Football team comes up short against Kalamazoo, 24-14

The Olivet College football team fell to Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) rival Kalamazoo College, 24-14, this afternoon at the Cutler Athletic Complex in Olivet.

The Hornets put the first 10 points on the scoreboard in a span of 25 seconds in the opening quarter. Kalamazoo's Travis Braun capped a 9-play, 57-yard drive with a 41-yard field for the first three points at the 7:47 mark. On the ensuing possession, Olivet fumbled the ball on its first play from scrimmage. The Hornets immediately answered on their first play with a 43-yard touchdown pass from Brandon Luczak to Cory McCain. Braun made the PAT kick.

Later in the first quarter, Luczak hooked up with McCain for a 12-yard touchdown reception. Kalamazoo was forced to punt on its second possession of the second quarter. Olivet sophomore Vince Hanna (Marshall) broke through the coverage and blocked the kick. Junior Nick Glass (Flint/Powers) scooped up the loose ball and ran it back 12 yards for a touchdown. The score stayed 17-6 at halftime.

The Hornets got the ball to start the second half, and put together a five-play, 52-yard scoring drive, which was capped by 12-yard touchdown catch by McCain. The PAT try was good, and they led 24-6.

The Comets added eight points to the scoreboard at the 7:52 mark of the third quarter when freshman Josh Baggerly (Battle Creek/Pennfield) caught a 23-yard touchdown pass from sophomore C.J. Gregory (Canton/Plymouth). Gregory's two-point conversion pass to freshman Thomas Tobolic (Wayland/Wayland Union) was good.

Olivet drove deep into Kalamazoo territory twice in the fourth quarter, but turned the ball over both times. Two other drives in the quarter were also stopped because of a fumble.

Offensively, the Comets had 317 yards of total offense, 122 on the ground and 195 through the air. Sophomore Mike Martin (Caledonia/Wayland Union) led the ground game with 17 carries for 90 yards. He finished the game with 262 all-purpose yards, as he also caught a team-high five passes for 27 yards, ran back four kickoffs for 111 yards and returned two punts for 34 yards. Gregory was 12-of-23 passing for 138 yards. Junior Ben Sherman (Charlotte) caught four passes for 35 yards.

Defensively, senior Jared Thornton (Colon) had a game-high 15 tackles, including 10 solo stops. Junior Chris Behnke (Bellevue/Olivet) recorded 11 stops. Junior Cam Bramer (Olivet) finished with nine tackles and one interception, which set-up the touchdown in the third quarter.

For Kalamazoo, Luczak completed 29-of-57 passes for 393 yards with three interceptions and three touchdowns. McCain was his favorite receiver with nine catches for 139 yards. Jimmy Semelsberger and Dimeko Price each had 95 receiving yards. Price also gained 71 rushing yards on 18 carries. Nate Kopydlowski had a team-leading 10 tackles.

Olivet is back in action next Saturday