Football team stays unbeaten with 49-24 win at Trine

ANGOLA, Ind. – The Olivet College football team improved to 5-0 on the season with a 49-24 win over Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association rival Trine (Ind.) University this afternoon at the Fred Zollner Athletic Stadium in Angola, Indiana.

After forcing the Comets to punt on their first series, the Thunder marched down the field. Olivet's defense held Trine to a 19-yard field goal by Mark Haydock. The Comets answered with a nine-play, 77-yard drive, capped by an eight-yard touchdown pass from junior Braden Black to sophomore Travis Lankerd.

The Thunder used a 47-yard kickoff return to start their next drive at the Olivet 47-yard line. On the fifth play, Taylor Masiewicz tossed a one-yard touchdown pass to Gage Corner to put the back on top 10-7.

The Comets responded with another scoring drive spanning the end of the first stanza and the start of the second quarter. Junior Damorria Lilly scampered seven yards into the end zone, and sophomore Gunnar Aper made the PAT kick to make the score 14-10 with 13:46 left before halftime.

Olivet's defense forced the Thunder to a three-and-out on their ensuing drive. The Comets then went 70 yards in nine plays to take a 21-10 lead. Lilly capped the drive with a 10-yard touchdown run. Trine was driving down the field on its next possession before Masiewicz fumbled the ball at the Olivet 2-yard line. Senior Cody Ross scooped up the loose ball and returned it 49 yards to the Trine 48.

The Comets had seven straight rushing plays, with the final yard being a one-yard quarterback keeper by Black. The PAT kick was good and Olivet led 28-10, with 16 seconds left until halftime.

Trine took advantage of a Comet turnover to put seven points on the scoreboard with 6:22 left in the third quarter. Olivet got those points back on its next possession. A long, 15-play, 65-yard, 6-minute drive ended with a two-yard touchdown run by Black.

The Comets stretched their lead to 42-17 with 8:57 left in the game on another two-yard touchdown run by Black. Trine completed 7-of-8 passes on its next drive, including a five-yard touchdown reception for Corner, to make the score 42-24.

An on-side kick went out of bounds and Olivet took over at the Thunder 44. On the seventh running play of the drive, freshman Andre Houston broke loose for a 30-yard touchdown run to close out the scoring.

For the game, the Comets totaled 420 yards of offense, including 265 on the ground. Lilly led the way with 138 rushing yards on 25 carries. Houston had 82 rushing yards. Black completed 17-of-23 passes for 155 yards, and ran the ball 11 times for 39 net yards and three touchdowns. Junior Mitchell Bailey hauled in a team-leading eight passes for 87 yards.

Defensively, senior Zechariah Jenkins registered 12 tackles, including a game-high 11 solo stops. Senior Justin Madar recorded 10 total tackles, with three being for a negative 17 yards.

Trine finished the game with 335 yards – 46 on the ground and 289 through the air. Lamar Carswell had a team-leading 26 rushing yards on seven carries. Masiewicz was 24-of-31 for the 289 yards. Corner caught 11 passes for 139 yards, while Jeffery Barnett had 10 receptions for 131 yards.      

The Comets host Hope College next Saturday, Oct. 17. Kick-off at the Cutler Athletic Complex in Olivet is 1 p.m.