The Game
A dominating victory at Kentucky Wesleyan last week has the Oilers up three spots in the American Football Coaches' Association (AFCA) ranking, now at #20. This Saturday, Findlay will take on arguably its' toughest test yet as the Ashland University Eagles come to town in a clash between the only two conference unbeatens. The Eagles and Oilers will kick off at noon on Saturday, Oct. 12.

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Tickets
Tickets for Findlay vs Ashland

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Video streaming of the contest will be produced by UFTV and streamed on the Great Midwest Digital Network and is free of charge.
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LIVE STATS

#20 Findlay Oilers (5-0, 3-0 G-MAC)
2024 Findlay Football Coaching Staff

At 5-0 for the first time since 2002 and ranked #20 in the country, there's no question this year has started as well or better than any in the NCAA era of the Findlay football program. The Oilers have won with a high-scoring offense backed by a stingy defense, outscoring its' opponents 198-to-87 thus far.

Leading the way has been quarterback Matthew Rueve who has proven to be one of the best signal callers in the G-MAC, if not Super Region 1. Coming off of a game in which he set a program record with six touchdown passes, Rueve is a two-time G-MAC Offensive Player of the Week and ranks second in the country with 18 touchdown passes while throwing for more than 1,300 yards. Perhaps most impressively, he has achieved those numbers by spreading the ball around to a myriad of weapons as five different receivers have at least 100 receiving yards and two scores to their credit.

Cam Childers leads the Oilers with 356 receiving yards while Redd Douglas and Bryan Hunt each have more than 200 yards. However, last week against KWC, Delon Hurt, who has battled early-season injury, came into his own as he snagged seven receptions for 128 yards and three touchdowns. Those three receiving TDs tied a program record, making him just the seventh player at UF to hit the trifecta.

Jayden Farmer and Makya Matthews have been solid on the ground, averaging more than five yards per carry as a duo. Matthews leads the league with five rushing touchdowns and has 380 yards while Farmer has rushed for 208 yards and has two scores.

On defense, Christion Stokes has been the leader, making plays all over the field for a squad that leads the G-MAC in passing defense at just 134 yards per game through the air. Stokes has 40 tackles, fourth in the conference, and has secured three interceptions and leads the league with seven passes defended. Teammate Jayon Harvey is second with six passes defended while Sam Weihrauch and Romaro Warren Jr. had 32 and 24 tackles, respectively.

 
About the Opponent – Ashland Eagles (3-2, 3-0 G-MAC)

A proud football program, the Ashland University Eagles are once again contenders in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) title race, starting the league slate at a perfect 3-0. Under second year head coach Doug Geiser, AU started this season in exactly the same way as they did in 2023, two losses. However, last year's squad would go 9-1 over its' final ten games including earning a 23-20 win in the Crossroads of America Bowl over McKendree. All told, this version of the Eagles is certainly not one to take lightly and will provide a stiff challenge for the Oilers.

The Eagles, which have not had a losing season since 2006, began the year with a loss to Indiana (PA), which at the time was receiving votes and has since climbed to #25 in the nationl poll. Week 2 saw AU go on the road and suffer a thrashing, a 43-3 loss to then #7, now #4, Ferris State. Having played those two opponents early on, along with last year's G-MAC Champion, Tiffin University, the Eagles will not be phased by another nationally-ranked team in #20 Findlay.

Leading the Eagles offense for a second consecutive year will be senior Trevor Bycznski who, last season, threw for 2,572 yards and 26 touchdowns in 11 games played. This season, his accuracy suffered, completing 70-of-128 for a completion percentage of 54.7. He has 896 yards and five passing touchdowns. Of his 896 yards, 31% came in the opener against IUP when the University of Buffalo transfer tossed for 279 yards, which came as a result of the team rushing for -1 yards in the game.

Through the air, the threats of junior Dru Johnson, senior Tony Pannunzio, sophomore Jamari Croom will be on display this Saturday. Johnson leads the team with 213 yards on 12 receptions this season while Pannunzio has 164 yards and Croom has 162. While Croom has been the third option so far this season, he may be the biggest big-play threat as he has the most receiving yards in a game by the Eagles this season, 125 on three receptions and two touchdowns against Tiffin, and also has the longest receiving play for AU this year, a 65 yard catch and run against TU. Who Ashland will not be able to run out on the field is former wideout Dezmin Lyburtus who, fans will remember, had 11 receptions for 220 yards and two scores in last year's quadruple overtime thriller that AU went on to win 37-34.

On the ground, sophomores Olando Kamara and Ty'aris Stevenson split the team's carries, toting the rock 66 and 67 times, respectively. Kamara has 237 yards while Stevenson has picked up 221. Each has one touchdown for a rushing attack that, to-date, has not provided much productivity, averaging just 2.7 yards per carry. In fact, the two rushing touchdowns by these two lead backs are the only two scores on the ground this season for an offense that has not ran for a score since Week 3 against Hillsdale. However, with a head coach that has history with the offensive line, AU will certainly not abandon the rushing attack, especially when it can run behind a pair of all-conference performers in center Ethan Enders and left tackle Nick Walker.

The Ashland defense, which ranks fifth in the G-MAC in points allowed per game (20.2) and fifth in yards per game allowed (312.8) will have its' hands full with the Oilers, the league's top offense in terms of both scoring and yardage. A trio of all-conference performers from last year will be on the field for the defensive unit as cornerback Devin Prude, defensive end Michael Shimek, and safety Riely Weiss will be leaned on for their experience. Linebacker Ben Holzopfel is the team's leading tackler with 35 this season and also leads the team with a pair of interceptions.

Quotes from Coach Allen
 

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