DC Football Knotches First Win of Season Against Hanover (Ind.)

HANOVER, IND.  --  The Defiance College defense held its opponent to a negative 21 yards rushing and tallied five quarterback sacks as the Yellow Jacket offense rallied from a 12-point deficit at halftime to post a 31-28 victory against Hanover (Ind.) College for its first win of the season and first Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference victory.

Defiance (1-3, 1-1 HCAC) looked to score on its first possession of the game getting to the Hanover 18-yard line, but an interception ended the drive.  However, the turnover pinned the Hanover (0-4, 0-2 HCAC) offense at their own six yard line.  Three plays later, the Yellow Jacket defense put the first points of the game on the board when sophomore linebacker Matt DeVore (Van Buren) sacked the Panther quarterback in the endzone for a safety.  DC got the ball back following the safety, but would again have the drive end via a turnover, this time on a fumble, that eventually lead to a Hanover touchdown to put the Panthers up by the score of 7-2 at the 4:02 mark.  The combined nine points by the two teams would be all the scoring in the period as the Panthers took their five-point lead into the second quarter.

Hanover began its second scoring drive of the game just before the end of the first quarter after forcing Defiance to punt and found the endzone on a one-yard TD run that was set up by a 42-yard pass completion earlier in the drive.  The score extended the lead to 14-2 with 14:04 left in the half.  The Jacket offensive struggles continued on their next possession which ended on a turnover on downs after driving to the Hanover 39-yard line.  The Panthers again capitalized scoring on a 25-yard pass play that ended a five-play, 61-yard drive to take a commanding 21-2 advantage at the 10:23 mark.  The DC offense then began to find its rhythm late in the period as the Jackets found paydirt as part of a 10-play, 60-yard drive with a 17-yard completion from senior quarterback Garrett Teague (Webberville, Mich./Webberville) to junior Daniel Collins (West Springfield, Va./West Springfield) to end the scoring in the quarter and narrow the gap to 21-9 at the break.

The second half started out in similar fashion for Defiance offensively, as an interception by the Jackets ended their first drive of the third quarter.  But Hanover returned the favor on its possession despite getting to the Yellow Jacket 13-yard line when DC junior safety Andrew Feldhaus (Lutz, Fla./Steinbrenner) stepped in front of a Panther pass keeping Hanover off the scoreboard.  Following a three-and-out by Defiance after the interception, Hanover committed its second straight turnover with an interception by sophomore defensive back Kenny Jones (Toledo/Bowsher) at the Defiance 40-yard line and returned it 50 yards before being stopped at the Panther 10-yard line.  The interception led to a two-yard TD run by Collins with 2:39 left in the quarter making it a one-possession ball game, 21-16.  Hanover looked to swing momentum back on its side just before the end of the period with a 12-yard TD completion to go up by a more comfortable 28-16 heading into the fourth quarter.

Defiance answered the most recent Hanover score with a score of its own when Teague found sophomore Cody Wilson (McComb) in the endzone at the 12:27 mark on a drive that included a 23-yard pass play from Teague to Collins and a 20-yard run by senior Trevon Burrell (Auburn Hills, Mich./Avondale).  The Panthers drove to the Defiance 13-yard line on their next drive, but were forced to attempt a 30-yard field goal that went wide, keeping the score 28-23.  Two plays into the ensuing Jacket drive, Teague connected with sophomore wideout Darius Harper (Jacksonville, Fla./Robert E. Lee) for 37 yards which later led to a four-yard score by Collins to give the Yellow Jackets their first lead of the game, 29-28.  The Jackets converted the two-point conversion on a successful run by Collins to extend the lead to 31-28.  Hanover got one more attempt to tie or win the game with their final drive, but with only 31 seconds left in the game.  The Jacket defense sealed the victory when Feldhaus recorded his second interception of the game on the first play from scrimmage allowing the Jackets to take a knee and go on to the 31-28 come-from-behind victory.

Hanover ended the game with 282 yards of offense (-21 rushing and 303 passing).  Quarterback Trent Downs completed 20-of-38 passes for 303 yards with two TD and two interceptions.  Ricky Windell led all receivers with seven catches for 170 yards and a pair of scores.  Spencer Corrao led the Panther ground game with 14 yards on 12 attempts and had one TD.  On defense, the duo of Jsutin Magaw and Vince Peiffer both recorded a gane-high 13 tackles.  Both also had an interception while Magaw added a half tackle for loss and Peiffer chipped in with 1.5 tackles for loss.

Defiance racked up 388 yards of offense (162 rushing and 226 passing).  Teague finished the game 15-of-30 for 226 yards to go along with two TD.  Burrell carried the ball 20 times for a game-high 81 yards.  Harper led the Jackets in reception yards with 89 in four receptions.  Collins caught a team-high five passes for 69 yards and a TD.  Defensively, Feldhaus led the way with seven tackles (six solo and one assist) in addition to the two interceptions.

The Jackets will be idle next Saturday and will resume the season on Saturday, Oct. 11 when they travel to North Manchester, Ind. for a HCAC matchup against Manchester College.  Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.