ANGOLA, IND. -- Sophomore running back Xaine Kirby (Sweetser, Ind./Eastbrook) rushed for a career-high 166 yards to help the Trine University football team beat Adrian (Mich.) College, 33-23, in a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association game at Fred Zollner Athletic Stadium in Angola, Ind.
It was also Kirby's second 100-yard rushing game of the season. His first came against the very same Adrian team in which the Thunder beat the Bulldogs, 44-27, in the season opener that saw him run for a then career-high 141 yards. On Saturday, Kirby averaged 7.5 yards per carry and scored twice.
Kirby's 166 yards were part of the team's 412 total yards of offense (251 rushing and 161 passing) on the afternoon. Junior quarterback Alex Price (Reading, Mich./Reading) completed nine-of-15 passes for 161 yards and threw one TD pass. Sophomore Kale Lawson (Reynolds, Ind./Tri-County) was Price's top target with three catches for 62 yards. Freshman Connor Arthur (Bryan, Ohio/Bryan) was the Thunder wideout on the receiving end of Price's TD throw and finished with two receptions for the game and 33 yards.
On defense, three players recorded a team-tying high seven tackles. Freshmen Joseph Johnson (Taylor, Mich./Riverview), Skyler Warren (Roachdale, Ind./North Putnam) and junior Tony Nikodemski (Grand Rapids, Mich./Coopersville) all tallied seven tackles with Warren and Nikodemski also recording a tackle for loss.
Both team's offenses came out firing on all cylinders to start the game as both squads scored points on its first two offensive possessions. The two teams combined for 23 points in the first quarter with Adrian (2-4, 1-1 MIAA) striking first with a 26-yard field goal at the 12:32 mark. Trine (3-1, 1-1 MIAA) answered with a scoring drive that included 18 and 14-yard runs by Kirby and ended with back-to-back completions by Price of 21 yards to Lawson and then a 14-yard strike to Arthur for the team's first touchdown that gave the Thunder a 7-3 lead with 9:36 to go in the quarter.
The Bulldogs then answered on their next drive that took eight plays and marched 81 yards in 3:37 and was capped by a three-yard TD run. The extra point attempt missed its mark, but Adrian still led by a slim 9-7 margin. Following a 17-yard return by junior Colin Goebel (Auburn, Ind./DeKalb) on the ensuing kickoff, Trine answered the Adrian possession with an eight-play scoring drive of its own that included another long pass completion from Price to Lawson (22 yards) and led to a Kirby one-yard scamper to the endzone that put the Thunder ahead, 14-9, after the first period.
The scoring shootout paused a bit in the second quarter as the only points came on a 36-yard TD pass by Adrian that ended a four-play, 68-yard drive and took just 2:07 which gave the Bulldogs the lead again by a 16-14 margin heading into the locker rooms.
In the third quarter, the teams consumed the period with sizeable drives that started with Trine and lasted 13 plays and took 6:51 off the clock. The drive ended in a 35-yard field goal by senior Ryan Hibbets (Monticello, Ind./Twin Lakes) and ended up being the only points in the quarter as Trine led, 17-16.
After the Hibbets field goal, Adrian put together a 15-play drive that carried over into the fourth quarter and resulted in a one-yard TD scamper on the first play from scrimmage in the fourth and put the Bulldogs back out in front, 23-17. Trine quickly answered as an ensuing 45-yard kick return by sophomore Julian Smith (Glenwood, Ill./Calumet New Tech) gave the Thunder excellent field position to start their next drive. On the first play, Price connected with senior Seth Vargo (Port Clinton, Ohio/Clyde) for 30 yards and then Price ran for 11 more yards on the next play to put the ball at the Adrian seven yard line. Two rushes later, Kirby found the endzone for the second time in the game and swung momentum back in favor of the home team, 24-23, with 13 minutes left.
Adrian failed to convert a 39-yard field goal on its next possession which Trine took advantage of on its next drive by going 62 yards in 11 plays and added a 32-yard field goal by Hibbets. Additionally, the drive took 5:12 off the game clock giving Adrian just 47 seconds to put together a possible last minute drive. The Bulldogs got to midfield following a 14-yard pass play before senior Angel Sanchez (Valparaiso, Ind./Portage) sealed the victory for Trine by stepping in front of a Adrian pass and ran it back 54 yards for a touchdown to end the scoring in the game en route to the 33-23 final.
Trine will host Alma (Mich.) College in the home finale on Saturday, Apr. 3 at Zollner Stadium in Angola. The MIAA contest is set to kickoff at 1 p.m.
