Longsdorf Tackles HCAC Weekly Honor

GREENWOOD, Ind. – The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference has selected Kyle Longsdorf as its Defensive Player of the Week, after he racked up 22 tackles in Defiance's 35-0 victory against Bluffton on Saturday at Coressel Stadium.

Longsdorf set the tone early by earning a tackle on 11 of Bluffton's first 15 plays of the day and was in on the tackle in all six plays of the Beavers' second possession. The junior playmaker ended the first half with 17 tackles, as Defiance held BU to just 97 total yards of offense and one pass completion.

It was more of the same in the second half, with Longsdorf ending the afternoon with a career high 22 stops to help limit Bluffton to 188 total yards of offense. The London, Ohio, native turned in seven solo stops, to go along with a blocked punt and a forced fumble.

Longsdorf's efforts highlighted DC's first shutout since blanking Adrian, 10-0, on September 9, 2006 and helped the Jackets post their largest margin of victory against Bluffton since joining the HCAC for the 2000 season.

The award was the fifth HCAC Player-of-the-Week honor given to Defiance this season and the second Defensive Player-of-the-Week award earned by Longsdorf in his career with the Yellow Jackets.

Longsdorf ended his junior campaign with a team-leading 116 tackles and also topped the squad with 11 tackles for negative yardage. Longsdorf filled the stat sheet all season, ending with three sacks, two interceptions, seven passes defended, three forced fumbles, two recovered fumbles and one blocked punt.