Anderson Charges Past Defiance on Senior Day

On Saturday, the Anderson University football team picked up their first win of the 2021-2022 season against the Defiance College Yellow Jackets at Macholtz Stadium. The game, which saw the Ravens outscore the Yellow Jackets 42-14, also honored senior day for the Ravens as they congratulated seniors on the cheerleading squad, the athletic training staff, and the football team.

Senior day celebrations took place before the game where the Ravens honored Cheerleaders: Imani Person and Valerie Porter, Athletic Trainers: Mariah Clemons, Kalynn Condrey, and Tess Maubach, and Football players: Dagan Cecere (Palm Harbor, Fla. / Palm Harbor University), Troy Hicks (Richmond, Texas / Austin), Alex Laccabue (Tampa, Fla. / Calvary Christian), Hayden Lee (Cedarville, Ohio / Cedarville) , Braden Mikel (Wakarusa, Ind. / NorthWood) , Caleb Oliver (Marion, Ind. / Marion), Alex Parra (Indianapolis, Ind. / Perry Meridian), Zac Tallent (Lakeland, Fla. / George Jenkins), and Austin Weiland (La Porte, Ind. / New Prairie). Congratulations to these 14 seniors and all of their accomplishments on and off the field as a Raven over the years!

Anderson (1-8, 1-5) got the game started late in the first quarter. During the Defiance (1-8, 1-5) possession, Jose Olivo (Knightstown, Ind. / Knightstown) came up with a huge interception on the Anderson 47 and returned the ball for 26 yards, being brought down on the Defiance 27. The offense came into the game with 8:44 remaining in the first quarter. With the Ravens on the Defiance 27, Quarterback Tyson Harley (New Palestine, Ind. / Mount Vernon) threw a 27-yard touchdown to Dean Foundos (Highland, Ind. / Highland) to put the Ravens on the board. Caleb Oliver's PAT was good and the Ravens led 7-0 with 8:42 left in the quarter.

A trick play by the Ravens resulted in a Defiance pick-6 for a 75-yard touchdown. The Yellow jacket PAT was good as they tied the game with 6:20 left in the first quarter. Neither team would find the end zone again by the end of the first.

With 9:42 left in the half, the Ravens received the ball and started their offensive drive down towards the end zone. After two rushes by Caden Robinson (Mooresville, Ind. / Mooresville), and a rush by Tyson Harley for a total of 17 yards, the Ravens found themselves on the Defiance 14-yard line. Harley and Robinson would then connect on a pass for a 14-yard touchdown with 7:18 left in the second quarter. Oliver once again made the PAT as the Ravens led 14-7. The score would remain the same as the Ravens headed into halftime with the lead.

Coming out of halftime, the Ravens wasted no time getting another one on the board. The Ravens made their way downfield as Harley connected with Tallent and James Tucker (Brookville, Ind. / Franklin County) on a 46-yard hook-and-ladder play. With 13:19 left in the quarter, Harley then completed a 20-yard pass to Zac Tallent and Oliver's kick attempt was good as the Ravens took a 21-7 lead. 

Once again in the third quarter, the Ravens found the back of the end zone. The drive started with 11:36 on the clock. After multiple offensive plays, the Ravens were able to get the ball down to the Defiance 7-yard line. Here, Harley threw a seven-yard pass to Caleb Brown (Decatur, Ga. / Alcovy). Oliver kept the streak going, making the PAT and giving the Ravens a 28-7 lead over the Yellow Jackets.

The Ravens held a 21-point lead as they entered the fourth quarter. The lead would only grow as Harley immediately completed a three-yard pass to Tallent. After the PAT was good, the Ravens' lead grew to 35-7.

Defiance would get their second touchdown of the game with 11:47 left, making it a 35-14 game.

Before the end of the game, Anderson would get one more touchdown on the board to conclude senior day. At the 5:48 mark, Harley found Brown for the second time of the day on a 12-yard touchdown pass. Oliver secured the final PAT and the Ravens built their lead to 42-14 over the Yellow Jackets.

Inside the box score, Tyson Harley led the Ravens, completing 32-of-58 pass attempts for 316 yards and six passing touchdowns. Harley and Caden Robinson each had 55 rushing yards. Tucker led the Ravens with 85 receiving yards on eight receptions. Zac Tallent was right behind him with right receptions for 81 yards. Caleb Oliver completed all six of the PAT's Sam Feola (Ridgeville, Ind. / Monroe Central) recorded six tackles, while Caden McClain (Pendleton, Ind. / Pendleton Heights), Aidan Roach (Clayton, Ind. / Cascade), Austin Weiland, and Brandon Goodman (Logansport, Ind. / Logansport) each recorded five. Tristian Chambers (Fort Wayne, Ind. / Concordia Lutheran) and Roach each forced fumbles while Mikel and Jacob Holifield (Gary, Ind. / Calumet New Tech) each recovered fumbles. Olivo picked off a pass. Lee, Kavel Killins (Gary, Ind. / Calumet New Tech) and Chambers each produced sacks while Feola and Jawan Coney (Hammond, Ind. / Morton) contributed half sacks. Coney also broke up two passes.

Head Coach Steve Rock had the following to say after the game: "I'm really proud of the way our team came out [Saturday] and played well in all phases of the game. We gained confidence early on with the way the defense played and that allowed the offense to find their rhythm and belief. With the struggles this season it would have been easy to pack it in and think about next year but this team doesn't quit. There are many individual accomplishments I could mention but, in the end, it takes everyone, we learned that [Saturday].

I cannot thank the seniors we honored enough for their commitment to this team. While the wins have been fewer than what they had hoped for, the relationships, memories, and their educational accomplishments will last a lifetime. I am proud of each of them for achieving the No. 1 goal of earning an Anderson University degree!"

The Ravens will now close out their 2021-2022 season on the road as they head to North Manchester to take on the Spartans of Manchester University (2-7, 2-4). Kickoff between the Ravens and Spartans is set for 1:30PM on Saturday.