DC Outlasts Engineers, 33-31, in Homecoming Thriller

DEFIANCE, Ohio -- Rose-Hulmans final gasp from 32 yards out bounced off the left upright with five seconds left in the game, as Defiance held on for the wild, 33-31, victory on its Homecoming at Coressel Stadium on Saturday.

The game had all the makings of an instant classic, featuring 48 first-half points, five lead changes and several impact plays during the closing minutes, as the outcome of the game hung in the balance until the final seconds ran off the clock.

With the Jackets clinging to a 33-31 lead and 3:25 showing on the clock, Rose-Hulmans Derek Eitel started the Engineer drive with a 43-yard completion to Thomas Reives. The bomb set Rose-Hulman up on DCs 37 and on the outer fringe of Jeremy Sharps field goal range.

Rose-Hulman kept the ball on the ground on three of its next four plays, driving to the Defiance 23 before a penalty pushed the Engineers back five yards. Eitel got those yards back with a six-yard completion to the 22-yard line, but had his next attempt intercepted by Dustin Supan at the four.

The Jackets started their drive with 1:55 left in the game and appeared set to drain the clock, but the game had another twist in store. Facing a third-and-six, DCs David Thornton had the ball punched loose as he tried to turn upfield. R-Hs Tyler Thornton pounced on the loose ball and set Rose up for its final chance with 62 seconds left in the game.

Rose-Hulman moved the ball to the 15-yard line before stopping the clock with five ticks remaining and sending out the field goal unit. The snap was clean but Sharps 32-yard boot drifted left and was turned away by the upright, sending the large Defiance crown into a frenzy.

The game got to that point thanks to a fast paced first half of action which featured Defiance reaching the end zone on its first three possessions en route to a 20-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Hans Vetter got things going early, completing four passes on DCs first drive and hitting a streaking Gary Allen for a 39-yard strike. Allen caught the pass in stride and raced to the end zone untouched for the 7-0 lead.

Rose-Hulman knotted the game at 7-7 on its next possession, but Defiance bounced right back for another score. Thornton opened the drive with three rushes for 20 yards, before Vetter found a wide-open Luke Dillon behind the Engineer secondary for a 48-yard score.

Vetter hooked up with Dillon once again to open DCs ensuing drive with a 34-yard completion. Thornton followed that up with another big play, ripping off a 35-yard run on the Jackets next snap and Vetter then hit Dillon in the end zone again to push the lead to 20-7 at the close of the first quarter.

Rose-Hulman stormed back with a pair of touchdowns to take the lead at 21-20 and was driving the field once again before Nic Cass picked off the Eitel offering to give momentum back to the Jackets.

Defiance did not waste the opportunity, using a balanced attack and eight plays to reclaim the lead at 27-21. The scoring drive was capped by a nine-yard completion from Vetter to Dillon.

The see-saw action continued into the second half with Rose-Hulman claiming the 28-27 lead with the lone touchdown of the third quarter, but Vetter brought Defiance back once again. Vetter ignited another scoring drive with a 35-yard rush, and then found Keegan Hill, Nate Fitton and Luke Dillon twice through the air. The last play was an eight-yard loft to the corner of the end zone which was hauled in by Dillon for his fourth touchdown reception of the afternoon.

Rose-Hulman would hit a field goal later in the fourth to trim the gap to 33-31, but missed the second attempt to seal the two-point victory for the Jackets.

Dillon continued his season-long dismantling of opposing secondaries as he hauled in 11 catches for 151 yards and four touchdowns. The four touchdown receptions broke DCs single-game record for receiving touchdowns. The previous mark of three touchdown receptions was held by several players, including Dillon, after he posted a trio of scores in DCs 45-13 Homecoming victory over Anderson one year ago.

The nation's leading receiver now has 53 catches for 773 yards and has already set new career highs in each category. Dillon needs 26 catches and 436 yards to reach DCs single-season records.

Vetter had another strong outing and tied the DC single-game mark by throwing for five touchdowns. Vetter connected on 19-of-33 passes for 240 yards and also ran 11 times for 42 yards.

Thornton balanced the DC offense by running for 154 yards on 23 carries and Allen had three catches for 50 yards and a touchdown.

Keith Snyder led all players with 14 tackles, Cass totaled nine hits, one interception and three pass breakups and Chris Tietje picked up a pair of sacks and 2.5 hits for negative yardage to highlight his seven-tackle performance.

Defiance moves to 2-0 in the HCAC and 3-2 overall with the victory and will look to remain unbeaten in league play when it plays at Anderson on Oct. 13.