Defense dazzles as Defiance delivers homecoming victory over Manchester

DEFIANCE, Ohio – A picture-perfect fall afternoon gained further splendor for the purple and gold on Saturday with a 35-3 win by the Defiance Yellow Jackets over the Manchester Spartans to put a cherry on top of homecoming at Justin F. Coressel Field.

The Yellow Jackets (2-3) victory gave the football team their first win in DC's homecoming contest since 2016. Saturday's contest was the 59th meeting against the Spartans (0-4), serving as Defiance's third-oldest rivalry, and pulled out DC's third straight win in the series.

Defense set the tone for the Yellow Jackets beginning on the first drive of the game. Just three plays into the contest, DC's freshman safety Caleb Gabes picked off a long pass by Manchester quarterback Andrew Romero and compiled a hefty return deep into Spartan territory. The Yellow Jackets locked down Manchester throughout the game, letting up just 179 yards of total offense which stood at just 39 at halftime. DC also dropped Manchester's two quarterbacks a total of six times, a season-high for sacks in a game by Defiance led by Dominic Harris with a pair.

The Yellow Jackets recorded rushing touchdowns on each of their first two possessions, a 2-yard rush by Cooper Sloan followed by a 1-yard dive from Cameron Turner. The offense sputtered for the remainder of the half with a pair of punts and two turnovers. However, the team rebounded in the second half with scores on their final two possessions to push the final score to 35-3. Defiance's two second-half scores included an eight-yard rush by Tristan Thomas to finish an 11-play drive at the start of the fourth quarter and a 36-yard connection between Jalen and Jehlani Warren.

THE TURNING POINT
Defiance was in need of a spark near the end of the first half following a controversial interception by Manchester in the end zone when defender Dave Paul ripped the football away from receiver Caleb Johnson. As Manchester tried to run out the remaining 1:51 of the half following the touchback, Defiance's defense forced a quick 3-and-out and took a timeout with 48 seconds left in the second quarter to force a Manchester punt. Freshman lineman Daniel Dodd bulled through the Manchester protection to block the punt and recovered the loose ball in the end zone for a Yellow Jacket touchdown, giving DC a huge boost before halftime.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• The Yellow Jacket defense held Manchester to just 4 of 15 on third downs and stopped each of their fourth-down attempts. The defensive unit also set season-best performances in fewest total yards allowed (179), most sacks (6), fewest passing yards (76) and yards per rush (2.5) while also allowing their fewest points of the season (3).
• The offense produced 263 yards and was very balance at 139 passing and 124 rushing.
• Cameron Turner was the leading rusher at 54 yards, good for 3.6 yards per rush. Jehlani Warren ran 13 times for 26 yards while Sloan toted the ball four times en route to his first score of the campaign.
• Jalen Warren did a lot of the work on his 36-yard receiving touchdown, dodging tacklers on his sprint to his second score of the year. He led the receiving corps with six catches while Caleb Johnson was the only other player to catch multiple passes.
• Homecoming king Zeke Sanchez was a perfect 5-for-5 kicking extra points.
• Mathew Bolanos averaged better than 40 yards per punt (41.8) for the third time this year and booted the longest punt of his career in the third quarter, a 63-yard punt to complete flip the field position.
• Despite all the great defensive numbers as a team, no Yellow Jacket had more than six tackles. Richard Pope IV and Tyshawn Woodson led the charge in that category.
• Among DC's six sacks, seven different players got to the quarterback. Dominic Harris (2) and Pope IV (1.5) each logged multiple sacks while Coty Johnson II, Antonio Rosser, Daniel Dodd, Justhin Austin, and Davidson Leconte Jr. all marked a half sack apiece.
• Defiance improved to 3-0 against Manchester under head coach Bill Nickell.

HALL OF FAME CEREMONY
Defiance College welcomed six new members in to Athletics Hall of Fame and retired the No. 48 jersey of former NFL player Ben Davis (Class of '67). The six new Hall of Fame inductees were Terence Seikel ('79), Kirk Seemann ('90), Fran Wahrman ('90), Anthony Pettaway ('09), Emili McCluer ('97), and Craig Rutter (baseball coach 1983-01).

UP NEXT
Next week, Defiance travels to Chicago to battle the Saint Xavier Cougars. Kickoff against the No. 13 team in the NAIA is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT.

-JACKETS-