Yellow Jacket Comeback Falls Short Against Rose-Hulman

DEFIANCE, OHIO  --  Despite trailing 23-0 late in the second quarter, the Defiance College football team scored 15 unanswered points to get to within striking distance of a possible comeback, but the effort fell short with Rose-Hulman (Ind.) Instittute of Technology holding on for a 23-15 victory in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference action at Justin F. Coressel Stadium.

Defiance (1-3, 0-2 HCAC) began its scoring run with a 30-yard field goal by senior Tory Savage (Bryan) just before the end of the half to make the score 23-3 at the intermission.

Following a scoreless third quarter, the Yellow Jackets scored twice on a pair of long pass plays that included a 63-yard completion from sophomore quarterback Logan Scott (Curtice/Genoa) to freshman wide receiver Quenell Rutledge (Deltona, Fla./University High School) and a 43-yard completion from Scott to freshman Jason Santora (Avon).  Both point-after-touchdown coversions failed, making the score 23-15.

On the ensuing kickoff after the Santora TD, the Jackets attempted the onside kick and were successful to regain possession.  Defiance went four-and-out after retrieving the onside kick, but forced Rose-Hulman (3-1, 2-0 HCAC) into a 3-and-16 and a possible final opportunity at tying the game.  But the Fightin' Engineers got the necessary yardage for a first down to seal the victory by running out the clock for the 23-15 final.

Rose-Hulman scored its first TD of the game at the 6:08 mark of the first quarter for the 7-0 lead.  The Engineers scored again on their next possession following a three-and-out by Defiance, this time on an 11-yard pass play to extend the margin to 14-0 after the first 15 minutes. 

The Engineers tacked on a 29-yard field goal in the second quarter with 9:53 to go in the half.  After another three-and-out by DC, the Engineers marched 59 yards in nine plays to score on a nine-yard completion.  Instead of attempting the extra point kick, RHIT went for the two-point conversion, but failed on the attempt to round out the scoring for the Engineers.

Rose-Hulman ended the game with 394 yards of total offense (114 rushing and 280 passing).  Quarterback Austin Swenson completed 31-of-50 passes for a game-high 280 yards and two scores.  Running back Stanley Hogan led all rushers wiht 103 yards on 26 carries and found the end zone once.  Michael Iacono caught a game-high eight catches for 73 yards and a TD.  Alex Fisher pulled in six receptions for a game-high 97 yards.

Defiance finished with 308 total yards (35 rushing and 273 passing) and was led by Scott who completed 17-of-47 passes for 273 yards and a pair of scores.  Senior Cody Wilson (McComb) led the Yellow Jacket wideouts with five catches for 77 yards.  Rutledge finished the game with 67 yards on four catches to go along with a TD.  Santora caught three passes for 66 yards and the lone score. 

Defensively, the Yellow Jackets were led by a trio of players who all finished with 10 or more tackles.  Senior Keandre Gilmer (Toledo/Rogers) recorded a game-high 14 stops (seven solo and seven assists) to go along with a half sack and a fumble recovery.  Junior Markell Moncrief (Detroit, Mich./Southfield Lathrup) had 12 tackles (eight solo and four assists), including two tackles for loss and senior Matt DeVore (Van Buren) had 10 tackles (three solo and seven assists) to go along with a half tackle for loss.

The Jackets will play their next two games on the road, beginning with a HCAC matchup against Earlham (Ind.) College next Saturday, Oct. 1 in Richmond, Ind.  The game is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m.