Football team comes up short against Alma, 35-21

OLIVET, Mich. -- The Olivet College football team was defeated by Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) rival Alma College, 35-21, today at the Cutler Athletic Complex in Olivet.

On their first series of the game, the Scots went 90 yards on 10 plays down the field to take a 7-0 lead. The drive was capped by a 49-yard run by T.J. Morris. Alma then forced an Olivet turnover, and on its first play from scrimmage, Garret Cook completed a 17-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Schaar.

The Comets dented the scoreboard for the first time on a scoring drive that spanned the end of the opening quarter and start of the second stanza. Sophomore Edric Miller (Battle Creek/Central) ended the drive with a one-yard plunge into the end zone. Alma made the score 20-6 with 2.7 seconds left in the first half when Ross Richard threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Schaar.

With 4:22 remaining in the third quarter, Richard connected with Austin Montgomery for a 53-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion attempt was good, and the Scots led 28-6. Olivet cut its deficit in half 15 seconds into the fourth quarter when junior quarterback C.J. Gregory (Plymouth/Canton) found senior J.W. Seekman (Martin) in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown. Gregory threw a successful two-point conversion pass to freshman tight end Fred Brown (Flint/Beecher) to make the score 28-14.

On the Scots' third possession of the final quarter, senior Nick Glass (Flint/Powers) recovered a fumble at the Alma-46. Three plays later, Gregory passed 32 yards to Seekman for a touchdown. Sophomore Blake Iobe (Marshall) made the PAT kick to trim Alma's lead to seven, 28-21.

Olivet attempted an on-side kick, but the ball sailed out of bounds. Alma used the short field and Morris scored from a yard out to end any chance of a Comet comeback.

For the game, the Comets were held to 209 yards of offense, while the Scots had 359 yards. Miller was Olivet's leading ball carrier with 30 rushes for 44 yards. Gregory completed 14-of-31 passes for 146 yards. Senior Ben Sherman (Charlotte) caught five passes for 43 yards. Defensively, freshman Matt Roberts (Marshall) recorded 10 tackles, while freshman Adrian Bouyer (Battle Creek/Lakeview) had eight. Senior Chris Behnke (Bellevue/Olivet) and sophomore Glenn VanNortwick (Wayland/Wayland Union) each had seven.

For Alma, Morris had 16 carries for 83 yards. Cook was 13-for-23 for 134 yards, while Richard completed 7-of-15 passes for 156 yards. Montgomery and Schaar finished with six catches apiece for 91 and 78 yards, respectively. Anthony Sabatella topped the defense with 12 total tackles, including four for loss yardage.

The Comets will travel to play Hope College in their season finale next Saturday, Nov. 13. Game time at Holland Municipal Stadium is 1 p.m.