KALAMAZOO, MICH.-- Trine came out firing on all cylinders and rolled to a 45-12 victory over Kalamazoo Saturday afternoon to remain unbeaten in MIAA play.
Taylor Masiewicz (Belmont, Mich./Rockford) tied a school-record with five touchdown passes and scored another touchdown on the ground. The junior completed 18-of-23 passes for 322 yards, and moved into fifth on Trine's all-time list in total offense in a single-season with 2,407 yards. Anthony Yoder (Goshen, Ind./Concord) caught eight passes for a career-high 186 yards and three touchdowns. Those marks gave him the fourth-most receiving yards and second most receiving touchdowns in a single-game in school-history. Trine improves to 6-2 overall and 4-0 in the MIAA. Kalamazoo falls to 1-7 overall, 1-3 in the conference.
Trine outgained Kalamazoo by a 501-238 margin. The 238 yards represented the lowest total allowed by the Thunder defense this season. Trine got to Hornet quarterback Alex White five times for sacks, with two of those sacks going to freshman Me'Leick Miles (Indianapolis, Ind./Pike). Senior linebacker Tyler Yeoman (Mishawaka, Ind./Penn) picked off a pass for the Thunder.
Ryan Hogan (Vine Grove, Ky./Meade County) continued his climb up the Thunder all-time ranks with 1.5 sacks on the day. The senior is now tied for second in Trine single-season history with eight sacks on the year. Hogan is now second in school-history with 17 career sacks.
Trine got on the board when a bad punt by the Hornets gave TU the ball on the Kalamazoo 21. Two plays later, Masiewicz had his first TD pass of the game on a 15-yard strike to Quinton Daniels (Fort Wayne, Ind./Snider). The TD reception was the first of the freshman's career.
Yeoman's pick set up the Thunder with a short field again, and three plays later Trine was in the end zone again on a one-yard sneak by Masiewicz to make the score 14-0.
Kalamazoo answered with a scoring drive, as Alex White capped a 66-yard, nine-play drive with a three-yard TD run. White completed 20-of-31 passes for 165 yards on the afternoon. The extra point was blocked, and the first quarter ended with Trine holding a 14-6 lead.
From that point on, the rout was on as Trine outscored the Hornets 31-0 over the next two quarters. Masiewicz and Yoder connected for scoring strikes of 27 and 10 yards in the second quarter. Joel Lopshire (Angola, Ind./Angola) connected on a career-long 39-yard field goal as time expired in the first half to give the Thunder a 31-6 lead going into the break.
Tyler Peoples (Glendale, Ariz./Independence) made a tough catch in the end zone for a 36-yard score, and Masiewicz hit Yoder for a 39-yard touchdown to cap the scoring for Trine in the third quarter.
The Hornets added a late TD on a three-yard pass from White to Alex Dietrich, who finished the game with 101 yards receiving on nine catches.
Trine remains the only unbeaten in MIAA play and controls their own destiny in the conference championship race. The Thunder puts that record on the line next Saturday, Nov. 8 at Hope. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m.