ADRIAN, MICH. -- Senior quarterback Evan Wyse (Archbold, Ohio/Archbold) accounted for 421 of the team's 690 total yards (271 passing and 150 rushing) as the Trine University football team pulled away from Adrian (Mich.) College with a 28-point fourth quarter en route to a 55-34 win in Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association action.
Wyse completed nine-of-14 passes for a career-high 271 yards and three touchdowns. He was also one of two Thunder players to rush for 100 or more yards with 150 on 17 carries and scored a rushing TD.
As a team, Trine rushed for 419 yards, led by junior Lamar Carswell (Toledo, Ohio/St. Francis de Sales) who gained a season-high 205 yards on 19 touches (10.8 yards per carry) and scored three TD. It was his second game this season with 200 or more yards on the ground and fourth straight game with 100 or more yards. Carswell also caught one pass which was turned into a 70-yard TD.
Junior wide reciever Jeffery Barnett (Fremont, Ohio/Ross) was Wyse's top target with five catches for 86 yards and one TD.
The Trine (8-0, 4-0 MIAA) offense got off to a quick start by scoring on its first three drives, including the game's first possession on a nine-play, 61-yard drive that ended with Carswell's first TD run of the game for the early 7-0 lead. During the drive, Wyse connected on an 18-yard completion to senior Andrew Bonfiglio (Toledo, Ohio/St. Francis de Sales) on third down to keep the ball in the hands of the offense and led to the Carswell TD run.
Following a four-and-out on Adrian's (3-5, 2-2 MIAA) first possession, the Thunder scored again, this time on a 51-yard pass play from Wyse to sophomore wideout Jacob Chesney (Kirklin, Ind./Sheridan) to complete a three-play, 94-yard scoring drive, that included a 46-yard hookup from Wyse to Bonfiglio earlier in the drive. Trine later extended its lead to three scores on its very next drive when Wyse tossed his second TD pass of the game when he found Carswell for a 70-yard completion to make it a 21-0 advantage with 1:38 to go in the first quarter.
Adrian gained some momentum to end the period with a lenghty TD pass play of its own from 46 yards out with just over 30 seconds to go and narrowed the gap to 21-7 after the first 15 minutes.
The second quarter saw the Bulldogs score first to pull to within 21-14, but Trine responded with an 11-play, 75-yard scoring drive that was capped by Carswell's second rushing TD, this time from six yards away that was set up by back-to-back plays of an 18-yard completion to Barnett and a 17-yard run by Carswell leading up to the score. The extra point attempt following the score was missed, but the Thunder still led, 27-14.
The teams continued to trade scores when Adrian answered the Trine TD with a one-yard TD run that ended a drive that began with a 57-yard scamper. Trine kept the advantage to a TD as the Thunder blocked the extra point attempt to maintain a 27-20 margin heading into the locker room.
The only score of the third quarter was by Adrian that was the result of a fumble recovery that led to a three-play drive from the Trine 38-yard line and evened the game at 27-27 heading into the fourth quarter.
In a drive that carried over into the fourth, Trine regained the lead on Wyse's 46-yard TD strike to Barnett to make it a 34-27 game with 14:50 to go in the contest. Adrian looked to respond and drove to the Trine 24-yard line, but the drive ended when junior Cayleel Hill (Owings Mills, Md./Owings Mills) recorded his team-leading seventh interception of the season to keep the Bulldogs off the scoreboard.
Three plays later, Carswell broke loose for a 90-yard TD run, marking the second longest rush from scrimmage in program history, and increased the lead to, 41-27, with just under 10 minutes remaining. Trine then put the game away with a third straight scoring drive that ended on a 16-yard run by sophomore Seth Boggs (Sandusky, Ohio/Perkins) that was preceeded by a 17-yard run by Wyse, capping an eight-play, 80-yard possession to make the score, 48-27, at the 3:46 mark.
Adrian scored what turned out to be its final TD of the game with two mintues remaining to trail, 48-34. Trine recovered the ensuing on-side kick by the Bulldogs and tacked on a final score when Wyse found space on a 35-yard run to round out the scoring in the game as the Thunder went on to the 55-34 final.
Defensively, Trine was led by the duo of sophomore Simeon Washington (Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic) and senior Robert Riley (Mendon, Mich./Mendon) with 13 tackles each.
Trine will travel to Alma, Mich. for a MIAA game against Alma College next Saturday, Nov. 4. The game is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.
