WEBCAST / LIVE STATS / GAME NOTES
DEFIANCE, Ohio - Defiance will take a moment to honor its senior class on Saturday, prior to the start of its final home game of the 2012 campaign against the No. 21 Franklin Grizzlies.
SCOUTING DEFIANCE - Defiance has lost three-straight contests on the season, falling to Hanover, Mount St. Joseph and Manchester in the past three weeks. The stats during that span would not hint of an 0-3 mark however, as DC has posted 20 more first downs, 44.0 more yards of total offense per game and an average cushion in time of possession of over 11 minutes in those three outings. Turnovers have cost the Jackets however, as DC is minus four takeaways during the current skid.
SCOUTING FRANKLIN - Franklin has outscored its opposition 163-0 over the last three weeks to extend its current Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference win streak to 23-straight triumphs. That streak dates back to Oct. 31, 2009 but FC's dominance has spanned the past seven seasons, in which the Griz has gone 47-4 in league play. This season has been no different, with Franklin outscoring its HCAC foes by a 281-47 count on the year and leading the league in scoring, total offense, passing offense, total defense and rushing defense.
LAST MEETING - Defiance fell by a 52-14 score at Franklin last season on September 24. The two squads combined for 46 first downs and 854 total yards of offense. Aaron Spence led the Jackets with 107 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, while throwing for 122 yards through the air. Jonny West fueled the Grizzlies with 23 completions for 318 yards and Kyle Linville hauled in eight catches for 116 yards and one touchdown.
SERIES HISTORY - Franklin owns a 9-4 advantage over Defiance in the all-time series between the programs. DC's last win over the Grizzlies came via a 38-23 win at Defiance back on October 29, 2005. FC has won each of the last six meetings by an average margin of victory of 28.3 points per game and has scored over 40 points in each of the last three outings against the Yellow Jackets.
LAST TIME OUT - Defiance registered 402 total yards of offense and racked up 242 yards on the ground but could only put 14 points on the board in a 47-14 defeat at Hanover. Joey Chester and Andre Doran had career days in the ground game, as Chester ran 10 times for 94 yards and Doran carried it six times for 55 yards.
AROUND THE HCAC - Franklin and Hanover remain on course to clash for the HCAC Championship in the season finale on November 10. The two sides are 5-0 against league foes and will be in action on Saturday, with No. 21 Franklin traveling to Defiance (2-4) and Hanover hosting Earlham (1-4).
JOIN DEFIANCE IN THE FIGHT AGAINST CANCER - The DC football team will be taking donations and selling pink bracelets, ribbons and pom poms during Saturday's game to help raise funds for Sports for the Cure, a northwest Ohio affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
CHECK OUT SHOPDEFIANCEGEAR.COM - Defiance College launched www.ShopDefianceGear.com on October 19. The site offers over 500 DC items including hats, hoodies, polos, office and tailgating supplies, personalized jerseys and much more. Be sure to check the site regularly for new sales and promotions!
A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS - Fans can choose from over 10,000 high-resolution photos of their favorite Yellow Jackets in action by visiting DC's online photo store at www.DefianceAthletics.com/galleries. Proceeds from the site help to support Defiance College.
BASKETBALL SEASON TICKETS - The installation of the new bleachers has been completed inside the Karl H. Weaner Community Center and fans can now purchase season, or single-game tickets for the section with seat backs and arm rests. The section contains 78 seats and is located at mid-court behind the scorer's table. For more information, call 419-782-2342, or go to www.myonlinecamp.com/defiancetickets/.
ONLINE WEBCAST AND REPLAYS - Defiance College would like to thank Hubbard Company, Mark Moats Ford and The Plaza Motel for their support of the Yellow Jacket Sports Network in 2012. Each of DC's five home football games in 2012, along with the road games at Adrian and Bluffton will be broadcast live at www.DefianceAthletics.com/video. Past broadcasts will also be archived and available at that link. Broadcasts will also be replayed all season long by DCTV5 on Tuesday's and Friday's at 9:00 pm and by Bryan City Cable channel 3 on Tuesday and Thursday's at 9:00 pm.