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Defiance steamrolls Bath 42-6

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By TIM McDONOUGH
mcdonough@crescent-news.com
Riding a 3-game losing streak and sitting 4-5 heading into its season finale, Defiance was challenged this week by head coach Jerry Buti to get back to its winning ways when it hosted Lima Bath on Friday night at Fred J. Brown Stadium on Senior Night.
The Bulldogs came out firing on all cylinders, jumping out a 35-0 lead at halftime on the way to a 42-6 victory over the Wildcats (2-8, 1-8 WBL) to finish 5-5 overall and 5-4 in the Western Buckeye League.
“When you’re 4-5, you become a team that has lost its confidence, but I stressed to the team that the last image people get of you, especially the seniors, had better be a good one,” stated Buti. “Our kids came out and played well from the very beginning. I was pleased with the way we went out and attacked them, I can’t say enough about the seniors doing that.”
The contest also turned out to be a milestone game for senior running back Aaron Swanson. One year ago Swanson got in on a handful of plays after suffering a foot injury. On Friday night, the speedy back rushed for 282 yards on 24 carries and scored three TDs.
The 282 yards pushed Swanson’s season total to 1,583 yards, the fourth most ever in a season at Defiance. Swanson also finished the year with 20 touchdowns.
“It means a lot to me to finish my senior year like that ... it means a lot to know that I’m going to be remembered here for what I did out there (on the football field,” said Swanson. “I worked really hard before the year, I played with great teammates, the guys up front ... I’m just really going to miss it all.”
“It used to be when you led the league in rushing, your team won the league title,” said Buti. “Unfortunately that’s not the case this year, but Aaron really had an awesome season. It’s also a badge of honor for our offensive line that did a great job of blocking for him all year.”
On Friday, it took Swanson just two plays to give Defiance an early lead.
After running for 22 yards on first down from the DHS 16 on Defiance’s first possession of the game, Swanson took his second hand-off to paydirt from 57 yards out to give the Bulldogs a 7-0 advantage with 9:59 to play. 
With 2:32 to play in the opening quarter, Swanson capped off a 13-play drive with a 3-yard burst into the end zone for a 13-0 Defiance advantage. While the Defiance offense was clicking on all cylinders, the DHS defense was manhandling the Wildcats, holding Bath to -7 yards of offense in the first half.
“We talked about putting them away early, about coming out as strong as we could in our last game,” stated senior defensive end Jacob Moser. “It means a lot get this win in my last game. I’m going to miss playing with all my friends, my brother ... just everyone here.”
“We came out looking to play hard and end the season on a good note,” stated senior defensive lineman Brandon Polce. “It feels great to win our last game, for the seniors to go out on a high note.”
The Bulldogs added to their lead in the second quarter, scoring 22 points before the halftime cannon went off. Quarterback Sean Murray threw a pair of touchdown passes, one 14 yards to Alex Nofziger and one 13 yards to Thorne Roehrig, his first TD of the season. Murray also added a 44-yard scoring run as the Bulldogs led 35-0 at halftime.
“When I first got into the end zone, I wasn’t sure I was in, but when the ref raised his hands that was a pretty good feeling,” said Roehrig. “Right now, it feels weird to think that it’s all over ... it’s a great feeling to go out with a win, but it’s also horrible at the same time.”
Swanson tacked on his third rushing TD on a 59-yard scamper early in the third quarter before Defiance went to its bench. That was something that Buti was hoping for ... if his team played up to its potential early.
“I think the young guys are getting an understanding of what it takes to win and it was good to get them into the game,” concluded Buti. “We didn’t just go through the motions this week, we worked a lot with the younger kids to get them prepared for next season. We’re going to be young next year, but when the time comes we’ll be ready to get to work.”
 
                                 BATH   DEFIANCE
First Downs                  5            16
Rushing Yards         33-50       50-359
Passing Yards            11            82
Total Yards                 61           441
Passing                   2-11-0        9-11
Fumbles-Lost            2-0            6-1
Penalties                  3-25          6-41

Bath            0     0   0   6  -    6
Defiance    13   22   7   0  -  42

Defiance - Swanson 57-yard run (Koester kick).
Defiance - Swanson 3-yard run (kick failed).
Defiance - Nofziger 14-yard pass from Murray (Swanson run).
Defiance - Murray 44-yard run (Koester kick).
Defiance - Roehrig 13-yard pass from Murray (Koester kick).
Defiance - Swanson 59-yard run (Koester kick).
Bath - Collins 7-yard run (kick failed).

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Bath - Hefner 16-61; Collins 3-10; Johnson 1-1; Garber 1-1; Davis 12-(-23). Defiance - Swanson 24-282; Sean Murray 8-80; Pritchett 7-11; Stuck 3-1; McCalla 2-0; Nofziger 1-(-2); Shea Murray 3-(-12).
PASSING: Bath - Davis 2-11-0-14. Defiance - Sean Murray 9-11-0-82.
RECEIVING: Bath - Lhamon 1-10; Bishop 1-4. Defiance - Nofziger 7-62; Roehrig 1-13; Stuck 1-5.