Findlay Edges Willamette For Naia Title

Winning a national championship never gets boring for Findlay coach Dick Strahm.

He won his fourth NAIA championship in five trips on Saturday as Bo Hurley threw for one touchdown and ran 60 yards for another to lead Findlay of Ohio over Willamette 14-7.

“It’s as good as the first one in ‘79,” said Strahm, who spent most of this year recovering from a stroke in March. “It’s a great feeling to me.”

Strahm is in his 23rd season at Findlay, where he is 178-59-5 with titles in 1979, 1992 and a co-championship with Central Washington in 1995. But he isn’t ready to put his name with the best small-college coaches.

“There’s a great bunch of coaches at small colleges. Too many things go through your mind during a game, but I think I can say this. I can define Utopia,” Strahm said.

Findlay (14-0) won the first unified title since 1970 by taking advantage of Willamette playing without its starting quarterback. Chuck Pinkerton broke his right leg last week, and Jay Douglass made only the second start of his career.

Willamette (13-1) stayed on the ground in the first half, but the Bearcats decided to throw after Hurley broke a 7-7 tie in the third quarter with his TD run.

The Oilers responded by sacking Douglass five times, and his pass was intercepted by Steve Adams with 4 seconds left, sealing the victory.

Findlay 14, Willamette 7

Willamette 0 7 0 0 - 7

Findlay 0 7 7 0 14 FinAukerman 21 pass from Hurley (Bahn kick) WilBlair 72 run (Thomson kick) FinHurley 60 run (Bahn kick) A4,000 (est.) Wil Fin First downs 11 14 Rushes-yards 40-154 51-277 Passing 106 141 Comp-Att-Int 5-14-1 13-23-0 Return Yards 14 11 Punts-Avg. 6-32.3 4-42.5 Fumbles-Lost 2-2 0-0 Penalties-Yards 3-15 3-35 Time of Possession 24:55 35:05 RUSHINGWillamette, Blair 12-91, Rideout 10-58, Bailey 3-24, Osborne 2-11. Findlay, Smiddy 15-126, Hurley 14-94, Jaquillard 16-40, Keirns 6-17.

PASSING-Willamette, Diygkass 5-14-1-106. Findlay, Hurley 13-23-0-141.

RECEIVING-Willamette, Carlson 2-79, Blair 1-23, Rideout 1-3, Osborne 1-1. Findlay, Aukerman 5-64, Dils 4-46, Ramsey 3-13, Jaquillard 1-18.