Offensive and Defensive Lines earn DC a 28-14 win over Hanover

DEFIANCE, Ohio—The Defiance College Yellow Jackets, led by the men upfront on both sides of the ball, defeated Hanover College 28-14 on Saturday afternoon at Coressel Stadium to improve to 2-0 in the Heartland Conference and 4-2 overall.

Defensively, the Jackets held Hanover to 41 yards rushing on 16 carries. When the Panthers were eventually forced to pass, the linebackers and defensive backs took over with freshman Keith Snyder intercepting three of HC’s signal-caller Rick Webster’s four turnovers, while junior linebacker Tyler Haines picked off the other and returned it for a fourth-quarter touchdown.

Hans Vetter, the Jackets’ freshman quarterback, once again led the way for the DC offense, going 9-of-18 through-the-air for two scores and no interceptions. The Springfield High School graduate also led DC in rushing for the second-straight game with 92 yards on 21 carries. On the season, Vetter now has a pass-efficiency rating of 145.98 and has thrown for 407 yards and seven touchdowns, while rushing for a team-high 247 yards in four games.

The offensive line, led by Devon Palk and Robert Miller, gave their freshman quarterback plenty of time and allowed just two sacks, one of which was due to Panther coverage. The Jackets rushed for a total of 176 yards on 56 carries with Jake Shank and Phillip Williamson going for 43 and 37 yards, respectively. The guys-up-front also helped the Jackets control the ball for 38:20 compared to 20:40 for the Panthers.

The turning point of the game may have come in the final seconds of the first half with DC trailing 7-14. After stopping the Panthers deep in Hanover territory, the Jackets took over at their own 40-yard-line with 11 seconds left after a 35-yard punt. The Jacket coaching staff rolled the dice, and with superb protection for the O-line, Vetter hit sophomore wide-out Luke Dillon on a 60-yard juggling strike to tie the game at 14 going into the half.

Dillon ended the game with three catches for 71 yards and the long score. The Temperance, Michigan native is leading DC with 377 receiving yards on the season and five touchdowns.

Snyder’s three interceptions and eight tackles led the Defiance defensive effort, while Mike Haydon had a team-high 10 stops, a forced fumble and fumble recovery. Chris Tietje added six tackles, a forced fumble and two pass break-ups. Kris Zajac and Steven Brancheau each had a tackle-for-loss and combined for nine tackles.

The teams traded punts to open the game before the Jackets broke the scoring seal on a Scooter Curtis four-yard scoring jaunt that capped a 12-play, 72-yard drive. Hanover answered immediately with a nine-play, 62-yard drive that closed with a Webster-to-Todd Miller touchdown from three yards out. DC’s Zac Fulmer blocked the extra point to make the score 7-6, Defiance 13-minutes remaining in the first half.

Another sequence of punts came to an abrupt end when Webster found Panther running back Corey Fogle for a 43-yard scoring strike with 3:39 remaining in the second quarter. A two-point conversion gave HC a seven-point edge before the huge Vetter-to-Dillon hookup knotted the count at 14 going into the break.

A quiet third-quarter ended with the first Snyder pick, giving the Jackets the ball in Panther territory to open the final period. Vetter connected with sophomore Gary Allen on the first play of the fourth quarter to score from 23-yards out and give the Jackets a 21-14 lead.

The Panthers blocked a Keith Wilson 41-yard field goal attempt at the 9:26 mark before Haines’ interception and 15-yard score on the ensuing Hanover possession gave the Jackets a commanding two-score lead.

The HCAC-leading Jackets, winners of four in a row, will next travel to Cincinnati on Saturday to face the 2004 conference champion Mount St. Joseph Lions. Mount won 28-7 at Manchester on Saturday.

Anderson defeated Bluffton in the other HCAC match-up, 13-10 in double overtime.

Kick off for the DC-MSJ game is slated for 4:30 p.m. You can hear the game locally on 1280 AM on via the Internet on www.sportsjuice.com.