October 14

Defiance Set to Host Anderson for Homecoming Game

DEFIANCE, Ohio – The Defiance College football team will take the field in search of its fifth-straight victory on Saturday as it plays host to Anderson College. The game will cap off a day of Homecoming festivities with kick-off scheduled for 1:30 pm.

The Yellow Jackets are 26-18-1 all-time against Anderson and will be looking for their first five-game winning streak since getting off to a 7-0 start in the 2001 season.

The game will be broadcast live by Tom Jeffery and Greg Pscodna on WZOM 105.7 FM and can also be heard via the internet by clicking this link and typing in the word Defiance.

The Series History - Today marks the 46th all-time meeting between Defiance and Anderson on the gridiron. The Yellow Jackets hold a 26-18-1 record in the series, as the 26 victories over the Ravens are the fourth highest win total over a single program in DC’s history. Defiance scored a 32-7 win at AC on Oct. 8 of last season to end a three-game losing skid against Anderson.

Scouting Defiance - The Yellow Jackets enter play today having won four-straight games and 10 of their last 13 contests in all. The 4-1 start marks the best record over the first five games for a DC team since it won the first seven games of the 2001 HCAC Championship season. A win today would also give the Purple and Gold its first five-game winning streak since 2001.

Scouting Anderson - The Ravens enter today on the other end of a four-game slide, having suffered losses to Franklin, MSJ, Earlham and DePauw after posting a season-opening, 17-10, win over Taylor. Jonathon Powers leads Anderson and is currently ranked second in the nation with 13.8 tackles per game from his defensive back position.

What To Watch - Defiance is averaging nearly 160 rushing yards per game and has run the ball 40 or more times in four of its five games this season. On the other side of the trenches, Anderson has allowed a league worst 168.6 yards per game on the ground.

HCAC Player of the Week - Gary Allen became the fourth Yellow Jacket to be named as a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Week on Monday. Allen was named as the top special teams performer after he posted 112 total return yards, including one 90-yard kickoff return for DC’s lone touchdown of the game. Allen’s touchdown gave DC the 10-7 lead and sent them to a 13-10 win over Rose-Hulman.

DC in the National Rankings - Heading into play this week there are numerous Yellow Jackets among the national leaders in several statistical categories. Stu Gliwa is 18th in the nation with 0.5 forced fumbles per game, Dan Brown is 20th with 1.0 made field goals a game, Mike Haydon is 28th with 1.0 sacks per game and Jason Bushong is 38th with 1.5 passes defended per contest. As a team, DC ranks 19th in scoring defense (10.4), 22nd in total defense (222.6 ypg), 23rd in rush defense (64.8 ypg) and 40th in pass efficiency defense (92.1).

Taylor Climbing the Charts - Head Coach Robert Taylor has added four wins to his career total this season, putting the fourth-year head coach at 15 and in ninth place in DC’s all-time records. Taylor has moved past former DC coaches Gilbert Smith (1933-35), Larry Schultz (1946-47), Victor Rowen (1951-53) and Emerald Wilson (1927-30) in ‘06 and is two wins shy of Lance Tigyer’s (1971-73) mark of 17 and just three back of Kirk Mee (1964-66) for seventh place.

Around the HCAC - It continues to be a three-way race for the top spot in the league as No. 18 MSJ, Franklin and Defiance all remain unbeaten in conference play. It should be a bit less crowded atop the standings following this afternoon’s action as Franklin will host Mt. St. Joseph in the HCAC Game of the Week. In other conference action, Rose-Hulman will try again to score its first-ever HCAC victory when it plays at Bluffton and a high powered Hanover offensive unit will look to bounce back from a shutout loss to MSJ last week when it travels to Manchester.

What’s On Tap? - The Jackets will play at Hanover next Saturday before returning to Coressel Stadium for its final two home contests of the 2006 campaign. DC will host Mount St. Joseph on Oct. 28 and Franklin on Nov. 4.