|
GREENWOOD, Ind. – Junior corner back Nic Cass was named as the Defensive Player of the Week in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference on Monday afternoon after picking off three passes in Defiance’s 20-10 win at Hanover on Saturday.
With Defiance clinging to a 13-10 lead in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, Cass single-handedly put an end to three of Hanover’s final four drives with a trio of interceptions. Cass sealed the Yellow Jacket victory by returning the third pick 22 yards for a touchdown, pushing the DC lead to its final margin of 20-10 with just over one minute to play. On the day, Cass added five tackles and one more pass breakup to go with the three fourth-quarter interceptions.
The first interception came on Hanover’s opening drive of the fourth quarter and gave Defiance the ball on HC’s own 44-yard line. The Jackets then marched 24 yards over the next six plays to set up a Dan Brown 37-yard field goal which gave DC the 13-10 lead. Cass then ended the next Panther drive on the second play and stuck again on the second play of the ensuing Hanover possession, this time putting the game out of reach with a 22-yard interception return for a touchdown.
The efforts of Cass not only led to 10 unanswered points by the Jackets but allowed Defiance to drain over 12 minutes off the clock in the final quarter.
The Roseville, Mich, native now leads Defiance with five interceptions and six pass breakups. Cass has also blocked a kick and posted 27 tackles in 2006.
Cass becomes the sixth different Yellow Jacket to earn Player-of-the-Week honors from the conference office and the fifth in the past four weeks.
Defiance (6-1, 4-0 HCAC) will be gunning for its seventh-straight win and sole possession of first place in the HCAC when it hosts an unbeaten and nationally ranked Mount St. Joseph (7-0, 5-0 HCAC) squad on Saturday at 1:30 pm.
|
