peyton Brock all had a sack on the day, Wright totaling 3 and a half total tackles for loss.
Offensively, the Oilers sputtered as well. Quarterback Chase Harrison was 13 for 21 passing with only 147 yards and a touchdown. In the run game, Findlay was not effective. The Oilers finished with a net total of 24 rushing yards on the day with no touchdowns, averaging only 1.1 yards a carry.
Findlay failed all day to produce anywhere near as many explosive plays as they were used to producing.
“They came up and got in our faces, you know, and they brought the fight to us,” Head Coach Tyler Johns said.
“I think their aggressiveness on defense caught us by surprise a little bit.”
Offensive coordinator Blaise Holzer accepted and embraced a lot of the blame for the offense’s performance.
“I have to do a better job; that’s what it starts with,” Holzer said. “I didn’t call a very good game, didn’t have enough of a plan, and that’s the first and foremost thing.”
Holzer was impressed with how Northwood performed compared to last year.
“They elevated their play compared to what we saw from film last year, and our guys didn’t.”
Despite a lack of offensive production, Findlay still saw decent play from receiver Denny Furlong, who totaled 55 yards on 2 catches. Receiver Khilee White had the only touchdown on the day for the Oilers, catching a ricocheted ball and racing into the end zone. White had 2 catches for 27 yards, the touchdown catch being his longest for 23 yards.
Moving forward, Findlay looks to the upcoming Saturday, when they will travel to take on Ohio Dominican. The Panthers sit at 2-2 on the season and look to improve at home against the Oilers, who are now coming off a bad loss at home.
While it could be another opportunity to prove that the Oilers are ready to rise in the polls again, Coach Johns sees it differently.
“ODU is the next opportunity for us to go and compete, right? But at the end of the day, we have to focus on ourselves and how we can continue to improve, right?” Johns said.
