The Hope College football team defeated Trine to get back in the win column after a controversial loss to Alma.
The Hope College football team bounced back from a devastating and controversial loss last week to defeat Trine 55-35 on Saturday, Oct. 4, on the road.
The Flying Dutchmen — No. 20 in this week's D3football.com poll and No. 23 in the American Football Coaches Association rankings — finished with their highest-scoring game against the Thunder.
After defeating the Thunder for the sixth consecutive season, Hope heads into a bye week with a 4-1 record and a 1-1 mark in MIAA play. The Flying Dutchmen dropped Trine to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the MIAA standings.
Hope coach Peter Stuursma said he was proud of how his team battled through a challenging week and game following a controversial overtime loss to Alma that attracted nationwide attention.
"It was a long week. I think we sometimes underestimate how hard something like last week was, with everything now on social media," Stuursma said. "I thought we came out slow, which is on me, but I thought at the end we pulled away. We needed this one to put the bad taste out of our mouths from last week. The bonus now is we're getting a bye week."
The Flying Dutchmen led 35-28 when they put together a 13-play, 70-yard scoring drive that lasted 7 ½ minutes. Sophomore running back AJ Martel closed it with a 1-yard touchdown run with 8:37 remaining.
Senior linebacker Micah Bush then recovered a Trine fumble at the Thunder 41-yard line after a reception. Six plays later, freshman running Trey Goike ran for a 7-yard touchdown.
Liam Danitz then recovered a fumble force by Caleb Paalberg.
Martel quickly found the end zone, rushing twice for 20 yards, including a 3-yard score, for a 55-28 lead with 2:51 remaining.
The 55 points are Hope's most against Trine since a 51-0 road victory in 2019.
Junior quarterback Alex Thole was 19-for-29 passing for 312 yards and four touchdowns.
Thole connected on touchdown strikes of 31 yards to junior receiver Kaden DeHorn, 27 yards to junior receiver Jonny Rohen-Blanton, 80 yards to senior Travis Myers and 38 yards to junior receiver Trevor Griffiths.
Rohen-Blanton topped the Flying Dutchmen in catches with seven and receiving yards with 117.
Hope totaled 566 yards of total offense, including 240 on the ground. Sophomore running back Kal Motter ran for a season-high 103 yards on seven carries, including a 63-yard score that broke a 14-14 tie with 2:36 remaining in the first half.
Defensively, Hope recovered three fumbles. Senior linebacker Colton Schreur led the Flying Dutchmen with 10 tackles. Danitz had nine tackles and two fumble recoveries.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Hope football bounces back from controversial loss to beat Trine
Category: General Sports
