FB Preview: Yellow Jackets head to Adrian to renew rivalry with Bulldogs
September 8, 2023

FB Preview: Yellow Jackets head to Adrian to renew rivalry with Bulldogs

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SATURDAY'S GAME: Defiance College hits the road for the first time in 2023 to rekindle their rivalry with the Adrian Bulldogs. Saturday's contest is the first meeting between the two programs since 2015. Defiance is also looking at earning their first non-conference win since 2016 against Hope, a streak that has spanned 14 games.
 
LAST TIME OUT: The 109th season of Defiance College football began with a 45-6 home loss against No. 2 Mount Union. The Purple Raiders drew up touchdowns on their first two possessions and held a 21-0 lead at halftime and eventually scored four times in the ground game, which eventually churned out 343 yards. Defiance's lone score was a deep, 54-yard connection through the air from quarterback Jordan Ambrose to freshman receiver Cordae McAllister. The season opener was the first Week 1 game at home for the Yellow Jackets since 2018.
 
ABOUT THE YELLOW JACKETS: Defiance is coming off a 3-7 finish to the 2022 season, the first under head coach Bill Nickell. Despite an 0-6 start a year ago, the Yellow Jackets collected three wins over the final four weeks of the season, including consecutive one-score wins over Manchester, 24-21, on Senior Day and Bluffton, 17-14, in the season finale. DC's three wins were the most since a 5-5 campaign in 2016, while the back-to-back victories at the end of the year were the first consecutive victories since that same season. The three wins under Coach Nickell were the most in the first season by a Defiance head coach since Casey Goff's five victories in 2016 and Robert Taylor's four wins in 2003.
 
ABOUT THE BULLDOGS: Adrian is coming off a Week 1 loss at Elmhurst, 14-3. The Bulldogs fell behind in the first when quarterback Brady Raymond threw an interception that was returned 54 yards for an Elmhurst touchdown. Adrian tacked on a field goal before halftime but a second half rushing score gave the Blue Jays a two-score cushion. Adrian did outgain Elmhurst 264 to 204 thanks to 151 yards on the ground and three rushers going over 40 yards. Last year, Adrian finished 6-4, including two wins over HCAC foes Hanover and Bluffton, with a 3-3 mark in MIAA games. The Bulldogs were ranked fifth in the MIAA preseason poll as they look to capture the league for the first time since 2014 and add to their nine conference crowns. Key returning players to the 2023 roster include a pair of graduate-seniors and Second Team MIAA pass-catchers Keontae Townsend (2022 leading receiver, 26 catch, 532 yards, three touchdowns) and Tyler Poirier along with senior offensive lineman Jonathan Sasiela. Jim Deere is in his 14th season as Adrian's head football coach and holds a record of 75-55 with a pair of MIAA titles and playoff berths. He is a 1989 Adrian graduate and is 6-0 when facing Defiance.
 
THE SERIES: After a seven-year hiatus, the Defiance Yellow Jackets and Adrian Bulldogs renew their longstanding series for a 63rd installment. Among Defiance's all-time opponents, Bluffton has faced the Yellow Jackets (98 games) the most while Anderson has also played DC 62 times. The past seven seasons is the longest pause in the head-to-head series since a 10-year period from 1938-47, in which the largest influence being three seasons without football due to World War II. Defiance and Adrian played 30 consecutive seasons from 1986-2015 with two conference games in 1998-99 when DC was a member of the MIAA.
 
HCAC PRESEASON POLL: The Yellow Jackets checked in fifth in the HCAC's preseason coaches poll after a fifth-place finish in the 2022 standings. Defending conference-champion Mount St. Joseph received seven out of eight first-place votes among HCAC head coaches as Rose-Hulman received the lone remaining first-place nod.
 
BUILDING ON THE FOUNDATION: Offensive production in 2022 saw a significant uptick by the Yellow Jackets under the new coaching staff. The Jackets made a 14-point-per-game boost from 2021 to 2022 and the 23.8 points per game on the season were the highest offensive output by the program since 2001 when Defiance won the HCAC and made the DIII Playoffs.
 
RUNNING IT BACK: After improving across the board offensively in 2022, many key pieces to that unit return for 2023. Fifth-year senior quarterback Jordan Ambrose picked up HCAC Honorable Mention last season with 11 passing touchdowns and four more on the ground while manufacturing 1,671 yards (1,276 passing, 395 rushing). Last season's leading rusher Tyshaun Freeman (633 yards, 5 TDs) and top receiver Tawann Rome (33 receptions, 525 yards, 8 touchdowns) are also back in purple and gold for 2023. In addition to those skill players, all five members of the starting offensive line saw action in at least four games last season anchored by three-time All-HCAC center Eric Moultrie Jr.
 
ALL ABOARD THE COLTRAIN: Defiance's defense also had a number of key returners at all three levels and are led by senior linebacker Thomas Coltrain. The Leslie, Mich. native is a three-time First Team All-HCAC selection and a reigning Second Team All-Region. Game-by-game, Coltrain is climbing DC's all-time total tackle list and now stands ninth in career stops with 267 after an even 10 last week vs. Mount Union. The career tackle mark for the Yellow Jackets is 372 by Donny Mutters from 1988-91.
 
BOOMIN' BOLANOS: Junior punter Mathew Bolanos had a stellar first week of the season after five total punts for 249 yards and pinned Mount Union inside the 20 three times. Bolanos' 49.8 yards per punt is the No. 1 punting average nationally at the DIII level entering Week 2 and his game-long 68-yard boot last week was just five yards shy of tying the school record.
 
WHAT FIRST-GAME JITTERS? Several first-year players got right in the mix vs. Mount Union. On offense, Cordae McAllister hauled in a 54-yard touchdown for DC's lone score while tailback Khari Hurt led the squad with 39 rushing yards, including the Jackets' longest run of 35 yards. Defensively, Coty Johnson was the lone freshman with a starting nod and made four tackles.
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