ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University football team fell behind during the first quarter and despite a valiant effort were unable to claw their way back, falling to Hope College by the score of 28-21 during the final home game of the season. Senior Alex Price led the way offensively during the contest finishing with two of the team's three touchdowns and 235 yards of total offense.
The Flying Dutch won the coin flip and deferred their choice to the second half. The choice allowed them to put the 20 mile per hour winds at their backs in addition to receiving the second half kickoff. The wind was a game long problem for the Thunder with all three of their touchdowns coming in quarters where the wind was at their back.
Trine kept the ball on the ground for the opening drive but a third-down stop by the Hope defense forced an early punt into the wind. In contrast the opposition cashed in on their first drive on a 21-yard run.
The Thunder's second drive also ended poorly with a Price pass hanging up in the wind and ending up in the hands of a defender, giving the Flying Dutch the ball nearly inside of their red zone. They scored their second touchdown of the day a few plays later to build their lead to 14-0.
The defenses were the story of the rest of the first quarter with neither team able to put any more points on the board. The best chance was a long field goal attempt by Hope with just over a minute remaining. Junior Kendall Himes was able to break through the line and stop the ball at the line of scrimmage to end the threat.
Trine took momentum from the defensive play on the ensuing drive. After a 10-yard completion to junior Rodney Johnson and 11-yards of rushing from freshman Tyrese Brown the quarter finally ended and with it the wind moved to the team's back. To start the second quarter Price went deep for the first time in the game and connected with senior Jake Gladieux for a 42-yard touchdown. After a successful extra point by sophomore Anthony Hentz the score was 14-7.
Now it was Hope's turn to struggle with the wind, their next drive stalled around midfield forcing a third and eight. Senior Kyle Naif and junior Jacob Jackson combined to sack the quarterback and end the drive on that third down attempt.
Price proceeded to lead an impressive drive after the short punt going 75 yards on 14 plays for a second touchdown. Price completed multiple passes during the drive while Brown picked up yards on the ground. One of those passes came on a third and 12 play in the red zone to senior Brandon Kline for 13 yards to pick up the first down. The next play saw Brown make it to the endzone, tying the game at 14.
The Flying Dutch responded in the three minutes they had remaining in the half, scoring another touchdown, mostly on the strength of short to medium passes. Trine then ran the last seconds off the clock to enter halftime down 21-14.
After allowing a long run on the first play of the second half, the Thunder defense came up with another stop. Senior Marc Guerrero picked off a pass thrown into his own endzone and returned it to the 10-yard line. Both defenses continued to stymie the offenses until late in the quarter when Hope built on their lead with another touchdown pass.
Trine ended quarter with the ball, but punted away in the beginning of the fourth. The defense came up with another stop on the next drive, but precious time came off the clock during the eight-play drive. Junior Jamon Gibson and senior Angel Sanchez stopped a running play for a loss of nine yards and senior Jacob Yoder made a five-yard sack to eventually force the punt.
Price took the next drive 89-yards on 11 plays to cut into the lead again. He completed five passes on the drive, before sprinting into the endzone on a 16-yard run to make the score 28-21 with just under five minutes remaining in the half.
Unfortunately, the Flying Dutch successfully ran the ball on their next drive. They ran the final minutes off the clock while converting two third down plays.
Price finished the game with 187 yards in the air going 17-for-32 with one touchdown and 48 yards on the ground. Brown led the team with 51 yards rushing in the game. Senior Kale Lawson was the top target in the contest, finishing with seven receptions for 73 yards, both team highs.
Senior Keysean Amison led the team with 19 tackles in the contest with classmate Marcques Tagliaferri coming in second with 12. Junior Kendall Himes recorded the team's third sack of the game, while Gibson led the team with 2.5 tackles for a loss.
Trine falls to 6-3 overall and 2-3 in Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) play following the loss. They will conclude their season by traveling to face Kalamazoo College next Saturday, November 12. The game is set to kickoff at 1 p.m.
