Football rolls to 42-19 victory over Anderson in home finale

DEFIANCE, Ohio – The Defiance College football team played its final home game of the spring and celebrated Senior Day on Saturday afternoon by rolling to a 42-19 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference victory over the Anderson University Ravens at Coressel Stadium.

In the win, Defiance scored its most points and finished with its largest margin of victory since winning at Anderson, 45-0, on Oct. 14, 2017, a span of 29 games.

"This is our best game we have played since I have been here," winning head coach Manny Matsakis said. "Putting together four quarters, all sides of the ball, making things happen.

"We're getting there. We're starting to make the progress. Our goal this whole spring was let's mature."

At halftime, three of the Yellow Jackets' senior players – Maurice Brewer, Terry Geiger and Steven Lucas – were recognized as a part of DC's Senior Day ceremony.

Before the seniors were honored, Defiance had a commanding 30-0 lead at the intermission.

On their second possession of the contest, the Yellow Jackets went 83 yards in nine plays for a touchdown. Freshman Tyshaun Freeman scored on a 6-yard run and ran for a two-point conversion to give the hosts an 8-0 advantage.

DC's next drive resulted in another touchdown, this one coming on a 21-yard pass from Daylon Lange to Geiger, upping the lead to 14-0.

Early in the second quarter, Defiance's Damon Thomas sacked the Ravens' quarterback in the end zone for a safety, making the score 16-0.

After the free kick and with a short field, the Yellow Jackets capitalized by covering 48 yards on six snaps. Freeman found the end zone from a yard out, Lange threw to Jahlani Hall for a two-point conversion and DC was up, 24-0.

With 9:02 to go before halftime, Defiance freshman Nazavious Williams ran for a 32-yard touchdown to conclude the first-half scoring.

On the opening possession of the second half, AU got on the scoreboard with a touchdown and an extra point but just over a minute later, the Yellow Jackets answered with a score. Williams raced 74 yards to the end zone to put the contest at 36-7.

With 8.8 seconds left in the third period, Anderson cut its deficit to 36-13.

Three plays later, DC had another touchdown as Lange found Franklin Williams with an 18-yard pass, increasing the hosts' advantage to 42-13 with 14:21 remaining.

On the ensuing drive, the Ravens added six points at the 11:58 mark to wrap up the scoring.

Defiance accumulated 523 yards of total offense while AU ended with 324. The Yellow Jackets had 247 yards on the ground and an average of 4.8 per rush, compared to just 57 and 1.8, respectively, for the guests.

Williams paced the DC running game with 181 yards on 19 carries while Lange completed 19-of-30 passes for 276 yards. Freshman Salah Edwards grabbed four passes for 69 yards while Hall also tallied four receptions for 57 yards.

On the defensive side of the ball for Defiance, Thomas Coltrain came up with 10 total tackles, including seven solos and two for loss. V'Sean Palmer also made seven solo tackles with one for loss and four pass breakups while Derrell Walker and Rigo Villa contributed interceptions. Thomas finished with two sacks.

Additionally, the Jackets' Mathew Bolanos, a freshman, punted five times for a 42.4-yard average with three inside the opponents' 20-yard line.

DC improves to 2-3 overall and in HCAC play while Anderson falls to 1-3. Defiance is scheduled to be at conference rival Bluffton University next Saturday for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff.