ANGOLA, Ind. -- Big plays from the Trine defense led the Thunder to a 31-13 victory over Adrian in the Black and Blue Border Brawl Saturday afternoon at Fred Zollner Athletic Stadium.

The Thunder claimed its first Black and Blue Border Brawl trophy since 2010 with the victory. Trine's defense recorded two fourth-down stops and forced four turnovers to keep the Thunder within a game of first place in the MIAA standings. The Bulldogs fell to 4-4 overall and 2-2 in MIAA play. Trine improved to 6-2 overall and 3-1 in conference play.

Erik Mawhorter (Ligonier, Ind. / West Noble) recovered two fumbles for the Thunder, one off a force by Rodney Haywood (Carmel, Ind. / Carmel) and one off a muffed punt on special teams. Robert Riley (Mendon, Mich. / Mendon) led the defense with 11 tackles, which is a career high.

Cayleel Hill (Owings Mills, Md. / Owings Mills) and Marcus Winters (Toledo, Ohio / Central Catholic) had an interception each. Winters now has six picks on the year, tied for second in a season in team history. The sophomore now has 10 career INTs, tied for fourth on the team's all-time list.

Andrew Duckett (Niles, Mich. / Brandywine), Brandon Rooze (West Lafayette, Ind. / Benton Central) and Evan Wyse (Archbold, Ohio / Archbold) split time at quarterback, varying the looks of the Thunder offense. Rooze was 13-of-17 on his passes with 118 yards and one touchdown. Duckett completed all three of his passes for 38 yards and two touchdowns. Wyse scored the only rushing touchdown for Trine.

Mark Wilson (Indianapolis, Ind. / Lawrence Central) and Duckett led the rushing attack for the Thunder. Wilson totaled 123 yards on 20 carries. Duckett added a career-high 90 yards on 18 carries.

Adrian's Hunter Hamm went 16-35 with 260 yards and threw two interceptions. Trine held the Bulldogs to only 143 yards rushing. The Bulldogs' defense was led by Angus Arthur with 13 tackles and Jacob Davis with 10.

The Thunder struck first against the Bulldogs when Rooze dumped a two yard touchdown pass to Andrew Bonfiglio (Toledo, Ohio / St. Francis de Sales). The TD capped a drive of more than seven minutes.

Early in the second quarter Haywood forced a Bulldog fumble, which Mawhorter recovered. That led to Trine scoring another touchdown when Wyse strolled into the end zone from nine yards out.

The Thunder came out and added another score to their lead early in the third quarter when Duckett threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Jeffery Barnett (Fremont, Ohio / Fremont-Ross), who backpedaled into the end zone.

Adrian got on the board midway through the third quarter. when D'Angelo Gaines rushed in for the score from the one yard line, cutting the Thunder lead to 21-7.

Trine added another insurance touchdown to their lead when Duckett rolled out and threw a six-yard pass to Seth Boggs (Sandusky, Ohio / Perkins) for the score. Boggs' catch was the first touchdown reception of his career.

Late in the fourth quarter, Lucas Garza (Syracuse, Ind. / Wawasee) kicked a 31-yard field goal to make the score 31-7 late in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs scored as time expired for the final margin.

Trine returns to action next Saturday, Nov. 5th, when the Thunder host MIAA foe Alma. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Fred Zollner Athletic Stadium.

Article courtesy Cody Konieczki, Trine University, Communications New Media '17