Yellow Jackets defy the odds

By Pat Coleman, 
D3football.com
(posted Nov. 7)

We knew what you were thinking a month ago today.

That was the day 4-0 Defiance hosted 2-2 Hanover. The day when the Yellow Jackets, who got their four wins against teams that are a combined 7-31 today, were going to get a dose of reality against Hanover, who'd played the likes of Thomas More, Alma and Washington & Jefferson.

Or, as it turned out, the day when Defiance beat Hanover 13-7 in overtime, becoming the first team to hold the Panthers to single digits in 106 contests.

It's a win that still resonates through the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference, and one that has the Yellow Jackets in the driver's seat going into Saturday's showdown with co-leader Bluffton.

It's been a long road for Defiance and head coach Greg Pscodna.

"We took over this program five years ago and we had only 12 returning players," said Pscodna. "Our first game was against Mount Union, after they came off the national championship. We started 18 freshmen against them.

"We have 11 seniors who stuck through the hard times. We've gotten a little older, starting only one true freshman."

Hard times indeed, including the tragic death last October of junior defensive lineman Adam Perna. 

"We met on Sunday that week just to watch film and stuff," said Pscodna. "We're 3-1 and feeling pretty good about our season. And our players are going to dinner, two blocks away, piling in the back of a pickup. He was sitting on the tailgate, lost his balance, hit his head."

Perna died of his injuries on Wednesday of that week. 

"It didn't really sink in and hit us until the next Monday, the day of the funeral, the tragedy and such. For two or three weeks we didn't really play good football."

But the team rebounded with a win against Thiel to close the season and began life anew in the HCAC. And they hold the advantage going into Saturday's Bluffton game after beating Hanover. Since all three teams are tied at 4-1 in the conference, Defiance would get the automatic bid with a win Saturday regardless of what Hanover does.

"That was the biggest thing and what we talked about all along," said Pscodna. "Our philosophy was if you're going to be the champ you've got to beat the champ. We were gunning for Hanover and we caught them on the right day."

And while Pscodna is the first to admit his Defiance club ("we're not a great team, just a good solid team") is not world-beaters, his club is making its mark in the air-it-out HCAC. Making its mark on the ground, with freshman Maurice Hooker, averaging 118 yards per game, and sophomore Patrick Weber, with 56 yards a contest. Making its mark with defense, picking off 18 passes and holding opponents to 243 total yards a game. 

Saturday's game will tell if the 100th year of football at Defiance marks their first appearance in the playoffs.

Around the region
Aurora clinched the Illini-Badger Conference automatic bid with a 21-14 win against Concordia (Wis.). The Spartans wrap up their regular season against Division I-AA non-scholarship Valparaiso before awaiting what is likely a road game against the No. 2 seed in the North Region in the first round of the playoffs. ... Principia wrapped up its season last week with a 45-23 loss to first-year program Shenandoah. The Panthers ended the season 5-4, 2-3 against programs that were in existence in 1999 and nearly running the table against startup programs Averett, Wisconsin Lutheran, Rockford and Shenandoah. ... Wisconsin Lutheran is 3-6 with two wins against Rockford, going into their final game against Midland Lutheran. Rockford never quite got its offense on track and finished 1-9. Their 15-14 win against Crown College in Week 2 was the last for a team which only scored 88 points in its first season on the field.

Games of the Week
No. 7 Millikin (9-0, 6-0 CCIW) at No. 24 Illinois Wesleyan (8-1, 5-1), 1:00 CST
There are a handful of games in the nation on Saturday where one playoff bid is on the line. This is one of the only where two bids are in doubt. The winner of this game will win the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin's automatic bid. But Millikin could still get a Pool C bid if they lose. Last year Millikin won 42-20 at home in this game of archrivals.

Bluffton (6-3, 4-1 HCAC) at Defiance (7-2, 4-1), 1:30 EST
See above. Bluffton can only win the HCAC if they beat Defiance and Hanover loses to Franklin. Defiance is in if they win Saturday. Hanover wins if they win and Bluffton beats Defiance.

Chicago (7-1) at Benedictine (6-3), 1:00 CST
Chicago needs a win to get a Pool B bid to the playoffs. Benedictine can only play spoiler after Aurora finished running the table in the Illini-Badger Conference.

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