ANGOLA, Ind.-- The Trine football team took over down the stretch to earn a 31-28 victory over Hope on Senior Day in Fred Zollner Athletic Stadium.
After a Zac Boersema 15-yard touchdown run made the score 21-13 in favor of the Flying Dutchmen with 6:35 to play in the third quarter, the Thunder outscored Hope 18-7 the rest of the way. Mark Haydock (Fort Wayne, Ind./Snider) booted a school-record four field goals, including two in the fourth quarter. Brandon Rooze (West Lafayette, Ind./Benton Central) completed 32-of-49 passes for 389 yards and touchdowns while also adding a touchdown on the ground. Trine improved to 6-3 overall, 4-1 in the MIAA. Hope fell to 2-7 overall, 0-5 in conference play.
The Thunder can clinch at least a share of the MIAA title with a win next Saturday. All four of Trine's conference wins have come by four points or less. The Thunder have won five games by five points or fewer this season.
For the second time this season, Gage Corner (Leo, Ind./Leo) tied a school-record with 13 catches. The senior racked up 172 yards and a touchdown. Corner is four receptions from breaking Nick Testa's team record of 66 catches in a season, set in 2003. He has 2,422 receiving yards in his career, 107 shy of a new school record and third-most all-time in Trine football history. Corner has topped the 100-yard mark four times this season.
Rooze's 32 completions were the second-most in a game in team history, while his 389 passing yards ranked fourth. The junior racked up 412 yards of total offense while continuing his seamless transition into a starting role. Rooze has thrown for 917 yards over the last three weeks, including one game which he did not enter until midway through the second quarter.
Andrew Bonfiglio (Toledo, Ohio/St. Francis de Sales) helped move the chains with 12 catches for 87 yards. Bonfiglio and Corner have combined for 112 catches this season, more than any other receiving duo in team history.
After Boersema's TD put the Dutchmen up eight, the Thunder had an answer on the ensuing drive. Three completions from Rooze to Corner ate up 51 yards of the field before Rooze capped the drive with a seven-yard scamper. The Thunder went for two and the tie, but the conversion attempt failed.
A third-down sack by Taylor James (LaPorte, Ind./LaPorte) and an interception by Quinton Daniels (Fort Wayne, Ind./Snider) gave Trine back-to-back defensive stops. James led the defense with 11 tackles overall. Each ensuing drive resulted in Haydock field goals, the second of which gave the Thunder a 25-21 lead with 11:41 to play.
The Dutch then went to work to take the lead, chewing up 4:55 of clock in 12 plays. Quarterback Robert Kish hit Matt Kroll for a five-yard touchdown strike in the corner of the end zone to put Hope up 28-25 with 4:49 to play.
Kish completed 13-of-23 passes for 162 yards and two touchdowns. Kroll caught four of those passes for 28 yards and both TDs.
Rooze led the Trine right back on what would prove to be the game-winning drive. He completed 4-of-5 passes for 39 yards, with the final 10 coming on the go-ahead strike to Corner to put the Thunder up 31-28 with 2:25 remaining in the game.
Marcus Winters (Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic) picked off a pass on the ensuing drive and a Trine first down sealed the victory. Winters has four picks on the season.
The Thunder defense was able to sack Kish four times on the afternoon. Reigning MIAA Defensive Player of the Week Mitchell Fair (Oviedo, Fla./Hagerty) led the charge with 2.5 sacks and five tackles overall. Fair has four sacks and five tackles-for-loss over the last two weeks.
Michael Spears (Kendallville, Ind./East Noble) notched 10 tackles to move into a tie for sixth in team history with 257 career stops.
The running of Boersema paced the Flying Dutchmen offense, as he racked out 103 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries. Mitch Miklusicak added 55 yards on nine carries.
Trine outgained Hope by a healthy 493-289 margin. The Thunder were penalized just once for five yards. Trine gained 27 first downs to just 15 for the Flying Dutchmen.
The regular season concludes next Saturday, Nov. 14 with a 1 p.m. kickoff at Adrian. The Thunder can earn at least a share of the MIAA title with a victory. Trine can earn an automatic-qualifying bid to the NCAA Division III playoffs with a victory combined with an Olivet loss to Alma.
The Thunder would not receive an automatic bid in any three-way tie involving Albion, Olivet and Trine. All three teams enter the final weekend with one loss in conference play, with Albion having already wrapped up its conference season with a 5-1 mark.