Oilers blank Cavaliers 35-0 in home opener

For the first time in almost a year-and-a-half, the University of Findlay football team was able to play not only at home but in front of their hometown faithful. In front of a much smaller crowd than the Oilers are used to, they didn't disappoint, beating down Walsh 35-0 in a complete-game effort. A couple of stalled-out drives by both teams in the first quarter lead to a slow start in the home opener. But things quickly got going when Walsh's quarterback Jeremy Hodge threw an interception to UF's Colin Robertson deep in Cavalier territory. After a block in the back penalty by Oiler WR Austin Watt and an incompletion from Matt Winzeler to Garret Clark, it looked like UF would stall out yet again. But on third-and-20, Winzeler dropped back and ran toward Walsh's sideline and on his back-foot, found Marlin Richardson for a 35-yard touchdown to make it 7-0 Oilers with 4:15 left in the first. "Honestly, it starts upfront with the line," Oiler wide receiver Marlin Richardson said. "Obviously, Matt was making great throws and I was in a position to catch them." On the opening play of the second quarter, Walsh lined up to punt the ball after a quick three-and-out. UF's Shean Rheams blocked the punt and returned it for an Oiler touchdown, breaking things open quickly at 14-0 with 14:54 left in the first half. While a blocked punt return for a touchdown is rare at all levels of football, it was expected for UF in this game. "The expectations were that we were going to block a punt for a touchdown — we kept talking about it," Oiler head coach Rob Keys said. "Just to see that happen, it kind of allows the players to have confidence in what they're doing as the game goes on." On the ensuing drive, the Oilers yet again forced Walsh into a three-and-out. A 13-play, 5:48 drive was capped off by Winzeler (143 pass yards, 2 TDs) finding Mike Rigerman in the end zone for a 10-yard TD, making it 21-0 Oilers with 7:44 left in the first half. Out of the halftime gates, UF pulled some tricks out of its bag. Winzeler got the snap from the center and then threw it across the field to Oiler backup QB, Jay Vanderjagt, who then heaved it to Marlin Richardson (5 catches, 129 yards, 2 TDs) who raced down the sideline for a 75-yard touchdown to make it 28-0 Oilers. "My first thing was I wanted to be sure I secured it. I saw it on the sideline — I had to secure it," Richardson said. "Once I tight roped the sideline, I turned upfield and nobody was there. I made one move, made one man miss, and found the endzone. We practiced that play all week, I was waiting on it—good call by the coach." Virtually everything was going in the Oilers' favor, but a botched Winzeler hand-off to Derek Lynch was recovered by the Cavaliers and had them set up near mid-field with 10:59 left in the third quarter. After Walsh's Hodge scampered for eight yards, the Oilers had an injured player on the field. Words were said and pushes exchanged, which led to an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against the Oilers that put their backs against the wall. But the Oilers stopped Walsh on five plays in a row inside their 6-yard line. It was a huge moment for the defense. "They're gonna take that and use that throughout the season hopefully from a confidence perspective," Keys said. "They were backed up roughly the six-inch line and they came up with a stop and credit goes to the players and the staff." Splash plays at this point in the game had already been made by both the special teams and the offense—not quite yet with the defense. Enter UF's All-American DB Chris Jefferson. After a failed fourth-down conversion by the Oilers, Walsh was set up nicely deep in UF territory and was just looking for something positive in their overall lackluster night (106 yards of total offense) On fourth-and-3 from the Oiler 7-yard line with 9:44 left in the game, Jefferson (5 tackles, 1 pass breakup, 1 INT) caught a tipped pass and ran 92 yards for the Oiler pick-six, making it 35-0. Just the play before, Jefferson nearly had a potential pick-six as well but dropped it. No chance he was going to let this opportunity slip through his hand twice in one game. "Man, it's crazy and I had dropped one last week too. I wasn't going to be able to sleep tonight if I didn't get one," Jefferson said. "Our coaches put us in great positions, honestly. Everybody's doing their part—if I do mine, I normally can make a play." It goes without saying but playing their first home game in 17 months meant a lot to UF, winning just added to that. "To see the fans back at home, to see the parents and people—it's not just the players that invest so much time into this game, but it's their family, friends, and parents too," Keys said. "I know they couldn't be more excited to watch their sons and friends get a chance to watch them play and win."