Two big plays not enough for Yellow Jackets in 45-14 loss at Saint Xavier

CHICAGO, Ill. – Despite two exciting scoring plays in the first half by the Defiance Yellow Jackets to keep the game within one score, the Saint Xavier Cougars posted 28 unanswered points to roll to a 45-14 final score at Bruce R. Deaton Memorial Field on Saturday.

The Cougars (4-2) built a 10-point lead off their first two possessions before the Yellow Jackets (2-4) got on the board with some trickery. Defiance employed a double-pass on their second play of their second drive when Jehlani Warren found Tawann Rome in the flat to the right, who then unloaded a long pass down the right side. Deveon Williams caught Rome's pass near the Cougars' 22-yard line and then won a footrace for a 62-yard score.

Each of the next two possessions ended in turnovers. After a pick by V'Sean Palmer was wiped out due to penalty, Caleb Gabes secured his second interception in two weeks for the Jackets six plays later just before the quarter break. However, one of the MSFA's top tacklers in Chris Swayne returned the favor for Saint Xavier and turned it into six points on a 44-yard interception return for touchdown to extend the Cougar lead back to 10 points. Defiance's 11-play drive in response stalled out near midfield before punting away. On the first play after pinning Saint Xavier at the 8-yard-line, DC linebacker Coty Johnson II stepped in front of another Dominic D'Ambrosio pass and returned it 15 yards for a Yellow Jacket touchdown that trimmed the lead back to three.

Saint Xavier grinded out a lengthy scoring drive with starting quarterback Stuart Ross back in the game. Ryan Fitzgerald capped off the first half with a two-yard plunge with 1:16 left before the half, taking a 24-14 game to halftime.

THE TURNING POINT
The start of the second half swung the pendulum completely over to Saint Xavier. On the third play of the second half, Chris Swayne intercepted Jehlani Warren for the second time deep in DC territory. Four plays later, Ross ran in a one-yard touchdown to push the Cougars' lead out to 31-14. After a Defiance 3-and-out, the teams traded turnovers on consecutive plays when the Cougars answered their own lost fumble with their third defensive interception on Defiance's next play from scrimmage. That play resulted in a touchback, but the Cougars delivered the knockout punch on a third-and-7 with a 66-yard touchdown pass from Ross to Ronnie Foster. Combined with Defiance's turnover on downs on their first possession plus the first three of four total interceptions in the game, the Cougars defensive playmaking turned those miscues into 24 points off of turnovers.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Defiance's defense forced multiple turnovers for the fourth game this season and the third game of at least three takeaways.
• Offensively, the four turnovers matched a season-high from their Week 4 loss to Siena Heights.
• Jahlani Warren entered the game with a 58 percent completion percentage but completed 11 of 31 passes on Saturday. He had three interceptions entering the game before the Cougars picked off four passes. As a runner, he was his usual self by averaging over five yards per carry and amassed 72 yards as the team's top rusher.
• Aside from Warren, the offense struggled to find a solution to run the ball. Cam Turner had seven carries but no rusher for Defiance gained more than eight yards.
• Deveon Williams' 62-yard touchdown was his second reception of 60-plus yards this season and his second touchdown of the year. He is now one of three receivers with multiple receiving scores.
• Tawann Rome, aside from his first career passing touchdown, led the team in receptions with three for 35 yards.
• Coty Johnson II and Caleb Gabes each secured their second-career interceptions for the Defiance defense. Johnson's return touchdown was the first score of his college career.
• Defensively, the Yellow Jackets did not register a sack one week removed from their season-high and made six plays for negative yards.
• Antonio Rosser had another stellar day at linebacker with a team-high 13 tackles and recovered the Saint Xavier fumble early in the second half.
• Saint Xavier's 408 yards is the fifth time Defiance has yielded 400 yards or more defensively.

UP NEXT
The Yellow Jackets are back on the road again next Saturday with a visit to old HCAC foe Rose-Hulman. The kickoff against the Fightin' Engineers at Cook Stadium is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.

-JACKETS-