Box Score TIFFIN, Oh. – A valiant group of Knights dug down deep to claim a 40-37 overtime victory at Heidelberg University Saturday night in a contest that was billed as "The Battle at the Castle."

Calvin is now 3-0 on the young season, heading into a Calvin Homecoming game against Kalamazoo next Saturday night.

The contest lived up to its billing with Calvin sophomore Luke Michmerhuizen (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian HS) ending the contest with a walk-off 11-yard touchdown catch in overtime. The Michmerhuizen touchdown grab concluded a wild Saturday night thriller that featured 200-yard rushers for each team along with a slew of dramatic plays.

Michmerhuizen Game-Winning Touchdown Clip

Calvin had a chance to win the contest in overtime but missed a 36-yard field goal in the closing seconds as the game went to overtime tied 34-34. Calvin won the overtime coin toss and elected to defend to open overtime. Using college overtime rules, Heidelberg began with the ball on the Calvin 25-yard line. On third and short from the 16-yard line, Calvin sophomore Carson Schnurstein (Portage, Mich./Portage Central HS) raced through a gap in the Heidelberg defense to make a key tackle for a five-yard loss. Heidelberg elected to kick a 38-yard field goal on fourth down and converted off the foot of Ethan Ramsdail to take a 37-34 lead. On its first play on offense, Calvin converted a first down on a 12-yard out pattern to sophomore Jude Klunder (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) along the right sideline. A two-yard run by sophomore Hunter Hogan moved the ball to the 11 and after an incomplete pass, the Knights elected to throw to the end zone on third down. The decision paid huge dividends as sophomore Thomas Vaccaro (Franklin, Tenn. Christ Presbyterian) found Michmerhuizen near the back right corner of the end zone cutting inside a Heidelberg defensive back. Michmerhuizen snared the catch and after a short video review, the catch was confirmed for a walk-off touchdown and Calvin win.

Michmerhuizen finished the contest with a career-high 10 catches for 133 yards and two touchdown receptions. Vaccaro had a stellar night, completing 18 of 31 passes for 242 yards and three scores while rushing for 25 yards on five carries.

Hogan was again a workhorse, collecting 233 yards on a career-high 41 carries including a pair of touchdowns. It marked the second straight 200-yard performance for Hogan who has 567 rushing yards through three games this fall.

Heidelberg's Drew Miller had 239 yards and two touchdowns as he ran the ball 36 times.

Calvin led 17-14 at halftime, using a 34-yard field goal by sophomore Sal Ruffino (Shelby Township, Mich. Eisenhower), a 16-yard touchdown pass from Vaccaro to Michmerhuizen and a 10-yard touchdown run by Hogan to build a lead.

Calvin missed a short field goal to open the third quarter but the Knight defense came up with a clutch defensive play to regain the ball. Freshman Paul Hubbard (Southfield, Mich. Wylie E. Groves) forced a fumble while tackling Miller with sophomore Caden Kolanowski (Goodrich, Mich Goodrich) pouncing on the loose ball at the Heidelberg 40-yard line. Three plays later, Hogan rumbled into the end zone for his second score of the night, helping Calvin take a 24-14 lead.

The Knights came up with another turnover as Schnurstein intercepted a Heidelberg pass, returning the ball to the Student Prince 25-yard line. The Schnurstein swipe set up a 25-yard field goal by Logan Nap (Lawton, Mich. Lawton) to put the Knights up 27-14.

Heidelberg followed with a 54-yard drive capped off by a one-yard touchdown plunge by senior quarterback Ty Poorman. The point after was blocked by Calvin's Caiden Bolduc (Muskegon, Mich. Reeths-Puffer) however to make it a 27-20 contest. Calvin answered with an 82-yard touchdown drive climaxed by a 41-yard touchdown toss from Vaccaro to Klunder. The touchdown came on a fourth-and-three call that sucked the Heidelberg defense in and left the deep middle open for the score. The extra point by Nap gave the Knights a 34-20 lead and seeming control of the contest.

Heidelberg (1-2) refused to quit. Miller concluded an 80-yard touchdown march with a three-yard plunge to bring the Student Princes within 34-27 with 7:24 left in the fourth. Heidelberg then caught Calvin off-guard with a perfectly placed pooch kick with the Berg falling on the loose ball at the Calvin 38. Heidelberg then needed eight plays to find paydirt with Poorman connecting on a fourth down eight-yard touchdown pass to Solomon Sandoval. The extra point by Ramsdail tied the game 34-34 with 3:51 remaining.

Calvin appeared poised for a final scoring march, moving the ball from its own 27 down to the Heidelberg 18 with 14 seconds remaining. On fourth down, Calvin elected to kick a 36-yard field goal but the kick sailed wide to the left. Heidelberg ran out the final seconds, sending the contest into overtime.

Poorman was 16 of 27 passing for Heidelberg for 134 yards and one touchdown. He was sacked four times by the Calvin defense. Dimetry Peters had four catches for 57 yards while Sandoval five catches and two scores for Heidelberg.

Schnurstein led all tacklers with 16 tackles while forcing one fumble. Bolduc had 11 tackles, two sacks, a blocked kick and a forced fumble. Freshman Reed Vogeler (Caledonia, Mich./Caledonia HS) and sophomore Trevor Martens (Hudsonville, Mich./Jenison HS) had nine tackles apiece with Vogeler breaking up two Heidelberg passes. Sophomore Isiah Hill (Dowagiac, Mich. Dowagiac) had four tackles and a sack. Kolanowski had seven tackles. Kris Williams, Mason Villarreal and Trey Farris all had nine tackles apiece for Heidelberg.

CALVIN COACH TRENT FIGG: "Wow, what a game! I am so proud of our players and staff. To go on the road and win a game in overtime is a huge step for our program. The energy from our players and unwavering belief in each other was the difference in the game tonight. We had several great individual performances tonight, but this game took every single member of our program executing their role at a high level. I am so thankful for our players and coaches and for all the work they put in each-and-every day to make Calvin Football so special. Our fans were once again incredible, and I am so thankful for every person that made the trip to support our players. We are excited to be back in front of our home crowd on campus next weekend and begin MIAA play.

NEXT UP: Calvin will host Kalamazoo at 7 p.m. next Saturday night at Calvin Soccer Stadium. The game will serve as Calvin's Homecoming Game.