Jackets End Season with 27-13 Win at Bluffton

BLUFFTON, Ohio – The 2008 season came to an end with a fourth-straight win for Defiance. The Yellow Jackets picked up their 43rd all-time victory over Bluffton and moved into third place in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference standings with a 4-3 mark.

The two sides battled through wet and sloppy playing conditions, as a heavy snow covered the field through the majority of the game. The slow track neutralized the passing attacks for both offenses and limited DC and Bluffton to just 52 total yards through the air on four completions in the contest. The ground games were only slightly more successful with Defiance smashing out 154 yards on 56 carries and the Beavers running 42 times for 105 yards.

Much of DC's advantage in the final statistics came early in the contest on Saturday, as the Jackets controlled the trenches and powered to a 14-0 lead on a pair of Lewis Caralla scores in the opening quarter.

The senior running back did not waste any time making an impact, putting Defiance in the scoring column on a 51-yard scoring strike on the second play from scrimmage.

Josh Wade then ended Bluffton's first drive of the afternoon with an interception. The junior linebacker picked off the errant pass at the 50-yard marker and ran it back 25 yards to set up DC's second score.

The Jackets went right back to the ground attack, pounding away with seven-straight rushes to move the ball down the field. Caralla then capped the possession with an eight-yard dash into the end zone to lift DC to the 14-0 advantage.

Bluffton would dent the scoreboard late in the second quarter to cut the deficit to 14-6, but a pair of Defiance touchdowns in the third quarter put the game out of reach.

The first score was set up by one of DC's two pass completions on the day, as Rick Powell found Nick Wiedenhoft for a 25-yard connection to put the Jackets inside Bluffton's 10-yard line. Drew Kuesel then pounded the ball in from one yard out to push the spread to 21-6.

The DC edge swelled to 27-6 just over 90 seconds later when Keith Snyder snagged DC's second interception of the game and ran it back 40 yards for the score with 1:21 remaining in the third quarter.

Bluffton trimmed the gap to 14 points with a fourth-quarter touchdown, but it was not nearly enough, as DC rolled to the 27-13 win.

Caralla concluded his career at Defiance with his seventh 100-yard performance in two seasons with the Purple and Gold, running the ball 26 times for 103 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Kuesel complimented Caralla's efforts with 58 yards and a score of his own on 22 touches and Powell tallied six rushes for eight yards.

A pair of Yellow Jackets ended with 10 tackles in the victory, as Mike Szuma logged 10 hits with 1.5 coming for lost yardage and Snyder finished with 10 tackles and one interception return for a touchdown.

The senior free safety and four-year starter wrapped up an outstanding career with Defiance with his strong effort on Saturday. The 10 tackles marked the seventh time this season that Snyder has logged double-digit hits. Snyder ended his DC career with 360 total tackles, including 174 assisted and 186 solo hits.

The 174 tackle assists are a school record for the Jackets, while the 360 total stops rank Snyder just 12 behind Donny Mutters (1988-91) for the most in DC history.

The victory was the 27th career win on the sidelines for Rob Taylor, as the sixth-year head coach moved into a tie with Mike Snyder (1974-78) for the fourth-most coaching victories in the history of the DC program.

The win also moved Defiance to third in the HCAC with a 4-3 record and upped the Jackets to 4-6 overall. The 4-3 league mark is the fourth-straight season in which DC has posted a winning record in conference play.