Football Loses to Manchester (Ind.) in HCAC Play

NORTH MANCHETER, IND.  --  Turnovers and penalties put the Defiance College football team on the losing end of a 37-23 decision against Manchester University in a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference game in North Manchester, Ind.

The Defiance (1-4, 1-2 HCAC) offense totaled 351 yards led by sophomore quarterback Alex Larson (Highland, Mich./Milford) who threw for 249 yards on 19-of-26 passing and had two touchdowns.  Junior running back Daniel Collins (West Springfield, Va./West Springfield) also had a strong day offensively catching six passes for a team-high 106 yards and a TD.  He also rushed for 39 yards in eight attempts and had a TD. 

Defensively, Defiance had three players make 10 or more tackles with freshman safety Angello Proulx (Warren, Mich./Mott) tallying a game-high 13 stops (11 solo and two assists), including three tackles for loss.  Senior linebacker Eric Strickland (West Palm Beach, Fla./Seminole Ridge) had 12 tackles, with two tackles for loss, and junior safety Andrew Feldhaus (Lutz, Fla./Steinbrenner) added 11 tackles which included a tackle for loss.

Turnovers played a role for the Yellow Jackets right from the start as a fumble on the game's opening kickoff would give the ball to Manchester (3-3, 2-2 HCAC) at the Defiance 27-yard line.  The turnover only led to a field goal by the Spartans however, for an early 3-0 lead at the 13:28 mark of the opening quarter.  The lone field goal were the only points scored in the first 15 minutes.

The Spartans found paydirt early in the second period as part of a scoring drive that began in the first quarter and ended with an eight-yard toucdown run to make the score 10-0.  Two Yellow Jacket drives later, DC got on the board when Larson connected with Collins on a 74-yard pass play to find the endzone and cut the deficit to 10-7 with 7:59 left in the half.  Collins found the endzone again on the Jackets' next possession on a seven-yard run to end a six-play, 80-yard drive.  DC took a 13-10 lead following the Collins TD run and a missed two-point conversion attempt.  Manchester quickly regained the lead thanks to a scoring drive of its own on its ensuing possession to make it a 17-13 ballgame with 1:26 left in the half.  The final points of the half came off the foot of senior kicker Spencer Saunders (Springfield/Southeastern Local) who kicked a 37-yard field goal as time expired putting DC within striking distance, 17-16, at the break.

Manchester extended its lead with the first score of the third quarter on a six-yard TD completion to make the score 24-16.  DC answered on its next drive that included an initial 10-yard TD run by Collins that was called back because of a holding penalty.  But the Jackets rebounded finding the endzone a second time on the very next play, this time on a 12-yard pass play from Larson to sophomore wide receiver Darius Harper (Jacsonville, Fla./Robert E. Lee) cutting the deficit to 24-23 at the 5:10 mark.  The two teams continued to exchange scores as the Spartans followed up the Harper score with a 50-yard TD pass to extend the margin back to eight points, 31-23. 

On DC's next drive, a Larson fumble at the Defiance 46-yard line led to a Manchester field goal from 27-yards that gave the Spartans some breathing room, 34-23, with 11:18 to go in the game.  MU tacked on a final field goal, this time from 20 yards out that capped a 17-play 71-yard drive and ate up over eight minutes off the clock to give the Spartans a 37-23 advantage wtih 1:54 to play.  The game ended as it began for the Jackets as a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, which was recovered by Manchester, sealed the victory for the Spartans and the final score of 37-23.

Manchester was led offensively by quarterback Logan haston who completed 19-of-27 passes for 285 yards and three TD.  Collin Huffine caught four passes for a game-high 107 yards and a score, while Evan Rice added six catches for 94 yards and a TD.

Defiance returns home to face Rose-Hulman (Ind.) Institute of Technology next Saturday, Oct. 18 at Justin F. Coressel Stadium.  The game will be part of Homecoming Week festivities with kickoff slated for 1:30 p.m.