Orange & Black Attack

Oilers look to exceed expectations

Here is the story on the preseason Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football poll. It ran in today's edition of The Courier. Also, if you want to watch a short interviews with each of the coaches from the GLIAC's virtual media day, you can check that out by clicking here.

By BRIAN LESTER

STAFF WRITER

Jon Wauford isn't going to put much stock in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference preseason poll.

The rankings, released Wednesday morning, isn't set in stone and Wauford, in his fourth season as the head coach of the University of Findlay, is accustomed to seeing his team prove others wrong.

The Oilers are picked to finish sixth in the 14-team league. A year ago they were tabbed ninth and wound up tied for fourth in the GLIAC after posting their first winning season since 2004 with a 7-4 record.

"We usually do better than expected and it would be great to finish higher than (sixth)," Wauford said. "We want to exceed expectations. Our goal is to be better than we were the year before."

While the Oilers are near the middle of the pack in the league, there is no surprise at the top. Grand Valley State is the favorite for the ninth consecutive year and a contender for the NCAA Division II national championship.

The Lakers (13-2, 9-1), the defending conference champions, lost 30-23 to Northwest Missouri in the national final last season, falling short of their fifth national crown since 2002. GVSU received 13 of the 14 votes in the poll.

Hillsdale, tied with Saginaw Valley State for second, received the other vote.

The Chargers (10-3, 8-2) made a D-II postseason appearance for the first time in school history in 2009, defeating Minnesota Mankato 27-24 in overtime in the opening round before exiting the playoffs with a 44-27 loss to GVSU.

SVSU also made the playoffs but lost 35-20 in the opening round to Nebraska-Kearney to end its 9-3 campaign.

With three teams from the GLIAC reaching the playoffs, it is not out of the question for a team to fall short of winning the league title and still play beyond the regular season.

"Our focus is to win the conference championship," Wauford said. "It's a lofty goal and we've never done it before. The thing about lofty goals is that even if you don't reach them, good things can still happen."

Ashland and Northwood are in the fourth and fifth spots, respectively, while Northern Michigan, Wayne State, Michigan Tech and Indianapolis fill out the top 10.

Ferris State and Tiffin are 11th and 12th, respectively, while league newcomers Ohio Dominican and Lake Erie hold down the final two spots.

The Oilers spent most of last season in contention for a league title and playoff berth. They were ranked as high as 18th at one point before back-to-back losses to end the year wiped out any hope they had of making the playoffs.

UF returns 43 letterwinners, including 16 starters (nine offensive, seven defensive), and is gearing up for its 2010 opener against Tusculum (Tenn.) at noon on Sept. 4 at Donnell Stadium.

Things are beginning to clear up for the Oilers at the quarterback position. True freshman Zach Tate out of Columbia Central (Tenn.) is currently No. 1 on the depth chart.

Former McComb standout Kevan Westenbarger, a redshirt freshman, is the backup and Tennessee-Martin senior transfer John Soli is third on the depth chart.

"We haven't played any scrimmages yet but right now Tate is our No. 1 quarterback," Wauford said. "But every day all three players show improvement and that is a good sign."



2010 GLIAC Preseason Poll

1, Grand Valley State, Mich. (13) 169

2, (tie) Hillsdale, Mich. (1) 148

3, (tie) Saginaw Valley State, Mich. 148

4, Ashland 113

5, Northwood, Mich. 111

6, Findlay 102

7, Northern Michigan 101

8, Wayne State, Mich. 91

9, Michigan Tech 87

10, Indianapolis 78

11, Ferris State, Mich. 48

12, Tiffin 32

13, Ohio Dominican 27

14, Lake Erie 19

Oilers picked sixth in preseason football poll

By BRIAN LESTER

The University of Findlay football team is coming off its first winning season since 2004 and is expected to finish in the upper half of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in 2010.

The Oilers, who went 7-4 overall and 6-4 in the league in 2009, are picked sixth in the conference's preseseason poll, which was released Wednesday morning.

UF was picked ninth last season and finished tied for fourth in the final standings.

For the ninth consecutive season, Grand Valley State is the team to beat. The Lakers received 13 of the 14 first-place votes. Coaches cannot vote for their own team.

The Lakers, ranked second in the nation, won the league title last season and played for the NCAA Division II national championship. They lost 30-23 to Northwest Missouri in the national final.

Hillsdale, coming off its first ever playoff trip, is tied for second with Saginaw Valley State.

The Chargers received the other first-place vote. Hillsdale was 10-3 overall and 8-3 in the league. It beat Minnesota Mankato, 27-24 in overtime, in the opening round of the playoffs, before falling 44-27 to GVSU.

SVSU is coming off a year in which it went 9-3 overal and 8-2 in the league. The Cardinals lost 35-20 to Nebraska-Kearney in the first round of the playoffs.

Ashland is fourth in the poll while Northwood is fifth.

Northern Michigan, Wayne State, Michigan Tech and Indianapolis round out the top 10.

Ferris State and Tiffin are 11th and 12th, respectively, while league newcomers Ohio Dominican (13th) and Lake Erie (14th) fill out the poll.

UF spent most of last season in contention for its first ever D-II playoff. It was ranked as high as 18th in the country at one point before back-to-back losses to end the year wiped out any hope the Oilers had of making the postseason.

UF averaged 368.1 yards per game last season and allowed 319.1.

The Oilers return 43 letterwinners, including 22 on the offensive side of the ball, and will open the season Sept. 4 against Tusculum (Tenn.) at Donnell Stadium.

A complete story will follow later in the day.

Countdown to the release of the GLIAC Poll

By BRIAN LESTER

Good morning everyone. In just over an hour from now, the 2010 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference preseason football poll is going to be released.

The poll, though, doesn't come with any drama at the top. It's kind of like the friend who tells you the ending to a movie before you see it.

We all know Grand Valley State is going to be picked No. 1. The Lakers are the favorite until someone proves them otherwise. They finished as the national runner-up a year ago and are expected to contend for the national title again this season.

My guess is Saginaw Valley State and Hillsdale will hold down the two and three spots. The University of Findlay will probably be fifth or sixth, although it wouldn't surprise me at all if the Oilers were voted fourth.

A year ago, UF was picked to finish ninth and it nearly made the playoffs. It will be interesting to see how the Oilers respond to slightly higher expectations this year. After all, UF was the only other team in the league to receive votes in the national poll.

More to come later today.

Tate could be answer for Oilers at quarterback

By BRIAN LESTER

Optimism is hard to miss when camp begins for college football teams. Everyone is 0-0 and everyone believes a winning season and trip to the playoffs is possible.

For the University of Findlay, there is no shortage of optimism. The Oilers return a great deal of talent on both sides of the ball and it appears they have what it takes to build on the success of last season's 7-4 campaign.

But in order to win games in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, you need to have a quarterback that can make big plays.

Grand Valley State, Saginaw Valley State and Hillsdale all had very good quarterbacks a year ago and all three teams made it to the postseason.

The Oilers nearly made the playoffs because they had a good quarterback in Andrew Beam. He at least gave UF a chance to contend for a postseason berth.

With Beam gone, the Oilers are in search of a new signal caller. They have three guys in camp, John Soli, Kevan Westenbarger and Zach Tate, competing for the job.

Tate is a true freshman out of Columbia Central (Tenn.) and if his highlight reel on YouTube is any indication of how good he can be, it might make the most sense to start Tate this year and have faith that the offensive talent around him will ease his transition to the college game.

After all, the Oilers not only have a dynamic duo in the backfield in Monterae Williams and Demetrius Trapps, but they have veteran receivers in Dustin Zielaskiewicz, Jon Mora and DeJerrian Smith. The experience on the offensive line will also help with the transition.

I think Tate has the ability to be successful at the NCAA Division II level. Developing a freshman quarterback makes sense for a program that wants to become a regular contender in the GLIAC.

Sure, he'll have his share of challenges to deal with. Every new college football player has growing pains.

But in the long run, the move should pay off, this season and in the future as well.

Schedule set for UF men's basketball team

By BRIAN LESTER

The University of Findlay men's basketball schedule was released this week and there is one thing that immediately jumps out at me. The Oilers won't have to make any trips to the Upper Peninsula during the 2010-11 season.

That is a huge break for the Oilers. It will save a little wear and tear on the players during the grind of a basketball season in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. It's something that could make a difference in the long run.

UF does still have to go to Grand Valley State and Ferris State, and those two mid-February matchups will be crucial in what is expected to be a heated and competitive race for the conference championship. A year ago, the Oilers lost to both teams on the road.

The GLIAC is going to be tough this season. There are a lot of teams with a lot of veteran talent. The good news is UF is one of those teams.

The Oilers will have four seniors on the roster, not to mention a cast of younger players with valuable experience. The Oilers, coming off a 24-7 season and their ninth consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament, will begin their season on Nov. 12 when Wilberforce rolls into town for a 7:30 p.m. game.

The GLIAC portion of the schedule tips off with a road game against Northwood on Dec. 2. UF will play its first GLIAC home game on Dec. 18 when league newcomer Ohio Dominican pays a visit to Croy Gymnasium.

By the way, the Eagles of Ashland will head to Croy Gymnasium on Jan. 5 in what will likely be a rivalry game at its best.

The GLIAC tourney is scheduled for March 1st, 4th and 5th.

UF will play a total of 15 games at home during the regular season, a luxury for a team that has won its last 89 regular-season games on its home floor.

We are still a few months away from the first game of the year, but obviously there is a lot of excitement surrounding the team as the Oilers appear to have the experience and depth to be a contender at the regional and national level.

More to come on basketball down the road.