More First Half Woes Prove Costly for Defiance

N. MANCHESTER, Ind. – Defiance failed to score in the opening 30 minutes of play for the fourth time in five games this season and ultimately suffered a 20-7 loss at Manchester. The Jackets held the Spartans scoreless in the second half but could not overcome the 20-0 halftime deficit.

The offense started sluggishly once again for Defiance and mustered only four first downs and 109 total yards of offense over eight possessions in the first half of play. Those numbers, along with a pair of DC turnovers, led to Manchester dominating field position and time of possession en route to building the 20-point advantage at the break.

The Spartans had an average starting point of their own 46-yard line over seven first-half drives and held the ball for over 17 minutes of the first 30. The outstanding field possession allowed Manchester to take control of the game by ripping off three touchdown drives of less than 50 yards.

Defiance did not let MC dent the scoreboard in the second half but could never gain enough momentum offensively to get back in the game. DC's lone score came with 5:36 left in the fourth, when Rick Powell connected with Joseph Lane for an 18-yard touchdown reception. Tom Foos split the uprights on the extra point attempt to seal the final margin of 20-7 in favor of the Spartans.

For the game, Manchester racked up 37:29 of possession to DC's 22:31 and outgained the Jackets by a 361-247 count. The Spartans did much of the damage on the ground, churning out 209 rushing yards on 48 carries. MC also capitalized on a trio of Defiance fumbles, turning the first two miscues directly into its final 14 points of the day.

Powell accounted for 157 total yards of offense to pace the Yellow Jacket attack. The freshman quarterback completed 15 passes for 127 yards and a touchdown and also ran for 30 yards. Fellow freshman Nick Wiedenhoft matched his career high with five receptions, while Dan Mull and Lewis Caralla each hauled in three passes.

The defense was led once again by safeties Travis Guisinger and Keith Snyder. Guisinger led all players and set a new career high with 14 tackles and now ranks second on the team with 40 total stops. Snyder notched his eighth-straight game with eight-or-more tackles and his third double-digit performance of the season with 13 hits. The senior now has 158 career assisted tackles and needs only 10 more to tie Donny Mutters (1988-91) for the all-time DC record.

The Yellow Jackets (0-5, 0-2 HCAC) will now return home to host Rose-Hulman (5-1, 3-0 HCAC) on Oct. 18 at 1:30 pm. Defiance edged the Engineers, 33-31, one year ago and is 2-0 all-time against R-H.