Findlay, Ohio – The University of Findlay football team took on the Thomas More University Saints on Saturday, Sep. 27 in Donnell Stadium, playing the first night game at UF in four years. Ranked no. 25 in the country, the Oilers dominated from the jump, going on to win the game 37-7. With that victory, Findlay improves to a perfect 4-0 (2-0 Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC)) for the second consecutive season and third time since joining the NCAA. Thomas More falls to 0-4 overall and 0-2 in the league.
Findlay jumped on top in the first quarter, scoring a touchdown on its' first possession. A 12-yard touchdown pass from freshman Andrew Leonard found senior Delon Hurt, capping a nine-play, 55-yard drive.
After a trio of field goals by freshman Zachary Barzd, Hurt again found the end zone, this time on an 11-yard touchdown reception with 1:08 to play in the half. That score put UF in front 23-16.
Taking to the ground for much of the remainder of the game, the Oilers got the first touchdown of the second half on a five-yard rush by senior Jayden Farmer, wrapping up a short six-play drive. Just three minutes later, Leonard found junior Denny Furlong up the right sideline for a 55-yard touchdown.
Holding a 37-7 lead going into the fourth quarter, the Oilers slowed things down, running out the clock on the Saints to secure a 30-point victory.
Findlay finished with 391 yards of total offense, 207 on the ground and 184 through the air, and held the Saints, which ranked last in the country in scoring entering the game, to just 177 yards of offense. The two teams combined for 23 penalties.
Leonard finished the day 13-of-22 for 176 yards and three touchdowns, rushing eight times for 46 yards, as well. His most frequent target was Hurt who made eight receptions for 55 yards and two scores. Furlong finished the day with 104 yards on four catches including the one score in the third quarter.
On the ground, junior Dominic Bennett carried the rock 13 times for 60 yards. Freshman Adam Nunes made a positive impression in his time on the field, carrying the ball five times for 42 yards, an average of 8.4 yards per carry.
Senior Sam Weihrauch led the defense with six tackles including a tackle-for-loss and a pass breakup while senior Christion Stokes, sophomore Kevin Henderson, freshman Sam Farmer, and junior Braden Watson each had four tackles. Henderson had 1.5 tackles-for-loss and three pass breakups.
The Oilers will be back in action on Saturday, Oct. 4 with a trip to Walsh to take on the Cavaliers. That game kicks off at 1:00 pm.
