Calvin University

ANGOLA, Ind. – The No. 22 Calvin University football team executed at a high level in gaining a 51-20 victory over Trine Saturday afternoon at Trine's Shive Field.

The victory sets up a historic first place showdown with rival Hope next Saturday at Knight Stadium. Both teams will enter with identical 8-0 overall records and 5-0 league marks.

Calvin entered Saturday's contest at Trine, locked in a three-way tie for the league lead with Calvin, Trine and Hope all holding 4-0 league records prior to kickoff.

From the opening moments of Saturday's triumph at Trine, Calvin showed high levels of energy and preparation for the task at hand.

Senior free safety Caden Kolanowski (Goodrich, Mich./Goodrich HS) provided the opening jolt,  stepping in front of an RJ West pass to intercept the ball and race 15 yards into the end zone for a pick-six. Junior Sal Ruffino (Shelby Twp., Mich./Eisenhower HS) booted the extra-point and the Knights had a stunning 7-0 lead less than two minutes into the contest. The interception was the fifth of the year for Kolanowski with the touchdown the first of his collegiate career.

Trine (6-2 overall) responded with a six-play, 75-yard drive capped off by a 20-yard touchdown run by West. The point-after failed, leaving Calvin up 7-6.

The Knights then began to tighten the screws on their attack.

Junior Hunter Hogan (Ravenna, Mich./Ravenna HS) snared a three-yard touchdown pass from senior Thomas Vaccaro (Franklin, Tenn./Christ Presbyterian Academy) for a 14-6 Calvin lead.  The drive was set up by a third down sack of West by Calvin junior linebacker Kaden McCullough (Allendale, Mich./Allendale HS) on the preceding drive.

Calvin forced Trine into a 3-and-out on its next drive as freshman Sean Foley (Saginaw, Mich./Nouvel Catholic Central HS) came up with a third down pass break-up. On the ensuing Trine punt, Calvin's punt block team put on heavy pressure and came up with a punt block by freshman Brad Essenmacher (Fenton, Mich./Hartland HS). Essenmacher picked up the bouncing ball and returned it to the Trine six-yard line. Two plays later, Vaccaro plunged over from the one-yard line to help give the Knights a 21-6 first quarter lead.

Calvin opened the second quarter with an 85-yard drive keyed by a 42-yard pass from deep in Calvin territory from Vaccaro to junior Luke Michmerhuizen (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian HS). Vaccaro later connected on a four-yard touchdown pass to Hogan on the drive for a 28-6 lead.

Trine was forced to punt moments later after a third-down sack by junior Caiden Bolduc (Muskegon, Mich./Reeths-Puffer HS) threw West for an 18-yard loss. Calvin was unable to cash in on the next possession but got the ball back again after a sack by McCullough forced Trine into another punt.

This time the Knights made good on the chance as Vaccaro connected with a 36-yard touchdown pass to Hogan in the right corner of the end zone with Hogan wrestling the ball away from a defender in the end zone for the score. The point-after by Ruffino was good and Calvin led 35-6.

The Calvin scoring surge was not over in the first half however as the Knights moved 94 yards in 12 plays with Vaccaro closing out the drive with a 27-yard scoring strike to junior Aiden O'Brien (Decatur, Mich./Lawton HS). The touchdown by O'Brien and the point-after by Ruffino gave the Knights a 42-6 lead they carried into halftime.

Calvin cruised in the second half with Vaccaro adding another touchdown run – this time from 2-yards out while Ruffino connected on a 22-yard fourth-quarter field goal.

West added a third-quarter touchdown pass to wide-out Zach Pillow with Trine's Saleem Felder closing out the scoring with an eight-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter.

Calvin finished the game with 489 yards of total offense including 400 yards through the air. Trine entered the game ranked fourth in Division III in total offense, averaging 529.4 yards per-game but managed just 300 yards of offense Saturday afternoon. Trine finished with just 24 yards of rushing with the rest coming through its passing game.

Vaccaro was 23 of 34 passing for 370 yards and four touchdowns while rushing nine times for 14 yards and two touchdowns. He was sacked three times. Vaccaro now has 37 touchdown passes on the season with 2,542 passing yards. In addition, he has now rushed for five touchdowns.

Hogan caught 13 passes for 183 yards and three touchdowns, matching his own Calvin single-game record for receptions while setting a new Calvin single-game record for reception yardage. He now has 31 career touchdowns in 27 career games. 

Michmerhuizen had seven catches for 120 yards. Junior Hayden Slegers (Ontario, Ca./Ontario Christian HS) had three catches for 42 yards while rushing for 33 on seven carries.

Junior Drake Irwin (Rockford, Mich./Rockford HS) had two catches for 28 yards with O'Brien hauling in the one pass for 27 yards and a touchdown. O'Brien also tallied 38 yards on kickoff returns.

Junior Nick Earles (Greenville, Mich./Greenville HS) added 27 rushing yards on six carries with sophomore Leighton Kolk (East Grand Rapids, Mich./East Grand Rapids HS) picking up 15 on three carries.

Junior Carson Schnurstein (Portage, Mich./Portage Central HS) had nine tackles and one sack. His sack was one of six that Calvin had on the afternoon.

McCullough had five tackles and a career-high three sacks. Bolduc had five tackles and a sack with junior Jaden Lewis (Spring, TX/Legacy School of Sports Science) contributing two tackles and a sack. Foley had a career-high five tackles along with a pass break-up. Senior Peter Markvluwer (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian HS) was part of a strong Calvin defensive front, recording five tackles and two quarterback hurries.

Sophomore defensive back Amari Powell (Holland, Mich./Holland HS) had four tackles and acrobatic interception along the sideline during the opening stages of the third quarter. Freshman Nolan Bloomquist (Portage, Mich./Portage Central HS), sophomore Brock Sperling (Palos Heights, Ill./Chicago Christian HS) and sophomore Bryson Newell (Paw Paw, Mich./Paw Paw HS) all had four tackles each.

Junior Logan Nap (Lawton, Mich./Lawton HS) had a strong day punting, booming three punts for an average of 50.3 yards-per-punt including a punt of 67 yards. Ruffino was 6 of 7 on PAT's and converted his lone field goal attempt. Junior Evan Raymond (Coopersville, Mich./Coopersville HS) had nine kickoffs including a pair for touchbacks. He had several kicks that pinned the Thunder inside their 25-yard line.

Trine was led offensively by West who was 21 of 41 passing for 251 yards and a touchdown. He threw two interceptions and was sacked five times. Raymond Scott-Harbolt was the top receiver with four catches for 86 yards. Felder had 34 yards of rushing. Tristan Wilson and Ridge Howard had seven tackles apiece for the Trine defense.

COACHES COMMENT: "Probably our most complete performance of the season," said Calvin head football coach Trent Figg. "I thought we executed in all three phases of the game. We emphasized execution all week and our guys took that to heart. Incredibly proud of this group. Obviously, a huge game next Saturday and one that everyone is looking forward to. A special thank you to Knight Nation for its support today and throughout the season. We will need that same support throughout next week as we build to next Saturday."

NEXT UP: Calvin will host rival Hope at 1 p.m. at Knight Stadium with first place in the MIAA on the line.