Box Score
FINDLAY, Ohio – The quarterback is too big. The tailback is too small. That's the long and short of it for defenses playing the Findlay Oilers.
UF quarterback Devontae Payne is 6-7, 250 pounds. Tailback Daiquone Ford stands 5-7 and weighs 190 pounds. To defend the box – and the rest of the field against this duo – it takes some thinking outside the box. The Ashland University Eagles discovered how difficult that is on Saturday (Nov. 2) at Findlay's Donnell Stadium where the Oilers won on a last-second touchdown pass, 35-28.
That score negated an impressive Ashland comeback. The Eagles were down, 28-13 with 6:04 left in the third quarter. They tied the game with 2:16 to play in the fourth quarter.
With the game tied, 28-28 and three seconds left in regulation, Payne hit wide receiver Seth White with a 24-yard touchdown pass to give the Oilers the win. White made a spectacular catch in the end zone, getting one foot down in bounds and holding onto the ball in the right corner of the end zone.
Ashland came into the game with a six-game winning streak against the Oilers. Under head coach Lee Owens, AU is 8-2 against Findlay.
Ashland is 4-5, 4-4 in the GLIAC. Findlay is 6-3 and 4-3 in the league.
Payne's size and strength are evident when he runs or drops back to pass. Findlay was able to avoid third-and-long situations much of the game, which left Payne with a lot of run-pass option plays. Those are his specialty. On this day, he rushed for 64 yards on 12 carries (5.3 ypc.) and completed 10-of-19 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns.
Ford is able to hide behind his offensive line until the last moment and then squirt free for significant chunks of yardage. He came into this game as the GLIAC's leading rusher with 1,394 yards. He had 186 yards on 41 carries and two touchdowns against the Eagles.
Findlay had a 21-13 lead at halftime. The Oilers held the ball for 20:30 in the first half. They converted four-of-eight third down plays and went three-of-four on fourth down. Those are the things the Eagles were able to do over the last month when they went 4-1.
The Oilers took a 7-0 lead with 3:30 remaining in the first quarter on a 2-yard run by Ford. That was his 20th touchdown run of the season. The drive was kept alive by a 15-yard pass completion by backup quarterback Jesse Slone. That play came from field goal formation. Slone is the holder.
AU cut the margin to 7-6 with 14 seconds left in the first quarter when quarterback Tra'Von Chapman teamed with wide receiver Dan Piko on a 30-yard scoring pass. Anthony McCarthy's extra point was blocked.
The game nearly got away from the Eagles early in the second quarter. With 11:41 left in the first half, Anthony Linnear reached the end zone on a 9-yard run. Seth White's extra point made it 14-6.
White scored on a 9-yard pass from Payne with 2:57 to play in the half to build the advantage to 21-6. That scoring drive consisted of 15 plays and 73 yards and drained 7:31 off the clock.
At that point, the Eagles were fighting to remain relevant on this afternoon. Chapman, a freshman who seems to add a little more to his tool kit every week, directed a 9-play, 54-yard drive that ended with a 1-yard touchdown run by running back Anthony Taylor with 23 seconds left in the half. That march benefitted from a huge assist by running back Michael Taylor, who had a 31-yard kickoff return to the AU 46-yardline.
That Anthony Taylor touchdown narrowed the UF lead to 21-13 and that's how the half ended.
Findlay scored on its first second-half possession when Ford darted through the defense for 18 yards. That came with 6:04 to play in the third quarter and put an exclamation point on a 71-yard drive. At that point Findlay led, 28-13.
Chapman and Piko combined on one of the most impressive plays of the season with 10:30 left in the game. On a fourth-and-goal play from the UF 19 with a defensive lineman in his face, Chapman found Piko in the end zone for a touchdown. Piko had to battle several defenders to come down with the catch.
Another key play in the drive came from Anthony Taylor, who ripped off a 40-yard run.
McCarthy's extra point left the Eagles looking at a 28-20 deficit.
AU was driving late in the game when Chapman's pass for Piko was intercepted by free safety Harold Jones-Quartey at UF 2-yardline with 3:45 remaining in regulation. The Eagles put together a defensive stand and the Oilers, with three downs, didn't advance the ball. White's punt was returned by Michael Taylor to the UF 24-yardline. That's where AU took over with 2:41 to go.
On first down, Chapman found Piko with a pass at the Findlay 1. From there, Anthony Taylor bulled into the end zone for his second touchdown of the day. On the two-point conversion try, Chapman faked a pitch to the left to Anthony Taylor and ran right, out-racing several Findlay defenders to the corner of the end zone. That tied the game, 28-28.
Anthony Taylor finished with 152 yards on 28 carries. This is his seventh 100-yard game of the season and leaves him 41 yards short of the school single-season rushing mark of 1,494 yards, which belongs to Jason Schwalm.
Chapman completed 11-of-25 passes for 165 yards. Piko had five catches for 104 yards. Defensive lineman Jamie Meder had 11 tackles (seven solo) and linebacker Zach Olszewski had 10 tackles (six solo). Michael Taylor returned three kickoffs for 108 yards and one punt for 17 y ards.
Ford is the first running back to rush for 100 yards against AU since Wayne State's Toney Davis had 130 yards on the second weekend of the season.
Findlay led in total offense, 488-347.
The Eagles close out the season next Saturday (Nov. 9, 1 p.m.) when they host Tiffin.
AU
FB/ALK
