Yellow Jackets Earn First Grid Win

--N. Manchester, Ind.-- The Defiance College Football team beat the host Manchester College Spartans 19-14 in North Manchester, Indiana on Saturday for their first win of the season.

Freshman Nate Fitton, from Grand Ledge, Michigan, threw for 225 yards on 20-for-27 passing with one interception while also running for two of the Jacket scores.. Ten of Fitton’s strikes went to Jason Brown, a senior from Grand Rapids, Ohio, who ended with 69 receiving yards. Freshman Darin Lomason, a Prescott, Michigan native, ran for 91 yards on 20 carries with a touchdown..

Sophomore Mike Haydon led the Jacket defense with two interceptions and 13 tackles, while Josh Staggs (Paw Paw, Michigan) and Tyler Haines (Piqua, Ohio) had two sacks apiece.

Defiance jumped out to a 13-0 lead on an 11-yard run by Lomason and later a 15-yard scramble by Fitton. The Spartans struck back with two Brandon Tugmon touchdown receptions, the first coming in the second quarter and the final MC score at the 5:05 mark of the third period. Fitton closed out the game scoring and gave the Jackets the win with a one-yard plunge with nine-minutes remaining in the game, a drive started by Mike Haydon’s first interception deep in Spartan territory.

The DC defense limited the Spartan offense to just 59 yards on the ground and 202 through the air, while also forcing six turnover, including turnovers on downs. The Jackets were 3-of-3 in the red zone, and stopped MC on 2-of-4 fourth-down tries and 11-of-15 third-down attempts.

Ricky Calverley caught four passes for a team-high 71 yards, while Aaron Schmidt had 67 yards on two receptions. Jason Bushong and Nick Cass each played well in the secondary, alongside Haydon and senior Joe Cronkhite. Bushong had seven tackles, a key forced fumble to preserve the win, and two passes defended. Cass had six tackles and three passes defended.

Up front, Steven Brancheau had one tackle-for-loss from his linebacker position, while Richard Palmer and Jeremy McBride combined for one tackle-for-loss.

Defiance is now 1-7 on the year and 1-4 in the HCAC. The Jackets next host rival-Bluffton College on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at Coressel Stadium. The Spartans fall to 0-9 overall and 0-5 in the HCAC.