Findlay, Ohio - When the Hillsdale Chargers come to town, the records go out the window. That was the case for the University of Findlay football team on Saturday, Sep. 28 when the Oilers welcomed their rival from the north to Donnell Stadium for Homecoming. After a flurry of scoring in the final quarter, Findlay came out on top, securing a 28-21 victory over the Chargers. With the victory, UF improves to 4-0 overall with a 2-0 record in Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) play. On the other side, Hillsdale falls to 0-4 on the year with an 0-2 mark in the league, the second consecutive season the Chargers have started a season 0-4.
While the season is still young and nothing has yet been achieved, four wins in four games is not a small feat. A 4-0 start has not happened at Findlay in 22 years and has only happened now 15 times in 121 seasons of Oilers football.
Each team threw an interception in the first quarter in what was a sloppy start to the game, but it was Findlay who would capitalize first. After the Oilers were forced to punt with 8:23 to play in the first frame, an interception by junior Reece Brancifort gave the ball back to Findlay on the Hillsdale 45-yard line. Three plays later, senior quarterback Matthew Rueve found junior Bryan Hunt deep down the right side for a 38-yard score.
Later in the quarter, another interception by the Findlay defense, this time by junior Christion Stokes, set up the Oilers in good field position. Rueve later found senior wideout Cam Childers for a score, putting the home team ahead 14-0.
There would be no scoring in the second quarter as both defenses turned up the pressure, sending the game into halftime with a two-score margin.
Coming out of the break, Hillsdale received the ball and, now on their third quarterback of the game, drove 66 yards in just three plays to make the score 14-7.
Fast forward to the fourth quarter where the teams, which had combined for three scores thus far, scored four touchdowns in the first five minutes. The scoring flurry was finished off by a touchdown from the Oilers, a 33-yard strike from Rueve to Douglas, and then a 93-yard kickoff return touchdown by Hillsdale's Shae Ruddy.
With the score now at 28-21, Findlay failed to convert on a field goal with three minutes remaining and gave the Chargers life. As they had done all game, the Oilers' defense made a big play when they needed it most, this time an interception in the end zone by freshman Jayon Harvey, UF's third interception of the game.
Findlay kneeled out the clock and came away with a hard-fought victory against a feisty opponent.
The Oilers finished the game with 433 total yards (184Â rushing | 249Â passing) while Hillsdale had 294 yards (124 rushing | 170 passing).
Rueve, who was knocked out of the game for a pair of drives midway through the game, finished 11-of-24Â for 179Â yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions. Sophomore Aidan Pratt came in as Rueve's substitute and led the Oilers on a critical touchdown drive in the beginning of the fourth quarter. Pratt finished 2-for-5 for 70 yards.
Childers was the top receiver for Findlay, finishing with five receptions for 107 yards and a touchdown. Hunt and Douglas both had receiving touchdowns to go along with 68 and 42Â yards, respectively.
On the ground, senior Jayden Farmer had 16 totes for 111 yards while senior Makya Matthews rushed nine times for 68 yards and a touchdown, his league-leading fifth touchdown of the year.
Junior captain Sam Weihrauch led the Oilers with eight tackles in the game while junior Adonai Bumba had seven stops. Stokes had six tackles, a half tackle-for-loss, and an interception while junior Londyn Claxton had six tackles including a critical sack on Hillsdale's final drive of the game.
The Oilers are back on the road as they try to improve to 5-0 when they head to Kentucky Wesleyan College on Saturday, Oct. 5. That game will kick off at 2:00 pm eastern.
