DC Football earns respect, conference honors for ’05 season

DEFIANCE, Ohio—After being picked to finish second-to-last in the Heartland Conference’s pre-season coaches’ poll, the 2005 Defiance College Yellow Jackets went 4-2 in league play, earning second place. With such a turnaround comes many awards to be reaped and the Jackets are doing just that.

Defiance College head football coach Rob Taylor has been named the league’s ‘Coach of the Year’, while senior Kris Zajac was named ‘Defensive Player of the Year, and freshman quarterback Hans Vetter earned the HCAC’s ‘Freshman of the Year’ award. A total of 13 Yellow Jackets were named to the All-HCAC squads.

Completing his third season as DC’s head coach, Taylor spearheaded a climb toward the top of the conference standings by a team that had finished 1-9 overall and 1-5 in the HCAC in 2004. His 2005 squad ended the season 6-4 overall and all alone in the second place in the Heartland. Taylor, who still coordinates the Jacket defense, made a complete switch this season from a 4-3 to a 3-4 alignment, ending the year with a unit that ranked first in the conference in rushing defense with only 81.6 yards-allowed-per-game and helped DC rank first in turnover margin at +14.

Zajac (Grosse Ile, Mich.- Grosse Ile) was named the top defensive player in the conference after ranking first in the HCAC in sacks with 10 and second in tackles-for-loss with 14. The senior totaled a team-high 84 tackles and added an interception, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery on the year, while acting as the on-field leader for the stingy Jacket defense.

The Grosse Ile, Michigan native earned national recognition for several of his performances this season. He was named to D3Football.com’s ‘Team of the Week’ after recording 13 tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble in Defiance’s 38-23 win over Franklin on October 29. He was previously named one of Don Hansen’s Football Gazette ‘National Players of the Week’ for his 18 tackle, four sack, five tackle-for-loss day in DC’s 29-26 win over Bethany on September 17. He was also named the HCAC’s ‘Defensive Player of the Week’ for each of those performances. Zajac earned second-team All-HCAC honors one year ago.

Vetter (Toledo, Ohio- Springfield) burst onto the Division III scene when he entered the DC line-up in a week four win at Case Western Reserve. The quarterback ended the season as the team’s leading passer and rusher with 1,052 yards through the air and 351 rushing yards. He is honored as the league’s best freshman after leading the Jackets to wins over Anderson, Hanover, Franklin and Bluffton. He was twice named the conference’s ‘Offensive Player of the Week’, first for throwing for 185 yards on 14-of-22 passing with four touchdowns in a 32-7 win at Anderson, and later for his 253-total yards of offense and three touchdowns in a 41-14 win at Bluffton in the season finale.

Vetter ranked first in the conference with a pass efficiency rating of 130.1, while totaling 19 touchdowns on the season with 13 coming through the air.

Vetter and Zajac were also named to the All-HCAC first team along with six other Yellow Jackets. Josh Staggs (Paw Paw, Mich.- Paw Paw), Luke Dillon (Temperance, Mich.- Missouri Military), Tyler Haines (Piqua, Ohio- Piqua), Mike Haydon (Allen Park, Mich.- Allen Park), Zac Fulmer (Hastings, Mich.- Hastings) and Blake Stambaugh (Swanton, Ohio- Swanton) joined the two previously mentioned Jackets on the league’s first team.

Mason Patrick (Zanesfield, Ohio- Benjamin Logan), Chris Tietje (Deshler, Ohio- Patrick Henry) and Steven Brancheau (Temperance, Mich.- Bedford) were named All-HCAC second-team performers, while Jason Bushong (Marshall, Mich.- Marshall) and Robert Miller (St. Johns, Mich.- St. Johns)

Staggs, a junior defensive end, closed out the year with 2.5 tackles-for-loss, a sack, an interception and three pass break-ups, as well as a total of 13 tackles for the Jacket defense.

Dillon, a sophomore wide receiver, had a break-out season as the Jackets’ downfield threat. He led the Jackets with 745 receiving yards and nine touchdowns, averaging 82.8 receiving yards-per-game and 17.3 yards-per-catch.

Haines, a junior linebacker, caused havoc for opposing offense, totaling 13.5 tackles-for-loss and three sacks. The Piqua native added an interception with a return for a touchdown and a forced fumble while totaling 47 tackles on the year. He was an honorable-mention selection as a sophomore in 2004.

Haydon, a junior safety, made the switch from corner to strong safety this season and ended the season with 75 tackles and 4.5 tackles-for-loss. The Allen Park, Michigan native also had three interceptions, a sack, a fumble recovery, and a forced fumble. Haydon was a second-team All-HCAC performer one year ago.

Fulmer (Hastings, Mich.- Hastings) ended his DC career with a stellar season, totaling 9.5 tackles-for-loss and 5.5 sacks. He also totaled 48 tackles from his defensive tackle position, broke up four passes, a fumble recovery and a blocked kick.

Stambaugh (Swanton, Ohio- Swanton) ended his career with a senior season that ranked him at the top of the conference in punting at 40.0 yards-per-punt. The Swanton native placed 14 punts inside opponents’ 20-yard line and had a long kick of 57 yards. He was named HCAC ‘Special Teams Player of the Week’ twice for performances against Hanover and Franklin when he averaged 43.8 and 38.8 yards per punt. Stambaugh was also named to D3Football.com’s National Team of the Week and to Don Hansen’s Football Gazette squad for his Hanover performance. He is making his second-straight appearance on the HCAC first-team squad.

Patrick, a sophomore left guard on the offensive line, and Miller, a junior left tackle, earned their second and honorable-mention honors, respectively, for helping pave the way for 2523 yards of total offense, while allowing just 25 sacks. Patrick graded out at an average of 81% per-game and averaged nine knockdowns per-contest. Miller graded at 80% per-game and averaged seven knockdowns per-game.

Tietje, a sophomore linebacker, had a great season in his first starting duty with the Jacket defense. The Deshler native tied for the team lead with four interceptions and had five sacks on the year. He forced and recovered two fumbles, while totaling 59 stops including 11 tackles-for-loss. He was named HCAC ‘Defensive Player of the Week’ for his two interception, seven tackle performance in DC’s win at Anderson.

Steven Brancheau, a junior linebacker, earned his second-straight second-team nomination after working as DC’s primary run stopper all season, totaling 72 tackles and 8.5 stops-for-loss. He had three sacks, a forced fumble and a blocked kick on the season.

Bushong, a junior cornerback, showed much improvement in his second season starting in the DC defensive backfield, totaling 43 tackles, three interceptions and six pass break-ups in the ’05 campaign.

Mount St. Joseph’s Mike Lovell earned the HCAC ‘Offensive Player of the Year’ award while fellow Lion Kevin Koch was named the league’s ‘Special Teams Player of the Year’. The conference champs at 5-1, Mount St. Joseph will play at Mount Union in the first round of the NCAA Division III Playoffs on Saturday.

The 2006 Yellow Jackets will open their season on September 2 at home against Otterbein.