Yellow Jackets’ Football places nine on All-MSFA Mideast League Team

DEFIANCE, Ohio – The Mid-States Football Association announced its annual All-Conference Teams on Thursday with nine Defiance Yellow Jackets among the Mideast League's honorees.

Defiance had five players earn Second Team All-Mideast League and three Honorable Mentions. DC had two Second Teamers on offense in WR Caleb Johnson (So., Fairborn, Ohio/Trotwood-Madison), RB Tristan Thomas (Akron, Ohio/East) and LT Aidan Burke (Sr., Indianapolis, Ind./Purdue Polytechnic), two more on defense with DEs Davidson Leconte Jr. (Sr., Miami, Fla./Miami Jackson) and Dominic Harris (Sr., Detroit, Mich./Southeastern), and kicker Carson Marroquin (Fr., Defiance, Ohio/Napoleon). The Yellow Jackets' three honorable mentions were FB/TE Cooper Sloan (Sr., Cherryville, N.C./Cherryville), C Bryce Copeland (So., Port Clinton, Ohio/Port Clinton) and LG Cochise Griffin (Fr., Akron, Ohio/East Akron).

Johnson led the Yellow Jackets in receptions for the second straight season (32) and eclipsed 500 yards with 4 touchdowns. He also notched his first-career 100-yard game during the season, highlighted by a pair of scores in the same contest. In the ground game, Thomas led Defiance in rushing yards (592) and rushing touchdowns (8) for the second year in a row despite missing three games. He had two 100-yard games and compiled 65 yards or more in 5 of 8 games played. Sloan enjoyed a productive senior season, finishing third on the team in receptions (23) with a career-high 163 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns. His 11-catch, 73-yard performance on homecoming was each a single-game career-high in offensive production.

Harris and Leconte set the edge of the defense all season, posting strong numbers in their senior seasons. Harris, who earned his third career all-conference selection, led DC in tackles with 55 while his 8.5 sacks and 16.5 tackles for loss were each 2nd-best in the MSFA. Leconte had 11.5 tackles for loss, 9th-best among MSFA defenders in 2025.

Marroquin also posted a strong rookie season while pulling double duty as the team's place kicker and punter. He made 35 of 38 PAT attempts (5th in MSFA) and went 6-for-8 on field goals (4th in MSFA), racking up 53 total points. His 35 PATs and 53 kicking points each finished 3rd-most among the program's single-season records.

DC's offensive line garnered three all-conference selections. Burke earned his second straight All-MSFA award with a Second Team nod by starting all 11 games at left tackle for the second year in a row. Copeland and Griffin received their first all-conference honors, starting 10 and 8 games, respectively. The Jackets' offensive line cleared the way for one of the MSFA's top rushing attacks, finishing third in the conference at 186.6 yards per game and churning out four games of 200 yards or more. The team's 2053 rushing yards were the most in a season since 2001.

Defiance's nine all-conference nods set the bar in the program's first full season of MSFA membership. In the last four seasons under head coach Bill Nickell, Yellow Jacket football has witnessed 36 players receive All-Conference recognition.

-JACKETS-