Feldhaus Records Career-High 15 Tackles in Loss Against Centre (Ky.)

DEFIANCE, OHIO   --  Junior safety Andrew Feldhaus (Lutz, Fla./Steinbrenner) made a career-high 15 tackles as the Defiance College football team lost 34-7 to Centre (Ky.) College in a non-conference game at Justin F. Coressel Stadium.

Defiance (0-2) scored the game's first points when it found the endzone on its second drive of the first quarter when senior quarterback Garrett Teague (Webberville, Mich./Webberville) completed a 44-yard pass play to sophomore wideout Darius Harper (Jacksonville, Fla./Robert E. Lee) to put the Yellow Jackets up 7-0 at the 9:11 minute mark.  But Centre (2-0) answered scoring what turned out to be 34 unanswered points with 13 of those points coming in the first quarter on 28-yard and 47-yard TD completions.  The Colonels missed the extra-point opportunity on their first touchdown and led 13-7 after the first stanza.

Centre opened the second quarter with the ball and looked to be headed towards another possible touchdown thanks to a 37-yard run to sustain the drive and put the Colonels deep into Defiance territory.  The Yellow Jacket defense then held firm, holding Centre to three consecutive plays of no gain from their own 14-yard line, forcing the Colonels to settle for a 31-yard field goal with 13:35 left in the half.  Centre tacked on another field goal late in the period, this time from 33-yards out before converting on a Defiance turnover that led to a Colonel TD on a four-yard completion with 33 seconds left.  Centre would go for two and quarterback Heath Haden used his legs to convert the attempt increasing the margin to 27-7 at the break.

The final points of the game came in the third quarter when Centre struck paydirt that capped an 18-play drive which ended in a two-yard run at the 6:46 mark and made the score 34-7.  Neither team could score any points in the final 15 minutes as the Colonels went on to claim the 37-7 victory.

Centre ended the game with 445 total yards of offense (245 rushing and 200 passing) and were led by the duo of Haden and running back Nolan Coulter.  Haden completed 14-of-26 passes for 183 yards and three scores.  He was also the team's second-leading rusher with 54 yards on 15 carries.  Coulter rushed for a game-high 150 yards in 27 attempts.  Max Mazza led all Colonel recievers with five catches for 99 yards and had one TD.  Defensively, Alex Mattingly led the way with nine tackles, including a tackle for loss.

Defiance ended the game with 284 yards of offense (125 rushing and 159 passing).  Teague completed 14-of-31 yards for 159 yards and a TD.  Junior running back Daniel Collins (West Springfield, Va./West Springfield) was the leading rusher for the Jackets carrying the ball 12 times for 83 yards.  Harper recorded game-highs of seven receptions for 101 yards to go along with the TD.  On defense, three DC players finished with 10 or more tackles, led by Feldhaus' career-best 15 stops.  Senior safety Josh Slayton (Fort Wayne, Ind./North Side) was second with 11 tackles and senior linebacker Eric Strickland (West Palm Beach, Fla./Seminole Ridge) added 10 tackles, in addition to forcing a fumble.

The Yellow Jackets will open Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference play when they host the College of Mount St. Joseph next Saturday, Sept. 20 at Coressel Stadium.  Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.