ALMA, Mich. – The Trine University football team struck first in the contest but were ultimately outmatched by their hosts from Alma College. The home team finished the game with a 41- 16 victory.

The Scots won the coin toss and deferred to the second half, giving the Thunder the ball to start the game. Led by Ivyn Collins and Saleem Felder the Trine offense rushed their way down the field, eating six minutes of game and 66 yards. All but three of the 12 plays on the drive were on the ground, most by Felder. The longest play was a 20 yard rush by the sophomore. The drive stalled inside the ten and the team settled for a Colton Wampler field goal and a 3-0 lead.

The defense forced a punt on the ensuing drive, quickly giving the ball back to the offense. Collins connected on connected with Jermaine Williams on a couple of passes and Felder continued to find success on the ground. Just as the team entered the redzone, a fumble ended the drive and scoring chance.

The rest of the half was all about the Scots, who built a 21-3 after three touchdowns. They added to that lead out of the intermission to make the score 28-3 with 12:59 remaining in the third quarter.

The Thunder scored their first touchdown of the day in the middle of the third. The drive started with a bit of trickery, with Williams throwing a pass after receiving a toss on a sweep play. Collins followed up on the next attempt with a 25 yard touchdown to Evan Walker. A missed extra point made the score 28-9.

Alma scored two more unanswered touchdowns to build the lead to its biggest at 41-9.

Late in the fourth quarter, Isaac Pavona and Bryce Ferman led a touchdown drive in relief of the starters, once again mostly on the ground. Pavona eventually connected with Ferman on a three yard pass to score the touchdown, with Anthony Hentz kicking the extra point to make the score 41-16.

Felder led the Thunder offense with 86 yards rushing, while Ferman finished second with 32. Pavona and Collins each had 22 yards rushing as quarterbacks. Collins led the team with 94 yards in the air on six completions. In addition to his touchdown pass, Williams finished the game with a team high 100 receiving yards.

Defensively, Wesyn Ludwig led the team with eight tackles. Roman Schrock finished second with seven. Charles Thompson led the team with three pass defenses.

The Thunder fall to 4-4 overall and 2-3 in Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) following the loss. They will finish the home slate of the season next Saturday, November 9 when they host Adrian College for the Border Brawl. That game is scheduled to kickoff at 1 p.m.