Trine Uses Strong Fourth Quarter to Spoil DC's Home Opener

DEFIANCE, Ohio – Defiance closed the third quarter with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Rick Powell to Dan Mull to draw the Jackets within six points heading into the final 15 minutes on Saturday's home opener at Coressel Stadium. Defiance would get no closer however, as Trine put 22 points on the board in the final quarter to secure the 42-14 win.

The Jackets fell behind early as Trine moved the ball 71 yards on 13 plays to take a quick 7-0 lead on its first possession of the afternoon. The Thunder pounded the ball down the field behind eight rushing plays and reached the end zone on a three-yard rush from Kent Biller.

Defiance went a quick three-and-out on its next touch and TU immediately doubled the spread to 14-0 on a nine-play, 78-yard scoring drive. The march down the field was fueled once again by the ground game with all but four of those yards coming on running plays. Eric Watt capped the drive with a 10-yard scamper to put Defiance in the two-touchdown hole.

The score remained at 14-0 through the beginning of the third quarter, as DC's defense began to dig in and steadily turn the momentum. Dustin Supan then single-handedly got the Jackets back in the game with a 59-yard interception return for a touchdown.

Supan made a perfect read on Watt's pass to the sideline and stepped in front of the Trine receiver for the pick. The junior corner then sprinted untouched down the sidelines for Defiance's first touchdown of the day.

Trine struck right back on its next touch, capitalizing on great field position to push the spread back to 20-7. A personal foul penalty on Supan's interception return was assessed on the ensuing kickoff to give the Thunder the ball on the 50-yard line. Watt finished the five-play drive with a 15-yard pass to Troy Hirschy for the score.

The Jackets would answer with their first offensive touchdown since the closing moments of the season-opening loss at Muskingum. Powell's completion to Mull in the corner of the end zone gave DC life and drew the Jackets within six points at 20-14 heading in to the fourth quarter.

The final 15 minutes would belong to Trine however, as the Thunder reached pay dirt on three-of-four possessions in the final frame, en route to outscoring DC, 22-0, and pulling away for the 42-14 victory.

The lopsided fourth quarter helped to further skew the final stats in Trine's favor. The Thunder ended with 207 rushing yards and 472 total yards of offense behind 24 first downs. Trine also converted seven-of-10 third down's to extend several of its scoring drives.

Defiance struggled yet again to move the chains and settled for only nine first downs and a season-high 220 total yards of offense.

Powell provided a spark for the offensive unit, connecting on nine-of-15 passes for 105 yards and a touchdown off the bench. Mull was the primary beneficiary, hauling in six passes for 53 yards and a score.

Jarrett Ensign and Nick Wiedenhoft each caught a trio of passes and Lewis Caralla gained 76 yards on eight carries, with 51 coming on the longest play of the afternoon.

Travis Guisinger led the defense with nine tackles in the loss, while Keith Snyder and Eric Rubio followed with seven hits each. Supan's interception and touchdown return highlighted the long day for Defiance, while Snyder also prevented a Trine score by forcing a fumble on the goal line which was recovered by Rubio.

Defiance falls to 0-3 with the loss and will take a week off to prepare for its toughest challenge of the season. DC will host No. 17 Franklin on Oct. 4 at 1:30 pm inside of Coressel Stadium. The game will cap a weekend of Homecoming festivities for Defiance.