HOLLAND, MICH.-- Hope scored the last 14 points to earn a 31-24 victory and deal Trine their first MIAA loss of the season Saturday afternoon at Ray and Sue Smith Stadium.
After the Thunder took a 24-17 lead with 7:19 to play, the Flying Dutchmen scored two unanswered touchdowns to earn the victory. Reggie Duncan scored on a seven-yard run and Robert Kish threw a 34-yard TD pass to Matt Kroll for the game-winning touchdown with 1:14 remaining. Kish completed 25-of-47 passes for 292 yards, and threw two touchdowns to Kroll on the day. Ryan Hogan (Vine Grove, Ky./Meade County) became Trine's all-time career leader in sacks, and set the single-season school-record for sacks. Trine's MIAA title hopes remain alive with a 4-1 league record. The Thunder are 6-3 overall. Hope improved to 6-3 overall and 3-2 in the conference.
Hogan finished with seven tackles and three sacks for the Thunder to bring his season sack total to 11. The senior is now alone atop the Trine career leaderboard in sacks with 20. His three sacks were tied for the second-highest in a single game in program history.
Hope held Trine to 0-of-4 on fourth down, with three of those stops coming inside the Dutch 30-yard line. Each team picked off two passes.
The first quarter was a defensive struggle, with neither team able to crack the 100-yard mark. Christian Chase (Jackson, Mich./Lumen Christi) picked off a pass to stop a Dutch drive, but the Hope defense did not yield following the big play.
The Dutch broke through first, grinding out a 12-play, 63-yard drive that chewed up 5:47. Aaron Mick capped the drive with a 22-yard field goal to put Hope up 3-0.
The Thunder had a quick answer, as Mark Wilson (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence Central) provided a much-needed spark for the offense. Wilson carried three times for 26 yards on a 5-play, 65-yard drive, and capped it with a two-yard TD run to put Trine up 7-3. Wilson finished the day with 44 yards on four carries. The Thunder outrushed Hope by a 254-65 margin.
A 52-yard kickoff return by Brandon Zervas put Hope in business deep in Trine territory on the ensuing possession, but the Thunder defense stood tall to force another field goal attempt. Mick connected from 32-yards out to cut the score to 7-6.
Special teams played a big role in the victory for the Flying Dutchmen. Zervas averaged 26.8 yards on five kick returns, Mick nailed three field goals, and punter Dean DeVries helped flip field position with a 48.4-yard average on five punts.
Andrew Lucas stepped in front of a pass, picked it off and returned it 24 yards to set up Hope at midfield in the closing minutes of the first half. Just 52 seconds later, the Dutch were in the end zone as Kish hit Kroll for a 12-yard TD pass. The two-point conversion pass gave Hope a 14-7 lead going into the half.
Mick connected on his third field goal of the afternoon to give Hope a 17-7 lead midway through the third quarter.
A one-play strike pulled the Thunder back within a score. Taylor Masiewicz (Belmont, Mich./Rockford) rolled to his right and fired deep up the right sideline to Anthony Yoder (Goshen, Ind./Concord), who tipped the ball to himself and walked into the end zone for a 52-yard TD. That cut the score to 17-14 in the closing minute of the third quarter.
The Thunder special teams rose to the occasion on 4th down, sniffing out a fake punt to stop the next Hope possession. The offense kept the momentum rolling with a seven-play, 62-yard scoring drive, with all yardage coming on the ground. Masiewicz capped the drive with a six-yard keeper to make the score 21-17 with 12:45 to play in the fourth quarter.
Tyler Guzy (Coldwater, Mich./Coldwater) made a big defensive play on Hope's ensuing possession, picking off his 10th career pass to set up Trine with a short field. Guzy is now tied with Blaek Combs (2010-13) for 4th in school-history in interceptions. Joel Lopshire (Angola, Ind./Angola) connected on a 29-yard field goal to extend Trine's lead to seven.
The Dutchmen were able to come right back with a scoring drive to knot the score at 24-apiece. Kish completed 4-of-6 passes on the drive, and Duncan scored from seven yards out to deadlock the score with 5:05 remaining.
Colin Kelly came up with a pass break-up on third down to stop the ensuing Trine possession before the Dutch went on what would prove to be the game-winning drive. The eight-play, 71-yard march was capped by Kish's 34-yard TD pass to Kroll with 1:14 remaining in the contest.
Hope forced Trine into a turnover and downs, and took two kneel-downs to run out the clock.
The Thunder will need a win next Saturday against Adrian to earn the MIAA Championship and a bid to the NCAA Playoffs. A win for the Bulldogs would give them the MIAA title and the automatic-playoff berth. Kickoff at Shive Field and Fred Zollner Athletic Stadium is set for 1 p.m.
