Jackets lose Hammer

--Defiance, Ohio—The Bluffton Beavers defeated the Yellow Jackets, 30-0 on Saturday at Coressel Stadium, winning the ‘battle of the hammer’ and bringing the all-time series, dating back to 1914, to 40-38-2 in favor of Defiance.

Darin Lomason netted 75 yards on 25 carries and 11 yards on five receptions, while Nate Fitton went 13-of-19 passing for 72 yards with two interceptions against the Beaver defense. Jason Brown and Aaron Schmidt combined for six receptions and 34 yards. BU was led by Ben Dodds, who ran 23 times for 124 yards and a touchdown, while catching three passes for 35 yards and another score.

Dodds scored on a 37 yard reception from Tim Koontz in the first quarter before both defenses stiffened and the Beavers went into the halftime break up 7-0. Jacket miscues led to 20 third-quarter Bluffton points. After Dodds scored on a 10-yard run, the Jackets botched the ensuing kick-off, which BU recovered in the end zone to go up 20-0. On the next DC possession, Matt Chiles picked off a Fitton pass and returned it 43 yards to pay dirt. Seth Burkholder closed out the scoring with a 33-yard field goal to make the score 30-0.

Defiance had five turnovers, losing all three fumbles, and converted on just 3-of-15 third-down attempts. Blake Stambaugh punted nine times for an average of 36.3 yards and pinned the Beavers inside their own twenty twice.

The Jackets fall to 1-8 on the year and close out HCAC play at 1-5. DC will next play at Bethany College next Saturday, a game rescheduled from September 18th due to flooding.

The Beavers end the year at 5-5 with a 3-3 mark in the HCAC.