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DEFIANCE, Ohio – Heading into Saturday’s homecoming game against Anderson, the Yellow Jackets rank favorably in several statistical categories as a team as well as on an individual basis.
Senior defensive lineman Stu Gliwa currently ranks 18th in the nation with a pair of forced fumbles. Each fumble has played a vital role in a Yellow Jacket victory as Gliwa stripped the rock loose once in DC’s 10-0 victory over Adrian and then sealed a 17-10 win over Tri-State the following week by sacking TSU’s quarterback and knocking the ball loose on the final play of the game.
Senior defensive back Mike Haydon joins Gliwa in the national spotlight with his Heartland Collegiate Conference leading, five sacks. Haydon’s 1.0 sacks per contest put him at 28th in the nation in that category. Haydon has registered a sack in three of DC’s five contests, including a season-best three for negative 22 yards in Defiance’s 19-7 road win over Manchester.
Joining Gliwa and Haydon on the defensive side of the ball, is senior defensive back Jason Bushong who currently leads the HCAC and ranks 38th in the nation with 1.5 passes defended per game. Bushong has broken up one or more passes in all but two contests this season for a total of four pass breakups and has also notched a pair of interceptions.
Defiance has been getting it done with the special teams as well and kicker Dan Brown and return man Gary Allen currently top the HCAC in field goals per game and punt return average.
Brown will enter play on Saturday having split the uprights in five-of-eight attempts this season and four-of-five attempts over DC’s last three contests. Brown’s five successful field goals put him 20th in the nation with 1.0 per game. The senior’s 36-yarder in the fourth quarter at Rose-Hulman was his longest of the season and lifted the Jackets to a 13-10 road win.
On the receiving end of the kicks has been junior Gary Allen this season for DC. Allen is currently averaging 10.1 yards per punt return to top all HCAC return men. Allen’s best return came in a 28-yard scamper against Tri-State. For the season, Allen has returned 14 punts for 142 yards and has piled up 575 all purpose yards over five games. The dangerous return man was recently touted as the HCAC Special Teams Player of the Week after scoring DC’s lone touchdown with a 90-yard kickoff return at Rose-Hulman on Saturday.
As the team, the Purple and Gold ranks in the top 25 in the nation in three key defensive statistics. After five games, Defiance is holding its opposition to just 10.4 points per game, good for 19th in the nation. Nearly half of the total points allowed by the stingy DC defensive unit this season came in a season-opening loss to Otterbein. Since that point the Jackets have held their opponents to 6.8 points a game, going 4-0 over that span.
The key to keeping the opposition out of the end zone has been the team’s ability to stop the run while limiting total yardage. Defiance ranks 22nd in total defense and 23rd in rushing defense after allowing just 222.6 total yards and 64.8 rushing yards per game over its first five contests.
On offensive side of the ball, the Jackets have had great success running the ball and rank 67th in the nation with 158.6 yards per contest on the ground. DC has attempted 39 or more running plays in every game and has eclipsed the 200 yard barrier on two occasions.
Defiance is currently 4-1, its best start since winning the first seven games of the 2001 season, and will look for its first five-game winning streak in five seasons when it hosts Anderson on Saturday at 1:30 pm.
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