Hope College

A second-half Orange and Blue eruption launched the nationally ranked Hope College football team to a 66-17 victory at The University of Olivet on Saturday.

The Flying Dutch rushed for a season-high 419 yards and finished with a season-best 669 yards of total offense. Hope — No. 14 in this week's AFCA poll and No. 15 by D3football.com — also outscored the Comets 42-0 after halftime on their homecoming, bursting open a close score with six touchdowns during the third and fourth quarters.

Defensively, the Orange and Blue held Olivet to 70 second-half yards on 35 plays and 204 yards for the entire game.

Hope, now 5-0 overall, improved to 2-0 in MIAA play, tying the Flying Dutch for first place with Calvin University and Trine University. The Orange and Blue are idle until the One Big Weekend/Homecoming game on Saturday, Oct. 17, at 2 p.m. against Adrian College at Ray and Sue Smith Stadium.

Entering Week 5, only four other NCAA Division III teams had eclipsed 400 rushing yards in a game, a combined total of six times. The Flying Dutch's total marked their highest single-game total since 459 during a 63-17 victory at Kalamazoo College on Oct. 28, 2023.

Sophomore running back Trey Goike led the Hope rushing attack with a career-high 146 yards on seven carries, including a 68-yard jaunt that capped a 28-point third quarter that propelled Hope to a 52-17 lead.

Junior running back AJ Martel (Mason, Michigan / Mason) also had a career day with 105 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns on 14 carries. Martel reached the end zone on runs of 17, 4, and 4 yards.

Junior running back Noah Dunckel (Williamston, Michigan / Williamston) racked up a career-high 70 yards on four carries. 

Freshman running back Brody Schuiteman (Jenison, Michigan / Jenison) rushed for 55 yards and one touchdown, giving him 12 rushing touchdowns on the season that tie him with Tyler Amos (2024) for the 10th-most in a Hope single season.

Senior quarterback Alex Thole (Schoolcraft, Michigan / Schoolcraft) threw for 250 yards and two scores. Senior receiver Johnny Rohen-Blanton (Rockford, Michigan / Rockford) caught both touchdowns: 25 yards in the first quarter for a 10-0 Hope lead and 33 yards for a 24-14 Hope lead with 1:04 remaining in the first half.

The Flying Dutch totaled 60-plus points in back-to-back games against an MIAA opponent for the second week in a row. Hope posted a 63-6 victory at home against Olivet last season.

Sophomore linebacker Aidan Decker (Union City, Michigan / Union) recorded a team-best five tackles. 

The Flying Dutch posted a season-best eight sacks, including a team-high two from senior defensive lineman Patrick Rowland (Lake Orion, Michigan / Lake Orion).

Hope surrendered a first-half offensive touchdown for the first time this season: a Caleb Rudd 4-yard reception that ended an 18-play, 75-yard drive with 1:51 left in the second quarter. Olivet's other touchdown came on Javaris Johnson's 99-yard scoop-and-score from a Schuiteman fumble at the goal line.