Football team comes from behind to beat Hope, 28-25

The Olivet College football team scored two touchdowns in the final 2:59 to beat Hope College, 28-25, this afternoon at the Holland Municipal Stadium. With the win, the Comets force a three-way tie for first-place in the MIAA standings, as Alma, Hope and Olivet all have a 5-1 league record.

Trailing by a 25-13 score with 4:48 left on the clock, the Comets (5-4, 5-1 MIAA) took over at their own 24-yard line. Senior quarterback Rob White (Caledonia/South Christian) completed five passes, including a 40-yard touchdown pass to senior Chris Smith (Dimondale/Holt) with 2:59 remaining. Junior Kyle Zabel (Sturgis) made the PAT kick to make the score, 25-20.

A short kickoff gave the Flying Dutchmen the ball at their own 36-yard line. Following two rushes, which yielded two total yards, and an incomplete pass on third down, Hope was forced to punt the ball back to Olivet at the 2:14 mark. The punt went only 20 yards, giving the Comets the ball at their 42-yard line.

White completed a first down pass to senior Ryan Boone (Muskegon/Muskegon Catholic) for nine yards. The next two pass attempts were incomplete, setting up a 4th and 1. On the play, White found junior Carl Mulder (Battle Creek/Lakeview) for a 13-yard completion. A 15-yard completion from White to sophomore running back Pat Clasgens (Livonia/Stevenson) was sandwiched around two incomplete passes.

On third down, White found senior tight end Rod Sanders (Detroit/H.W. Notre Dame) in the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown with 35 seconds remaining. White then connected with Sanders for the two-point conversion to put the Comets up three points, 28-25. Hope fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and Olivet recovered. The Comets had to take two knees to end the game, and give them their first win at Hope since 1990.

The Dutchmen (5-4, 5-1 MIAA) scored the first three points of the game on a 26-yard field goal by Chris Bowen in the first quarter. At the start of the second quarter, Bowen missed a 22-yard field goal. The Comets took a 6-3 lead when sophomore Willie Jones (Detroit/River Rouge) scampered into the end zone from 14 yards out. Zabel missed the PAT kick. Hope tied the game at 6-6 at halftime when Bowen nailed a 20-yard field goal.

On its first possession of the second half, Hope took a 13-6 lead. Jake Manning connected with Kevin VandenBosh for a four-yard touchdown. Bowen made the PAT kick. Olivet countered with a touchdown on its first series of the half. Clasgens capped a 14-play, 70-yard drive with an eight-yard touchdown run, and Zabel's PAT kick sailed through the uprights.

The Dutchmen answered with a touchdown late in the third quarter and another touchdown early in the fourth. The third quarter touchdown was on an 82-yard interception return by Kevin VanDokkum, while the fourth quarter touchdown came on a 10-yard pass from Manning to Joey Goeb.

For the game, Olivet outgained Hope, 387-370, in yards of total offense. Clasgens led the ground game with 24 rushes for 119 yards. White completed 25-of-38 passes for 263 yards. Smith was the leading receiver with nine catches for 101 yards.

Junior Hakeem Yakubu (Kalamazoo/Central) led the Comet defense with 14 tackles. Senior DeRan Thomas (Detroit/H.W. Notre Dame) had 13 tackles, including 4.5 for minus 12 yards. On special teams, sophomore Ryan Patten (Charlotte) punted the ball six times for 259 yards, a 43.2 average.

For the game, David Booko had 27 carries for 92 yards. Manning was 18-of-36 for 288 yards. Doug VanEerden had 10 catches for 151 yards. Goeb caught four passes for 75 yards. Drew Weigl led the defense with 15 total tackles.

Olivet will close out the regular season portion of its schedule next Saturday, Nov. 10, when it hosts Kalamazoo College. Kickoff from the Cutler Athletic Complex is 1 p.m. With a win, the Comets will clinch at least a share of the 2007 MIAA championship.