The Game
Now through eight weeks of play, the Oilers are beginning their home stretch of the regular season. Since joining the G-MAC in 2017, the Oilers have not faced a three-game closing stretch like the one they are about to face as they take on perennial conference contenders each of the next three Saturdays. This Saturday, Oct. 28, Findlay hosts the first of those three, taking on familiar foe Ohio Dominican in Donnell Stadium. That game will kick off at noon.

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Tickets
Tickets for ODU at Findlay

Follow the Action
Video streaming of the contest will be produced by PulseTV (University of Findlay) and streamed on the Great Midwest Digital Network.
Live Stream
Live Stats
Listen to the stream on 88.3 WLFC

Findlay Oilers (6-2, 5-1 G-MAC)
2023 Findlay Football Coaching Staff

With six wins on the year, the Oilers have now officially locked up their 12^th winning season in the previous 13 years. However, with the slate of games that they have to close the regular season, there is still much more on the table including a conference championship and possible NCAA Playoff berth.
 
Saturday's test will be a big one for the Oilers' offense, which comes in averaging 30.5 points per game. They will be taking on the best defense in the G-MAC what allows just 14.4 points per game.
 
With the value of each possession at a premium, Findlay is glad to have quarterback Alec Bornhorst on their side. Bornhorst currently leads the G-MAC with 137 completions and a completion percentage of 64.4%. In his previous three games, the Georgia native has thrown for seven touchdowns and is averaging 240 yards per game through the air.
 
His favorite receiver has been tight end Mike Rigerman who has proven to be one of the best pass catchers in the conference. Rigerman leads the G-MAC with 44 receptions and ranks second with seven touchdowns and second with 605 receiving yards. He is just 93 yards away from passing Darrell Ramsey (1996-99) for the most receiving yards by a tight end in Findlay history.
 
On the ground, the duo of Brian Benson and Garret Clark have proven that they can move the chains. Benson, the G-MAC's all-time leading rusher with more than 3,200 yards, has 526 yards and six touchdowns on the ground this season while Clark, who ranks fifth on the G-MAC all-time rushing list with just over 2,000 yards, has 304 yards this year. The two combine for 5.9 yards per carry.
 
Defensively, linebacker Sam Weihrauch has 61 tackles for Findlay which ranks third in the G-MAC. He also leads the team with 10.5 tackles-for-loss, just ahead of teammate Grey Brancifort who has 10 TFL from his spot on the defensive line.
 
In the secondary, the duo of Jordan Grimes and Jeremiah Jackson have been ball hawks this season, collecting four and three interceptions, respectively. Grimes has recorded and INT in each of his previous two games and, with the question marks at quarterback for ODU, looks to add to that total this Saturday.

About the Opponent – Ohio Dominican Panthers (4-4, 3-3 G-MAC)

Historically one of the top college programs in the state of Ohio and a perennial contender in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, the Ohio Dominican Panthers came into the year picked fourth in the preseason coaches poll after a season in which they finished 7-3 and tied for second in the conference standings alongside Findlay and Tiffin at 6-2.
 
The 2023 campaign has been a frustrating one for ODU as they sit at 4-4 overall and 3-3 in the G-MAC, tied for fourth in the standings with Thomas More and Hillsdale. A historically stout program, the Panthers have just three losing seasons in the now 20 years of the team's existence and have lost more than four games just three times. Two of those three years came in the first two years of the program when the Panthers went 0-10 (2004) and 3-7 (2005). Since then, only a 2-8 season in 2010 is a blemish on what has been a standout run for the historically young program. With four losses on the books already in 2023, and three games against teams at T4 or higher in the standings, some of those marks may be in jeopardy.
 
All that being true, one other constant remains and that is the fact that ODU has had the upper hand in the series matchup with Findlay and will bring their best to Donnell on Saturday. The Panthers have lost just twice to the Oilers, and those losses were by a combined ten points.
 
Looking for a gamechanger on an opposing squad often starts at a skill position, many times the quarterback. For this version of the Ohio Dominican Panthers, that player is actually on the defensive side of the ball and comes in the form of defensive end Eddie Miller-Garrett. The transfer from Urbana University, after the school's closure in 2020, has been a game wrecker since coming to Columbus. Now in his fourth season, Miller-Garrett has tallied 157 tackles for the Panthers including a staggering 46 tackles-for-loss and 23 sacks. The three-time all-G-MAC performer has had at least one sack in six of his eight games this year and has two or more TFL in seven of those games and is ranked fifth among Division II actives at 1.44 TFL per game in his career. He is currently third in Division II with 17 TFL this season, just 1.5 behind the national leader Domonique Davis II at Central State.
 
Quarterback Jake Byrd is listed as the starter, but will likely split time with Drew Gallehue on Saturday. Both have struggled this season, combining for just 58% completion for 1,442 yards, 12 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. Turnovers have haunted the duo, especially Gallehue, who has thrown nine of those interceptions including four in a losing effort to Thomas More back on Sep. 16.
 
Travis Whittaker is the starting running back and this year has rushed for 441 yards on 109 carries and three touchdowns. Jonzell Norrils will likely get some touches, as well, and has 306 yards and two scores. Whittaker currently has 1,846 yards in his career which ranks sixth all-time in G-MAC history.
 
Receiver Ty Wiley is the top target, by a wide margin, as he has 36 receptions for 508 yards and three touchdowns.

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