Kirksville, Mo. – The University of Findlay football team opened the 2024 campaign with an impressive out-of-conference victory on Saturday, Sep. 7 in Kirksville, Missouri. The Oilers went on the road and came away with a 37-21 win over the Truman State Bulldogs of the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC). It is the first time since the spring of 2021 that UF, which was receiving votes in the DII Preseason National Poll, has won its' season-opener. That victory gives the Oilers a 1-0 record to start the year while Truman State, which has won at least nine games in each of its' last four full seasons, begins the year 0-1.

The Oilers won the coin toss and elected to receive, starting the season on offense where a handful of fresh faces are expected to make a major impact this season. Findlay's first play of the year was a big one, 28 yards on a pass completion from first-year starter Matthew Rueve to senior Cam Childers.

Six plays later, Findlay was in the red zone. A give to senior Jayden Farmer from the 15 ended with a touchdown, putting the Orange and Black in front.

A quick three-and-out was forced by the UF defense. That drive ended on third-and-two with a big stop by junior Adonai Bumba and junior Romaro Warren Jr.

Getting the ball back at their own 19, Findlay embarked on a 14-play, 81-yard drive, picking up a trio of third downs along the way. The final third down came from the Bulldogs' three yard line and resulted in a touchdown pass from Rueve to senior Tristan Cross. It was Rueve's first touchdown pass of his Oilers career and also Cross' first touchdown reception. It was 14-0 Findlay with 2:50 to play in the first.

Truman's next drive reached the Oilers' 14, but on field goal attempt, sophomore Joel Kpassou got a hand on the ball. The blocked kick was recovered on the 36 by junior Christion Stokes.

Quickly, another score came on another touchdown pass of three yards to Cross.

Less than three minutes into the second frame, UF held a 21-0 lead and had taken the air out of the Truman State faithful.

Both teams traded possessions on their next offensive touches, including a missed field goal off the uprights by Findlay.

Truman State finally got on the board with 18 seconds to play in the first half, scoring a touchdown to make the score 21-7 going into the break.

The Bulldogs received the ball to start the second half and would reach the Oilers 23-yard line. But, on a second-and-five, Kpassou forced a fumble, recovered it, and scampered 79 yards for a touchdown, putting UF ahead 28-7.

Fast forward to the fourth quarter where UF held a 31-21 lead with just under three minutes remaining. Truman State, needing a quick score, committed an offensive face mask penalty, backing the Bulldogs up to their own 20-yard line. Findlay's secondary stepped up and forced four consecutive incompletions to get the ball back.

A 19-yard touchdown run two plays later came from freshman Amari Felder and put UF ahead 37-21, putting an emphatic stamp on an impressive season-opening win.

Both teams were fairly even offensively with UF gaining 401 total yards while TSU had 394. Where Findlay gained an advantage was in the turnover battle, picking up a fumble and also snagging an interception, a pick in the third quarter by Adonai Bumba.

In his Findlay debut, quarterback Matthew Rueve completed 21-of-35 passes for 318 yards and two touchdowns. His favorite target was Cam Childers who had seven receptions for 150 yards. Senior Redd Douglas, also in his Oilers' debut after transferring in from Shippensburg, had four catches for 70 yards.

Jayden Farmer finished with 18 carries for 82 yards and a score while Felder had two carries for 22 yards and a touchdown.

Defensively, Christion Stokes, playing his first game at UF, made 13 tackles and had two pass breakups. Sophomore Gavin DeGroat had eight stops while junior Sam Weihrauch had seven including one tackle for loss.

Findlay stays on the road in Week 2 as they head to Detroit, Michigan for a matchup against Wayne State on Saturday, Sep. 14. That game will kick off at 1:00 pm.