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Football Remains Tied For MIAA Lead With a 31-16 Win at Olivet

Box Score

by Greg Chandler

After giving up more than 200 rushing yards to Olivet College in the first half of Saturday's game, the Hope College football team shut down the Comets in the second half.

The Flying Dutchmen held their foe to 51 rushing yards over the final 30 minutes, picking off a key interception and kept Olivet out of the end zone.

Meanwhile, junior quarterback Chase Brown of Comstock Park, Michigan (Comstock Park HS) threw three touchdown passes, and the Flying Dutchmen went on to defeat the Comets, 31-16, at the Cutler Athletic Complex.

Hope is now tied for first place in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association with Trine University at 2-0 in conference play. The Flying Dutchmen are 5-1 overall and have won their last three games.

"I'm real proud of our guys. That was a physical game," head coach Peter Stuursma said after the game. "[Olivet] had a big loss last week [to Trine], so they were playing for their lives. For our guys to come down here to this environment and beat them, it's a huge, huge shot in the arm for our guys."

Defensively, junior safety Brady Howe of Holland, Michigan (Holland Christian) led the Dutchmen with 11 tackles, and junior linebacker Toby Hulst of Caledonia, Michigan (Grand Rapids South Christian HS) made 10 stops. 

Senior cornerback Trevor Sutton of Bay City, Michigan (All Saints) recovered a fumble.

Hope capitalized on an Olivet fumble on the opening drive of the game to score the game's first points. The Flying Dutchmen drove 70 yards in seven plays, with junior running back Kenyea Houston of Chicago, Illinois (Westinghouse Prep) going the final yard for the touchdown. Junior placekicker Dylan Hillger of Holly, Michigan (Lake Fenton) added the extra point for a 7-0 Hope lead.

TJ McKenzie Jr. poses for a portrait. After Olivet responded with a 75-yard drive to tie the game, Hope regained the lead early in the second quarter when Brown found sophomore wide receiver Terrell Harris of Whitehall, Michigan (Whitehall HS) in the end zone for a 12-yard touchdown pass. Harris finished with five receptions for 60 yards. 

After a Comet field goal, the Flying Dutch Dutchmen drove back into Olivet territory again late in the first half, but the drive appeared to stall. However, on fourth-and-14, Brown connected with junior wide receiver TJ McKenzie Jr. of Muskegon, Michigan (North Muskegon), pictured left, on a 33-yard touchdown pass, extending the Hope lead to 21-10.

Olivet drove inside the Hope 10 in the final minute of the first half, but the defense stiffened, forcing the Comets to settle for a 26-yard field goal, cutting the lead at the half to 21-13.

In the third quarter, Hope went deep to strike paydirt. Brown found McKenzie behind the Olivet secondary on a post pattern, and McKenzie outran everyone the last 40 yards to complete a 79-yard touchdown strike, Hope's longest pass play of the season. Hillger's conversion boosted the Hope lead to 28-13.

Adam VanderKooy poses for a portrait. "That was a backbreaker," Stuursma said.

The Comets were driving in the fourth quarter to try to cut the lead to one score when Hope came up with a big stop. Junior safety Adam Vander Kooy of Indianapolis, Indiana (Brebeuf Jesuit HS), pictured right, tipped a pass that was intended for Olivet tight end Seth Young up in the air, then caught the tip and returned the interception 39 yards to near midfield.

That would set up a methodical drive that consumed 4-1/2 minutes of the clock and ended with Hillger splitting the uprights on a 29-yard field goal with 6:11 remaining. Hope led 31-13, and only allowed a field goal the rest of the way to secure the win.

"We started making some tackles. We were missing tackles in the first half," Stuursma said. "We started rotating more guys into the defensive line, and they were fitting into our gaps better."

Hope finished with 409 yards total offense in the game, 234 through the air, and 175 on the ground.

Brown completed 20 of 28 passes for 282 yards and three touchdowns. He was not sacked in the contest. Olivet had come into the game with 18 sacks in its first five games.

McKenzie had a career-best 136 receiving yards on five catches, while junior wide receiver Ian Rampersad of Grand Rapids, Michigan (Forest Hills Northern) had four receptions for 62 yards. 

Houston led the ground attack with 54 yards on 10 carries, and senior running back Brandon Anderson of Cassopolis, Michigan (Ross Beatty) contributed 46 yards on 12 carries.

The Flying Dutchmen return to Ray and Sue Smith Stadium next Saturday to face MIAA rival Adrian College as part of Hope's One Big Weekend celebration. Kickoff is at 2 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Brandon Anderson

#7 Brandon Anderson

RB
5' 10"
Senior
Chase Brown

#13 Chase Brown

QB
5' 10"
Junior
Terrell Harris

#6 Terrell Harris

WR
5' 10"
Sophomore
Dylan Hillger

#30 Dylan Hillger

K/P
5' 9"
Junior
Kenyea Houston

#26 Kenyea Houston

RB
5' 9"
Junior
Brady Howe

#6 Brady Howe

FS
6' 0"
Junior
Toby Hulst

#33 Toby Hulst

S
6' 1"
Senior
TJ McKenzie Jr

#3 TJ McKenzie Jr

WR
6' 3"
Junior
Ian Rampersad

#15 Ian Rampersad

WR
6' 4"
Junior
Trevor Sutton

#24 Trevor Sutton

CB
5' 9"
Senior
Adam Vander Kooy

#4 Adam Vander Kooy

FS
5' 10"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Brandon Anderson

#7 Brandon Anderson

5' 10"
Senior
RB
Chase Brown

#13 Chase Brown

5' 10"
Junior
QB
Terrell Harris

#6 Terrell Harris

5' 10"
Sophomore
WR
Dylan Hillger

#30 Dylan Hillger

5' 9"
Junior
K/P
Kenyea Houston

#26 Kenyea Houston

5' 9"
Junior
RB
Brady Howe

#6 Brady Howe

6' 0"
Junior
FS
Toby Hulst

#33 Toby Hulst

6' 1"
Senior
S
TJ McKenzie Jr

#3 TJ McKenzie Jr

6' 3"
Junior
WR
Ian Rampersad

#15 Ian Rampersad

6' 4"
Junior
WR
Trevor Sutton

#24 Trevor Sutton

5' 9"
Senior
CB
Adam Vander Kooy

#4 Adam Vander Kooy

5' 10"
Junior
FS