Adrian Spoils DC's Five-Game Win Streak

DEFIANCE, Ohio – Defiance College watched the visiting Adrian Bulldogs build a 24-0 lead before the half and suffered a 31-16 defeat. The setback was DC's first loss since October 18, 2008 and snapped a five-game win streak.

The Yellow Jackets could not get anything going on offense throughout the opening half and managed just 28 total yards of offense in 25 first-half snaps. The woes carried over into the fourth quarter, with Defiance seeing 11 of its first 13 drives ending with a punt and the remaining two ending via a pair of lost fumbles.

Adrian countered by piling up 247 total yards of offense in the opening 30 minutes and scored on four of its first seven drives to put Defiance in the 24-0 hole.

DC finally dented the scoreboard in the third quarter with a safety. The Jackets had seen a four-play, 71-yard drive end with a fumble on Adrian's two-yard line but immediately responded with a safety from Chuck Bowman to make the score 24-2 with 12:34 left in the third.

The momentum shift was short lived however, as AC used a two-play, 73-yard scoring drive later in the quarter to push the spread to 31-2 with 7:31 to play before the start of the fourth quarter.

A pair of DC touchdowns in the fourth quarter narrowed the final margin to 31-16 in favor of Adrian, as Austin Karcher found Ryan Black for a five-yard strike with 5:30 to play and Troy Bell scored from seven yards out with 42 seconds showing on the clock.

Bell was one of the few bright spots for the Purple and Gold, as the freshman running back tallied 84 yards and a score on 17 carries in his first collegiate start. Nick Wiedenhoft and Andrew Cessna each caught four passes, with Wiedenhoft ending with 83 receiving yards and Cessna with 56.

Matt King paced the Defiance defensive performance with a career-high 11 tackles and a pair of sacks. Kyle Longsdorf also had 11 hits, while Andre Osby and Ricky Sherrer picked up the other two sacks for DC. Dustin Supan provided the lone takeaway of the afternoon for the Jackets with an interception and four solo tackles.

Defiance (1-1) will continue its tough early-season schedule on September 19, when it plays at No. 28 Trine (1-0) at 1:00 pm.