ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University football team kept things close through most of the contest but ultimately were outdone by the nationally ranked squad from Hope College. A rough final few minutes let the visitors pull away for a 55-35 victory.
The Flying Dutch entered the contest ranked 20th in the nation according to D3football.com and 23rd according to the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). Despite the national recognition it was the Thunder who scored first, but not until their second drive of the game. Their first drive flipped field position, pinning Hope deep in their own side of the field and eventually forcing a punt from the back of their own endzone.
Starting well into the offensive side of the field, Trine faced a third and three on the drive with RJ West III executing a fantastic run fake before finding a wide-open Keagan Hampton down the center of the field. The 25-yard catch and run gave the team a 7-0 lead.
The next two touchdowns went to the Flying Dutch, with the dividing Thunder drive ending in a strip sack.
After trading possessions well into the second quarter, West led a second touchdown drive for the team. It was Saleem Felder who split the defense on the opening play of the drive, going 18 yards and moving the team to the 32 yard line. Eventually West connected with Jermaine Williams in the back of the endzone to tie the game at 14.
Despite the lateness in the half, the Flying Dutch scored twice more, once on a long run and then, after forcing a three and out from the Thunder, on a long pass completion. The 28-14 score carried into the intermission.
The Thunder drove 75 yards on the opening possession of the second half, most of it coming on a completion to Zack Pillow over the middle of the field. That play went 50 yards and ended at the four yard line for a fist and goal. Two plays later West found Owen Hebberd in the back of the endzone on a jump ball pass, cutting the score to 28-21.
After Hope responded on their next drive to make it 35-21, the teams traded punts before Trine put together another 75 yard drive. This time the big plays were a rush by West for 25 yards and then a 31 yard connection with Rashawn Street that gave the team a first and goal at the two. Pillow then made a sliding catch on a slant route in the middle of the endzone to make the score 35-28.
The Flying Dutch responded with a backbreaking drive, methodically moving 70 yards down the field for a touchdown, while eating nearly nine minutes of clock. Trine got the ball back with just 8:29 remaining in the fourth quarter, down 42-28. A plague of turnovers hampered any comeback attempt by the Thunder, with their next two drives ending in fumbles. Hope converted both turnovers into short touchdown runs to build a 55-28 lead with just 2:51 remaining.
Street injected a bit of energy into the waning minutes by taking a kickoff 90 yards to the house and cutting the lead to 55-35 with 2:38 remaining. But after a failed onside kick the game eventually went final with the same score.
West finished the game 23-of-40 for 230 yards and four touchdowns while adding 38 yards on the ground. He spread the love on those passes with six different receivers topping 20 yards in the game. Street led the way with 64 yards with Pillow coming in second with 55.
Cortaveon Barnett led the team with 51 yards rushing and Felder came in second with 39.
Cole Basey once again led the team in tackles finishing the game with nine. He also was one of three members of the defense to record a sack. Ridge Howard had one of those other sacks while finishing third on the team with seven tackles. Semajj Brooks had the final sack.
The Thunder fall to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) play after the loss. After a bye next weekend, the team will travel to face The University of Olivet on Thursday, October 16. That game is scheduled to kickoff at 7 p.m.
