UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. -- Mike Chambers sat alone on a windowsill inside the Saginaw Valley State University Ryder Center late Saturday afternoon as he unwrapped tape from his ankles.
His white jersey was stained with dirt, his heart was broken and his mind couldn't stop replaying the catches he failed to make late in the game when the University of Findlay football team needed a big play in a pivotal Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference clash.
UF's top receiving threat missed out on three passes in the end zone from quarterback Andrew Beam in the final minute of a 24-16 loss to the 24th-ranked Cardinals, including one in which he made a grab in the back of the end zone but wasn't able to keep his feet inbounds.
Then the final play from the 25 yard line with two seconds remaining was a fourth down pass from Beam to DeJerrian Smith. The ball bounced off Smith's hands and the Oilers' dream of an NCAA Division II playoff berth went with it on a cold, wet and windy Halloween day at Wickes Memorial Stadium.
“It's rough. I left a couple of plays on the field that could have turned the game around,” Chambers said. “They were all great passes to me. I had a couple of drops for touchdowns and I could have played the pass in the back of the end zone better.”
The Oilers (7-3, 6-3 GLIAC) had come so far from a 2-9 record a year ago and entered this game with a chance to gain an inside track to the postseason for the first time in school history.
But the Oilers fell behind 24-10 in the second half and all seemed lost until they cut the deficit to 24-16 on a 1-yard pass from Chambers to Dustin Zielaskiewicz. UF went for the two-point conversion but came up short on the pass with 2:19 to go in the fourth quarter.
The Cardinals (8-2, 7-2), who appear to be well on their way to their sixth playoff appearance of the decade, were forced to punt after three plays and that gave UF one last chance.
UF started the potential game-tying drive on its own 29 with 1:11 to go.
Beam hit a 19-yard pass to Chambers on the first play, an 11-yard strike to Zielaskiewicz and an 18-yard pass to Smith.
But the Oilers could go no further than the SVSU 25.
Beam, a senior transfer from Bowling Green, fought back tears on a day when he was 21-of-42 for 217 yards. He threw a 2-yard pass to Zielaskiewicz with 17 seconds to play in the first half that gave the Oilers a 7-3 lead at halftime.
Third-year head coach Jon Wauford told his players not to hang their heads despite falling short.
“I think when you get into the final weeks of the season, you know what you are going to get from your players,” Wauford said. “I have a tough group of guys and they fought until the end. It just wasn't enough.”
A series of unfortunate events seemed to turn the tide of a game that was tied at 10 late in the third quarter.
Moments after linebacker Brandon Butler appeared to give UF the momentum by intercepting a pass near midfield, a snap went over the head of punter Brian Schmeidebusch and SVSU recovered at the UF 21 yard line.
Two plays later, the Cardinals had a 17-10 advantage as Xavier Walker ran 8 yards for a TD with 2:46 to go in the third period.
The Oilers went three-and-out on the ensuing series and the Cardinals capitalized when Charles Dowdell engineered a scoring drive with a mix of passing and running before bolting 8 yards for the end zone and a 24-10 SVSU lead with 10:55 left in the game.
Dowdell, a versatile signal- caller who is a threat with his arm and feet, finished 12-of-18 passing for 104 yards. Dowdell, a transfer from Indiana State, ran the ball 17 times for 49 yards.
“We were outcoached in the second half,” Wauford said. “They made some adjustments that worked out nicely. They were able to loosen up things for (Dowdell) on the outside and we couldn't stop him.”
In the previous two trips here, the Oilers had lost by a combined score of 86-10. But this game was different because the Oilers slowed down an SVSU offense that had scored 30 or more points six times and was particularly dangerous in the red zone with 28 TDs.
UF's defense, ranked 13th nationally in scoring defense (15.7 points per game) and fourth in the league in yards allowed (306.6 per game), held the Cardinals to 286 total yards.
The Oilers finished with 294 yards but were only 5-of-17 on third-down conversions.
Chambers, who caught 6 passes for 53 yards and has 929 yards in his two years at UF, needs 71 yards for the first 1,000-yard receiving season at UF since 1986 when Derek Hutchinson racked up 1,018 yards, the most in school history.
Linebacker Joe Knopick led the defense with 10 tackles.
“Our defense was outstanding and our offense had opportunities that we didn't taken advantage of,” Chambers said. “We fought hard today and never gave up. I just wish I could have done more to help us out.”
UF now looks to close the season with a win over rival Ashland at noon next Saturday at Donnell Stadium.
“This is probably my toughest loss as a coach,” Wauford said. “We wanted to be in the playoff hunt next week and have a chance to compete for a GLIAC championship. That won't happen for us. It is very disappointing.”
Findlay 0 7 3 6 -- 16
Saginaw Valley 3 0 14 7 -- 24
First Quarter
SV -- FG Borchard 35
Second Quarter
UF -- Zielaskiewicz 2 pass from Beam (Stevens kick)
Third Quarter
SV -- Dowdell 3 run (Borchard kick)
UF -- FG Stevens 40
SV -- Walker 8 run (Borchard kick)
Fourth Quarter
SV -- Dowdell 10 run (Borchard kick)
UF -- Zielaskiewicz1 pass from Chambers (pass failed)
UF SVSU
First Downs 18 19
Rushes-yards 35-76 43-182
Passing Yards 218 104
Comp-Att-Int 22-43-0 12-18-1
Punts-Avg. 5-42.8 5-34.2
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-0
Penalties-Yards 5-57 6-69
individual statistics
rushing -- Findlay, M. Williams 23-77, Jackson 6-36, Beam 4-(minus 2), Chambers 1-(-2), Team 1-(-33). Saginaw Valley, Walker 16-83, Dowdell 17-49, Hayes 6-26, Gallina 2-22, Crandall 1-3, Team 1-(-1).
receiving -- Findlay, Chambers 6-53, Zielaskiewicz 6-47, D. Smith 4-53, Mora 4-49, Winner 1-15, M. Williams 1-1. Saginaw Valley, Stone 4-19, Walker 3-28, Cecich 2-27, Gallina 2-24, Beaver 1-6.
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