Snyder Sets Record as Defiance Powers Past Anderson

DEFIANCE, Ohio – Keith Snyder became Defiance's all-time leader in assisted tackles and the Jackets notched their first win of the year and fourth-straight victory over Anderson with a 21-13 defeat of the Ravens. The win was DC's first on the gridiron since bouncing Hanover at Coressel Stadium on Oct. 27, 2007.

Snyder etched his name in the DC record books by notching four assisted tackles to pass Donny Mutters (1988-1991) for the top mark in school history. Snyder now sits all alone as Defiance's leader with 169 career assisted tackles.

The senior free safety was not alone in making history on Saturday, as DC mentor, Rob Taylor, climbed into a tie for sixth place in school history with his 24th career victory with the Yellow Jackets. Taylor is now tied with Dick Small (1954-1963) and is only one win shy of matching Gary Shaefer (1979-1984) for fifth in school history.

The win, which was the 349th all-time victory in the history of the Defiance College football program, came via a vintage power performance from the Purple and Gold. The Jackets played physically from the opening kick and dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.

Defiance rushed the ball 44 times for 253 yards and a trio of touchdowns. The performance was DC's third-straight outing with at least 100 yards on the ground and second-straight showing with over 250 rushing yards.

Lewis Caralla led the way once again with 156 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns. The senior running back netted 7.1 yards per carry and has racked up 344 yards and three scores on 40 touches in DC's last two games.

Drew Kuesel continued his strong freshman campaign by grinding out 74 yards on 14 runs and a score on the ground, while Nick Wiedenhoft anchored the passing game by hauling in a career-best seven catches for 76 yards.

The defense was equally impressive in the win, completely shutting down one of the strongest rushing attacks in the HCAC. The Jackets held Anderson to only 32 yards on 26 carries for a paltry average of 1.23 yards a pop and set season-highs with five total sacks, seven quarterback hurries and 14 passes broken up.

Snyder led the way with a game-high 12 stops for his fourth-straight game with 10-or-more tackles. Snyder also added five pass breakups, one interception and one quarterback hurry in his record-setting performance.

Austin Hedderly added nine tackles to go with 1.5 sacks, while Josh Wade, Chuck Bowman, Mike Szuma, Joel Billings, Rodney Donald and Matt King all played a part in at least one sack for the Jackets.

Defiance scored in the first quarter for the first time all season and claimed its first lead of the 2008 campaign when Lewis Caralla lifted the Jackets to the 7-0 advantage with 5:16 left in the opening quarter.

The Jackets would double their cushion on the opening possession of the second half after Caralla ripped off a 37-yard sprint to pay dirt to cap an eight-play, 93-yard scoring march.

Anderson turned to its standout kicker to begin chipping into the 14-point deficit. Tristan Cork split the uprights from 45 and 26 yards on consecutive possessions to bring the Ravens within 14-6 with just over three minutes to play in the third quarter.

An AU interception on DC's next touch would give the Ravens the ball on their own 20-yard line but Anderson mustered only three yards before attempting a fake punt on fourth and seven. The play nearly worked, as Tyler Akers took the direct snap and hit the open field, before coming up one yard short when Kyle Longsdorf ran him down.

Defiance wasted no time capitalizing on the failed trick play by Anderson and pushed the lead to 21-6 with its third rushing touchdown of the game. This time Kuesel capped the short-field score with a three-yard gallop with 11:40 left in the game.

Anderson refused to go away and got to within a single score with a John Sims touchdown scamper at the 7:50 mark to narrow the margin to 21-13.

Despite the score, DC had multiple chances to ice the victory but a failed fourth down and an interception on back-to-back possessions kept the Ravens alive and gave AU the ball on their own 11-yard marker with 1:26 showing on the clock.

Chase Thurston then drove Anderson down the field with completions of 28 and 47 yards to set up a first down at DC's 18-yard line.

The Yellow Jacket defense would not fold however and Snyder led the way with a pair of game-saving plays. Snyder saved a game-tying touchdown with a tackle of Nolan Bernard to end the 47-yard reception and then batted down a pass at the goal line two plays later.

Snyder's fifth pass breakup of the day set up a final attempt for Anderson with four seconds on the clock. Thurston got off a pass to the end zone intended for Chris Russell, but Dustin Supan dove in front to swat it away and preserve the 21-13 win for Defiance.

DC (1-6, 1-3 HCAC) will travel to Hanover (1-5, 1-3 HCAC) on Nov. 1. The Jackets will be in search of the 350th win in school history when they kickoff at 1:00 pm.