WORCESTER, Mass. – A season of firsts for Findlay and the Great Midwest Athletic Conference in the sport of football officially penned the final chapter to an exciting story that was the 2017 season on Saturday.
The seventh-seeded Oilers fought valiantly up at No. 3 Assumption at Mutli-Sport Stadium in a 45-26 final as the Greyhounds produced timely big plays to advance to the Super Region One final vs. No. 1 Indiana (PA).
In Findlay’s first season as an NCAA postseason qualifier, the Oilers earned the program’s first playoff win against the No. 2 seed and No. 2 team in the country, Shepherd, derailing the Rams’ undefeated season.
UF was traveling for the second time on the road, this time in the northeast point of the country and kept Assumption on its heels with about six minutes remaining in regulation.
Findlay trailed in a one-possession game just 31-26 following a season-long 40-yard field goal from Jacob Allton.
But gamebreaking speedster Deonte Harris for Assumption had a second half for the ages as he was a one-man wrecking crew in the receiving game and special teams. Harris accounted for four total touchdowns, including two on kickoff returns.
Harris’ 80-yard runback right off of Findlay’s field goal was the answer the Greyhounds needed to slow down Findlay’s heavy momentum in the fourth quarter with 5:41 to play.
Assumption put the game on ice with 3:22 left on a 72-yard pick six from Carlins Patel and the Greyhounds’ defense stood tall against the Oilers’ final comeback attempt.
Findlay dominated the box score double the time of possession and total offensive plays with 518 yards compared to 237 amassed by Assumption, but the quick strikes from the Greyhounds were too hard to overcome down the stretch.
Harris nearly went the length of the field with a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown; he had set an NCAA record earlier this season with three consecutive games with a return for a score on kickoffs (including twice each in a pair of games).
The first half was a defensive struggle as Assumption carried a 10-3 lead into halftime. Allton had a 23-yard field goal for the Oilers’ first points. Findlay was able to get into the red zone off a screen pass to wide out Jason Moore, who then found running back Michael Campbell streaking down the sideline with a left-handed pass.
Harris was on the receiving end of a 39-yard strike to give Assumption a 17-3 lead to cap the Greyhounds’ first drive of the second half.
After UF’s Daouda Sylla punched in his 19th rushing touchdown of the season, Assumption quarterback Marc Monks linked up again with Harris for a 76-yard scoring grab. Findlay’s Rhys Gervais went to work with Airion Kosak, who also had a receiving TD against Shepherd. Kosak would finish with a team-high 120 yards receiving.
Their 23-yard pass and catch made it a manageable 24-17 deficit at the start of the fourth quarter. Gervais threw for almost 400 yards on 37 completions, a new single-game conference record.
The Oilers finished out the 2017 campaign with a 10-3 overall record.