The Hope College football team rallied from two 11-point deficits to win on Senior Day Saturday afternoon, defeating Trine (Indiana) University 38-28 at Ray and Sue Smith Stadium.
It was the third time the Flying Dutchmen had come back from a double-digit deficit to win this season. Hope finished Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association play at 5-1 and improved to 8-2 overall.
It was the last regular season game for 18 Hope seniors, some of whom came up with their best performances of the season.
"They're so special," head coach Peter Stuursma said of his seniors after the game. "We talk about them all week, we talk about it on Friday night (and) this morning, and then the final time when we got together as a team, just to talk about it here. It's a tremendous joy that our players show, the respect they have for our seniors. These guys are unbelievable people. They're going to do great things. We just pinch ourselves that we get to coach guys like this."
The victory in front of 2,033 fans at Ray and Sue Smith Stadium kept the Flying Dutchmen's playoff chances alive.
Hope will now wait to see if it receives an at-large bid to the 32-team field based on its strength of schedule. Alma College clinched the MIAA's automatic bid to the playoffs with a 45-24 win over Adrian College on Saturday.
The NCAA Division III playoff announcement will take place on Sunday, Nov. 12. There are four at-large berths. The remaining 28 are for conference champions.
Photo of Hope's Travis Myers by Jermaine Mcghee
The Flying Dutchmen fell behind 14-3 in the first quarter on two long Trine scoring drives, with the Dutchmen scoring in between on a 25-yard field goal by sophomore placekicker Caden Balkon of Byron Center, Michigan (Byron Center).
Hope came back in the second quarter with a methodical 68-yard, 16-play drive that took up more than seven minutes. Junior running back Chance Strickland of Mason, Michigan (Mason) fought his way into the end zone from one yard out on fourth down for the touchdown to cut the Thunder lead to 14-10.
Trine responded with a Xaine Kirby 1-yard touchdown run with three minutes left in the first half to take a 21-10 lead. Hope came up with several big plays just before halftime to grab the lead for good.
First, junior quarterback Ben Wellman of Bloomington, Illinois (Bloomington) connected with senior wide receiver Terrell Harris of Whitehall, Michigan (Whitehall) on a wheel route down the left sideline for a 38-yard touchdown pass with 50 seconds remaining to cut the Trine lead to 21-17.
Then on the first play after the ensuing kickoff, junior linebacker Cole Luhmann of Rochester, Michigan (Stoney Creek) intercepted an Alex Price pass and returned to the Trine 22-yard-line.
Four plays later, Wellman found senior wide receiver Grant Holtzer of Okemos, Michigan (Okemos) over the middle for a 5-yard touchdown pass with 15 seconds left in the half to put Hope in the lead.
"It was that whole swing at the end of the first half (that was big for us). It was a flurry," Stuursma said. "All of a sudden we're going to the locker room up 24-21 with a chance to get the ball back (to start) the second half. Cole made a great play … Credit to our guys for the way they responded. That was a prize fight at the beginning."
Hope's defense came up with another takeaway in the third quarter that would lead to another score. Sophomore defensive back Nick Flegler of DeWitt, Michigan (DeWitt) forced a fumble, and sophomore defensive tackle Caleb Paarlberg of Alto, Michigan (Caledonia) recovered at the Trine 46.
It took the Flying Dutchmen just five plays to take it down the field to punch it in the end zone, as Strickland went in from four yards out for his second touchdown of the game and 16th of the season, extending the Hope lead to 31-21 after three quarters.
Trine cut the Hope lead to three early in the fourth quarter on a 37-yard touchdown pass from Price to Kale Lawson. The Flying Dutchmen responded with a big play a little more than a minute later.
Flushed out of the pocket, Wellman forced a throw toward Holtzer, who was well covered by a Trine defensive back. Holtzer somehow muscled away with the football, then took off down the sideline for a spectacular 63-yard touchdown to give Hope a 38-28 lead.
"How Grant made that play, I'm not really sure. He just fights," Stuursma said.
The Flying Dutchmen then put the game away, as Flegler intercepted a Price pass with a little more than six minutes to play, Hope's third takeaway of the game and 12th in the last three games. Trine never got the ball back, as Strickland and senior Elijah Smith of Hastings, Michigan (Hastings) pounded away at the Thunder defense, churning out first down after first down to run the clock out.
Hope's dual quarterback combination of Wellman and freshman Zach Trainor of Milford, Michigan (Walled Lake Western) teamed up for 352 passing yards. Wellman completed 10 of 15 passes for 193 yards and three touchdowns, while Trainor completed 8 of 15 for 159 yards.
"Trine was very good up front (against the run). We knew that," Stuursma said. "If we can have some balance, and if they're going to load up in the box, we have to be able to throw it. Isn't it awesome to have two quarterbacks that perform at a very high level – high completion percentage, yards (per) attempt?"
Harris caught a season-high eight passes for 117 yards, while Holtzer set a career-high in receiving yards for the second consecutive week with 167 yards on five catches. Strickland led the ground game with 75 yards on 19 carries.
Hope finished the game with 494 yards of total offense.
Defensively, Luhmann and junior safety Tyler Stezowski of Holland, Michigan (Hamilton) led the Dutchmen with seven tackles apiece.