Defiance Looks to Rebound with HCAC Test Against Hanover

DEFIANCE, Ohio - The Defiance College Yellow Jackets (3-4, 3-2 HCAC) will will host the Panthers of Hanover College (2-4, 2-2 HCAC) for a conference clash this weekend at Justin F. Coressel Stadium. The Yellow Jackets and the Panthers will meet for the 33rd time in the history of the series and are set to kickoff at 1:30 p.m. [Game Notes]

The Yellow Jackets enter week eight leading the NCAA in turnovers forced with 26. DC has 15 turnovers, third best in Division III, and 11 fumble recoveries, which sits tenth best in Division III.

Series History
Saturday's meeting will be the 33rd meeting in the history of the two programs. Hanover holds a 20-12 series advantage over Defiance. 

Last season the Yellow Jackets fell to Hanover 47-14 in Indiana. However, DC has won five of the last eight match ups and the Yellow Jackets hold a 10-7 margin over Hanover since joining the NCAA in 1991.

Year-by-Year since joining NCAA
Year    Winner   Score    
2012    HC        47-14
2011    HC        37-12
2010    DC        24-10
2009    HC        30-27
2008    DC        31-28 (OT)
2007    DC        33-7
2006    DC        20-10
2005    DC        28-14
2004    HC        28-7
2003    HC        55-38
2002    HC        57-35
2001    DC        33-13
2000    DC        13-7
1995    HC        38-20
1994    DC        35-18
1993    DC        46-29
1992    DC        35-14

Record Against the States
The Yellow Jackets will play their fifth of six games against teams from the "Hoosier" state this weekend. DC improved to 3-1 this season against teams from Indiana after beating Manchester two weeks ago. Defiance has played in 217 games against schools from the state of Indiana in the program's history. The Yellow Jackets hold a narrow series margin over schools from the border state to the west, leading the series 111-104-2.

Turnover leaders
The Yellow Jackets have forced more turnovers than any other team in Division III of the NCAA. The Yellow Jackets have put together 25 turnovers in seven games, an average of 3.57 per game. 

On the year, the Yellow Jackets have picked off 15 opponent passes, which sits third in the nation, including five each from sophomore safety Andrew Feldhaus and senior cornerback Tony Sierra.  The duo are tied for second in the nation in interceptions. 

Feldhaus has also chipped in and forced five of the 11 fumbles recovered by DC this season and he has also recovered four of them.  DC's 11 fumble recoveries is 10th in the nation. Feldhaus's five forced fumbles is tied for the national lead and his four recovered fumbles is tied for second in Division III.

Ball hogs
The Yellow Jackets have held onto the ball for an average of 33:53 this season. DC has led the time of possession battle in every game this season. The time of possession mark for DC is tops in the HCAC and 15th in NCAA Division III.

Winning in the trenches
The Yellow Jackets big men are winning the battle in the trenches on both sides of the ball. The Yellow Jacket offense averages 187.9 yards per game on the ground this season, tops in the HCAC. 

The offensive line has blocked the Yellow Jackets to three 200+ yard rushing games and over 150 yards in every game.

The defense also sits atop the HCAC and in ninth nationally in Division III, allowing just 78.4 yards rushing per game. The defense has held opponents to under 150 yards rushing in all seven games.

Seventh heaven for receivers
Through seven games, the Defiance College Yellow Jackets receiving core has seven different pass catchers who have scored a touchdown in 2013. Alex Larson has thrown seven TD passes in his four games, with one going to each receiver. 

Brian Mircovich leads the way for receivers with 35 catches and with 344 yards receiving. Daniel Collins leads the team with 15.8 yards per catch.

Trey White has the longest touchdown grab of the season catching a pass from Larson and taking it 76 yards . White is second on the team with 312 yards receiving. Cody Wilson sits third on the team with 247 yards and has 14.5 yards per catch.

Darius Harper only has one catch on the season, but it came as a 27-yard TD pass against Earlham. Punter/Receiver Aaron Spence has 107 yards on 11 catches this season, including a 20-yard touchdown catch. Bryan Weaver also has a touchdown catch for DC and has 75 yards receiving on the season.

Do it and do it well
The Yellow Jackets lead the HCAC in 13 categories (10 defense, two offense, one special teams). In those categories, DC sits in the top 50 nationally in 14 categories and in the top 25 nationally in eight categories.