Box Score

The Malone University football team fell 35-21 at Fawcett Stadium on Saturday afternoon in its Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest with the University of Findlay.

The Oilers (7-3 overall, 5-3 GLIAC) took a 14-7 lead into the locker room at halftime and then stretched their advantage to 21-7 at the start of the third quarter with a 35-yard touchdown pass.  The Pioneers (2-8 overall, 1-7 GLIAC) cut the deficit to seven on two different occasions over the remainder of the game, pulling to within 21-14 on a 27-yard TD pass from quarterback Brandyn Eckhart to wide receiver Josh McLaughlin and to 28-21 on a six-yard touchdown run by running back Justin Davis.  However, Findlay answered each of the Malone scores, engineering touchdown drives of 75 and 60 yards to secure the 14-point victory.

The Oilers relied heavily on their rushing attack throughout the afternoon as 316 of their 448 total yards came on the ground.  Oiler running back Daiquone Ford carried most of the rushing load for the visitors, notching 209 yards and three touchdowns on 37 attempts before leaving the game with an injury early in the fourth quarter.  The sophomore, who entered Saturday's contest ranked third in all of NCAA Division II with an average of 175.6 rushing yards per game, tied Findlay's single-season touchdown record in the third quarter, crossing the goal line for the third time in the contest and 24th time this season.

Despite losing starting quarterback Will Szpor and running back Steven Niewiedzial to injuries in the first half, Malone also had success moving the ball, ending the afternoon with 197 rushing yards and 175 passing yards for a total output of 372 yards.  Malone also managed to convert on four of its six fourth downs.  Unfortunately for the Pioneers, the two fourth-down stops occurred inside the red zone as the Findlay defense halted a Malone drive at the UF 9 late in the second quarter before turning away another Pioneer possession at the Findlay 2 with just over two minutes remaining. 

The two squads combined for just five penalties in the contest while Findlay held a 33:57 to 26:03 edge in time of possession.

The Oilers opened the scoring late in the first quarter with a 12-play, 80-yard touchdown drive.  Ford ran the football on 11 of those 12 plays, including a three-yard carry across the goal line to put Findlay in front 7-0.

The Pioneers answered back with a 12-play, 60-yard march of their own, tying the score at 7-7 less than a minute into the second quarter when wide receiver Josh McLaughlin took a pitch from Szpor, pulled the ball back and lofted a 20-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jordan Phillips.

Malone got another big dose of Ford on the Oilers' ensuing possession.  This time the sophomore accounted for nine of 12 plays, putting Findlay back in front 14-7 with a one-yard TD plunge.

Malone moved to the Findlay 14-yard line late in the second quarter but, on fourth & 9, Szpor was only able to scramble for  five yards, keeping the score 14-7 at the break.

The Oilers turned to the air at the start of the third quarter.  Quarterback Devontae Payne hit wide out Lloyd Henry with a 29-yard pass to move to midfield.  Two plays later, Payne went deep again, tossing a 35-yard touchdown pass to quarterback (turned wide receiver) Verlon Reed to put Findlay in front 21-7.

Eckhart, who entered the contest at the start of the third quarter for the injured Szpor, led Malone down the field on the Pioneers' next possession, answering the Findlay score midway through the third quarter.  Facing 4th & 12, Eckhart fired a 27-yard touchdown strike to McLaughlin along the sideline to cut the deficit to 21-14.

The Oilers then went back to the ground game, draining 7:29 off the third-quarter clock with a 15-play, 75-yard drive that ended with Ford's record-tying touchdown run, this time from seven yards outs.

The back-and-forth affair then continued at the start of the fourth with Malone marching 70 yards on eight plays and making the score 28-21 with Davis' six-yard touchdown run.

However, the Pioneers would get no closer as the Oilers put together another lengthy TD drive before stopping Malone on downs inside the UF five-yard line with under three minutes to play.

Davis ended the afternoon with 88 rushing yards and a TD on 18 attempts.  Niewiedzial added 55 rushing yards on nine attempts before suffering an injury in the second quarter.

Eckhart completed four of his six passes for 92 yards and a TD.  Phillips registered four catches for 92 yards with one score.  McLaughlin threw the TD pass to Phillips while posting two catches for 39 yards, including the 27-yard touchdown reception.

Defensive backs Demarco Donaldson and Lucas Haupt each tallied 10 tackles to pace the Pioneer defense.  Linebacker Cristian Garcia added nine stops, including one tackle for loss.  Linebacker Philip Fisher also made a significant impact with seven total tackles, including two tackles for loss.

For Findlay, Payne completed 10 of 19 passes for 132 yards and a score while also rushing for 43 yards.  Running back Anthony Linnear picked up 66 rushing yards and a touchdown in relief of Ford.  Henry paced the Oiler receiving corps with four catches for 49 yards.  Defensive back Tory Clark had a big game for the Oiler defense with 10 tackles, a forced fumble and an interception.

Malone will wrap up its 2013 campaign at home next Saturday with a 1:00 p.m. Senior Day contest against NCAA Division II No. 9 Ohio Dominican University. Fans who cannot attend the game in person can catch all of the action on the Malone Sports Network (on the radio at ESPN 990 AM and streaming on the internet at www.espn990.com).  Free streaming video and statistics will also be provided.  Click here for links to each of the multimedia offerings.