Season High Offensive Output Falls Short at Anderson

ANDERSON, Ind. - The Defiance College football team made the southern journey to Anderson University to begin Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday afternoon. Despite scoring a season high 29 points, the Yellow Jackets fell to the Ravens 56-29. 

The Ravens jumped out to an early lead, scoring 17 points in the first quarter, before the Defiance offense found their way into the endzone. With time winding down in the second quarter, Reggie Washington (Laurel, Md. / Aberdeen) found Ronald Wu (Honolulu, Hawaii / Moanalua) for an 18-yard strike to put DC on the board. 

After the halftime break, Head Coach Manny Matsakis' side came out ready to strike on offense. Camerone Harris (Canton, Miss. / Canton) found his way to the Raven endzone after a 10-play, 80-yard drive down the field from the Purple and Gold. The freshman followed his TD up on the next Yellow Jacket possession, churning into the endzone from nine yards out. 

The Yellow Jackets tallied their final touchdown of the day with 3:20 left on the clock as Jalen Wilkins (Ft. Mitchell, Ala. / Central) broke free. On the first play of the drive, the freshman broke loose by taking an 89-yarder to the house. Quickly followed by a Cole Recker (Monument, Colo. / Lewis Palmer) two-point conversion pass to Terry Geiger (Columbus, Ohio / Columbus Crusaders), the Yellow Jackets outscored the hosts in the second half by a 22-20 margin. 

From the pocket, Recker led the way with 119 yards on ten completions including a 31-yard long. Washington followed the sophomore closely with 110 yards and a 29-yard long including one TD. 

Propelled by his 89-yard touchdown rush, Wilkins had a powerful rushing performance on his seven carries. The Alabama native recorded 112 yards to go along with his first career TD. 

Geiger was the quarterbacking duo's favorite target on the day. The junior reeled in six passes for 66 yards including a 29-yard reception. 

Defensively, Brandon Russ (Copperas Cove, Tex. / Copperas Cove) led the Purple and Gold with eight total tackles and 1.5 tackles-for-loss. Steven Lucas (Warren, Mich. / Center Line) continued his stretch of strong performances with seven total tackles and two pass break ups. 

Defiance falls to 0-4 on the season and 0-1 in HCAC play after the defeat. The Yellow Jackets will return to action as they continue HCAC play at Mount St. Joseph on Saturday, October 5. Kickoff from Cincinnati is slated for 1:30 pm.