GAMEDAY CENTRAL - Defiance vs. Adrian - Game Two
DEFIANCE, Ohio - Defiance will be gunning for its sixth-straight victory overall and its 29th win in the all-time series against Adrian, when it hosts the Bulldogs on Saturday, September 12 inside of Justin F. Coressel Stadium.
DEFIANCE, Ohio - Defiance will be gunning for its sixth-straight victory overall and its 29th win in the all-time series against Adrian, when it hosts the Bulldogs on Saturday, September 12 inside of Justin F. Coressel Stadium.
Scouting Defiance - The Yellow Jackets are coming off a season-opening, 13-7, victory against Muskingum in which they rushed the ball 42 times for 186 yards. The ground game has been vital to Defiance's success during its current five-game win streak, which dates back to October 25, 2008. In those five games, DC has piled up 831 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns on 223 carries for an average of 166.2 yards and two scores per game on 44.6 touches.
Scouting Adrian - The Bulldogs come to Defiance after suffering a 31-21 home defeat to No. 32 Capital last Saturday. Adrian saw the Crusaders score on their first three possessions to build a 17-7 lead and could never fully recover. Adrian managed only 14 rushing yards but passed for 305 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Danny Taylor and former DC starter, Rodney Donald, anchored the AC defense by teaming for 29 tackles from their inside linebacker positions.
Last Meeting - Adrian blanked the Jackets in a 20-0 victory for the Bulldogs on September 13, 2008 at AC's Performance Stadium. The game featured only 462 total yards of offense between the two teams and saw only 23 first downs. The difference came on the ground, where Adrian piled up 205 yards on a 4.3 yards per carry average, while Defiance mustered just 2.8 yards per touch en route to 73 rushing yards for the game.
Series History - Defiance and Adrian have met a total of 55 times on the gridiron throughout the history of the "Border War". The Yellow Jackets will enter play on Saturday holding a 28-26 edge in the all-time series, with one meeting ending in a tie.
Online Webcast - Defiance would like to remind its fans that if you are not able to attend one of the home games in 2009 that you can still catch all the action live and at no cost. Just go to www.DefianceAthletics.com/video to catch the action. Pregame show will begin at 12:45 p with Jim Funderburg calling the action. A very special thanks to the Hubbard Company, Mark Moats Ford and First Insurance and Investments for helping to make this possible.
Taylor's Tally - DC head coach Rob Taylor moved into fourth on the program's all-time wins list with the 13-7 victory against Muskingum last Saturday. Taylor now has 28 coaching victories at DC and needs just two more wins to tie Roger Merb (1967-1970) as the second-winningest coach in program history. Malen Luke (1988-1993) holds the all-time wins mark with 36 in only 58 games on the sidelines for the Yellow Jackets.
Around the HCAC - Defiance was one of four league teams to get into the win column last week, joining Franklin, MSJ and Rose-Hulman atop the standings. The race for the HCAC Championship is set to begin on September 26, when Rose-Hulman hosts Mount St. Joseph at 2:00 pm.
What's on Tap - The challenging early-season schedule for Defiance will continue in the coming weeks, as Defiance faces a pair of road tests against nationally ranked opponents. The Jackets will gear up for their final non-conference test of 2009 next week against No. 28 Trine, before taking a week off and then opening HCAC play at No. 19 Franklin on October 3. DC's next home game will be October 10, when it hosts Manchester at 1:30 pm as part of the 2009 Homecoming celebration.