ADRIAN, Mich. – Old-fashioned grit propelled Calvin to a 17-12 victory over Adrian in front of 3,429 fans at Docking Stadium Saturday afternoon.
Senior quarterback
Thomas Vaccaro (Franklin, Tenn. Christ Presbyterian) tossed a pair of touchdown passes while the Calvin defense piled up four sacks and one interception to record the key conference win.
The Knights are now 5-0 on the season and 2-0 in the MIAA, heading into a conference bye week.
Vaccaro tossed a 10-yard touchdown pass to junior
Luke Michmerhuizen (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian HS) with 29 seconds left in the second quarter, boosting Calvin into a 10-6 halftime lead.
He then tossed a 37-yard scoring strike to junior
Hunter Hogan (Ravenna, Mich./Ravenna HS) in the closing seconds of the third quarter for a 17-6 Calvin advantage. The touchdown toss to Hogan bumped Vaccaro's season total to 21, setting a new Calvin single-season record, surpassing the previous mark of 20 set by Chase Bradman in 2024.
Vaccaro was sharp through the air and on the ground as he completed 23 of 37 passes for 211 yards without an interception while rushing for 70 yards on 11 carries to key the chains moving when the Knights needed it most.
Calvin opened the scoring on a 43-yard field goal by junior
Sal Ruffino (Shelby Township, Mich. Eisenhower) late in the first quarter to take a 3-0 lead. The scoring drive began at the Calvin 13-yard line and covered 13 plays.
Adrian answered with a quick four-play drive, highlighted by a 58-yard touchdown pass from Adrian quarterback Jake Wright to All-American receiver Braiden Whitaker. The point-after was blocked by Calvin
Peter Markvluwer (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian HS) to keep the score 6-3.
Calvin began another lengthy drive midway through the second quarter, starting on its own five-yard line and moving all the way down to the Adrian two-yard line with under two minutes remaining. Despite a first and goal situation, the Knights came up empty on four tries, turning the ball over on downs.
Calvin's defense rose up to hold the Bulldogs to three yards and force a punt from the end zone. Adrian's Cooper Tracey boomed a 48-yard kick but Hogan was able to weave and dodge his way to a 28-yard return, setting the Knights up with a first down on the Adrian 25 with under a minute to play. Hogan then drew a pass interference penalty down the right sideline and moments later, Vaccaro found Michmerhuizen for a 10-yard score in the left corner of the end zone for a Calvin lead.
Adrian appeared poised to retake the lead in the third quarter as it marched from its 23-yard line down to the Calvin 10-yard line in the third quarter. An Adrian penalty backed the Bulldogs up to the 15 and on 4
th-and-4, junior
Carson Schnurstein (Portage, Mich./Portage Central HS) hurried Wright with a fierce pass rush that Wright into a sideline pass. Calvin junior defensive end
Isiah Hill (Dowagiac, Mich./Dowagiac HS) read the play and broke up the pass, turning the ball over on downs to the Knights.
Calvin cashed in on the opportunity, marching 87 yards in 11 plays capped off a by beautiful seam pass by Vaccaro that found Hogan streaking behind the Adrian defense for a touchdown. The point-after by Ruffino gave Calvin a 17-6 lead with just seconds left in the third quarter.
The Knights came close to sealing the game on a handful of occasions in the fourth quarter but were unable to put the Bulldogs away until late.
Adrian moved down to the Calvin 29-yard line early in the fourth quarter but a 45-yard field goal attempt by David Galligan sailed wide right. Calvin's subsequent drive stalled near midfield with the Knights using a quick kick by Vaccaro to give the ball back to Adrian with just over seven minutes left.
Calvin junior
Caden Kolanowski (Goodrich, Mich./Goodrich HS) then intercepted a Wright pass near midfield – his fourth pick of the season – but lost the ball in a pile of players as Adrian regained possession. Calvin's defense stood tall again however, using a sack by Markvluwer and a pass break-up by junior
Kaden McCullough (Allendale, Mich./Allendale HS) to turn the ball over on downs.
Calvin had a quick three-and-out and gave Adrian the ball back deep in its own end on a loose snap on a punt. Adrian used the opportunity to creep closer as Wright tossed a 19-yard touchdown to Whitaker with 39 seconds left. The two-point conversion try failed, setting up a final onsides-kick by the Bulldogs.
The Adrian on-sides attempt was fielded cleanly by Calvin junior
Hayden Slegers (Ontario, Ca../Ontario Christian HS) as the running back stepped into a bouncing kick and cleanly fielded the ball to seal the win for the Knights.
Michmerhuizen led Calvin's receivers with eight catches for 86 yards. Hogan had three catches for 42 yards with Slegers, junior
Drake Irwin (Rockford, Mich./Rockford HS) and junior
M'Khi Guy (Muskegon Heights, Mich./Muskegon HS) all coming up with three receptions apiece. Junior
Nick Earles (Greenville, Mich./Greenville HS) had two catches and junior
Jude Klunder (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) one.
McCullough and Schnurstein had nine tackles apiece. Freshman
Nolan Bloomquist (Portage, Mich./Portage Central HS) and junior
Caiden Bolduc (Muskegon, Mich./Muskegon Reeths-Puffer HS) had six tackles each with Bolduc posting one tackle for loss. Senior C.J. Sheets (Longwood, Fla. Lake Mary) had five tackles and a pass break-up. Sophomore
Brock Sperling (Palos Heights, Ill./Chicago Christian HS) had four tackles and a sack. Senior
Samuel Gallo (North Muskegon, Mich. North Muskegon) had three tackles and a sack while Markvluwer had three tackles and two sacks. Junior
Zaiden Chirco (Jenison, Mich./Jenison HS) had three tackles including one for loss. Sophomore
Reed Vogeler (Caledonia, Mich./Caledonia HS) also had three tackles.
Wright was 25 of 35 passing for 281 yards and two touchdowns for Adrian. Junior Trey Bruggeman had 52 yards rushing. Whitaker had a big game with 11 catches for 158 yards and two touchdowns. Riley Dunbar had eight catches for 60 yards for the Bulldogs. Maddox Woods led the Adrian defense with eight tackles including one for loss.
Adrian outgained Calvin 343-308 but the Knights had 21 first downs to the 19 of the Bulldogs. Calvin also outgained Adrian 97-62 on the ground.
COACHES COMMENT: "Great win for our team and our program," said Calvin head football coach
Trent Figg. "It took everyone on this sideline today to make this one happen. I'm incredibly proud of the effort that everyone gave today. We've got a few things we still need to clean up but we did an awful lot of good things today as well. Thanks to your incredible fan support today as well. Go Knights!"
NEXT UP: Calvin returns to action on October 17 when it hosts Kalamazoo at noon at Knight Stadium with the MIAA having a bye week across the league for October 10.
