'There's a ton of fight in our defense'

The University of Findlay's defense has been making big plays and getting stops all season. It's one of the biggest reasons the Oilers are ranked 19th in the latest Division II poll. Against Hillsdale Saturday at Donnell Stadium, UF's defense triumphed again, allowing just one offensive touchdown, recording a safety, and getting a big stop late in the Oilers 16-14 win. Late in the first quarter, with the game tied at 7, Findlay quarterback Andrew Leonard quick kicked, and the ball was downed at the Hillsdale 3. The Findlay defense was thinking one thing. "Our mindset running out on the field was, 'Let's get two points, here,'" said senior Oilers defensive back Johnny Harris. Hillsdale's offense was called for a false start, which moved the ball back inside the 2. On the next play, Chargers' tailback Ben Ngishu got the ball and was promptly dumped in the end zone by Izzy Ogunmoyero. The Oilers went up 9-7, taking the free kick on the first play of the second quarter. With the ball on its own 37, UF's Jayden Farmer took off for 20 yards to the Hillsdale 43. On the next play, Leonard passed the ball horizontally to receiver Mitch Nielsen, who then looked downfield. He threw the ball to Aidan Guilbeau, who hauled it in and was taken out of bounds at the Hillsdale 6. "We put that in at the beginning of the year," Leonard said of the double pass. "We always get excited when that comes out in a game. The whole sideline knows it's coming. It gets pretty hyped." Three plays later, Leonard and the Oilers were facing a fourth and goal at the 3. Leonard took the snap, faked a handoff, stepped back to evade the rush, then fired to an open Khilee White for a touchdown. UF went up 16-7. Hillsdale had an opportunity to cut into that lead on its ensuing possession. The Chargers offense got the ball at its 35, and – with the help of some Findlay penalties – marched deep into Oiler territory. Kyle Riffel's 9-yard run pushed the Chargers to the 6, where they had a first and goal. But Hillsdale's Zach Tetler lost four yards the next play, and quarterback Colin McKernan threw back-to-back incompletions to force a field goal attempt. But kicker Jordan Westrich's 27-yard try missed. "Our mentality when we get in that situation is always bend, never break," Harris said. "It just worked out in our favor." The game remained 16-7 into the fourth quarter. After a Hillsdale punt with about 12 minutes left in regulation, Findlay got the ball at its 10. On the first play of the drive, Leonard attempted a pass, but was hit by Ashland's Drake Badger. The ball came out of Leonard's hand and went back into the end zone, where the Chargers' Colin Morrow recovered it for a touchdown. UF's lead was cut to 16-14. "They're a good team, their defense is really good," said Leonard, who was sacked six times by the Hillsdale defense "They're physical, they fly around. They threw a lot at us that we weren't really expecting." UF answered with a drive that ate up 4 ½ minutes of clock. But with the ball at the Hillsdale 23 and facing a fourth and two, Leonard was tackled in the backfield, giving the ball back to the Chargers. This time, the Chargers offense was able to move the ball. McKernan found a wide open Tutt Carrico over the middle, who took the ball down to the Findlay 11 before Harris brought him down. On first down, Ngishu – who had scored Hilldale's only offensive touchdown with a 58-yard burst in the first quarter – carried the ball to the UF 3. On second and two, Ngishu got the ball again, but was stopped for a one-yard loss. Facing third and three, McKernan's pass to the end zone was broken up by Findlay's Christion Stokes. "Linebackers, safeties, 11 men playing on the same page," said UF defensive tackle Londyn Claxton. We've just got to continue to do the same thing and get stops when we need them." Hillsdale brought on Westrich for a 22-yard field goal attempt. The kick missed. "Even if they kicked a field goal there and made it that's a win for the defense," Allen said. "To hold them out of the end zone," Allen said. "We put a lot of pressure on them with that field goal block (attempt). We didn't get home, but we were close, and it's hard not to see that flying by you." The Findlay offense regained the ball at its 20 with 3:42 remaining. The game was far from over. Hillsdale had all three of its timeouts, and the Oilers offense had stalled in the second half. But Leonard was up to the task. First, on a second-and-7, he threw a short pass to Donovan O'Leary that went for 10 yards and got the Oilers a first down. On a second-and 12, Leonard found Brennan Remy deep down the right side for 24 yards. Then, needing one more first down to ice it and facing a third-and-9, Leonard connected with Denny Furlong for 11 yards. Furlong – the reigning Great Midwest Athletic Conference Player of the Week – finished the game with seven receptions for 107 yards. Leonard and Furlong have been quite the duo for the Oilers in recent games. "It's just the reps we have in practice," Leonard said. "We get our timing down, we get extra reps after practice. It helps when he's always open. He's a good player. It's easy for me to just get him the ball. He does a lot of good work." Leonard did some good work too. He completed 15 of 20 passes for 197 yards. He also made some plays with his legs, including a 30-yard dash in the second half. Leonard also scored a touchdown on UF's first possession of the game, running the ball in from two yards. "He rallied and bailed us out and that was outstanding to see," Allen said. Jayden Farmer was Findlay's leading rusher, carrying the ball 16 times for 86 yards. "It wasn't easy today," Allen said. "(Hillsdale was) throwing the kitchen sink at us, as it were. Our guys just continued to fight. There's certainly a lot that we need to work on and get better at as we go into next week." For Hillsdale (2-4, 1-3 G-MAC), Ngishu finished with 12 carries for 84 yards. Carrico caught four passes for 87 yards, and McKernan completed 12 of 19 passes for 141 yards. But Findlay's defense made it work for everything. "There's a ton of fight in our defense," Allen said. "I give a lot of credit to our defensive staff and the plan they put together, and those guys defending every blade of grass." Findlay (6-0, 4-0 G-MAC) will host Kentucky Wesleyan at noon next Saturday. What will Findlay need to do to keep the winning going? "Just keep fighting till the end, and stick together," Harris said. "You never know what could happen."