Yellow Jackets and Engineers run wild as Rose-Holman downs DC, 78-54

DEFIANCE, Ohio – The Defiance College Yellow Jackets and Rose-Hulman Fightin' Engineers engaged in the highest-scoring football game in program history with the visitors exiting Justin F. Coressel Stadium with a 78-54 victory.

For the Yellow Jackets (4-5, 3-3), the 132-point outburst was the most points combined in any DC football game to surpass Defiance's 118-0 victory over Findlay in 1921. The Fightin' Engineers' (7-2, 6-0) 78 points were the third-most allowed in a game by the Jackets, a record posted by Findlay with 82 points in their 1985 matchup. Rose-Hulman also sets up a winner-take-all game for the HCAC championship next week versus Mount St. Joseph.

Despite the gaudy offensive numbers, the special teams got the ball rolling for Rose-Hulman. With the game tied 7-7 halfway through the first quarter, Rose-Hulman's electric two-sport standout, Jailen Hobbs, ran back a 79-yard punt return for a go-ahead touchdown. However, a failed extra-point kept the score 13-7. DC tied the game on a 31-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Ambrose to Tawann Rome in the last two minutes of the first quarter, but the Fightin' Engineers blocked the point-after and returned it for a go-ahead two-point play.

Two key penalties against Rose-Hulman kept the game tight during the early stages. On Defiance's second punt of the day, Hobbs returned the boot for another score but the play was wiped out due to a holding penalty. That drive stalled quickly for the Engineers as they punted back to the Yellow Jackets. On the next Defiance drive, a defensive pass interference call put the Jackets in striking distance just two plays before tying the contest at 13-13.

The scales started to tip towards Rose-Hulman just before halftime. Grant Ripperda found the end zone for his second of five touchdowns at the 6:33 mark of the second quarter. After Ambrose delivered the Defiance answer with a six-yard rushing score, seven plays later Rose-Hulman knifed down the field to score again with 24 seconds left to expand their lead 36-20 at the half.

Defiance delivered a special teams spark of their own to start the third quarter. Kicker Zeke Sanchez zipped an onside kick past Rose-Hulman's first line on the return and Jehlani Warren sped up the sideline to recover for the Yellow Jackets. On the next play from scrimmage, running back Tyshaun Freeman took a halfback dive from the shotgun and sprinted 46 yards for his 12th rushing touchdown of the year. That score pulled the Jackets within single digits as the score stood 36-27.

From that point, Rose-Hulman and Defiance exchanged touchdowns the remainder of the game aside from a DC punt and fumble in the third, which was the game's only turnover. After Freeman's long run, Engineers quarterback Miguel Robertson threw touchdown passes of 18 and 26 yards to Daniel Huery wrapped around a Defiance three-and-out. Rose-Hulman went two-for-one again at the end of the quarter after expanding the lead back to 24 points on one of Jay Smith's touchdown runs. On Defiance's next possession, Rose-Hulman ripped the ball from a scrambling Ambrose and recovered the fumble with 14 seconds left in the quarter. Eight plays later, the Engineers broke the 70-point threshold on Ripperda's fourth rushing score.

Both offensive units produced over 500 yards of total offense with Rose-Hulman narrowly winning the yards from scrimmage 537-500. The Engineers punted just two times in the football game, both during the first 17 minutes of the football game before turning each of their remaining possession into touchdowns. Ripperda toted the football 38 times for 226 yards and five touchdowns, becoming the third rusher to go over 175 yards against the HCAC's fourth-ranked rush defense.

Ambrose dazzled with a career-high four rushing touchdowns and three more through the air. He threw for 280 yards and ran for 127 more and became the first DC quarterback with more than 1,500 passing yards and 500 rushing yards in the same season. He was integral in DC's opening-drive touchdown with multiple runs over 10 yards capped off by a one-yard rush. For the game, Ambrose recorded seven runs of 10 yards or more highlighted by a 20-yard carry in the second quarter.

Garrett made a big impact on the return game while racking up over 100 yards receiving as well. He pulled in four receptions for 114 with one touchdown and also tallied 201 yards on five kick returns. He nearly took back a kickoff for a touchdown but was run down by a Rose defender inside the five-yard line, marking off an 81-yard kick return. The freshman receiver also had lengthy returns of 25, 35 and 45 yards.

On the defensive side, Thomas Coltrain recorded a career-high 19 tackles to lead the Yellow Jackets. Jaylen Redd and Bradyen Birkholz also notched double-figure tackles with 16 and 10 respectively.

The Yellow Jackets play their final football game as an NCAA D-III member next Saturday with rival Bluffton visiting Coressel Stadium. Kickoff against the Beavers is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. followed by the final game of the Purple and Gold Men's Basketball Tournament to follow at 5:30 p.m.

-JACKETS-