HOLLAND, Mich. — The nationally-ranked Hope College football team remained unbeaten Saturday afternoon and reached a milestone in the process.
The Flying Dutchmen scored two touchdowns in the game's first three minutes and went on to topple Trine University, 42-6, at Ray and Sue Smith Stadium to improve to 5-0 on the season.
The 5-0 start is the best for the Flying Dutchmen since 1984 when Hope posted a perfect 9-0 season under Coach Smith.
The win was Hope's 500th as an intercollegiate football program since it was founded in 1902. The Flying Dutchmen are now 500-375-37 all-time as a program for a winning percentage of .568.
"To me, (getting that 500th win) is cool, because that speaks to the tradition of Hope College football," head coach Peter Stuursma said.. "It's been 117 years of playing Hope College football. Five hundred wins is a lot of wins and that's pretty cool for everybody that's been a part of this, and I mean everybody - whether you played one year, four years, whether you were a coach, athletic trainer or manager – everybody's a part of it. That's obviously very special."
Saturday's game was the college's annual Purple Community game to raise funds for the Van Andel Institute in Grand Rapids.
It also was the Flying Dutchmen's first since being ranked No. 23 in the latest American Football Coaches Association poll and No. 24 in the D3football.com rankings.
Hope took the opening kickoff and struck quickly. Senior running back Chance Strickland (Mason, Michigan/Mason) busted loose for a 44-yard run on Hope's second play from scrimmage to put the ball at the Trine 2-yard-line.
Strickland, who entered the game leading all NCAA Division III players in rushing touchdowns, scored on 1-yard plunge two plays later for the first of his three touchdowns on the game.
After the Hope defense forced a three-and-out on Trine's first possession, the Flying Dutchmen needed just three plays to hit paydirt again. Senior running back Tyler Amos (Portage, Michigan/Portage Northern) ripped off a 30-yard run to the Trine 23. Then on the next play, Amos dashed 23 yards to the end zone for a 14-0 Hope lead just 3:06 into the game.
Meanwhile, the Flying Dutchmen defense seemed to be everywhere. Every time Trine quarterback Cole Alexander dropped back to pass, he had Hope pass rushers in his face, sacking him twice and forcing him into high throws for incompletions other times. the Flying Dutchmen held the Thunder to 16 yards total offense in the first half.
"We're getting to the quarterback with four-man pressure. That's huge," Stuursma said. "If you can do that, you don't have to bring the linebackers or bring someone from the edge. That creates more coverage space for our defense. Coach (Jacob Pardonnet, defensive coordinator) and our staff have these guys playing at a high level right now."
Hope added second-quarter touchdowns on 1-yard runs by Strickland and senior quarterback Ben Wellman (Bloomington, Illinois/Bloomington) to lead 28-0 at halftime.
In the third quarter, the Flying Dutchmen put together their longest drive of the season. Starting from their own 2-yard-line, Hope drove 98 yards in nine plays. Wellman completed four straight passes on the drive for 83 yards, highlighted by a 44-yard completion to fifth-year senior wide receiver Grant Holtzer (Okemos, Michigan/Okemos).
Strickland finished the drive with a 6-yard run for his third touchdown of the game, 13th of the season and 37th of his career.
Wellman tacked on one final score early in the fourth quarter with a 2-yard touchdown run. The Hope defense held Trine scoreless until 35 seconds remained in the game.
Hope finished the game with 486 yards of total offense, nearly split between its high-powered rushing attack and its passing game. the Flying Dutchmen, who entered the game as the second-ranked rushing offense in Division III, rushed for 253 yards on 38 carries for a 6.7-yard per carry average.
Hope went 7-of-11 on third-down conversions and scored on five of its six red zone opportunities.
Strickland led the Hope rushing attack with 120 yards on 17 carries while Amos added 89 yards on nine carries. Wellman completed 10 of 14 passes for 199 yards and rushed for two touchdowns. Twelve different players had at least one pass reception.
Defensively, senior linebackers Andrew Debri (DeWitt, Michigan/DeWitt) and Cole Luhmann (Rochester, Michigan/Stoney Creek) led Hope with six tackles apiece, with Luhmann also breaking up two passes.
Junior defensive end Liam Danitz (West Branch, Michigan/Ogemaw Heights) and freshman defensive end Jack Lamancusa (Comstock Park, Michigan/Rockford) each recorded two tackles for
loss. Sophomore linebacker Brad Raredon (Hudsonville, Michigan/Hudsonville) intercepted his second pass of the season.
The Flying Dutchmen have a bye next week and do not play again until Saturday, October 19, when they travel to Kalamazoo College for the annual Battle for the Wooden Shoes. Kickoff is 1 p.m. Eastern time.
"We haven't had a bye week in three seasons," Stuursma said. "Our guys get a chance to get away, our staff gets a chance to just take a deep breath, to get away, and then when we get them back, we really gotta start ramping up because everything from here on out gets harder and harder. Our focus is to get better in the bye week."
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