Defiance Cruises to 45-0 Victory Over Anderson

ANDERSON, IND. – The Defiance College football team got back to the win column with a 45-0 victory over Anderson (Ind.) University on Saturday.

The scoring started late in the first quarter, as a 13 play, 46 yard drive led to a 37-yard field goal by freshman Mitch Wroblewski (Brownsville, Wisc./Lomira) at the 1:45 mark to give Defiance an early 3-0 lead.

Two drives later, freshman quarterback Logan Mico (Grosse Pointe, Mich./Grosse Pointe South) found Carl Stokes (Merrillville, Ind./East Chicago Central) for a 30-yard completion to get into the red zone. On the next play, Mico found junior Corey Bennett (Tampa, Fla./Blake) for a 16-yard scoring strike to make it a 10-0 Yellow Jacket advantage.

On the ensuing drive, DC drove the ball 55 yards in eight plays, striking paydirt on a fumble that was recovered in the end zone by Mico to make it a 17-0 lead. Defiance continued to pile on, as Mico found senior tight end Tyler Gillig (Tiffin/Columbian) for a 14-yard touchdown toss to give Defiance a 24-0 lead into the break.

Defiance's offense gained 79 yards but could not find the end zone in the third quarter, but they made up for it in the fourth. After a big punt by Wroblewski in the opening seconds of the fourth, freshman Luke Nye (Bryan) was able to recover an Anderson fumble at the AU six-yard line. On the first play, Bennett rushed for six yards to find the end zone and make it a 31-0 lead for Defiance.

Anderson started the next drive at the DC five-yard line, but fumbled on the second play from scrimmage and freshman Cody Drumm-Turner (Homer, Mich.) recovered to put DC in the red zone again. Junior Tanner Hughes (Pierceton, Ind./Whitko) rushed for a one-yard scoring run at the 11:32 mark to take advantage of another turnover and give Defiance the 38-0 lead.

Junior Joe Webb (West Alexandria/Twin Valley South) wrapped up the scoring,. Gaining 35 of the 41 yards on the drive, ending with a nine-yard touchdown run to give Defiance a 45-0 victory over the Ravens.

Defiance finished with a decisive edge on total offense, running 30 more plays than the Ravens and taking advantage of that to outgain Anderson, 458-154. DC led a balanced attack, as they finished with 267 yards through the air and 191 on the ground. The Yellow Jacket defense held strong, as they held the Ravens to negative-28 yards rushing. The home team also finished the game with five turnovers compared to just two for the Yellow Jackets.

Mico led the offensive attack for Defiance, completing 20-of-36 passes for 274 yards and a pair of scores. His favorite target was Stokes, who caught six passes for 131 yards. Bennett finished the afternoon with 20 carries for 90 yards and a score, to go along with 45 receiving yards and a touchdown.

The DC defense was led by junior Cody Brown (Grass Lake, Mich.), who finished the afternoon with six tackles. Senior Greg Ward, Jr. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) had two sacks on the day for a total of 30 yards lost, while three of his four tackles were for loss. Senior Jerome Davis (Jupiter, Fla.) had a pair of interceptions, while Drumm-Turner recovered two fumbles for Defiance.

Defiance enters the bye week next week before returning to action on Saturday, Oct. 28 as the Yellow Jackets take on the Hanover (Ind.) College Panthers. Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m. at Justin F. Coressel Stadium.