Skip To Main Content

Hope College

Scoreboard

#BeStrongBeTrue
Jacob Reynolds and Tate Bezeau celebrate a stop vs. Adrian
Steven M. Herppich
Pictured, Jacob Reynolds and Tate Bezeau
22
Adrian ADR 2-4 , 0-3
24
Winner Hope HPE 6-0 , 3-0
Adrian ADR
2-4 , 0-3
22
Final
24
Hope HPE
6-0 , 3-0
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
ADR Adrian 7 15 0 0 22
HPE Hope 0 7 7 10 24

Game Recap: Football | | Alan Babbitt

No. 11/12 Football Edges Adrian in an One Big Weekend Thriller

With one final Orange and Blue push at the Adrian College 18-yard line for a first down, a lively One Big Weekend could finally end in celebration.

The Hope College football team ran out the final 1 minute and 42 seconds after running back AJ Martel's second-down carry for 15 yards, giving Flying Dutch fans, alums, and families on their special weekend a 24-22 victory against Adrian College in front of a Smith Stadium crowd of 5,004.

Hope — 11th in this week's AFCA NCAA Division III poll and 12th in the D3football.com poll — upped its record to 6-0 overall and 3-0 in MIAA play. The Flying Dutch remained tied atop the MIAA standings with Calvin University and Trine University.

The Orange and Blue overcame their first deficit of the season, and it was a large one. Adrian seized a 22-7 halftime lead.

"Credit to our guys," head coach Peter Stuursma said. "In the halftime locker room, the last thing I said to our guys — and I heard it from all of our position coaches — 'Don't panic, you can't change the complexion of the game in one play right now. Go step by step and take things that come to you.' Our guys hung in there and hung in there. Our guys had a will to win, and we did."

The decisive two points came on a safety with 5 minutes, 48 seconds remaining in regulation.

After an Adrian pre-snap penalty wiped out a 4th-and-1 stop at the Bulldogs' 20-yard line, Hope lined up again. This time, Adrian chose to punt but snapped the ball out of the end zone to launch the Orange and Blue ahead, 24-22. The Bulldogs (2-4, 0-3 MIAA) never had another offensive snap.

The Flying Dutch shut out Adrian during the second half and allowed only 53 total yards after halftime.

Safety Trenton Bolhouse's fumble recovery at midfield provided the spark Hope needed. Five plays after the senior from Zeeland, Michigan (Zeeland West) scooped up the turnover in front of the Adrian sideline, Martel scored on a 1-yard run to cut the deficit to 22-14 with 6:20 remaining in the third quarter.

"Our defense was phenomenal in the second half, phenomenal," Stuursma said. "That [fumble recovery] was a momentum swing that you can't account for. Credit to our offense; when that happened, we punched it in and scored."

On the Bulldogs' next possession, defensive end Tate Bezeau (Saline, Michigan / Saline) stuffed a 4th-and-3 run at the Adrian 29-yard line. Eleven plays later, Martel (Mason, Michigan / Michigan) scored on a 2-yard plunge on the first play of the fourth quarter to bring Hope within two points. Quarterback Alex Thole (Schoolcraft, Michigan / Schoolcraft) then completed a tying 2-point conversion pass to H-back Seth Luhmann (Rochester, Michigan / Stoney Creek).

Hope forced two more points after that, with the final one resulting in a safety.

The Flying Dutch, who recorded a season-low 321 yards of total offense, needed to rally after the Bulldogs scored three first-half touchdowns. 

Wide receiver Braiden Whitaker opened the scoring on a 44-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Sebastian Boswell, a 5-yard TD pass from Boswell to Ronnie Ferguson from Boswell, and a 100-yard Riley Dunbar kickoff return for a touchdown.

Minnehan scored on the kickoff following the season's 13th rushing touchdown for freshman running back Brody Schuiteman (Jenison, Michigan / Jenison), with 3:28 remaining in the first half.
Print Friendly Version