Mount St. Joseph Runs Past DC Football

DEFIANCE, Ohio – Defiance College could not slow the top-rated rusher in NCAA Division III, as Mount St. Joseph got 220 yards and three touchdowns on the ground from James Clay in a 21-0 victory over Defiance on Saturday at Coressel Stadium.

The 220 yards on 24 carries accounted for all but 38 yards of MSJ's offense on the afternoon, as the Mount mustered only 1.9 yards per play when Clay did not touch the football. The Lions leaned heavily on the senior All-American candidate, as Clay averaged 9.2 yards per carry and ripped off touchdown spurts of eight, 35 and 70 yards in the opening half.

Defiance ran 47 more plays on the afternoon, piled up 14 more first downs, 120 more yards of offense and possessed the ball for over 40 minutes of action but could not find the end zone in the losing effort.

The Jackets ended the afternoon with 249 yards on the ground against the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference's top-rated rush defense. The performance marked DC's third-straight outing with at least 200 yards on the ground and its fourth of the year.

Eric Strickland did most of the work by carrying the ball 23 times for 65 yards, while quarterback Garrett Teague ended with 81 yards on 15 attempts.

DC's defense settled in during the final two quarters, holding MSJ (3-3, 2-3 HCAC) to just 45 yards of offense and three first downs after the intermission. The second-half shutout was not enough however, as Defiance could not dent the scoreboard in the 21-0 defeat.

The Jackets (2-5, 2-3 HCAC) will be back in action on October 20, when they play at Hanover (4-2, 4-0 HCAC) in a 1:30 pm start.