ANGOLA, IND.-- Trine pulled out a thrilling 26-23 victory over Alma in double-overtime on Homecoming Saturday afternoon at Shive Field and Fred Zollner Athletic Stadium.
Joel Lopshire's (Angola, Ind./Angola) 25-yard field goal in the second-OT put the sellout crowd of 4,844 frenzy and capped off the Homecoming victory. An interception by Tyler Guzy (Coldwater, Mich./Coldwater) on fourth down denied Alma points on their possession of the second overtime stanza. The junior safety picked off two passes, forced a fumble and finished with eight tackles in a huge defensive performance. Trine improved to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the MIAA with the victory. The Thunder have won three-straight. Alma falls to 2-2 overall, 0-1 in conference play.
The game was sent into overtime after the Scots rallied back from a 16-0 deficit in the fourth quarter. Trine opened overtime with a five-play, 25-yard scoring drive. The Thunder advanced the ball down to a third-and-three situation from the Alma four on three running plays, but the Scot defense stood tall to force a fourth down. Taylor Masiewicz (Belmont, Mich./Rockford) then hit Zachary Hess (Eagle, Mich./Grand Ledge) in the back of the end zone to give the Thunder a 23-16 lead.
Alma answered right back to force the second overtime. A throw-back pass to quarterback Dylan Zaborowski set up the Scots first-and-goal at the Trine 3. The Thunder defense stood tall on the first three downs, but Zaborowski broke through on fourth down for a one-yard score to send the game to the second-OT.
Both offenses struggled to get things going through the first two-plus quarters before Michael Spears (Kendallville, Ind./East Noble) picked off a pass in Alma territory and returned it to the Scots' 16-yard line. Three plays later, Austin J. Shoemaker found the end zone from a yard out to give Trine a 6-0 lead.
Shoemaker had a big day rushing for the Thunder, finishing with 101 yards on 23 carries. The effort was the senior's third-career 100-yard rushing effort. Paced by Shoemaker's work, Trine outrushed Alma by a 214 to 67 margin.
Lopshire hit his first field goal of the afternoon from 25-yards out to give Trine a 9-0 lead early in the fourth quarter.
On the next play from scrimmage, Guzy picked off his first pass of the game to set up the Thunder deep in Alma territory. On the next play, Masiewicz hit Gage Corner (Leo, Ind./Leo) for an 18-yard TD-strike to give Trine a seemingly-comfortable 16-0 lead with 8:07 to play in the game.
Masiewicz finished the game 14-33 for 125 yards and two TD tosses. Corner finished with two catches for 22 yards and the score. Frantz Petitpapa (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Archbishop McCarthy) finished with a career-high seven catches for 83 yards.
The Scots staged an unlikely comeback, led by backup quarterback Derek Talaga. Alma marched 74 yards on seven plays in 1:59 to cut the score to 16-8. Talaga hit Daniel Kroupa for a 10-yard strike, and completed the two-point conversion to Tyler Watters. Talaga completed 8-of-17 passes for 101 yards in under a quarter of action.
After a defensive stop, the Scots drove back down to tie the score. Alma executed the double-pass, with Cody Dentmon stepping back from the slot to receive the backwards pass and firing a 29-yard strike to Erik Hines for the TD. Talaga completed the comeback with a pass to Hines for the two-point conversion.
Hines had a huge game receiving for the Scots, hauling in 10 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown. Sam Young was seemingly everywhere for Alma defensively, getting in on 17 tackles.
Trine attempted to drive the field, but an interception by Jacob Chittenden halted the march and the Scots took a knee to send the game into overtime.
The Thunder return to action next Saturday, Oct. 11 when they travel to Olivet. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.