Heartbreaker in The Fort
-Zach Weaver
(Defiance, Oh) Defiance (0-3) falls to Mount St. Joseph, Oh (1-2) on Saturday September 20, the Yellow Jackets defense was able to come up with two turnovers including an interception by Andrew Feldhaus and a recovered fumble on a muffled punt return.
Defiance was looking to start conference play off on a winning note after being defeated in the previous two weeks. The defense played as strong as usual having to play without senior defensive end Daniel Bauta, senior linebacker Erick Strickland, and sophomore defensive back Jerald Helm.
On the Loins second drive they were able to pull off a 63 yard run to put them at first and ten inside the red zone. The defense holds tough and forces a field goal. The Lions took an early 3-0 lead with just over nine minutes left in the first quarter.
Mounts next series was cut short by senior safety Josh Slayton who brought down the quarterback for his first of two sacs on the day.
The Jackets took over at their own 2 yard line, after a first down they are forced to punt. Their defense comes up strong again and forces the Lions to punt giving the ball back to the Yellow Jacket offence.
Quarterback Garrett Teague was able to find Andrew Foore and Darius Harper on the drive setting up a third and two. An unfortunate fumble gave the ball back to Mount.
The Loins Offense are able to string together a few first downs with a 15 yard run and a pair of long pass completions to set up 1st and goal at the one and are able to run it in for a touchdown. They take a 10-0 lead.
Midway through the 2nd quarter the jackets convert a 3rd and 20 thanks to a draw by Garrett Teague and a helpful penalty against the defense. Trevon Burrell runs the ball down to the 10 yard line. The defense gets called for pass interference on 4th down which gives Burrell the opportunity to punch it in from one yard out. The Jackets narrow up the game making it 10-7 with 5 minutes remaining in the half.
Mount would get the ball to start the half and were forced to kick a 45 yard field goal, taking a 13-7 lead early in the 3rd quarter.
The Yellow Jackets were forced to punt on their next drive but a fumble on the return gave the Jackets a good chance inside the redzone. Daniel Collins was given the ball and ran 18 yards for a touchdown. They would take the lead 14-13 with 11 minutes left in the quarter.
On the Jackets next drive Vondale Kelley would help out the offence in a big way running for a gain of about 12 and then catching a swing pass for another big gain of about 15. Garrett Teague was able to find Darius Harper for a first down all the way to the 1 yard line setting up Trevon Burrell for his second score of the afternoon making the score 21-13.
On the Lions drive Andrew Feldhaus would come up with an interception in the end zone giving the ball back to the offense. They were held by the lions and forced to punt.
The Lions offense would eventually score and tie up the game after a successful 2 point conversion. With just over 2 minutes left the Jackets offense looked to win the game with a score. The Lions defense had an interception that would lead to a game winning field goal.
Although they were defeated, the Yellow Jackets proved that there was more to the team than a strong defense. The offense was able to put points on the board. The team played strong and looks to get a game in the winning column next week at Hannover.
