The Game
Another season of Findlay football has arrived and, like every other team in the country might say, this one is full of promise. The Oilers have been selected as the G-MAC favorite and are receiving votes in the national poll, but talk to those around the program and they'll tell you that doesn't matter. Preseason polls don't come with trophies. Kicking off the season with a premier matchup, the Oilers head to Kirksville, Mo. for a game against Truman State. The two historically prominent programs will kickoff at noon central time in Stokes Stadium.

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Tickets
Tickets for Findlay at Truman State

Follow the Action
Video streaming of the contest will be produced by Truman State and streamed on the GLVC Sports Network and is made available via pay-per-view.
LIVE STREAM LINK
LIVE STATS
RADIO (TRUMAN ST.)

Findlay Oilers (0-0, 0-0 G-MAC)
2024 Findlay Football Coaching Staff
Year-in and year-out, the Oilers find themselves competing for a conference title in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC), and that is no different in the coming 2024 season. Having never finished worse than third in the standings, Findlay is once again primed for a run at the title and have been chosen as the preseason favorites in the ten-team league. However, none of that matters prior to a single ball being snapped and so, despite goals and aspirations of a G-MAC championship and playoff run, the Orange and Black know that memorable seasons are built one game at a time. That starts in Week 1 on the road against a quality Truman State squad.
 
Findlay will take the field under Kory Allen, a member of the Oilers coaching staff for almost 20 years, is now in his third year as the head coach. Allen, along with his staff, have worked to put together another talented roster, including a cast of players from the transfer portal that were recruited with specific intent of filling various needs on the field.
 
That starts at quarterback where the Oilers will start senior Matthew Rueve, a transfer from Boston College. Although he did not see the field at BC, Rueve, at 6-4 and 215-pounds, was a prize recruit coming out of high school. Following his senior year at St. Xavier in Cincinnati, Ohio, Rueve was a three-star QB and was rated as the top pro-style passer in the state. Coach Allen hopes that his pedigree, along with four years of work at the power-five level, have Rueve prepared for success as he commands the Findlay offense for the first time.
 
The receiving room is an embarrassment of riches, of sorts, as the Oilers trot out a handful of players that will make life difficult for opposing defenses. Senior Cam Childers returns for another season after a year in which he made 38 catches for 531 yards and four touchdowns in just seven games. Junior Bryan Hunt, who has more than 600 yards and seven touchdowns to his credit thus far, is also returning to the lineup. Two new faces join the squad in Redd Douglas (Shippensburg) and Delon Hurt (UCLA). Douglas has put up nearly 2,000 receiving yards in his career while Hurt, also a three-star player out of high school, comes after playing in 25 games at UCLA.
 
A duo of seniors Jayden Farmer and Makya Matthews will take over the backfield with Farmer listed as the starter. Two years ago, Farmer had 82 carries for 398 yards and five touchdowns while Matthews rushed 47 times for 254 yards and three scores last season. They will be running behind an experienced offensive line that, despite losing Michael Jerrel to the NFL Draft, returns some stalwarts up front. Te'Jamere Nash was a first team all-G-MAC performer last season at left tackle while graduate senior Yoesph Carter, at right guard, was named a preseason all-American this year by D2football.com.
 
On defense, junior linebacker Sam Weihrauch returns after leading the team with 76 tackles last season. Senior safety Johnny Harris is also back after making 67 stops last season.
 
Junior Romaro Warren Jr., who made 63 tackles including seven tackles-for-loss last year, has bulked up and is has moved from linebacker to defensive end.  He is joined by transfers Desmond Brown (Notre Dame College) and James Gladden (Ottawa U.) on the defensive line.
 
About the Opponent – Truman State Bulldogs (0-0, 0-0 GLVC)
Following a 9-2 campaign and runner-up finish in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) last season, the Truman State Bulldogs from Kirksville, Mo. are hoping to get over the hump in the 2024 season. The team has gone 40-10 (.800) in the past five seasons combined, but despite all that success, there are no conference titles or NCAA appearances on the resume in that span. However, TSU has been a participant in the America's Crossroads Bowl three times, winning all three of those postseason games.

Last year, the Oilers and Bulldogs opened the season in Findlay, a game that ended in a 20-10 victory for Truman State. The game was tied 10-10 at the halfway point, but a 66-yard touchdown early in the third quarter for TSU was the go-ahead score as the Bulldogs' defense clamped down, holding the Oilers scoreless the rest of the way.

Both teams will look very different in 2024, especially offensively, as each squad had to replace their top passer, rusher, and receiver from a year ago. For the Bulldogs, that means finding a replacement for three-year starting quarterback, Nolan Hair, three-year starting receiver Tate Crane, leading rusher Mason Huskey, who rushed for eight scores and had nearly 800 yards on the ground last year.

That being the case, the hard-nosed Bulldogs will lean on a stingy defense, the side of the ball that returns eight starters and held teams to a GLVC-low 275 yards per game last year.

Linebacker Ulysses Ross IV is the top returning tackler from a season ago as he returns after making 68 stops last season including 7.5 tackles for loss and two sacks. The St. Louis, Missouri native is a three-time all-GLVC performer, including first team last year, and has made 190 tackles in his career including 32.5 tackles for loss. His 190 tackles rank 8th among active D2 players while his 32.5 TFL are second.

Defensive backs Peyton Carr and Brock Jones are the two leaders in the secondary and return after making 52 and 48 tackles last season, respectively. Carr had one interception last season and it came in the season-opener against Findlay. Joining that duo on the back end is junior Jake Closser who tied for the team lead in 2023 with two interceptions on the year.

On offense, junior Denim Cook is listed as the starting running back and returns after playing in seven games in 2023. He rushed 56 times for 271 yards and had one touchdown, but was the second-leading rusher in 2022 with 375 yards and six scores.
The Bulldogs will be quarterbacked by Dylan Hair, little brother of former starter Nolan Hair. Dylan played in just six games last season behind his brother, but has some serious high school pedigree. At Blair Oaks HS, D. Hair led the Falcons to a pair of Missouri state championships and was a four-time all-state selection. Following his senior year, D. Hair ended his career as the first quarterback in Missouri high school history to throw for 10,000 yards (10,799) and rush for over 5,000 yards (6,009). He finished with 112 rushing touchdowns and 147 passing touchdowns, both Blair Oaks records.

His favorite target is yet to be determined as Noah Copeland returns as the only player with more than 100 receiving yards from a season ago (157 yds).

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