The Game
The Oilers have climbed into the American Football Coaches' Association (AFCA) Top-25 for the first time since 2018, debuting at #23 in the poll. At 4-0 this season, the first four-game streak to start a season at UF since 2002, Findlay has made a statement thus far but understands that there is still plenty of football to be played. On Saturday, Oct. 5, the Oilers hit the road for a G-MAC contest at Kentucky Wesleyan. The game will kick off at 1:00 pm (CT) / 2:00 pm (EST).

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Tickets
Tickets for Findlay at KWC

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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

#23 Findlay Oilers (4-0, 2-0 G-MAC)
2024 Findlay Football Coaching Staff

A perfect 4-0 start to the season is nice, but the Findlay Oilers need to keep stacking those wins if a G-MAC Championship and an NCAA Postseason berth are to be had. That continues on Saturday with a long trip to Owensboro, Kentucky against a team that put up a fight last season, losing by just six points in Donnell Stadium.

Findlay boasts the top offense in the G-MAC at 37.3 points per game and 395.8 yards per game. The Oilers also posses one of the top defenses in the conference, allowing just 19.5 points per game and intercepting a league-leading six passes.

Quarterback Matt Rueve has been stellar through four weeks and leads the conference with 1,014 passing yards and 12 touchdowns while completing 64.3% of his passes. He is the fastest UF quarterback to 1,000 yards in a season since 2016 (Rhys Gervais). His favorite target is senior Cam Childers who ranks third in the G-MAC with 356 receiving yards on 20 receptions. Childers also has three touchdown receptions to his credit. However, it is Rueve's ability to spread the ball around that arguably makes him the most dangerous as he has touchdown passes to eight different receivers so far this year.

On the ground, a steady dose of Makya Matthews and Jayden Farmer is the recipe. Matthews leads the team with 59 carries, 254 yards, and five touchdowns while Farmer has 39 carries for 212 yards, two scores, and a league-leading 5.3 yards per carry.

Defensively, junior Christion Stokes has been all over the field, making 37 tackles including three tackles-for-loss. He also has a league-best three interceptions and seven passes defended. At second on the list of pass defenders is freshman Jayon Harvey who has six PBU's to his credit to go along with 19 tackles and one interception, a game-saving INT in the endzone last week against Hillsdale.

Sam Weihrauch has 27 tackles while Romaro Warren Jr. has 22. That duo has combined for 5.5 TFL. Londyn Claxton is the team's best pass disrupter, collecting a team-high three sacks through four weeks of the season.

 
About the Opponent – Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers (1-3, 0-2 G-MAC)

A 4-7 record last season in Head Coach Tyron Young's second season gave the Panthers hope that the program was on the up swing. In fact, when the Oilers and Panthers met last season, KWC had a 3-1 record with it's only loss coming against a top-ten team from the University of West Florida. This season is the opposite as the Purple and White come into Week 5 with a 1-3 mark, losing three conseuctive games including a 54-10 thrashing against Walsh University on Sep. 21. With a last winning season coming back in 2014, a 7-4 campaign, it would be easy to overlook the Panthers. However, the Oilers know better as the last time these teams met, Findlay came away with a narrow 27-21 victory at home, the closest score in the series between these two programs.

The quarterback duo of Joey Cambron and Aden Hooper will control the offense for KWC. After being the secondary option for the first three weeks, Hooper started last week against Ohio Dominican and has completed 26-of-44 passes for 284 yards this season. The top target has been wideout Kam Sherrard who has 19 catches for 319 yards and two touchdowns including a season-high nine receptions for 156 yards against William Jeweel in Week 2.

On the ground, Brandon Mackey is the leading rusher, carrying a heavy load of 45 totes for 175 yards and one touchdown. Trying to protect Hooper and Mackey, the Panthers' offensive line has been suspect at times, allowing 2.5 sacks per game and almost nine tackles-for-loss per game, a number that ranks ninth in the conference.

The defense has struggled to get pressure on opposing QBs, collecting just one sack through four games thus far, a stat that may yield problems against the league's top passer. Leading that Panthers defense is Jhor'dan Inniss who has 19 tackles this season. Kelton Farmer has 18 tackles and a TFL while Bishop Byrd has 16 stops and a team-high three TFL.

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