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Defiance at Bluffton Box Score
BLUFFTON, Ohio – Defiance College wrapped up its 2006 regular season by solidifying sole-possession of third place in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference with a 20-6 victory at Bluffton University on Saturday.
The Yellow Jackets traded touchdowns with Bluffton in the opening quarter before finding the end zone twice during the second quarter to take the 14-point lead. Neither side would mount much of a threat after the half as DC finished off the 20-6 win.
Jason Gendron ended his collegiate career with Defiance with a huge day against the Beavers. Gendron capped a nine-play, 61-yard drive by the Yellow Jackets with a 12-yard scamper to give DC the 6-0 lead.
Bluffton answered later in the opening quarter with a 59-second scoring drive which spanned 55 yards in three plays. DC managed to block the ensuing point-after-attempt to preserve the 6-6 tie and turn momentum back in its favor.
The Purple and Gold did not relinquish the edge from that point on, adding 14 consecutive points in the second quarter while holding Bluffton scoreless over the final 47 minutes of the game.
Hans Vetter and Nate Fitton hooked up for a 14-yard score through the air with 13:23 to play in the second quarter to give Defiance the 13-6 lead, before Vetter ran it in from three yards out to push the spread to 20-6 with 1:17 remaining on the clock before the half.
The DC defense did the rest, holding Bluffton to negative six yards rushing on 28 carries and only 102 total yards on the day. The Beavers managed to move the chains only seven times and completed only nine-of-27 passes for 108 yards.
Gendron led the offense for Defiance by ripping off 4.9 yards per touch over 28 carries for a game-high 136 yards and a touchdown. Vetter returned to the quarterback position, rushing for a score while throwing for 121 yards and a touchdown. Fitton was the leading receiver for the Jackets, hauling in two passes for 55 yards and a touchdown while Gary Allen and Ricky Calverley each caught a pair of Vetter passes.
Along with Allen’s 38 yards receiving, the junior return man turned in another explosive effort with 100 total yards on a pair of kickoff returns.
The Yellow Jacket defense kept the pressure on Bluffton all afternoon and dominated the line of scrimmage en route to piling up eight sacks and 13 tackles for negative yardage.
Chris Tietje was among a slew of standout performers on the defensive side of the ball with a team-high eight hits with 3.5 coming for lost yardage and one sack. Andrew Mickey registered three sacks while Tyler Haines, Mike Haydon, Steven Brancheau and Ruben Echezabal each collected at least a share of a sack. Ray Martinez and Keith Snyder were equally impressive down the field, as the defensive backs combined for 15 stops.
With the win the Yellow Jackets conclude their 2006 campaign with a 7-3 mark. Defiance finished third in the HCAC with a 5-2 record and won all five contests played outside of Coressel Stadium.
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