.October 8

ANDERSON, Ind.— Holding one of the nation’s top offenses to under 50% of their average production, the Defiance College Yellow Jackets routed the Heartland Conference-leading Anderson University Ravens, 32-7, on Saturday afternoon.

The Jacket defense, sparked by Keith Snyder, Mike Haydon, Kris Zajac, and Steven Brancheau, limited the Ravens’ eight-ranked offense to just 224 yards of total offense while Hans Vetter, Luke Dillon, and the offensive line supplied the offensive firepower needed to secure the HCAC win.

Snyder led DC with 11 tackles from his safety position. The freshman was joined by junior safety Mike Haydon who added 10 stops. Kris Zajac had his third-straight outstanding performance with nine tackles, a sack and an interception. Steven Brancheau and Chris Tietje stuffed the Raven attack from their linebacker positions, with Brancheau accumulating nine tackles, and a sack, while Tietje had seven stops, a tackle-for loss and picked off two Chris McKee passes. Anderson’s McKee was ranked 26th nationally in passing efficiency coming into Saturday’s game.

Vetter, a freshman, broke onto the scene after taking over the signal-caller responsibilities last week. He also led the Jackets in rushing with 37 yards on 14 carries. The Springfield, Ohio native threw four touchdown passes, three to Dillon, and ended the day with 14-of-22 passing for 185 yards and one interception. Dillon had a monster game with nine receptions for 126 yards with the three scores. Jake Shank ran for 30 yards on 13 carries.

Bela Sandor had a touchdown on his first reception of the season, scoring on a 23-yard pass from Vetter on the first Jacket drive. Dillon added the next Jacket score with an acrobatic grab on a eight-yard pass from Vetter to make the score 13-0. The Ravens countered after a 33-yard connection from McKee to Hyman Smith took the ball down to the Jacket one-yard line. A one-yard plunge by Cliffton Jones gave the Ravens their only score of the game. The Raven offense was ranked 34th in the nation in scoring offense at 35.5 points-per-game before facing the Jackets.

Coming out of halftime with a six-point lead, Defiance traded punts with Anderson before turning the ball over on downs with 4:32 left in the third quarter. Zajac, once again stepped to the plate, picking off a McKee pass at the Raven five-yard line, and returning it to the AU one-yard line. Vetter would dive in for a one-yard score to make the count 19-7 in favor of the Jackets.

On the ensuing Anderson possession, the Jacket defense forced a fumble by backup quarterback Brock Vanderbush when Tyler Haines recorded a sack on a 2nd-and-14 play. Defensive tackle Richard Palmer recovered and rumbled 32 yards to the Raven six-yard line, setting up another Vetter-to-Dillon scoring connection, this time from nine yards out to give DC a commanding 25-7 lead at the end of the third period.

After several punts and a Tietje interception, the Jackets scored on yet another Dillon grab when Vetter hit the sophomore from Temperance, Michigan on a 32-yard strike. Keith Wilson’s extra point made the final score Defiance 32, Anderson 7.

The Jacket defense also held AU’s Hyman Smith to 50 yards under his nationally-ranked average of 116.5 receiving yards-per-game. Anderson’s Denny Kimmel ran well against the Defiance front, accumulating 106 yards on 18 carries after averaging 179 yards through the team’s first four games.

Blake Stamaugh punted well for Defiance, averaging 39.6 yards on five punts and trapped the Ravens inside their own 20 twice. Ray Rateno escaped his blocking duties long enough to carry the ball four times for nine yards, while Scooter Curtis ran five times for 10 yards. Ricky Calverley, Tom Johns, Rateno and Gary Allen each added a grab on the afternoon.

On the defensive side, Zac Fulmer also contributed with six tackles, including a sack, while Jason Bushong ended with six stops. Chase Szente and Stu Gliwa combined for a fourth-quarter sack.

The Jackets are winners of their last three contests and sit at 3-2 overall and 1-0 in the HCAC heading into next Saturday’s homecoming match-up against Hanover. The Panthers (3-3, 2-0 HCAC) downed nationally-ranked Mt. St. Joseph a week ago and pounded Manchester 48-7 on Saturday.

Kickoff on Saturday is slated for 1:30 p.m. at Justin F. Coressel Stadium.