TIFFIN, Ohio - The Dragons' fourth quarter rally attempt ran out of time as Findlay (1-2, 1-1) scored the first 10 points of the game and held on for the 10-7 win over Tiffin (1-2, 0-2) Saturday afternoon (Sept. 18) in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference rivalry game at Frost-Kalnow Stadium.
Tiffin outgained Findlay through the air, 243-120, but the Oilers held Tiffin to -24 yards rushing as UF gained 221 yards of its own on the ground. Tiffin allowed 6 sacks in the game, with quarterback Nate Scully taking 5 of them.
Quarterback Jason Young hit 62.5% of his passes (10-16) with 120 yards and one touchdown. Nate Scully added 123 yards passing, completing eight of 20 passes with one interception thrown. David Singleton led the Dragon receiving corps with 82 yards receiving on four catches. Jonathon Marquez grabbed a game-high six receptions and added 72 yards.
Brendton Williams grabbed only two passes, but one was wide open in the end zone for Tiffin's lone score.
Defensively, Joseph Collard led everyone with 16 tackles, 11 of which were solo. He also had 2.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble. Mike Virgin and Kody David added 13 tackles apiece.
For Findlay, Monterae Williams racked up 171 yards rushing with one touchdown on 39 carries. Zach Tate connected on half of his 20 passes for 120 yards. Kenny Klatt added nine tackles for the Oiler defense.
Both teams failed to score on each of their first six possessions before Tiffin threatened near the end of the first. On third and 14 on the TU 14, Tiffin's Scully was flushed out of the pocket but found Singleton at the Findlay 31 and weaved his way for an apparent touchdown. However, the official in the secondary called illegal block in the back to push the Dragons back to the UF 41.
Tiffin was able to convert another fourth down, but it came away with no points when Mike Rutkowski's 34 yard field goal attempt just sailed wide. Findlay answered the next series with a field goal to go into intermission up 3-0.
Findlay went up 10-0 with a touchdown drive in its opening possession of the third quarter. Tiffin looked as if it survived the UF scoring threat when Cameron Stevens pushed a 36 yard field goal to the left, but a running into the kicker call on the Dragons gave Findlay a first down. Three plays later, Monterae Williams rumbled into the end zone from the one to put the visitors up by 10.
Tiffin added its own scoring drive in the fourth. Young began the drive at the 9:18 mark and hit Marquez and Trey Williams for a total of 25 yards to the Findlay 43. After Young found Marquez for another 21 yards, he threw two incomplete passes to face a third and 10 from the UF 24. On the ensuing play, Young found his favorite target, Marquez, for 14 and two yards, respectively, to bring up second and goal from the eight. On the next play, Young found Brendton Williams all alone in the end zone to bring the Dragons within a field goal with 6:06 remaining.
Findlay went three and out to give Tiffin one more chance, and on first down from the TU 34, Young found Marquez again for 11 yards. However, the drive stalled and Tiffin was forced to punt. Findlay was able to pick up a trio of first downs to run out the final 2:41 remaining in the game.
Tiffin takes to the road for the first time next week when it takes on Ferris State Saturday (Sept. 25). Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
