College Football: Oilers battle past Michigan Tech - Sunday, October 11, 2009 | Courier Electronic Edition

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Sunday, October 11, 2009

College Football: Oilers battle past Michigan Tech

By BRIAN LESTER

STAFF WRITER

HOUGHTON, Mich. -- With the wind gusting and the snow falling, the University of Findlay football team made one thing clear Saturday afternoon at Sherman Field.

The Oilers are a true contender for a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship after battling the elements and the upset-minded Michigan Tech Huskies to earn a 14-5 victory.

This game was not a masterpiece, but then, the Oilers (6-1, 5-1 GLIAC) didn't need to be perfect to nail down a road win and move into a three-way tie for first place in the conference.

Top-ranked Grand Valley State (6-1, 5-1) was stunned 27-24 by Hillsdale and Northern Michigan (5-1, 5-1 GLIAC) beat down 19th-ranked Wayne State 45-20 to set up the tie atop the standings.

UF, poised to crack the Top 25 and improve its chances of making the postseason, plays Grand Valley on Saturday in a pivotal 7 p.m. showdown at Lubbers Stadium in Allendale, Mich.

For now, the Oilers are going to celebrate their latest accomplishment.

UF, 2-9 a year ago and picked to finish ninth in the league this year, is assured of its first winning season since 2004 when it finished 6-5.

�We've been trying for the last couple of years to be in a position where we could play for more than pride and school spirit in the final weeks of the season,� third-year head coach Jon Wauford said.

�We guaranteed ourselves a winning season, and that is big, but we aren't satisfied. We have a lot more we want to accomplish.�

The Oilers managed only 262 yards against the Huskies (1-5, 1-5) and were just 5-of-16 on third-down conversions.

But despite the lack of offensive execution, particularly in the third quarter when UF had the ball for only 1:49, the Oilers rose to the occasion when it mattered.

With UF clinging to a 7-5 advantage in the fourth quarter, senior running back Melvin Jackson fueled an eight-play scoring drive with two runs that covered 20-plus yards. His biggest sprint of 24 yards went to the one-yard line.

Moments later, senior quarterback Andrew Beam scored on third-and-goal for his second rushing TD of the game.

Jackson has been the backup since returning from a two-game suspension, but his experience proved key (13 carries, 73 yards) in a game played in less than ideal conditions.

�It was a senior running back type of day,� Wauford said.

Beam came into this game having thrown for more than 200 yards four times, but on this day he didn't need flashy numbers.

Beam ran for 71 yards on nine carries, with 23 of those yards coming on a TD run with 18 seconds left in the first quarter that put the Oilers in front 7-3. He picked up 18 yards on a draw play during the final scoring drive.

Through the air, Beam was just 6-of-15 for 71 yards.

One of the biggest plays he made came early in the third quarter with UF on its 4-yard line. The ball slipped through his hands on a snap and rolled into the end zone. Beam kicked the ball out of bounds. The play resulted in a safety.

�Andrew didn't panic in that situation,� Wauford said. �I actually thought it was a good play on his part to get the ball out of bounds and just give them a safety instead of a touchdown.�

But without the bend-but-don't break UF defense, MTU likely would have prevailed. The Oilers gave up 263 yards and came up with several big stops.

There was a stop inside the 10 in the first quarter that forced MTU to settle for a 23-yard field goal by Tyler Cattelino.

There was a fumble UF forced in the final minute of the first half, stalling an MTU drive just into UF territory.

And then there was the third quarter when UF's defense couldn't get off the field as the Huskies controlled the clock.

In the end, though, UF kept an opponent out of the end zone for the second time in three games.

�We knew coming in that we probably weren't going to score a lot of points, and so we leaned on our defense to get us through it,� Wauford said.

Senior linebacker Joe Knopick led the charge with 13 tackles. Freshman linebacker Brandon Butler tallied eight tackles and senior linebacker John Williams made seven tackles, including three for a loss.

MTU quarterback Brent Heim was 8-of-16 for 53 yards while running back Marvin Atkins ran for 75 yards on 26 carries.

But UF took another big step forward, winning for only the 15th time in 46 GLIAC road games since 2000.

�We have a sign in our locker room that says to prove we can win on the road,� Wauford said. �The only way to do that is to get on the bus and go win games.�

Findlay 7 0 0 7 -- 14

Michigan Tech 3 0 2 0 -- 5

First Quarter

MT -- FG Cattelino 23

UF -- Beam 23 run (Stevens kick)

Third Quarter

MT -- Safety

Fourth Quarter

UF -- Beam 1 run (Stevens kick)

UF MT

First Downs 15 13

Rushes-yards 45-191 47-210

Passing Yards 71 53

Comp-Att-Int 6-16-0 8-16-0

Punts-Avg. 5-41.8 6-37.2

Fumbles-Lost 3-0 4-1

Penalties-Yards 1-5 1-5

individual statistics

rushing -- Findlay, Jackson 13-73, Beam 9-71, M. Williams 17-57, Zielaskiewicz 1-6, Chambers 1-0. Michigan Tech, Atkins 26-75, Milbrath 6-67, Helm 8-44, Slowik 2-15, M. Macpherson 2-11, Schmalz 2-4, Team 1-(-6).

passing -- Findlay, Beam 6-15-0, 71 yards; Team 0-1-0, 0. Michigan Tech, Helm 8-16-0, 53.

receiving -- Findlay, Zielaskiewicz 2-35, Mora 2-11, Jackson 1-13, Chambers 1-12. Michigan Tech, Slowik 3-24, LaChappelle 2-17, Atkins 2-3, Carroll 1-9.

Lester: 419-422-5151,

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1 Comment

Bob Downing wrote:

Michgan Tech vs Oilers

The Oilers 1st exposure to the extreme playing conditions this year, plus a long long bus ride, it appears the oilers are developing true charactor as a TEAM. Both the offense and defense as ONE. Go Oilers

Sunday, October 11, 2009 10:01:51 AM

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