BLUFFTON, Ohio – The Trine University football team returned to form with their second win of the season, defeating their hosts from Bluffton University by the score of 59-7.
The headline of the day was Zack Pillow who had a nearly record breaking performance as a receiver. He finished the game with 11 receptions for 242 yards and a pair of touchdowns. A pair of former Thunder receivers hold the program single game record with 244 yards, just two more than Pillow. Today's effort also ties for the sixth most passes caught.
Saleem Felder was another highpoint for the team, coming in with 131 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns. His 74-yard touchdown is just shy of the tenth longest run in program history. RJ West II started the game at quarterback before giving way to backups as the lead grew. He finished his day by going 12-for-18 for 210 yards and two touchdowns.
The Thunder wasted no time building their lead in the contest. They received the opening kickoff and scored just four minutes later on a Felder nine-yard scamper. West scored a rushing tally on the team's third drive to make the score 14-0. A quick defensive stop gave the ball right back to the offense with West connecting with Pillow for a 57-yard touchdown on the first play.
The 21-0 lead lasted until there was eight minutes remaining in the half. At that point West connected with Pillow again for a 58-yard touchdown. Trine finished the scoring in the first half with a seven-yard run from Demarcus Cleaves that made the score 35-0 at the intermission.
Trine's first drive of the second half took just two plays with Felder going 74 yards for his second score of the day. Casey Medley capped the next drive with a 31-yard field goal for a 45-0 lead at the end of the third quarter.
Chase Cromartie connected with Mickey Daring for a 23-yard touchdown to start the final quarter. The final points for Trine came when third string quarterback Sabatino Meassick found Nicholas Mills for an 11-yard touchdown in the final minutes of the contest.
The Thunder defense had a dominant performance in the contest, allowing just one touchdown in the last five minutes of play. They held the Beavers to just 181 yards of total offense and 10 first downs. Bluffton had 85 yards on the ground and 96 through the air.
Kanye Tucker was the star of the defensive effort in the game. He led the team with eight tackles with four coming behind the line of scrimmage. His three sacks is tied for the second most in a game by a Thunder defender, while his tackles for a loss is tied for fourth.
The rest of the defensive effort was a balanced one with 26 different members of the team recording at least one tackle. In addition to Tucker, George Branch finished with two sacks while Wesyn Ludwig, Nick Johnson and Eden Aldeus each had a tackle for a loss.
The Thunder improve to 2-1 overall after the win. They will next turn their attention to the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) portion of their season, traveling to face Kalamazoo College on Saturday, September 26. That game is set to start at 6 p.m.
