TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – After trailing at halftime by the score of 23-3 the Trine University football team mounted a huge comeback to defeat their hosts from the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology by the score of 24-23. The victory is the 50th of head coach Troy Abbs's time at Trine.
The Fightin' Engineers began the game with ball and put together a strong first drive. They utilized quick passes and an outside running attack to quickly drive their way down the field for an opening touchdown, giving them a 7-0 lead just over three minutes into the game.
Trine on the other hand faced offensive struggles on their first drive and throughout the first half. With the exception of their second drive of the game, which covered 59 yards and led to a successful 38-yard field goal by sophomore Colton Wampler, the team was largely held in check. The offense would record just 111 total yards in the first half.
Rose-Hulman continued to find success during the second quarter. They would add a field goal and two more touchdowns to build their lead to 23-3 heading into halftime.
The Thunder looked to be in real trouble when senior quarterback Alex Price threw his second interception of the game to end the team's opening drive of the second half.
The defense however had made the necessary adjustments at halftime and began to smother the Engineers. The home team did nothing after the interception, gaining only three yards and punting. In fact the next four Rose-Hulman drives would net under ten-yards and each ended with a quick punt.
Leading the way for the shift in defensive success was the middle portion of the defense which combined for ten tackles for a loss including a pair of sacks. Senior Jacob Yoder led the way with 2.5 tackles for a loss, while junior Jamon Gibson came in second with two. Gibson was also recorded one of the team's two sacks.
Leading the team in tackles was senior Keysean Amison who finished the game with eight including one for a loss. Gibson finished second on the team with seven and sophomore Tucker Hasselman came in with six.
The offense finally found their formula for success beginning on their third drive of the half. Price began the drive in shotgun with sophomore fullback Dominic Crowder and the pair began to lead a power running game down the field. Crowder rumbled for 33 yards to get the drive moving, with Price following up with a ten-yard gain of his own.
Once the team reached the red zone, junior Cole Alexander entered the game at quarterback to complete the jumbo package. He would eventually finish of the drive with a pair of runs, the first for nine yards and the second a three-yard touchdown. The score cut the lead to 13 at 23-10 with three and a half minutes remaining in the third quarter.
That score held well into the fourth quarter. After the defense forced another three-and-out for the Engineers, Price and the Thunder took over with 10:36 remaining in the game. The team faced an early fourth down and Price was able to power ahead to save the drive.
While success through the air was in short supply, the team continued to find success on the ground. Senior Xaine Kirby broke an inside run for 22 yards and Price came up with a 14-yard run of his own to lead the team deep into the red zone again. Price pulled off a great play action fake and connected with senior tight end Matthew Shoemaker for a seven-yard touchdown to cap the drive getting the team back within one score at 23-17.
The defense came up with a crucial stop on the ensuing Rose-Hulman drive, highlighted by an open field tackle by Amison that stopped Rose-Hulman from picking up a third down conversion and forced a punt.
Price connected with junior Connor Arthur for 31 yards to start the next drive and then scampered in for the final 17 yards to the endzone tying the game with 1:37 left on the clock. Sophomore Anthony Hentz added his third extra point of the game to give the team their first lead at 24-23.
The defense iced the game when junior Jacob Jackson recorded the team's second sack of the day, forcing a fumble in the process. The Thunder took over on offense after sophomore Trestan Kern recovered the loose ball. Price and the offense needed to run just two plays in the victory formation to secure the victory.
Trine improves to 2-0 following the come-from-behind victory. Coach Abbs improves to 50-20 in his tenure at Trine becoming just the second coach to reach 50 wins in program history. The Thunder and him will look for 51 when they travel to face Franklin College next Saturday, Sept. 17. The game is scheduled to kickoff at 1:30 p.m.
