Football team beats Albion, 24-6

The Olivet College football team built a 24-0 lead en route to a 24-6 win against Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) rival Albion College today at the Cutler Athletic Complex in Olivet. With the win, the Comets have beaten the Britons on their home field for the first time since 1975.

Junior Kyle Zabel (Sturgis) put the first three Olivet points on the scoreboard when he nailed 27-yard field goal with 6:31 left in the opening quarter. The Comets (3-3, 3-0 MIAA) added seven more points when senior Rob White (Caledonia/South Christian) connected with senior Chris Smith (Dimondale/Holt) for a 24-yard touchdown reception. Zabel made the PAT kick.

Olivet led 10-0 at halftime and stretched its lead to 24-0 on two rushing touchdowns by sophomore fullback Sean Misko (Casco/Richmond) and two PAT kicks from Zabel. The first touchdown came at the 3:34 mark of the third quarter when Misko rumbled into the endzone from two yards out. Early in the fourth quarter, he scored from one yard out.

The Britons (1-5, 1-2 MIAA) got on the scoreboard with 6:12 left on the clock when Bill Bacarella scored from five yards out. The touchdown run was the first play of scrimmage following an Olivet turnover.

For the game, the Comets outgained Albion in yards of total offense, 403-245. Sophomore Pat Clasgens (Livonia/Stevenson) led the Olivet ground attack with 23 carries for 204 yards. Misko finished with 12 rushes for 44 yards. White completed 13-of-24 passes for 100 yards. Smith was the leading receiver with six catches for 71 yards.

Defensively, juniors Michael Terranova (Lansing/Catholic Central) and Hakeem Yakubu (Kalamazoo/Central) each had four solo and eight assisted tackles for 12 total stops. Yakubu had two quarterback sacks. Senior Marc Miller (Sunfield/Lake Odessa) was third with seven stops, including two sacks for minus nine yards. Senior Nate Hughes (Marshall) recovered a fumble, intercepted two passes and broke up another pass.

On special teams, freshman Ryan Patten (Charlotte) punted the ball eight times for 356 yards, a 44.5 average. His long punt was 58 yards.

Albion was led by quarterback Blake Evans, who had 14 carries for 47 yards and threw for 136 yards on 12-of-32 passing. Bacarella finished with 16 rushes for 39 yards. Adam Lacnto caught three passes for 37 yards, while Brad Polnasek had three catches for 25 yards. Defensively, Chris Haines and Robbie Moffett each had nine tackles.

Olivet will celebrate Homecoming next Saturday, Oct. 20, when it hosts Tri-State (Ind.) University. Kick-off from the Cutler Athletic Complex is 2 p.m.