ALBION, MI. -It was a day where momentum and runs played a big role as the Trine Thunder started slowly and lost at Albion College, 41-27. It was the third straight loss for Trine, marking the first time they have lost three in a row since 2006.
The opening moments of the game really became a harbinger of the day to come for the Thunder.
Albion (1-0, 3-2) fumbled the opening kickoff, and the Thunder (0-2, 3-3) recovered at the Albion 35. Trine successfully pushed the ball to the Briton 4, but came up empty on a fourth down and 2. Senior running back Richard Gunn (Ashley, Ind/Penn) was stopped, and Trine came away with no points after the opening turnover.
The Britons then promptly and methodically marched 97 yards down the field to score on a 14 yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Dominic Bona to senior wide receiver Zach Brewer. The extra point sailed wide, and the Britons led, 6-0.
Albion grabbed the ball after a Trine punt, and scored again early in the second quarter. Bona and Brewer hooked up again, this time from 25 yards out on a diving catch by Brewer in the back of the right side of the endzone. Albion lead 13-0 with 13:39 left in the second quarter.
With the Trine offense stagnant early, the defense took it upon themselves to shift the momentum of the game. Sophomore cornerback Travis Smith (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston) intercepted a Bona pass near midfield with 12:02 remaining in the second quarter. It was the second career pick for Smith, and his first this year.
That set up a 1 yard touchdown run for Gunn, who was on his way to a career day and would become a consistent and potent weapon for the Thunder attack. Trine trailed 13-7.
After an Albion punt on the next drive, the Trine offense manufactured their longest scoring drive of the day; traveling 81 yards and capping it off on a 21 yard touchdown run by Gunn into the left side of the endzone. Gunn carried it five of the six plays on the drive and gave the Thunder a 14-13 lead.
Albion then drove to the Trine 31 on the ensuing possession, but were taken out of field goal range on a sack by senior Louis Danesi (Santa Fe, Texas/Santa Fe) and junior Aaron Wolf (Huntington, Ind./Huntington North) With the stop, Danesi became the all-time leader in sacks in Trine University history with 17.5 for his career.
Trine headed into halftime with a 14-13 lead.
The Thunder received the opening kick of the second half, and promptly drove to the Albion 10 after runs of 44 and 5 yards on successive carries by Gunn. A sack stalled the drive, and senior All-American placekicker Tyler Keck (Elkhart, Ind./Elkhart Memorial) connected on a 35 yard field goal to give Trine a 17-13 lead.
Albion reacted well to the 17 unanswered Trine points and drove 75 yards to take a 20-17 lead on a 1 yard slant pass touchdown from Bona to junior wide receiver Cody Crawford.
The momentum was beginning to shift again.
After a Trine punt, Albion scored again on a 66 yard touchdown run by sophomore Colin Parks; the first of his career.
Heading into the fourth quarter, Albion lead, 27-17.
The final stanza started well for the Thunder as they drove to the Albion 13. But two holding penalties shut down the drive and they called upon the right leg of Keck again. He drilled another 35 yard field goal to pull the Thunder within a score, down 27-20. Keck leads the entire nation in field goals on the season, with 13.
Albion bounced back immediately on a 53 yard touchdown throw from Bona to Crawford down the right sideline to take a 34-20 advantage with 8:37 left.
Trine absolutely needed a touchdown on the next drive, and they succeeded on a 6 yd pass from junior quarterback Andrew Dee (McComb, Ohio/McComb) to sophomore wide receiver Travis Durham. (Marion, Ind./Mississinewa ) It was the first career touchdown catch for Durham, and again made it a one-possession game with Albion up 34-27, with 4:41 left.
Now the Trine defense needed a stop. And they appeared to get it, stuffing Albion on a third down near midfield as senior linebacker Derek Posey (Newark, Ohio/Utica) made the tackle. But an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Trine sideline gave the Britons an automatic first down and a new life. They took advantage, with all-conference running back Darrin Williams escaping for an 18 yard touchdown run to cap the day; handing the Thunder a 41-27 loss.
Dee, making his first conference road start, finished 16-27 for 205 yards and a touchdown.
Gunn was really the story of the day, amassing a career-high 226 yards rushing on 33 carries with two touchdowns. The 226 rushing yards constitutes the second most for a Trine player in a single game in school history and the most in 16 years. All-time leading rusher Barron Chambers had 254 yards against Urbana in 1997.
Sophomore wide receiver Gage Corner (Leo, Ind/Leo) caught a career-high 129 yards on 8 catches. That was his third game of over 100 yards receiving this season.
The Thunder defense was paced by sophomore Michael Spears (Kendallville, Ind/East Noble) with 12 tackles.
The loss drops the Thunder to 0-2 in conference play for the first time since 2006, and 3-3 overall.
Trine looks to bounce back as they host the Adrian Bulldogs (2-0, 5-1) on October 19 at home at 1 pm. Radio coverage is provided by Aaron Coyle and Tyler Benner on WEAX radio.
