DC Lets Late Lead Slip Away in Loss to Thunder

ANGOLA, Ind. -- Defiance built a 13-3 lead and kept Tri-State out of the end zone for the first 57:30 of action on Saturday, before watching the Thunder strike for a pair of touchdown passes in the games final 2:30 to hand the Jackets a stunning 17-13 defeat.

The Yellow Jackets were hamstrung once again by penalties, as the Purple and Gold was flagged 11 times for a total of 103 yards. It was the second week in a row with over 100 penalty yards against DC.

No miscue was more costly than a personal foul penalty called on Defiance with under three minutes left in the game. The penalty moved TSU to the Defiance 19 and yielded a Thunder touchdown just two plays later. The score trimmed the DC lead to 17-10 and set the stage for the Tri-State comeback.

Things continued to slip away on the ensuing on-side kick, as Tri-State recovered the ball off a Yellow Jacket at their own 40-yard line.

The TSU rally was slowed momentarily with a Chris Tietje sack on the first play of the drive, but the drive continued when Sam Hartman hauled in a 26-yard reception on a fourth-and-17 play to keep the Thunder alive.

Eric Watt then connected on a short four-yard completion before hooking up with Adam Kurtz for a 37-yard strike, which gave Tri-State its first lead of the game at 17-13 with 1:23 showing on the clock.

Defiance seemingly caught a break on the kickoff, as the ball rolled out of bounds inside the one-yard line to give the Jackets the ball on their own 35.

The ball was then advanced to the DC 47 on the next play via a pass interference call against Tri-State, only to have a holding call negate a 53-yard touchdown scamper by Lewis Caralla and move the Jackets back to their own 37.

After dodging a potential game-winning score, Tri-State sealed the come-from-behind win over Defiance with an interception on the very next play.

Despite throwing a pair of interceptions, Hans Vetter was solid in the pocket for the Jackets, racking up 303 yards of offense. Vetter connected on 16 passes for 227 yards and a pair of touchdown strikes to Luke Dillon and Gary Allen.

Dillon topped the 100-yard plateau for the third-straight week with eight catches for 134 yards and a score, while Allen went for 44 yards and a touchdown.

Keith Snyder backed up an 11-tackle performance at Otterbein with 16 more hits against Tri-State. Tietje registered 11 tackles with three sacks and four hits for lost yardage, while Travis Guisinger joined Snyder and Tietje in double figures with 10 total tackles.

Defiance (1-2) will have its bye week before hosting Manchester on September 29 at Coressel Stadium. The HCAC opener will begin at 1:30 pm.