GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Behind an MIAA-record eight touchdown pass from senior quarterback
Thomas Vaccaro, the No. 23 Calvin University football team recorded a 54-9 victory over Kalamazoo College in front of more than 2,500 fans Saturday afternoon at Knight Stadium.
Saturday's game also marked the Calvin Dedication Day for Knight Stadium as the school honored and gave thanks to those who helped make the new facility possible.
Calvin improves to 6-0 overall and 3-0 in the MIAA as the Knights are lodged in a three-way tie for first place in the league standings with Hope and Trine.
Vaccaro (Franklin, Tenn./Christ Presbyterian HS) tossed five of his touchdowns in the first half and added three more second half scoring tosses to break the previous MIAA record of six touchdown passes held by seven different players with Vaccaro one of the seven on the list. His Saturday touchdown tally also established a new Calvin single-game record. His eight touchdown passes also matched an NCAA Division III single-game high in 2026 with Jackson Alcorn of Aurora throwing eight touchdowns on September 26 against Rockford College.
Vaccaro now has 29 touchdown passes in six games this fall while completing 72.9 percent of his passes for 1,803 yards.
The first touchdown pass came on Calvin's opening drive as the Knights moved 76 yards on 12 plays. Calvin scored on a fourth-and-goal play from the one-yard line as Vaccaro slipped a low pass to junior
Jude Klunder (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) in the back of the end zone. Klunder corralled the pass in acrobatic fashion. On the play, the ball bounced off his shin as he slid to the turf, then popped up and into his hands for the early score.
Vaccaro then tossed a 68-yard touchdown pass to junior slot
Hunter Hogan (Ravenna, Mich./Ravenna HS) up the left sideline less than two minutes later. The point-after by junior
Sal Ruffino (Shelby Township, Mich./Eisenhower HS) gave Calvin a 14-0 lead.
Kalamazoo countered with a 24-yard field goal by Pawell Surowiec to make it 14-3 with two minutes left in the quarter.
Hogan struck again early in the second quarter, hauling in a 13-yard touchdown pass from Vaccaro in the left corner of the end zone. Vaccaro connected with junior
M'Khi Guy (Muskegon Heights, Mich./Muskegon HS) on a four-yard touchdown pass in the right flat for a 27-3 Calvin lead.
Kalamazoo countered with a seven-play, 71-yard touchdown march capped off by a two-yard touchdown run by quarterback Brayden Ledin to make it 27-9.
Calvin then marched 72 yards in 56 seconds for a final first half touchdown. Junior
Luke Michmerhuizen (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian HS) chewed up 41 of the 72 yards on the drive on pass receptions including the final two yards on a short touchdown flip from Vaccaro with just nine seconds left. Another Ruffino extra-point gave Calvin a 33-9 halftime lead.
The Knights scored on their opening drive of the third quarter, moving 60 yards on six plays with Klunder catching a 32-yard scoring strike from Vaccaro.
Junior
Tyler Porte (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) later caught a two-yard touchdown pass from Vaccaro in the back of the end zone. Guy then added his second touchdown grab, this one an eight-yard reception from Vaccaro, on the opening play of the fourth quarter to close out the scoring.
Vaccaro finished the game 27 of 34 passing for 334 yards and eight touchdowns. He also rushed for 70 yards on 11 carries. Hogan had six receptions for 111 yards and a pair of touchdowns while adding 31 rushing yards and 18 yards on punt returns. Michmerhuizen had six catches, 86 yards and a touchdown. Klunder had three catches for 39 yards and two scores while Guy had three catches for 23 yards and two touchdowns. Calvin had 15 receivers catch at least one pass. Sophomore
Beau Harris (Coopersville, Mich./Coopersville HS) came on in the fourth quarter and completed one pass for four yards.
Sophomore
Leighton Kolk (East Grand Rapids, Mich./East Grand Rapids HS) saw his most significant action of the season and rushed nine times for 65 yards including one run of 28 yards when a shoe-string tackle prevented him from a long touchdown run. Sophomore
Aiden O'Brien (Decatur, Mich./Lawton HS) ran a reverse for 26 yards and also caught a pass for 14 yards. Junior
Nick Earles (Greenville, Mich./Greenville HS) had five carries for 16 yards with junior
Hayden Slegers (Ontario, Ca./Ontario Christian HS) rushing four times for nine yards.
Freshman
Nolan Bloomquist (Portage, Mich./Portage Central HS) had a team-high eight tackles. Junior
Kaden McCullough (Allendale, Mich./Allendale HS), junior Carson Schurstein (Portage, Mich./Portage Central HS) and junior
Caiden Bolduc (Muskegon, Mich./Reeths-Puffer HS) had six tackles apiece. McCullough had two quarterback hurries. Bolduc had 1.5 tackles for loss. Freshman Breylon Horton (Muskegon, Mich./Mona Shores HS) and junior
Logan Minier (West Olive, Mich./Grand Haven HS) had four tackles each. Freshmen
Nye Turner II (Westland, Mich./Salem HS),
Jre Jackson (Harper Woods, Mich./Detroit Country Day HS) and
Keandre Johnson (Grand Rapids, Mich./Northview HS) all had sacks. Junior
Isiah Hill (Dowagiac, Mich./Dowagiac HS) and seniors C.J. Sheets (Longwood, Fla./Lake Mary HS) and
Matthew Zrimec (Grosse Pointe Park, Mich./Grosse Pointe South) also had one sack each.
Kalamazoo was led offensively by Ledin who was 11 of 21 passing for 77 yards while rushing for 31 yards and a touchdown. Aaron Zekman had four catches for 47 yards. Grant Anderson had 13 tackles for Kalamazoo with Drew Fortino collecting 10.
Calvin finished the game with 547 yards of total offense while holding Kalamazoo to 199 yards.
COACHES COMMENT: "To everyone who made Knight stadium possible, from the bottom of my heart, Thank You," said Calvin head coach
Trent Figg. "What an incredible venue to play a football game in. Really proud of our guys for the way they prepared all week long and then to come out and play the way we did today made for a very special day."
NEXT UP: Calvin will host Albion next Saturday at 1 p.m. at Knight Stadium.
