The Hope College football team tackles one of seven matchups in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association and the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Challenge Series on Saturday, Sept. 17 at Concordia-Chicago. Kickoff is 1 p.m. Central.
The Flying Dutchmen are meeting Concordia for the sixth time in a series that began in 1972. Hope leads 4-1.
Previous meetings
2012 Concordia 63, Hope 47
1975 Hope 37, Concordia 7
1974 Hope 20, Concordia 0
1973 Hope 28, Concordia 7
1972 Hope 34, Concordia 13
Other MIAA/NACC Challenge Series games are: Alma at Concordia Wisconsin, Trine at Aurora Illinois, Olivet at Wisconsin Lutheran, Kalamazoo at Rockford Illinois and Adrian at Benedictine Illinois.
HOPE Roster | Stats | MIAA Leaders
CONCORDIA Roster | Stats | NACC Leaders
Hope beat Concordia Wisconsin 48-13 in last year's MIAA/NACC Challenge Series. Quarterback Rob Kish passed for 305 yards and two touchdowns, while running back Chris Leigh ran for three scores and 82 yards.
Hope and Concordia combined for 1,304 yards of total offense, including 831 passing yards and 473 yards rushing. Running back Shawn Jackson, now an assistant coach with the Flying Dutchmen, ran for 159 yards on 21 carries. Hope quarterback Michael Atwell completed 27-of-53 passes for 445 yards, five touchdowns and one interception.
The Flying Dutchmen are coming off an 18-6 loss at Defiance Ohio last Saturday and is 0-2 on the season. Hope could not overcome eight turnovers: five interceptions and three fumbles. The Flying Dutchmen dropped their season opener 44-3 to Monmouth, Illinois.
Freshman quarterback Bruce Schroeder is slated to make his second collegiate start today. The Appleton, Wisconsin native scored Hope's lone touchdown against Defiance on a fourth-quarter run of five yards. Schroeder has completed 21-of-33 passes for 202 yards and five interceptions so far this season. He came off the bench in the season opener.
Two seniors lead the Hope defense in tackles with 20 apiece: defensive back Andy Lucas and
linebacker Aaron O'Meara. Senior safety Kirk Gibson and junior cornerback Kimani Dooley are tied for second on the team with 17 tackles apiece.
The Flying Dutchmen have a bye week after today's game and will be idle next week.
Hope returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 1 for the 6 p.m. MIAA opener vs. Olivet at Ray & Sue Smith Stadium. It will be Youth Day at Hope. All youth in attendance will receive a free team poster and will be invited onto the field at the conclusion of the game for autographs from the Flying Dutchmen.
