HOLLAND, Mich. – An early lead wasn't enough for the Trine University football team, as they fell to their hosts from Hope College by the score of 38-28.
The Thunder received the opening kickoff and immediately turned in one of their better drives of the day. All told it went 75 yards over ten plays chewing up 5:37 on the game clock. Alex Price was instrumental in that success, going three-for-three through the air. He connected with Connor Arthur and then Tim Kasper once. Price capped the drive with a one-yard rushing touchdown.
The Flying Dutch opened their ensuing drive with a deep pass completion before the Trine defense settled in and forced the field goal attempt from near the goal line.
Price punched back on the next Thunder drive, connecting with John Clampitt for 60 yards to start the next drive. He capped it with a four-yard connection with Brandon Kline, making the score 14-3.
Hope's next drive was a successful one on the ground, taking over seven minutes to go 68 yards. They ended with a touchdown of their own cutting the lead to 14-10.
Nearing the end of the first half, Price led another drive through the air. He connected with Kline twice for long gains, one for 45 yards and the other for 13, putting the ball on the Hope one-yard line. Xaine Kirby finished off the drive with another touchdown building the lead back to eleven at 21-10.
The final three minutes before halftime spelled disaster for Trine. Hope started with a successful drive of their own scoring on a 38-yard pass. Price's first interception of the day gave the home team a second bite at the apple with just over 30 seconds left. Two completed passes led to another touchdown and the Flying Dutch took a 24-21 lead into intermission.
Neither team scored in the second half, until a Trine fumble set up Hope with another drive inside the offensive side of the field, The cashed in again and built the lead to 31-21.
Price was able to keep the game close leading a touchdown drive of his own that spanned the end of the third quarter and start of the fourth. It ended when he completed a pass to Kale Lawson that ended up as a 37-yard touchdown.
The 31-28 score didn't last long, with Hope connecting on their own long pass to regain their ten-point lead at 38-28 with 13 minutes remaining.
Neither team scored through the rest of the game, with another Price interception ending up being costly. It allowed Hope to run the final 6:22 off the clock and ice the game on Trine's own one yard line.
Price finished the game with 318 yards in the air with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Four different wide receivers had more than 50 yards in the game including Lawson (82), Kline (73), Clampitt (60) and Arthur (59). On the ground Kirby led the way with 48 yards.
Defensively Joseph Johnson led the way with 11 tackles in the contest, including nine solo marks. Kendall Himes and Tucker Hasselman came in second on the team with seven. Himes led the squad with 1.5 tackles for a loss.
Trine falls to 5-4 overall and 3-2 in Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) play following the loss. They will finish their season at home with a game against Kalamazoo College on Saturday, November 11. Opening kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.