ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University football team needed late heroics on both sides of the ball but came away with a 25-24 victory in their season finale against Kalamazoo College.
The Hornets won the coin toss and deferred their choice to the second half, giving the ball to the Thunder offense to start. It took just three plays to get the team deep into the opposition's side of the field. Cortaveon Barnett rushed for seven on the first play followed by RJ West II going 29 more on the second. West then connected with Owen Hebberd for 24 yards to the Kalamazoo three yard line. The drive stalled their and Bryce Hufford was called on to give the team a 3-0 lead.
The visitors responded quickly, driving down the field on the back of a short passing game. They finished the drive with a one yard touchdown to make the score 7-3 in their favor.
West led another successful drive, building on a theme for the game by connecting with Hebberd on a pair of passes. Hebberd ultimately led the team with 121 yards receiving on 11 catches. West scrambled for the touchdown on an 18 yard run.
Once again the Hornets responded, this time aided by a couple of defensive penalties. The drive ended with a 25 yard circus catch in the endzone that made the score 14-10. That score held into the second quarter, but Kalamazoo was in the redzone as the teams traded ends.
They reached the one yard line on the second play of the new quarter, but got no further with the Thunder defense standing tall. Roman Schrock helped on two of the rushing plays with one tackle assist and one solo effort. Then Jeshua Miller came up with a tackle on a fourth down pass to turn the ball over on downs.
Pinned deep the Thunder offense did a great job getting out of trouble. West broke an 18 yard rush on second down to give the team breathing space before leading the rest of the drive into the other end of the field. He made his one mistake inside the redzone with a pass that was intercepted in the endzone.
Sylvester Orozco paid it back, intercepting Kalamazoo's quarterback during the ensuing drive and giving the offense one last chance for points before the half. West was caught on the last play of the quarter for a sack that send the game to half still 14-10 in favor of the visitors.
The Thunder defense forced another turnover on downs to start the second half. West led another long drive but it once again stalled in the redzone and the team settled for another Hufford field goal cutting the deficit to 14-13.
Kalamazoo needed just three plays, one rush and two long passes, to build on their lead again. They scored their third touchdown of the day with 3:44 remaining in the third, making the score 21-13.
West opened the next drive with an 18 yard connection to Tristan Burrus before Barnett rushed for the next three plays and gaining 28 yards. West found Isaiaha Holmes in the flat on the next putting the team within two at 21-19. The two-point conversion failed and that score held into the fourth quarter.
Kalamazoo drove into the redzone again, but Ridge Howard recorded a breakup and Anthony Trudell hurried the quarterback to force a fourth down at the six. The Hornets took the three points for the five point lead at 24-19.
Neither team scored on their next drive, giving the Thunder the ball back with 3:06 remaining in the game. West found Zack Pillow just before the two-minute timeout for 32 yards moving deep into the Hornet end of the field. The next three plays had little gain for the Thunder setting up a fourth and seven with under a minute remaining on the clock. West put his body on the line to gain 11 yards and keep the teams' hopes alive. He then found a wide open Pillow in the back of the endzone to give the team their first lead of the second half.
The two-point conversion failed again, but the defense made one last stand, with Cam McCarver recording the crucial quarterback hurry, to secure the victory 25-24.
West finished the game with 268 yards on 23 completions. He recorded a pair of touchdowns and the one interception. He also led the team with 88 yards rushing. Barnet finished with 67 and Saleem Felder came in third with 36. Pillow came in second on the team with 74 yards receiving and Burrus finished with 55.
Corey Washington and Miller led the team with 10 tackles each. Washington added a pair of crucial breakups, both helping to give the ball back to the offense in the fourth quarter. Trudell had both of the team's sacks in the contest and tied McCarver with four quarterback hurries.
The win gives the Thunder a 5-5 overall record and a 3-4 record in Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) play. It is the 12th straight season that the team has finished with a five hundred or better record, including all 11 years with head coach Troy Abbs at the helm.
