Defiance Drops Road Game to No. 28 Trine

ANGOLA, Ind. – Defiance College had no answer for a nationally ranked Trine University team on Saturday and suffered a 40-9 defeat. The Jackets grabbed a 3-0 lead on the opening drive but then saw the No. 28 Thunder rattle off 26-unanswered points to take control.

TU showcased a well-balanced offensive attack en route to piling up 26 first downs and 492 total yards of offense against the DC defense. Trine ended with 231 rushing yards and 261 yards through the air.

A short-handed backfield hampered Defiance's ability to get the offense on track, as the Jackets were limited to only 15 rushing yards on 21 carries. The quarterback tandem of Rick Powell and Austin Karcher tried to pick up the slack by completing 32-of-45 passes for 250 yards but it was not enough to spark the struggling offense.

Freshman Jon Carrabino was the offensive star for DC, hauling in seven passes for 89 yards and the only Yellow Jacket touchdown of the afternoon. Ray Martinez also excelled with eight catches for 51 yards.

Kyle Longsdorf anchored the defensive performance for Defiance by notching 13 of his 14 tackles via the solo variety, including one sack. Travis Guisinger and Matt King each added eight stops and Eric Rubio had an interception for DC's only takeaway.

The Jackets started the day strong by opening the game with a field goal and a 3-0 lead after the first possession of the contest. Dustin Supan returned the opening kick 20 yards to the DC 30-yard line, before Powell led Defiance on a seven-play, 49-yard drive to the Trine 22. Tom Foos then came on and split the uprights from 39 yards out to start the scoring at the 11:21 mark of the opening quarter.

It would be all Trine from then on however, as the home team scored the game's next 26 points to build a 26-3 lead with 2:12 left in the third quarter.

Powell connected on a 23-yard scoring strike with Carrabino early into the fourth to trim the gap to 26-9, but TU tacked on two more touchdowns to put the game out of reach and secure the 40-9 victory.

Defiance falls to 1-2 with the loss and will have a bye week to prepare for its HCAC opener at Franklin on October 3 at 1:30 pm.