Football vs. Earlham (Ind.) -- Week 7 Game Notes

DEFIANCE, OHIO  - The Defiance College Yellow Jackets host Earlham (Ind.) College in a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference game at Justin F. Coressel Stadium on Homecoming at 1:30 p.m. [Complete Game Notes in PDF]

LIVE STATS:  [CLICK HERE]

Series History

Saturday's meeting will be the 23rd meeting between the two schools. Defiance leads the series record, 16-6

Last season the Yellow Jackets had a record-setting day against the Quakers with 616 yards of total offense, setting a school single-season record.  DC rushed for 373 yards on the ground, with two players rushing for over 100 yards, and had 243 passing yards.  DC trailed Earlham, 14-7, after the first quarter, but went on to outscore the Quakers, 38-7, the remainder of the game to win 45-21 in Richmond, Ind.

Scouting the Yellow Jackets

Defiance returns 36 lettermen, including 17 starters in 2015. 

The offense is averaging 255.5 yards per game.    Freshman Andre Adderly (West Palm Beach, Fla./Village Academy) is listed as the starter for this week against the Quakers.  To date, Adderly has completed seven-of-24 passes for 52 yards.  He has also rushed for 121 yards on 35 carries (3.5 yards per carry).

The Yellow Jackets have a young backfield with freshman Tanner Hughes (Pierceton, Ind./Whitko) listed as the starter.  Coming into this week, Hughes has carried the ball 22 times for 76 yards (3.5 yards per carry).  Also look for a host of other players to see their share of carries including sophomore Anthony Righi (Liberty Center) and junior Cody Wilson (McComb).  Righi is second on the team with 141 yards on 53 touches, while Wilson has carried the ball 23 times for a team-high 209 yards (9.1 yards per carry) and two TD.

At the wideout position, look for juniors Cody Wilson, Andy Foore (Swanton) and freshmen Devin Bolden (Lake Worth, Fla./Wellington) and Nate Roberts (St. Petersburg, Fla./Boca Ciega) to start.  Wilson leads the team in receiving with 29 catches for 321 yards (11.1 yards per catch) so far this season.  Foore, Bolden and Roberts are tied for second in receptions with six each.  Foore is also second in reception yards with 97 (16.2 yards per catch), following by BOlden with 93 yards (15.5 yards per catch) and Roberts has 59 reception yards with one TD.

On defense, Defiance is currently allowing 371.5 yards per game, but has accounted for 11 takeaways this season with six interceptions and five fumbles.

The defensive line will be anchored by seniors Kyle Wilson (Wauseon) and Cody Lee (Tampa, Fla./Jefferson).  Kyle Wilson has made 22 total tackles (12 solo and 10 assists) to go along with one sack.  Lee has made 20 tackles (11 solo and nine assists), including 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack.  Also look for junior Matt DeVore (Van Buren) and sophomore Greg Ward (Ypsilanti, Mich./Ypsilanti) to start alongside Kyle Wilson and Lee.

The linebackers will start junior Keandre Gilmer (Toledo/Rogers) and freshman Jalin Nealy (Pontiac, Mich./West Bloomfield).  Gilmer leads the team in tackles with 47 (34 solo and 13 assists) and has six tackles for loss, two sacks, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble.  Nealy is ited for second in tackles with 40 (24 solo and 16 assists).  He also has 4.5 tackles for loss, a sack and a forced fumble. 

The Jacket secondary is led by junior Kenny Jones (Toledo/Bowsher) and freshman Dalin Brown (Port St. Lucie, Fla./St. Lucie Wester Center) at the corners along with senior Andrew Feldhaus (Lutz, Fla./Steinbrenner), junior Cody Wiggins (Howell, Mich./Howell) and freshman Beau Barkley at the safety positions.  Jones is sixth on the team in tackles with 25 (19 solo and six assists).  He leads the team in interceptions with two and also has a fumble recovery and a blocked kick.  Brown has made nine stops (seven solo and two assists).  Feldhaus is tied with Nealy for second in tackles with 40 (26 solo and 14 assists) to go along with three tackles for loss and a sack.  Wiggins has made 10 tackles (nine solo and one assist) to go along with a tackle for loss and an interception.  Barkley has made 18 tackles (13 solo and five assists) with a half sack, a fumble recovery and a blocked kick. 

On special teams, freshman Tyler L'Heureux  (Apopka, Fla./Apopka) will handle the place kicking duties, while junior Seth Bauer (Findlay/Arcadia) will be the team's starting punter.  L'Heureux is four-of-six in field goal attempts and seven-of-nine in extra point opportunities for 19 points scored.  Bauer has punted the ball 22 times and is averaging 34.4 yards per punt.  He has recorded one punt over 50 yards and has pinned the opponent inside their 20-yard line on three ocassions as well. 

Scouting the Quakers

The Earlham offense has been averaging 279.0 total yards per game through seven games this season.

Calling the plays for the Quakers will be sophomore Wes Hundley.  Coming into this week's game, Hundley has completed 87-of-166 passes for 1,056 yards with 19 touchdowns and six interceptions.   He is also the team's leading rusher with 343 yards on 104 carries (3.3 yards per carry) and has scored four times. 

Expect to see the Quakers line up with two people in the backfield in freshman Sam Panton and sophomore fullback Xavier Flores getting the start.  Panton is second on the team in rushing with 183 yards on 59 attempts (3.1 yards per game).  Flores is third overall with 43 yards on 13 carries (3.3 yards per carry).

At the wide receiver position, look for senior Jalen Kenner and Marcaus Cooper to be the starters.  Kenner recorded team-highs of 41 catches for 559 yards (13.6 yards per catch) with six TD.  Cooper is second in receiving with 38 catches for 441 yards (11.6 yards per catch) and four TD.  Earlham will also line up one tight end in senior Matt Couch who has caught 10 passes for 127 yards (12.7 yards per catch) and a pair of TD.

Defensively, Earlham is allowing 546.1 yards per game (299.1 rushing and 247.0 passing).              

The Quakers line up in a 3-4 scheme, and will start senior Allen Eugene, junior Joseph Miller and sophomore James Ezell on the defensive line.  Euguene leads the starting "D-Line" with 26 total tackles (11 solo and 15 assists).  He also has 3.5 tackles for loss, a sack and one fumble recovery.

At linebacker, Earlham will start three upperclassmen in seniors Junior Jean and Tyler Teresa, along with junior Lajay Kelly.  Kelly leads the team in tackles with 69 (47 solo and 22 assists), including five tackles for loss, a sack, forced two fumbles and blocked six kicks. 

The secondary will feature sophomore Eric Bryant and freshman Malachi Ince at the corners and senior Adam Jolly and freshman Chad Niven at the safety positions.  Bryant has tallied 25 tackles (12 solo and 13 assists) to lead the starting cornerbacks, while Jolly is third overall with 54 tackles (31 solo and 23 assists) to go along with a tackle for loss, a team-high three interceptions, a fumble forced, a fumble recovery and a blocked kick.

On special teams, freshman Justin Kerobo is listed as the team's starting placekicker and Jolly is the team's starting punter.  So far this season, Kerobo has made his only field goal attempt and is eight-of-16 in extra point attempts  Jolly is currently averaging 28.8 yards per punt attempt in 26 tries.  He has recorded four punts inside the opponent's 20-yard line so far this season.