Photo Credit: Michigan Tech

HOUGHTON, Mich. — Offense was at a premium at today’s Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football tilt as Findlay knocked off Michigan Tech 14-5. The defenses held the upper hand at Sherman Field, which was more suited for Nordic skiing than football due to constant snow and driving winds all game.

What few big offensive plays there were went in the visitors favor, and the Oilers were able to spoil Tech’s Homecoming.

“The weather dictated the game,” said head coach Tom Kearly. “We tried to play smart, and we had our chances. Findlay made the most of their two long drives and made fewer mistakes.”

Michigan Tech (1-5 overall, 1-5 GLIAC) outgained UF (6-1, 5-1 GLIAC) in total yards 263-262 and had a 31:52-28:08 advantage in time of possession. The Oilers came out on top by converting 8-of-16 third downs and holding the ball for nearly 12 minutes of the fourth quarter.

Michael Rittenour’s sack on fourth-and-nine on UF’s first drive gave the home crowd of 1,959 its first clue that it might be a defensive struggle.

Later in the first quarter, Phil Milbrath broke off a 52-yard run, but appeared to re-injure his ankle as he was tackled. Three plays later, Tech had a Michael Macpherson touchdown run called back because of an illegal formation penalty. The Huskies settled for a 23-yard field goal by Tyler Cattelino and a 3-0 lead.

Findlay answered on the next drive as quarterback Andrew Beam completed a 30-yard pass before finding the endzone on a 23-yard keeper. The extra point made the score 7-3.

With yards becoming harder and harder to come by in the second quarter, Tech turned to Macpherson to run the ball. The 250-pound fullback seemed to be the answer after gaining 11 yards on back-to-back carries, but he exited the game with an injury as well. Neither team was able to generate much offense for the remainder of the second quarter, and the halftime scoreboard read 7-3 in favor of the visitors.

Michigan Tech received the second-half kickoff and marched down to the Findlay 12-yard line. The Huskies elected to go for a fourth-and-three at the Oiler 12 but were stopped. Despite turning it over on downs, the hosts had points on the board two plays later. UF botched two straight shotgun snaps and Beam batted it out of the back of the endzone for a safety and a 7-5 score.

Tech’s offense marched deep into UF territory early in the fourth quarter, but Cattelino just missed a 38-yard field goal that would have given Tech an 8-7 lead.

Back-to-back 20-yard runs by Oiler tailback Melvin Jackson helped the visitors get in position for Beam’s second TD run of the day for a 14-5 score at the 8:12 mark of the fourth quarter.

The Huskies were forced to punt on the ensuing drive, then never got the ball back as Findlay converted three first downs.

Tech rushed for 210 yards in the game and was paced by Marvin Atkins’ 75 on 26 attempts. Milbrath finished with 67 yards on six carries while quarterback Brent Heim added 44 on eight runs.

The injury list for Tech was long. Milbrath, Macpherson, left tackle Josh Frantti, free safety David Carmody, cornerback Jamell Matthias and linebacker John van der Laan all came out of the game with injuries. Only Frantti and van der Laan returned to action.

Jackson (73 yards) and Beam (71) paced the Findlay rushing attack. UF totaled 140 of their 262 total offensive yards on their two scoring drives.

Rittenour led the Black and Gold defensive effort with eight tackles including the sack. Starting nose guard Matt Payment added seven more.

Michigan Tech will head south for next week’s matchup vs. Indianapolis. Kickoff at Key Stadium is set for 6 p.m. next Saturday (Oct. 17).