Defiance Earns Senior Day Victory Over Mount St. Joseph

DEFIANCE, Ohio – Defiance College picked up its third-straight win by pulling out a 21-14 victory over Mount St. Joseph on Saturday inside of Coressel Stadium. The win was DC's first over the Lions on the gridiron since 2001 and moved the Yellow Jackets into fourth place in the HCAC with one game remaining.

The Yellow Jackets honored their nine-man senior class prior to kickoff and then pounced on the Lions for an early 14-0 lead. Defiance capitalized on a pair of turnovers by the Mount in the opening quarter to take the two-score advantage.

The first MSJ miscue came on the third offensive play of the day for the Lions. Facing a third down and three, Ben Hunterman threw a pass through the hands of his intended target and into the waiting arms of Keith Snyder. DC's senior free safety returned the interception 12 yards to the MSJ 15-yard line and set up the first score of the afternoon for Defiance.

Lewis Caralla did the rest, carrying the ball three times on DC's next four plays and crossing the goal line on a seven-yard sprint. The drive took only 1:53 and lifted the Yellow Jackets to the quick, 7-0, lead with 11:24 to go in the opening quarter.

The Purple and Gold would take advantage of another golden opportunity later in the quarter, when Hunterman's errant pitch was recovered by Austin Hedderly and ran back 18 yards to the MSJ two-yard line.

The Jackets turned to the ground game once again, this time giving the pill to Drew Kuesel on the only play of the drive. The powerful freshman pounded his way in from two yards out to push the spread to 14-0 at the 3:16 mark of the first quarter.

Each defense dominated play for the remainder of the first half and DC appeared poised to take the 14-point cushion to the half, before a special teams blunder turned the tables on the Yellow Jackets.

Tom Foos mishandled a snap as he prepared to punt the ball away from DC's own 44-yard line with just over one minute left in the half. Foos recovered the loose ball but was brought down at the 25 to give the Lions their first scoring threat of the game.

MSJ marched to the two-yard marker, before Hunterman scored on a quarterback sneak with eight seconds left on the clock. The score brought the Lions to within 14-7 and sent them to the half with momentum.

That carried into the start of the second half, as MSJ forced a quick punt from the Jackets and then moved the ball to DC's two with a 40-yard strike from Hunterman to Tim Meiner. The Lions punched it in on the next play to knot the scoring at 14-14.

Neither side would muster another threat until deep into the fourth when Defiance started a drive from its own 22-yard line with 8:30 left in the game. The Jackets carried the ball four times to get to the 34, before Rick Powell connected with Andy Cessna and Joe Lane on consecutive plays to move the ball to midfield.

The DC attack then turned back to the ground game, as Kuesel churned out 14 yards to set up a first down from the MSJ 34-yard line. Powell finished the 78-yard drive by going back to the air and finding a leaping Nick Wiedenhoft for the 34-yard touchdown pass. Wiedenhoft pulled the ball down over the MSJ defender, before breaking the tackle and walking in for the eventual game-winning score.

The Mount would have two more drives, but would start inside of its own five-yard line on each possession. The DC defense sealed the victory by allowing only five yards on those last two drives, before a Kyle Longsdorf interception with 28 ticks left on the clock finished the 21-14 win.

Defiance played outstanding on defense and held the Lions to only 192 total yards of offense and 2.96 yards per play. Longsdorf led the way with 13 hits and the game-ending pick, while Snyder set up DC's first score of the afternoon with an interception and added eight hits.

Joemese Scott and Josh Wade each registered a sack, as the Yellow Jackets cranked up the pressure on the Lions all afternoon long. DC ended with two team sacks, five hits for lost yardage, five pass breakups and five quarterback hurries.

Defiance also struggled to move the ball offensively, as the two sides combined for 22 punts in the defensive battle. The Yellow Jackets did capitalize on every opportunity however, and turned in a balanced effort with 88 rushing yards and 105 yards through the air.

Caralla and Kuesel each found the end zone on the ground, while Powell and Wiedenhoft connected for DC's only passing touchdown.

Defiance climbs to 3-3 in the HCAC with its third-straight win and will look to stay hot when it closes the 2008 season at Bluffton on Nov. 15 at 1:00 pm. The contest will be the 84th all-time meeting on the gridiron between the long-time rivals.