KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Trine University football began the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) portion of their season with a convincing victory against their hosts from Kalamazoo College, defeating the hornets 58-12, after taking a 48-6 lead into halftime.
The Thunder scored the first 27 points of the game, with the Hornets finally getting on the board with nine minutes remaining in the half. Trine went on a 28-0 run over the final part of the second quarter and the first half of the third quarter, before Kalamazoo scored their final points. A field goal in the fourth quarter for the Thunder ended the game with the 58-12 victory.
Trine received the opening coin toss and went 75 yards in 11 plays to open the game with the 6-0 lead. RJ West II finished off the drive with a two yard touchdown run. West was once again the main catalyst of offense for the Thunder in the game, he finished the day going 29-for-38 for 339 yards in the air with four passing touchdowns while adding a pair of rushing tallies on 34 yards.
The defense accounted for the second touchdown of the contest for Trine. The Hornets found some success on their first possession of the game, moving all the way to the Trine 39 yard line on ten plays. Faced with a third-and-nine, the Hornets quarterback dropped back for the pass. Kanye Tucker rushed around the edge and crashed into the quarterback just as he threw the ball. The pass attempted fluttered into the hands of Bo Skidmore who found space and sprinted home, aided by blocks from Tucker and Xavier Compton.
West connected with Zach Pillow for the next two Thunder touchdowns. The first was a six-yard score with the second netting 36 yards.
The final seven minutes of the half saw Trine score three more touchdowns to build their 48-6 lead for halftime. West connected with Reese Soltis for a 21-yard strike and then Brayden Lemire for a 13-yard tally. The other score came when Soltis recovered a Demarcus Cleaves fumble in the endzone.
West finished his day with the first offensive series of the second half, scoring on a nine-yard rushing play for his sixth touchdown of the contest. Nathan Potter scored on a 36-yard field goal for the final points of the game and the 58-12 final score.
Saleem Felder led the team in rushing with 55 yards with West finishing second with his 34. Lemire paced the team with 106 yards receiving while Pillow finished second with 84.
Defensively, in addition to Skidmore's pick-six Tyronn Larkin also had an interception and the team stopped the Hornets on three of four fourth down attempts. John McKeown led the team with nine tackles in the game, while Tucker finished second with six. Four others finished with five and 27 members of the team had at least one tackle in the contest.
Trine improves to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in MIAA play after the victory. They will now return home for the first time in a month to host Alma College on Saturday, October 3. The game, which will serve as the athletic centerpiece of Trine's 2026 Homecoming Weekend, is scheduled to start at 1 p.m.
