FB Preview: Jackets seek second straight win at Kalamazoo
September 15, 2023

FB Preview: Jackets seek second straight win at Kalamazoo

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SATURDAY'S GAME: Defiance College plays its second of three straight road games with a second consecutive contest in the state of Michigan, this time at Kalamazoo and also a member of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association.
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Yellow Jackets overcame a 10-0 deficit to knock of the Adrian Bulldogs, 34-17. DC outscored Adrian 20-0 in the second half and racked up 269 yards on the ground compared to Adrian's 43-yard rushing effort. One of the turning points in the contest came when DC blocked an Adrian punt and recovered the ball in the end zone for a go-ahead touchdown to start the second quarter. The Jackets claimed the lead for good early in the third quarter after taking over on downs with a short field that led to Tyshaun Freeman's second rushing score of the game. The win snapped a 14-game non-conference losing streak that stretched back to the second game of 2016 against Hope and secured the first non-conference road win for the program since the second contest of 2006 that totaled 17 road contests.
 
ABOUT THE YELLOW JACKETS: Defiance is poised for a breakout season in year two under head coach Bill Nickell. Last year, the Yellow Jackets finished 3-7 with all three victories coming in the final four weeks of the campaign and concluded with a road victory over Bluffton in the season finale. DC's three wins were the most since a 5-5 campaign in 2016, while the back-to-back victories at the end of the year were the first consecutive victories since that same season. The three wins under Coach Nickell were the most in the first season by a Defiance head coach since Casey Goff's five victories in 2016 and Robert Taylor's four wins in 2003. The Jackets also made a 14-point-per-game boost from 2021 to 2022 and the 23.8 points per game on the season were the highest offensive output by the program since 2001.
 
ABOUT THE HORNETS: Kalamazoo enters today's non-conference finale with a 2-0 record and a pair of 40-point offensive outbursts. The Hornets only needed the football for 19 minutes for a 42-10 victory against Oberlin to start the season and overcame four turnovers by forcing four on defense on their way to a 48-16 win at Kenyon last week. Quarterback Josh Nichols is second in the MIAA in passing yards at 567 and touchdown passes with six. Meanwhile, senior tailback Jon Brunette and junior wideout Jonah Spates are each tied atop the conference with three touchdowns rushing and receiving, respectively. Kalamazoo's head coach is Jamie Zorbo, a 2000 graduate of the college, and has served as the program's leader for 15 seasons since 2008. The Hornets are 46-96 under his direction. Kalamazoo improved to 3-0 last season after beating Defiance 42-23 last year, but lost their remaining seven games. This year, the MIAA coaches polled the Hornets to finish seventh but are one of three undefeated teams in the conference entering Week 3 (Alma, Albion).
 
THE SERIES: Saturday's contest marks the ninth meeting in the all-time series between Defiance and Kalamazoo. The current two-game series is the fourth all-time and is the first since Defiance belonged to the MIAA for two seasons to end the 20th century. Prior to the 1998-99 series, the Jackets and Hornets played in 1992-93 that featured DC's only consecutive wins against Kalamazoo as Defiance was in the midst of five straight winning seasons from 1990-94 and compiled a record of 39-11 during that run. Out of eight previous meetings, five contests have ended in shutouts by the victor.
 
TURNING THE TIDE: Entering Saturday's contest 1-1, DC has the opportunity to carry a winning record into conference play for the first time since 2006. That group led by head coach Robert Taylor defeated Adrian and Trine in the second and third games of the year before eventually winning six straight to begin the season 6-1. The Jackets' last winning record was held in 2016 when the team was 4-3 through seven games.
 
RUNNING FREE-MAN: Senior running back Tyshaun Freeman broke loose for his eighth career 100-yard game and third multi-touchdown day during last week's win at Adrian. The Macon, Ga. native enters play 255 yards shy of becoming the eighth player in DC's football history to surpass 2,000 career rushing yards and is currently 107 yards from moving into eighth place in career yards. Last season, Freeman led the Jackets in rushing with 633 yards and five scores in nine games.
 
THE JORDAN AMBROSE EXPERIENCE: Senior quarterback Jordan Ambrose also used his legs to spark the Defiance rushing attack last week when he turned in a game-high and career-best 144-yard afternoon. His performance was the most rushing yards in a game by a Defiance signal caller since Ricky Powell tallied 195 rushing yards on September 18, 2010 at Hanover. Last week's contest was also the fourth time in his career in which Ambrose ran and threw a touchdown in the same game. A Tomball, Texas native, Ambrose threw for 1,282 yards with 11 touchdowns while also running for 395 yards and four scores to earn Honorable Mention All-HCAC.
 
ALL ABOARD THE COLTRAIN: Defiance's defense also had a number of key returners at all three levels and are led by senior linebacker Thomas Coltrain. The Leslie, Mich. native is a three-time First Team All-HCAC selection and reigning Second Team All-Region. Game-by-game, Coltrain is climbing DC's all-time total tackle list and now stands eighth in career stops with 272 after five more last week at Adrian, and also ranks sixth in solo tackles with 175. The career total tackle mark for the Yellow Jackets is 372 by Donny Mutters from 1988-91.
 
BRINGING THE STING: Seniors Brian Murat, V'Sean Palmer and Jaylen Redd join Coltrain in leading the Yellow Jackets in tackles through two games. However, two underclassmen have swarmed to the football at a high clip. Freshman middle linebacker Coty Johnson II led the team with nine tackles at Adrian last week and has 13 total. Sophomore Dominic Harris is currently leading the HCAC with 2.5 sacks and is sixth on the squad with 10 total stops.
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