ANGOLA, Ind. – Senior RJ West II had a near record day as he led the Trine University football team to a 48-34 victory over visiting University of Chicago. It is the first time the two teams have met on the gridiron.
West's mammoth day ended with 420 yards of passing, fifth most in a single game for the program, and another 37 on the ground. He went 26-for-38 on his throws with five touchdowns, tied for second in the program record book, while adding a rushing touchdown as well. Zach Pillow was the main target for the Thunder, finishing with seven receptions for 125 yards and two touchdowns.
Trine lost the coin toss and received the opening kickoff. West and the offense needed just two plays to take the 6-0 lead. He found Keydrick Powell on the first, connecting for 59 yards. Powell finished second on the team with 81 yards of receiving. West scrambled into the endzone on the next play, going 21 yards for the touchdown.
After some initial success by the Maroons, the Thunder defense buckled in and made a stop. Xavier Compton came up with sack on a delayed blitz, a play that worked three more times during the game. Compton finished the contest with 3.5 sacks and a forced fumble as well as coming in second with 12 total tackles.
Chicago did come away with three points on their second drive, but they were the only points of the quarter for the visitors. Brayden Lemire made a circus catch to give the Thunder the 13-3 lead, falling backwards and snagging the ball with one hand in the back of the endzone. The final score of the period came form the Trine defense. Compton's forced fumble was scooped up by Bo Skidmore who ran it in for the touchdown and the 20-3 lead.
The team's traded touchdowns in the second quarter. West connected on a 34-yard pass with Pillow and a 17-yard pass with Cleaster Kimbrough for the Thunder touchdowns. The contest headed to halftime with Trine leading 34-17.
The Maroons cut into the lead with their first drive of the second half, but Trine responded with West finding Saleem Felder on a screen pass for seven more points. Felder was the leading rusher for the team in the game, finishing with 38 yards on just two attempts, while adding 38 more yards on receptions.
The rest of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth saw Chicago make a comeback bid. They scored a third touchdown before forcing a turnover at the end of the quarter. They opened the fourth with their fourth touchdown cutting the score to 41-34.
Things looked even more grim after another defensive stop by the visitors, leading into a sustained drive that reached deep into the Thunder end of the field. The defense bent, but didn't break, coming up with a fourth down stop and the turnover.
West put the nail in the coffin in the ensuing drive. A 17-yard connection with Keagan Hampton gave them some breathing room, but a few miscues led to a third down play. West scrambled around the backfield before throwing a prayer in the direction of Reese Soltis on the right far visitor's side of the field. Soltis wrestled the ball away from a defender and completed the catch to move the ball into the offensive end. Pillow snuck through the middle to cap the drive on the next play.
The 48-34 score ultimately went final a few minutes later.
The Thunder defense played well despite allowing 34 points. As a team they finished with 13 tackles for a loss including six sacks. Ridge Howard came in just ahead of Compton with 14 total tackles to lead the team. In addition to his scoop-and-score Skidmore had two quarterback hurries.
Trine will now turn their attention to another unfamiliar opponent. They are set to travel to Illinois Wesleyan University for their second game of the season on Saturday, September 12. The first game between the two teams is set to start at 2 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. CT.
