Two recovered fumbles and three fourth-quarter touchdowns over a span of six minutes helped the nationally ranked Hope College football team secure a 55-35 win at Trine University on Saturday.
The Flying Dutchmen — No. 20 in this week's D3football.com poll and No. 23 in the American Football Coaches Association rankings — erupted for their highest-scoring game against the Thunder.
After beating Trine for the sixth consecutive season, Hope heads into a bye week with a 4-1 record and a 1-1 mark in Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association play. The loss dropped the Thunder to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the MIAA.
Head coach Peter Stuursma said he was proud of how his team battled through a challenging week and game following a controversial overtime loss that attracted national 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."
Hope's next game is Saturday, Oct. 18, at 2 p.m. against Kalamazoo College at Ray and Sue Smith Stadium during the One Big Weekend homecoming and family celebration.
The Flying Dutchmen led 35-28 when they put together a 13-play, 70-yard scoring drive that lasted 7½ minutes. Sophomore running back AJ Martel (Mason, Michigan / Mason) capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run with 8:37 remaining.
Senior linebacker Micah Bush (Hudsonville, Michigan / Unity Christian) then recovered a Trine fumble at the Thunder 41-yard line after a reception. Six plays later, freshman running back Trey Goike (White Lake, Michigan / Orchard Lake St. Mary's Preparatory) sprinted 7 yards up the middle into the end zone for a 48-28 lead with 3:50 to go.
A strip sack by senior defensive lineman Caleb Paarlberg (Caledonia, Michigan / Caledonia) on Trine's next first play from scrimmage forced another fumble that senior defensive lineman Liam Danitz (West Branch, Michigan / Ogemaw Heights) recovered at the Trine 20-yard line.
Martel quickly found the end zone, rushing twice for 20 yards, including a 3-yard score, to make it 55-28 with 2:51 left.
The 55 points are Hope's most against Trine since a 51-0 road win in 2019.
Junior quarterback Alex Thole (Schoolcraft, Michigan / Schoolcraft) threw for 312 yards and four touchdowns, completing 19 of 29 passes.
Thole connected on touchdown passes of 31 yards to junior receiver Kaden DeHorn (Caledonia, Michigan / Caledonia), 27 yards to junior receiver Jonny Rohen-Blanton (Rockford, Michigan / Rockford), 80 yards to senior receiver Travis Myers (Ada, Michigan / Forest Hills Northern) and 38 yards to junior receiver Trevor Griffiths (Stevensville, Michigan / Lakeshore).
Rohen-Blanton led the Flying Dutchmen with seven catches for 117 yards.
Hope finished with 566 yards of total offense, including 240 on the ground. Sophomore running back Kal Motter (Lawton, Michigan / Lawton) ran for a season-high 103 yards on seven carries, including a 63-yard touchdown that broke a 14-14 tie with 2:36 remaining in the first half.
Defensively, Hope recovered three fumbles. Senior linebacker Colton Schreur (Wayland, Michigan / South Christian) led the team with 10 tackles. Danitz added nine tackles and two fumble recoveries.