ANGOLA, Ind. – Trine University football handled the visitors from Albion College for their fourth-straight victory, outscoring the opposition 40-16. The Thunder defense held the Britons to 102 yards passing and recorded three interceptions to lead the team to victory.
Trine's starting defense dominated the contest, holding Albion to just 164 total yards offense through the first three quarters. The visitors found a bit of success against the second string with most of it coming on one 75-yard rushing play. All told Albion finished with 323 yards.
Xavier Compton led the way defensively with two of the team's interceptions, three tackles and a quarterback hurry. Emil Drake had the other turnover and finished tied for the team high with seven tackles, with one coming behind the line of scrimmage. Wesyn Ludwig also had seven tackles in the game.
Compton wasted little time recording his first interception of the day, picking off the visiting quarterback on their first drive and giving the offense a short field from the Albion 28-yard line. RJ West II led the ensuing drive with a pair of nice completions, one to Keydrick Powell for eight yards and one to Zack Pillow for 18. West then scampered up the middle to score the touchdown and give the team a 7-0 lead.
Albion's Alex Trudell found some space on the team's next driving, breaking away for 12 and 18 yard runs to set up a 44-yard field goal attempt. After the ball sailed through the uprights the score was 7-3. The points were the only ones for the visitors through the first three quarters of play.
West exited the game four the end of the next scoring drive by the Thunder, with Sabatino Meassick entering in relief. The freshman connected with Powell for 21-yards to give the team a first-and-goal at the two-yard line. Saleem Felder cashed in on the next play to make the score 14-3.
After a quick three-and-out the Thunder marched down the field, draining four minutes from the clock and adding to their lead. A stop by the Britons on third down did mean that the team had to settle for three, but Casey Medley connected on the field goal to make the score 17-3. Neither team scored through the rest of the quarter and the score held into halftime.
Trine scored on the opening drive of the second half, with Felder scampering the final 15 yards for the touchdown and a 24-3 lead. Drake gave them the ball right back with interception on the next drive and the offense set up another field goal which Medley converted for the 27-3 lead.
Ridge Howard stuffed the Britons on fourth down to cause a turnover on downs on the Albion 25-yard line during the next drive. Medley missed his field goal this time and the 27-3 score held into the fourth quarter.
West connected with Powell on the team's first drive of the fourth and after a blocked extra point the score was 33-3. Albion broke through the backup defenders for the first touchdown of the game in the next drive to cut into that deficit. West led a five minute drive after the ensuing kickoff and Macrae Thompson capped it with a touchdown run that made the score 40-10.
Albion did score one final touchdown to make the final score 40-16.
West finished the game 33-for-53 through the air with 353 yards and a touchdown. He added a rushing touchdown on nine yards. Felder led the team with 78 yards on the ground, adding 31 receiving yards to break 100 yards of total offense. He also had a touchdown. Thompson was second on the team with 53 yards rushing.
Pillow led the team with 12 receptions for 95 yards and a touchdown, while Raymond Scott-Harbolt finished the game with 117 yards receiving.
The Thunder improve to 5-1 overall and 3-0 in Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) play after the victory. They will next take the field when they travel to Adrian College for the 2026 edition of the Border Brawl. The rivalry contest is scheduled to kickoff at 1 p.m. on Saturday, October 24.
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