DC Football Drops Defensive Struggle at MSJ

CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Defiance and Mount St. Joseph hooked up on Saturday with a potential HCAC Championship on the line. Each side proved why they were in the title hunt, showcasing outstanding defense throughout before MSJ finally dented the scoreboard with 5:24 to play. The Lions would go on from there to take the 10-0 victory.

The two teams combined for only 31 first downs and 502 yards of total offense. Defiance accounted for 13 first downs on 223 yards of offense, while The Mount posted 279 yards of total offense on 18 first downs.

Despite the stifling MSJ defense, the Yellow Jackets were still able to move the ball on the ground and topped 140 yards for the sixth-straight game this season. DC totaled 141 rushing yards and was led by 90 yards on 15 carries from Lewis Caralla, while David Thornton and Hans Vetter combined for 20 carries and 51 yards.

DCs highly touted passing attack failed to get on track as Vetter managed only 13 completions for 82 yards. Luke Dillon was the primary target but only caught five passes for 24 yards. Gary Allen caught four passes for 26 yards and Christopher Khoma hauled in the longest completion of the afternoon for DC of 13 yards.

The Yellow Jacket defense held a high-powered Mount offense in check, as the Lions averaged only 2.9 yards per carry and threw for 156 yards on 20 completions. DC had nine different players record at least one tackle for lost yardage.

Keith Snyder led the way with 13 tackles, Travis Guisinger added 10 hits and Chris Tietje had 3.5 of his nine hits result in negative yardage for the Lions. Nic Cass played well in the DC secondary with seven tackles and Austin Hedderly had a pair of hits for lost yards.

The Jackets forced a pair of turnovers as William Dues recovered a fumble and Dustin Supan picked off a MSJ pass in the end zone to end a rare scoring threat for the Mount in the second quarter.

The only two scores of the game came in the closing minutes after the two sides had battled to a scoreless draw through nearly 55 minutes of action. Kevin Koch broke up the 0-0 tie with a field goal from 37 yards out to give MSJ the 3-0 lead with 5:24 to play.

Defiance moved the ball to the 50-yard line on its next possession, before having its drive stall on a pair of incomplete passes and a sack.

The failed fourth down play handed the ball back to MSJ at the 50, but the DC defense answered the bell one more time. The Jackets held strong, allowing only three yards and forcing the Lions to punt the ball.

The Jackets then saw their final chance slip through their hands as Scooter Curtis failed to corral the loose ball on the ensuing kick and MSJ pounced on it at DCs three-yard line.

The Lions punched it in the end zone two plays later to put the game out of reach at 10-0 with 49 ticks left on the clock.

Defiance (5-3, 4-1 HCAC) will have another fierce road test next week when it travels to Franklin. The Jackets could force a potential three-way tie for the HCAC Championship with a win over the first-place Grizzlies. Kick-off is set for 1:00 pm.