Calvin Football Set to Host Olivet on Senior Day

Calvin is under the direction of head coach Trent Figg who guides his 116-member roster into year two this fall.

Tickets - A limited amount of tickets are still available through the Calvin Box Office online at: Calvin-Olivet Football Tickets.

Weather Policy - In the case of rain of Saturday, umbrellas are not permitted inside Calvin Soccer Stadium.

How to Watch/Listen: Saturday's game can be followed by Live stream, live audio and live stats.

The Calvin University live stream broadcast can be found online at: Calvin-Olivet Live Stream Broadcast. It will air on Grand Rapids radio Station 96.1 FM The Game iHeart Radio at: 96.1 The Game iHeart Radio as well as through WXSP-TV Nexstar Media Inc. which is available in 14 counties throughout southwest Michigan. An audio stream will also be available through Michigan Sports Radio (Michigansportsradio.com).

Live statistics of the game will be produced at: Calvin/Olivet Live Stats

The Lead-Up – Calvin heads into season two under head coach Trent Figg. The Knights are off to a 5-2 start after wins over Oberlin (88-6), Concordia of Wisconsin (34-7), Heidelberg (40-37 OT), Kalamazoo (24-16) and Trine (34-31) with Calvin falling to Alma (55-6) and Adrian (48-17). Calvin's win over Trine came last Saturday, snapping its two-game losing streak and marking its first-ever win in the month of October. Calvin faces its fifth MIAA conference opponent on Saturday in Olivet. Olivet is 1-6 on the year including 1-3 in league play. Olivet is coming off a 53-21 loss to league-leading Alma last Saturday. Calvin is paced on offense by sophomore running back Hunter Hogan who has 735 yards rushing (5.3 ypc) and eight touchdowns. Hogan has also hauled in 25 catches for 264 yards. Sophomore quarterback Thomas Vaccaro has connected on 129 of 209 pass attempts (.617) for 1,340 yards and 14 touchdowns. He has been intercepted five times. Sophomores Luke Michmerhuizen, Jude Klunder and Seth Anderson have been his top receiving targets. Michmerhuizen has 39 catches, 473 yards and seven touchdown receptions. Klunder has 25 grabs for 263 yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore Seth Anderson has 15 catches for 175 yards and two touchdowns. On defense, sophomore Carson Schnurstein has an MIAA-leading 88 tackles (39 solo) including 14 tackles for loss. Sophomore Caden Kolanowski has 50 tackles (21 solo) with sophomore Kaden McCullough contributing 42 tackles (19 solo), four sacks and seven tackles for loss. Sophomore Caiden Bolduc has 34 tackles, six sacks, nine tackles for loss and has returned one interception for a touchdown. Olivet has utilized a pair of quarterbacks in senior Charlie Grant and sophomore Daniel Avila. Grant is 86 of 160 (.538) for 1,028 yards, 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Avila is 72 of 124 passing for 774 yards, seven touchdowns and five interceptions. Freshman Jaylan Johnson leads the rushing brigade with 321 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 4.1 yards per rush. Freshman Wade Brashears has 37 catches for 517 yards and five touchdowns. Junior Rashawn Mersier has 34 catches for 455 yards and two touchdowns. Freshman Javon Peterson leads the defense with 32 tackles (12 solo). Junior linebacker Carleton Freeman has 19 tackles and a team-leading five sacks.

Senior Salute – Prior to Saturday's game, Calvin will salute its five seniors: Jair Nowlin, Marcus Breuker, Tate Dohm, Charlie Garbowski and Peter DeKruyter and who are playing in their final home game.

Last Year's Meeting – Olivet held off Calvin 21-13 in a game played at Olivet on November 2, 2024. Olivet led 14-3 at halftime but Calvin closed to within a point on a 41-yard touchdown reception by Hunter Hogan and a 40-yard field goal by Sal Ruffino heading into the final quarter of play. Olivet scored an early fourth quarter touchdown to take a 21-13 lead. The Comets then intercepted Calvin quarterback Chase Bradman in the final 10 minutes and closed out the game with a sack of Bradman near midfield on the final play of the game. Bradman was 17 of 34 for 181 yards passing and one touchdown for Calvin. Jaier Harden had 70 yards rushing. Hogan had nine catches for 119 yards and one touchdown. Charlie Grant was 5 of 14 passing for 96 yards for Olivet. Dontal Wright had 113 yards rushing with one touchdown. Thomas Foust had 93 yards and a score. Carson Schnurstein, Brady Jacobs and Trevor Martens had 11 tackles apiece for the Calvin defense. Amir Jones had nine tackles for the Olivet defense.

Calvin Week Six Rewind – Calvin picked up its first win in the month of October, toppling Trine 34-31 in a game played at Calvin Soccer Stadium last Saturday. Hunter Hogan scored on the game-winning touchdown pass with just under three minutes remaining, hauling in a 28-yard pass from sophomore Thomas Vaccaro for the go-ahead score. Calvin led 17-10 at halftime and later 24-10 but Trine roared back to tie the game at 24 and later take the lead at 31-27. A fourth-down stop near midfield keyed by a tackle for loss by sophomore Kaden McCullough put the ball back in the hands of the Knights, leading up to the Hogan touchdown. Vaccaro was 18 of 39 passing for 223 yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore Hayden Slegers churned out 52 yards on the ground. Hogan had five catches for 107 yards and a score. Sophomore Luke Michmerhuizen had five catches for 60 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore Seth Anderson also hauled in a touchdown pass. Sophomore Logan Nap booted a pair of field goals. McCullough had a career-high 11 tackles to go with three sacks and four tackles for loss. C.J. Sheets and Caiden Bolduc had a sack apiece. Junior Alexander Minnehan picked off one pass as did Bolduc.

Olivet Week Six Rewind – Olivet dropped a 53-21 decision to Alma last Saturday at Olivet's Cutler Field. Olivet trailed 39-14 at halftime and were outscored 14-7 in the second half. Charlie Grant was 19 of 32 passing for 197 yards and one touchdown. He was picked off once. Jaylan Johnson had 19 carries for 65 yards and a touchdown. Wade Brashears had five catches for 82 yards. Carter Leatherwood had two catches for 15 yards and a touchdown. Javon Peterson came up with 10 tackles for Olivet while Dontrell Thomas had nine stops.

The Calvin Coach-Head coach Trent Figg was hired on January 6, 2023. He has a career won-loss record of 7-10 heading into Saturday. Figg is a native of Chillicothe, Missouri, located an hour-and-a-half from Kansas City. He is a 2008 graduate of William Jewell College where he was a four-year member of the football program as a special teams ace and defensive back. He later earned his master's degree from Northwest Missouri State in 2013. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at (then NAIA) William Jewell and later had stints as the special teams coordinator and defensive coordinator at D2 Southern Arkansas, defensive coordinator at William Jewell and special teams coordinator at Missouri State. He later spent two years (2019-21) at the University of Hawaii, serving as chief of staff of the football program and later associate head coach. In 2022, he served as the lead offensive analyst for the University of Oregon football program under head coach Dan Lanning. Figg and Lanning are former teammates and roommates at William Jewell College and stood up for each other at their respective weddings.

A Look at the Olivet Coach – Erik Ieuter is in his first year as head coach of the University of Olivet. Prior to his tenure at Muskingum, Ieuter served as an offensive quality control assistant at the University of Florida, where he honed his analytical and coaching skills at the highest levels of collegiate football. His career also includes 11 successful seasons at Michigan Technological University, where he served in various roles, including recruiting coordinator, wide receivers/special teams coordinator and offensive coordinator. During his time at Michigan Tech, the team secured the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference North Championship, a testament to his ability to foster a winning culture. A graduate of Albion College, Ieuter was a standout wide receiver and punt returner, contributing to two Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association championships during his playing career. He also holds a master's degree in health and physical education from Adams State College.

More on Hunter Hogan – Calvin sophomore running back Hunter Hogan has had a big season for the Knights with 735 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns. He opened the season with four straight 100-yard rushing games, going for 119 yards against Oberlin, 215 against Concordia, 233 at Heidelberg and 115 last week against Kalamazoo. He has also hauled in 25 grabs for 264 yards and a score. He is averaging 162.0 all-purpose yards a game, ranking eighth nationally. His 735 total rushing yards also ranks 24th nationally.

More on Olivet – Olivet features three active players that were named to the 2024 All-MIAA Second Team in sophomore offensive lineman Jelani Harbor and sophomore receiver Jaylan Johnson.

MIAA Preseason Poll – Calvin was picked to finish seventh out of eight teams in the 2025 MIAA preseason poll with champion Alma selected as the MIAA's pre-season favorite and defending MIAA champion Hope picked a close second. 2025 MIAA Preseason Poll: 1. Alma, 2. Hope, 3. Adrian, 4. Trine, 5. Albion, 6. Olivet, 7. Calvin, 8. Kalamazoo.

NCAA III Statistics Leaders – Hunter Hogan is ranked eighth in the latest NCAA III statistics in all-purpose yards-per-game (162.0). He is ranked 24th nationally in total rushing yards (735) and 27th nationally in rushing yards per game (105.0). Carson Schnurstein is ranked fifth nationally in total tackles (88), sixth in tackles for loss per game (2.07) and 26th in solo tackles (39). Caiden Bolduc is tied for 41^st in tackles for loss per game (1.50).

MIAA Stats Roundup – In conference games only, Olivet senior quarterback Charlie Grant is third in the MIAA in passing yards (1,022) and fourth in passing touchdowns (8). Olivet's Wade Brashears is sixth in the MIAA in receiving yards (345) while Calvin's Luke Michmerhuizen is 11^th (227). Calvin's Hudson Shoup is sixth in the MIAA in yards per kick return (22.6) while Olivet's Carter Leatherwood is seventh (20.6). Calvin's Caden Kolanowski is third in the MIAA in yards per punt return (6.3). Calvin's Drake Irwin ranks second in the MIAA in punting average (40.4) while Olivet's Aeson Hawks is fourth (38.3). Calvin's Carson Schnurstein is tied for third in total tackles (44) with Kolanowski and Kaden McCullough tied for seventh (34). McCullough is second tackle for loss (6.5) while Olivet's Carlton Freeman is fifth (5.0) and Olivet's Javon Peterson seventh (4.5). Freeman and McCullough are tied for third in sacks (4).

MIAA Weekly Honors – Sophomore Kaden McCullough was named MIAA Defensive Player of the Week this past Monday for his play in a 34-31 win over Trine last Saturday. Freshman return specialist/wide receiver Hudson Shoup was named MIAA Special Teams Player of the Week for his kick returns totaling 75 yards in the win over Trine. Carson Schnurstein was named MIAA Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 29 for his 10-tackle performance in Calvin's win over Kalamazoo on September 27. Luke Michmerhuizen was named the MIAA Offensive Player of the Week and Caiden Bolduc named MIAA Defensive Player of the Week on September 22 for their efforts in Calvin's victory at Heidelberg. Hunter Hogan was named MIAA Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 15 for the Knights. Trine has had three players receive MIAA Player of the Week honors this fall. Freshman Jeshua Miller was the MIAA Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 15. Senior Rashawn Street was named MIAA Special Teams Player of the Week on October 6. Senior strong safety Roman Schrock was named MIAA Defensive Player of the Week on Monday (Oct. 20).

National Honors – Sophomore linebacker Caiden Bolduc was named to the D3football.com National Team of the Week on Sept. 23 for his play in Calvin's win at Heidelberg in week three. It marked the second straight week a Calvin linebacker has received the honor as Carson Schnurstein was named to the D3football.com Team of the Week for week two.

A Look at Calvin – Once again, Calvin features one of the younger rosters in America this fall as the Knights feature 38 freshmen and 67 sophomores as part of their 116-man roster. 13 players feature from other states including Illinois (4), Texas (2), California (1), Louisiana (1), Tennessee (1), North Carolina (1), Florida (1), New Mexico (1) and New York (1) with the remaining 103 coming from Michigan.

The Calvin Offense by the Numbers – (58 total) - Quarterbacks (4), Running Backs (8), Wide Receivers (14), Tight Ends (5), Offensive Lineman (27).

The Calvin Defense by the Numbers – (55 total)- Defensive Linemen (18), Linebackers (18), Defensive Backs (19).

The Quarterback Room – Sophomore transfer Thomas Vaccaro has been selected to start at quarterback on Saturday with sophomore Drake Irwin his backup. Vaccaro is a transfer from Samford University (Ala.) where he spent two years which included a redshirt season. He is a graduate of Christ Presbyterian Academy in Nashville, Tennessee. Vaccaro was Irwin is a local product out of Rockford High School. He appeared in five games in 2024, completing 7 of 9 passes with one touchdown. At Rockford High School, he led the Rams to a Division I District Title his senior year. Also listed at quarterback are true freshmen Beau Harris and Amari Powell.

Receiving Unit – The Calvin starting receiver unit features a strong West Michigan flavor as Luke Michmherhuizen (Holland Christian), Seth Anderson (Rockford) and Jude Klunder (Grand Rapids Christian HS) are listed as starters today. Sophomore Hunter Hogan (Ravenna HS) will also see receiving looks out of the backfield. Sophomores Shamar White (East Kentwood HS) and McCoy Baxter (Rockford HS) are listed as key backups.The 6-7 Michmerhuizen is the second member of his immediate family to be a Calvin varsity athlete as his older sister Nicole was a multiple All-American for the Calvin women's track and field team including a national champion in the 10,000 meter run in 2013.

OK-Red Flavor – The Calvin football team has a strong representation from the Ottawa-Kent (OK) Red Conference as Rockford (Seth Anderson, Drake Irwin, Mike Liggett, Jonah Carlson, McCoy Baxter, Gavin Currie), Jenison (Zaiden Chirco, Rowan Stewart, Colin Diekman, Trevor Martens) and East Kentwood (KJ Harp, ShaMar White, Breylon Cox, Kenji Nou, Gabe Wolf), Grand Haven (Logan Minier) and Grandville (Aven Kaat) are all represented on the Calvin roster with a total of 17 O K Red alumni.

Cousin Connection – Sophomore quarterback Drake Irwin and sophomore wide receiver Jude Klunder are first cousins.

Classroom Distinction – The 2025 Calvin football team features 17 individuals were named to the 2024-25 MIAA Academic Honor Roll for maintaining a 3.50 grade point average or above for the entire academic year while earning a varsity letter. Those 17 individuals include: Paul Bouma, Peter DeKruyter, Colin Diekman, Tate Dohm, Ben Ernstes, Noah Funk, Andrew Helmus, Drake Irwin, Brady Jacobs, Caden Kolanowski, Peter Markvluwer, Trevor Martens, Luke Michmerhuizen, Micah Pobursky, Hayden Slegers, Conner Smits and Brayden Steinbacher.

Transfer Portal – Calvin has nine players that have transferred over from other collegiate football programs. Those nine individuals are senior Jair Nowlin (Greenville University), senior Charlie Garbowski (Finlandia University), junior Alex Minnehan (Grand Valley State), junior C.J. Sheets (Davenport University), junior Sam Gallo (Concordia, Mich.), sophomore Wyatt Young (Saginaw Valley State University), sophomore Thomas Vaccaro (Samford University), sophomore Tyler Porte (Central Michigan University) and sophomore Carter Bylsma (Dordt University).

Just for Kicks – Calvin's lead kicker is sophomore Logan Nap from Lawton, Michigan. He also serves as one of Calvin's punters. Sophomore Drake Irwin has received more punting duty as of late, averaging 41.13 yards per punt.

Traveling from Out-of-State – Calvin features 13 players from outside Michigan. Those players include senior Jair Nowlin (Sugarhill, Georgia), junior Alexander Minneham (Lakeville, New York), sophomore Tripp Moore (Millsap, Texas), sophomore Hayden Slegers (Ontario, California), sophomore Thomas Vaccaro (Franklin, Tenn.), sophomore Kai Hanog (Weatherford, Texas), sophomore Max Lenters (Palos Heights, Illinois), freshman Hudson Shoup (Charlotte, N.C.), junior C.J. Sheets (Longwood, Fla..), freshman Christian Flutman (Orland Park, Il.), freshman Chase Sytsma (Orland Park, Il..), freshman Ryan Ramirez (Albuquerque, N.M.), freshman Edward Van Dellen (Evergreen Park, Ill.),

Whitehall Claims First Dibs – The first recruit to commit to the Calvin University football program was redshirt freshman Winton Napier who is slated to start at left tackle. Napier is one of four graduates of Whitehall High School on the Calvin roster joined by sophomore linebacker Trenton TenBrock, sophomore linebacker Jackson Cook and freshman offensive lineman Connor Nash,

High Schools Represented – The high schools with the most represented players are: Hudsonville Unity Christian (7), Rockford (6), Holland Christian (5), East Kentwood (5), Grand Rapids Christian (4) and Jenison High School (4).

A Look Ahead – The Knights hit the road for their final two games. Next week is a rivalry contest at Hope with the kickoff set for 5 p.m. On November 15, Calvin will journey to Albion for its regular season finale slated to start at noon at Sprankle-Sprandel Stadium.

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Players Mentioned

#0 Jaier Harden: RB; 5' 7"; Graduate Student

#4 Chase Bradman: QB; 5' 10"; Graduate Student

#8 Seth Anderson: WR; 6' 1"; Sophomore

#3 McCoy Baxter: WR; 6' 1"; Sophomore

#8 Caiden Bolduc: LB; 6' 0"; Sophomore

#91 Marcus Breuker: DL; 5' 10"; Senior

#10 Carter Bylsma: TE; 6' 2"; Junior

#14 Jonah Carlson: DB; 6' 3"; Sophomore

#21 Zaiden Chirco: DB; 5' 10"; Redshirt Sophomore

#22 Jackson Cook: LB; 5' 11"; Redshirt Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#0 Jaier Harden
: 5' 7"; Graduate Student
: RB

#4 Chase Bradman
: 5' 10"; Graduate Student
: QB

#8 Seth Anderson
: 6' 1"; Sophomore
: WR

#3 McCoy Baxter
: 6' 1"; Sophomore
: WR

#8 Caiden Bolduc
: 6' 0"; Sophomore
: LB

#91 Marcus Breuker
: 5' 10"; Senior
: DL

#10 Carter Bylsma
: 6' 2"; Junior
: TE

#14 Jonah Carlson
: 6' 3"; Sophomore
: DB

#21 Zaiden Chirco
: 5' 10"; Redshirt Sophomore
: DB

#22 Jackson Cook
: 5' 11"; Redshirt Sophomore
: LB