Football team loses at Trine, 51-14

ANGOLA, Ind. -- The Olivet College football team fell to Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) leader Trine University, 51-14, today at Fred Zollner Athletic Stadium in Angola, Indiana. The Thunder entered the game ranked No. 15 in the D3football.com Top 25 poll and No. 8 in the American Football Coaches Association poll.

The Thunder offense and defense helped them take a 51-0 lead. Trine led 21-0 behind one-yard touchdown runs by Kent Biller and Devin Leas and a nine-yard run by Ja Vontae Hence. The Thunder's Raymond Nelson then returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown. Hence caught a 36-yard touchdown pass from Eric Watt to make the score 35-0 at halftime.

The scoring in the second half for Trine came on a 20-yard pass from Watt to Paul Curtis, a safety when an Olivet running back was tackled in the end zone and 15-yard interception return by Jeremy Mack. The Comets got on the scoreboard on a 10-play, 66-yard drive that spanned the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth quarter. The drive was capped by a 10-yard touchdown run by sophomore Lawrence Moss (Brighton). Sophomore Blake Iobe's (Marshall) PAT kick split the uprights.

On Trine's next possession, senior Billy Albrecht (Lansing/Holt) recovered a fumble. Olivet needed just 44 yards to put seven points on the scoreboard. Junior C.J. Gregory (Plymouth/Canton) threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to senior J.W. Seekman (Martin) to complete the scoring drive. Iobe made the PAT kick. The Comets got the ball back on a fumble recovery by senior Chris Behnke (Bellevue/Olivet). Olivet drove all the way down to the six before turning the ball over on downs.

The Comets finished the game with 221 yards of offense. Moss was the leading ball carrier with 12 rushes for 75 yards. Sophomore Jake Messner (Niles) completed nine passes for 64 yards, while Gregory was 5-of-9 for 55 yards. Seekman caught three passes for 42 yards. Freshman Adrian Bouyer (Battle Creek/Lakeview) topped the defense with 10 tackles, including eight solo stops.

The Thunder was nearly balanced on offense, rushing for 173 yards and throwing for 168 yards. Twelve players carried the ball, and Biller led the way with 13 rushes for 65 yards. Watt completed 11-of-20 passes. Will Chrystal had a team-leading three receptions for 16 yards, while Hence had a team-high 44 receiving yards on two catches. Jacob Vance recorded a team-high seven tackles.

The Comets will look for their first win of the season next Saturday, Nov. 6, when they host Alma College. Game time at the Cutler Athletic Complex is 1 p.m.