Bluffton withstands DC’s second-half heroics to take back The Hammer

DEFIANCE, Ohio – The Defiance Yellow Jackets erased a 28-7 halftime deficit, but the Bluffton Beavers engineered a two-minute drive to score the game-winning touchdown with 21 seconds left to take the season finale, 42-35, and The Hammer at Justin F. Coressel Stadium on Saturday.

The Yellow Jackets (4-6, 3-4) posted 14 points in each the third and fourth quarters with five different players finding the end zone in the contest. The big boost to the Beavers' (4-6, 3-4) final drive was a 37-yard reception by Kale Lee to pull Bluffton into scoring position. Seven rushes later, quarterback Xavier Reyero plunged into the end zone for a one-yard score to snap a 35-35 tie.

Defiance still had hope at the close of the contest due to an excessive celebration penalty on the Beavers, which allowed Defiance to start in plus-territory. A roughing the passer penalty on fourth-and-six gave DC one untimed down 28 yards from the end zone, but the pass towards the fell incomplete to conclude the season.

Defiance played inspiring football out of halftime and overcame the three-touchdown hole. Forcing Bluffton into a three-and-out on their first possession of the half, a bad punt put DC in prime field position. On the second play of the drive, senior DC quarterback Jordan Ambrose found Dazzmon Garrett down the left sideline for a 36-yard touchdown. Bluffton muffed the ensuing kickoff and David Hunter recovered the ball for Defiance at Bluffton's 43. Tyshaun Freeman took five carries of a seven-play scoring drive, including a 24-yard scamper to the end zone to trim the lead down to seven.

Bluffton answered Freeman's score with a 31-yard touchdown through the air before the two teams traded punts to finish the third quarter. Defiance struck immediately in the fourth as Ambrose launched a 62-yard pass to Shonjae Gibson, which was the longest passing play from scrimmage for the Yellow Jackets this season. However, DC kicker Zeke Sanchez missed the extra point to keep the Beavers up by eight points, 35-27.

The two teams then exchanged interceptions before the plot thickened halfway through the final stanza. Backed up at their own 20 yard line, DC's defense delivered another clutch stop and forced the Beavers to punt. Daniel Budwah broke through the line and blocked the punt, which trickled through the back of the end zone to for a safety to make the score 35-29. After the free kick, Defiance marched down the field following strong runs by Freeman and a 25-yard connection between Gibson and Ambrose. Ambrose muscled his way into the end zone with 2:39 left in the game, a gain for the final six yards to tie the contest at 35-35.

Defiance initially sent the offense back on the field to go for two. After the Jackets took a timeout to think things over, they sent the kicking unit onto the field and Sanchez missed a second PAT as the score stayed tied, 35-35.

The padding Bluffton needed to withstand Defiance's comeback was built with a dominating second quarter. Also armed with an opening possession touchdown, the Beavers broke a 7-7 tie on a three-yard Kainan Stoner rush with 8:05 left in the second quarter. Then, the defense intercepted Ambrose for the first of three times in the game before the offense turned the opportunity into a touchdown three plays later. The Jackets went three-and-out on offense and punted back to the Beavers. Five plays later, Bluffton created the second straight touchdown connection between Reyero and top receiver Ethan Beringer with 55 seconds remaining in the second quarter.

Both teams amassed over 400 yards of total offense as the Beavers narrowly won the field-position battle 465-446. The Jackets ran for 203 yards, eclipsing the 200-yard barrier for the sixth time in 2023. The turnover battle went to Bluffton by forcing three takeaways to DC's one, but both squads notched seven points off those turnovers.

Freeman led the Yellow Jackets in the ground game with 168 yards, his third 100-yard game of the season and ninth of his career. Freeman finished the season with 976 yards on the ground with 13 rushing touchdowns, each top 10 single-season totals in program history, while his 2,603 career yards rank third in program history. Ambrose passed for 243 yards and three scores along with three interceptions, while also rushing for 35 yards and an additional touchdown. Gibson led the receiving corps with 101 yards on four catches countered by Garrett's 92 yards on a team-best six grabs. Cooper Sloan also caught a touchdown pass of 14 yards, which was the first score in the game by the Yellow Jackets. 

Defensively, Thomas Coltrain made 14 more tackles in the finale of his esteemed career at Defiance. The linebacker ended the year with a career-best 100 tackles to climb to 357 for his career, the third-most in a career for a Yellow Jacket defender. Richard Pope IV added 3.5 sacks in the contest to lead the program with 9.5 sacks for the year while he ends his career with 26.5, second-most for a career at DC. 

The Yellow Jackets' 4-6 finish to the season builds upon a 3-7 campaign a year ago as the offense produced the most points in a season (320) since 1993. Also, the team's 2,027 rushing yards and 24 rushing touchdowns were each the most since 2001.

The season finale marks the end of the NCAA and HCAC era for Yellow Jacket football. Through DC's 33 seasons as an NCAA member since 1991, the Yellow Jackets went 133-190 while playing to a record of 71-100 within the HCAC. The program now looks ahead to the transition to the NAIA and Mid-States Football Association when the team takes the field again in the fall of 2024.

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