SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. – Seventh-seeded Findlay turned the tables on favored No. 2 seed Shepherd in the program’s first NCAA Division II Championship game on Saturday at Ram Stadium with a 29-17 opening-round victory.
The Oilers improved to 10-2 overall as they handed the previously unbeaten Rams, Mountain East Conference champions, their first loss of the season.
Findlay’s next opponent in the 28-team NCAA Championship bracket will be No. 3 Assumption as the Oilers will make the trip up to Worcester, Mass. The time for next Saturday’s game on Nov. 25 is still to be determined.
UF took down the No. 2 team in the country according to the most recent AFCA Top-25 Poll as the Rams were considered by many to be favored despite both offenses averaging close to 49 points per game.
Rain made conditions a little bit sloppy on the field, but the weather played right into the hands of the Oilers as they dominated the ground game, an area that led the Great Midwest with over 274 yards per game.
The first team all-conference duo of Daouda Sylla and Michael Campbell combined to grind out almost 300 yards in the run game. Sylla had 33 carries for 205 yards and a score while Campbell had 20 attempts for 93 yards and his 12th rushing TD.
A holding penalty negated a Campbell touchdown dash in the first quarter, but the Oilers’ Jacob Allten came through and delivered three field goals (30, 32, 36 yards) to help Findlay keep pace with Shepherd.
MEC Offensive Player of the Year Connor Jessop threw for a pair of TD’s in the first quarter, but the Oilers kept it a manageable deficit at halftime trailing 17-9.
Sylla punched it in from one yard away to make it a 17-15 game. Despite a missed two-point conversion, the Oilers forced a Shepherd punt on the Rams’ next series and junior quarterback Rhys Gervais engineered the go-ahead scoring drive that included some first-down pass plays to Andrew Ogletree.
Campbell gave Findlay a 23-17 lead going into the final quarter as Gervais connected on the two-point try.
Findlay’s secondary stepped up with more big plays that have defined the season for the league’s top-ranked pass defense. Chiebuka Chukwuneke jumped a slant route with Shepherd deep in the red zone and intercepted a Jessop pass at the 1-yard line.
Gervais answered the call on Findlay’s ensuing offensive possession, taking the Oilers the length of the field with an 11-play, 99-yard drive capped with a 52-yard strike in the middle of the field to Airion Kosak.
Included in that drive was a key fourth down conversion from Findlay’s own 31-yard line as Sylla carried the rock seven times to chew up almost six minutes off the game clock.
Great Midwest Defensive Back of the Year Aaron Ivory picked off Jessop, his fifth of the season, to spoil any idea of comeback hopes for the Rams. Jessop went into the game with 38 TD’s and just eight interceptions on the season.
The Oilers outscored Shepherd in the second half, 20-0. Gervais finished with 294 passing yards on 21 completions with his TD connection with Kosak.
Findlay’s next opponent Assumption is 9-1 on the season and the Greyhounds are currently ranked 15th in the country. The Greyhounds took down California (PA) in a battle of No. 3/6 seeds.