Dragons and Oilers set for another showdown

Brett Ekkens is in his first season as Tiffin University's football coach.Very early on after taking the position, he got a sense of what the Tiffin/University of Findlay football rivalry meant to the Tiffin community."I think it was maybe a week into me having the job, I went to a basketball game, and we weren't even playing (Findlay)," Ekkens said. "One of our fans – a superfan for all the sports – came up to me; he was talking about this game months ago."The Dragons and Oilers have been conference rivals – first in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and now in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference – for more than 15 years.But the connection between the schools, which has always been there due to the geographic proximity of the campuses, has grown in recent years.Part of that is because both football teams are generally very good.Part of that is because UF/TU is the last game of the regular season schedule."I think (it's) the scheduling, from a conference perspective, putting the game Week 11," said Oilers coach Kory Allen, "and then you pair that with the proximity of the two schools – I'll never speak for them, but to speak for us – the importance of football at that institution, that's a natural rivalry."And usually, there's something on the line.A year ago at Donnell Stadium, the Dragons needed to beat the Oilers to secure a perfect regular season, a league title and a bye in the Division II playoffs.TU did that, beating the Oilers 26-7.This season, the roles are – in many respects – reversed.If Findlay can defeat Tiffin at Frost-Kalnow Stadium Saturday, it will earn at least a share of the G-MAC championship and a likely berth in the Division II playoffs.The Oilers enter the game at 9-1, 7-1 in the G-MAC. Findlay's only blemish on the season was a loss to Ashland, a team UF is tied with at the top of the league standings.The Tiffin/Findlay game is always big, but this year, the Oilers enter with plenty on the line.But Allen said UF has not treated the upcoming clash with the Dragons any differently than it has its other games."It goes back to the standard, and for us, the standard is the way that we want to practice, the way that we want to conduct ourselves 365 days of the year," Allen said. "I don't think that you can be successful over the long term, when you just try to get up for a big game or rivalry. I think you want to set the standard, and our Thursday (practice) was productive, and we were very happy with it."Tiffin enters at 7-3, 6-2 in the GMAC. It has an explosive offense, led by quarterback Alex Johnson, who has thrown for more than 2,500 yards and 25 touchdowns. The Dragons also have an exceptional running back, Ronald Blackman. Blackman is averaging more than 116 yards per game to go with 10 touchdowns."We want to make sure that we're tough to defend and not one dimensional," Ekkens said of his offense. "Our quarterback's done a great job of spreading the ball around, but we've got a great receiving corps and running back, and they do, too, and offensive lines that will battle out."On Findlay's side, quarterback Matthew Rueve – a transfer from Boston College – has fit seamlessly into the Oilers' offense, Rueve has thrown for nearly 2,500 yards and 26 touchdowns.Rueve also has a number of targets to throw to, as well as a solid running game, paced by Jayden Farmer and Makya Matthews, who have combined for more than 1,200 yards on the ground and 13 touchdowns.Keeping the UF ground game in check"The first thing we need to do – and this is no matter who we play – is stop the run," Ekkens said. "You want to take the run game away and make a team throw to beat you. That's the first thing we will attempt to do in the game, and that's the biggest priority."Allen said he's impressed with what the Dragons do on both sides of the ball."I think they're an explosive football team," the UF coach said. "I think they're well coached; they do a good job in all three phases. I think they're a complete football team."It all sets up for what should be an exciting afternoon in Tiffin Saturday.The kickoff is set for noon."I'm excited for it," Ekkens said. "I do think that it means a lot to our community and probably their community as well. We're fired up and we'll be excited to play."