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Defiance at Hanover Box Score
HANOVER, Ind. – Defiance scored the final 10 points of the game and Nic Cass picked off a trio of Hanover passes in the fourth quarter as the Yellow Jackets remained unbeaten in HCAC play with a 20-10 victory on the road against Hanover.
The game was close throughout as the teams exchanged field goals in the opening 30 minutes, battling to a 3-3 tie at the half. DC then pulled out to leads to 10-3 and 13-10 before putting the game away in the fourth with a third interception from Cass and the ensuing 22-yard touchdown return.
Hanover managed to stay close despite being dominated in several key statistics. DC more than doubled Hanover’s first down total, ran 23 more offensive plays, piled up 219 more total yards of offense and held the ball for nearly 17 full minutes more than the host Panther squad.
DC used the clock as its biggest ally in the second half as the Purple and Gold drained over 12 minutes off the clock in the final quarter while posting 10 unanswered points. Hanover only managed seven minutes and 40 seconds of offense in the entire second half and saw six of its seven second-half possessions ended via punt or interception.
Dan Brown got the Jackets in the scoring column with a 22-yarder for his first of two field goals to draw Defiance even at 3-3 with 1:28 remaining in the first half.
Freshman quarterback Joey Higgins then lifted DC to a 10-3 lead with a 15-yard touchdown run to cap a 13-play drive which spanned 71 yards and took over five minutes to orchestrate, but Hanover fought back with an eight-yard touchdown pass from Rick Webster as time ran out in the third quarter.
The fourth quarter belonged to the Jackets however as Brown’s 37-yard field goal put DC in front for good with 4:34 remaining and Cass pushed the spread to 10 with his 22-yard interception return for the score.
Defiance turned in another stellar defensive effort, holding Hanover to 15 rushing yards on 17 carries and only 152 total yards on the afternoon. For DC, it was the sixth-straight game in which it held the opposition to 13 points or less.
Cass led the way with his trio of fourth-quarter interceptions and added five tackles and another pass breakup. Josh Staggs also came up big with five hits, including one 14-yard sack.
The trio of Higgins, Scooter Curtis and Luke Dillon did the majority of the damage on the offensive side of the ball as all three posted career or season highs.
Higgins relieved a struggling Hans Vetter at the quarterback position and completed 22-of-36 passes for a career high of 202 yards through the air over the final three quarters. Higgins also ran for 12 yards and a touchdown.
Curtis carried the weight out of the DC backfield with Jason Gendron sidelined due to injury and racked up 88 yards on 23 carries. The sophomore running back also hauled in six passes for 55 yards and posted 143 all-purpose yards for a new season high.
Dillon followed up his three touchdown performance against Anderson with a 12 catches and 155 yards, both good for season highs.
The win moves Defiance to 6-1 overall and 4-0 in the HCAC. The six wins ties last season’s total while the four conference victories keep the Jackets tied atop the conference with the unbeaten Mount St. Joseph (7-0, 5-0 HCAC) squad.
Those two teams will hook up next Saturday, Oct. 28 at 1:30 pm inside Coressel Stadium in a battle for sole-possession of first place in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference.
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