Defiance Falls Short, 40-14, in Loss at Adrian

ADRIAN, Mich. –A pair of fourth quarter touchdowns were not nearly enough for Defiance College on Saturday night, as the Jackets suffered a 40-14 setback at Adrian College in their final non-conference game of the season.

Adrian wasted little time asserting itself with a pair of scores in the first quarter and the early 14-0 advantage. A Defiance safety would make it 14-2 but the Jackets would get no closer, as AC extended the lead to 24-2 entering the fourth quarter.

DC found the end zone just moments into the final period, as Rick Powell connected with Nick Wiedenhoft for a 22-yard touchdown pass to narrow the gap to 24-8. Powell would find pay dirt on his own just over five minutes later, rushing in from five yards out to draw Defiance within 33-14 with nine minutes remaining in the contest.

The Yellow Jacket offense did show improvement in the second showing of the season, tallying 346 total yards of offense and 23 first downs. Powell did much of the damage, as the junior quarterback rushed 20 times for 97 yards and one touchdown, while completing 17 passes for 174 yards and one score. Wiedenhoft did his part, hauling in four receptions for 48 yards and a touchdown.

Kyle Longsdorf and Hunter Robertson led the DC defense with 11 and 10 tackles each but the Jackets had no answer for Adrian's (1-1) dominant rushing attack that piled up 385 rushing yards on 8.1 yards per carry on the night.

Defiance (0-2) will open its Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference schedule next Saturday, with a 1:30 pm start at Hanover (1-1).