TERRE HAUTE — Facing third-and-goal at the Earlham College 1-yard line with the score tied in the final seconds, Rose-Hulman football coach Steve Englehart gave quarterback Derek Eitel the option to change the call from a handoff to a sneak if he thought the defense looked vulnerable to a sneak.
Lined up behind center, Eitel saw something he liked and made that change, diving in for what ended up being the winning touchdown in a wild, season-opening 42-35 victory Saturday night at Cook Stadium.
The triumph enabled the Engineers to keep the “Battle of the Borders” broadsword — presented to the winner of the annual Rose vs. Earlham game — for the eighth straight year.
A go-ahead field goal on third down would have been from extra-point range for Rose-Hulman freshman placekicker Nick Schneider, who finished 6 for 6 on extra points for the night, but Englehart felt confident in his team’s short-yardage running attack and decided to try for the touchdown.
“I never thought about kicking it on third down,” Englehart said. “For third down, we got it down to the 4-inch line. It was Eitel’s call. It was going to be a handoff. But I’ve always told him, if he can get it in on the sneak, get it in on the sneak.”
The Engineers put themselves in position for the TD when junior safety Kyle Stevens intercepted a long pass by Earlham quarterback Randy Kerns and returned it 26 yards to the visitors’ 8.
From there, Eitel ran for 2 yards and Tim Schrock ran for 5 yards to set up Eitel’s heroics.
A long bomb attempted by Earlham on the final play was knocked down to preserve the win for Rose.
The entire game was an offensive shootout that probably left both defensive coordinators shaking their heads afterward.
Rose-Hulman opened the scoring midway through the first quarter on a 20-yard TD pass from Eitel to Schrock to culminate a seven-play, 59-yard drive.
The Engineers increased their margin to 14-0 early in the second period when they ran a reverse that started with Eitel handing the ball off to running back Calvin Bueltel, who then handed it off to tight end Reed Eason, who was coming from the opposite direction. Eason then stopped behind the line of scrimmage and fired a perfect pass to wide receiver Nate Richter, who faked out a defender at the Earlham 15 on the right sideline and completed an entertaining 48-yard touchdown play.
“It seemed like the right time and the right place [for the trick play],” Englehart said. “We had worked on it a couple days in practice… We have a couple guys on offense who can throw the ball pretty well.”
Soon after Earlham cut its deficit to 14-7 on a 13-yard TD pass from Kerns to Kyle Ripperger midway through the second quarter, the home team padded its cushion to 21-7 on an 8-yard TD run by Eitel.
A 33-yard TD burst up the middle by Ben Marschand pulled the Quakers within 21-14 with 1:48 to go in the first half, but Bueltel took the ensuing kickoff and returned it 92 yards down the right sideline for a TD of his own to push Rose’s advantage to 28-14 for halftime.
Earlham tallied the only touchdown of the third period — a 36-yard connection between Kerns and Bryant Foreman.
The visitors opened the wild final period by tying the score at 28-28 on a 22-yard strike from Kerns to a diving Chris Owens in the back of the end zone.
Rose-Hulman gave its large contingent of fans a reason to breathe easier with 5:31 remaining. Eitel, who was getting hit as he dropped back, found a streaking Schrock at the Earlham 10 and Schrock sprinted the rest of the way to put the Engineers back on top 35-28.
But Earlham answered with a 45-yard Kerns-to-Ripperger hookup, which set up a score-tying 1-yard TD run by Marschand with 2:42 left.
Eitel and Kerns, who both played well for the most part, traded interceptions in the final minutes to set the stage for Eitel’s final TD sneak.
“It was exciting,” Englehart admitted. “It’s always good to be 1-0. It gives you confidence going into the rest of the season… We won this game tonight because we made a couple more big plays than Earlham. But as far as consistency, we’ve got to work on being more consistent on both sides of the ball.”
Englehart seemed particularly disappointed in Earlham’s 422 passing yards, which included 10 receptions for 176 yards by Ripperger.
“Earlham’s a passing team,” Englehart pointed out. “That’s what they like to do. We knew they were going to get some passing yards, but probably not that many. We did not get pressure on their quarterback. You can’t just let him sit back comfortable and throw the ball.”
Rose will hit the road next Saturday to play North Park.
Rose-Hulman 42, Earlham 35
Earlham College 0 14 7 14 — 35
Rose-Hulman 7 21 0 14 — 42
RH — Schrock 20 pass from Eitel (Schneider kick)
RH — Richter 48 pass from Eason (Schneider kick)
EC — Ripperger 13 pass from Kerns (Crumley-Effinger kick)2Q
RH — Eitel 8 run (Schneider kick)
EC — Marschand 33 run (Crumley-Effinger kick)
RH — Bueltel 92 kickoff return (Schneider kick)
EC — Foreman 36 pass from Kerns (Crumley-Effinger kick)
EC — Owens 22 pass from Kerns (Crumley-Effinger kick)
RH — Schrock 29 pass from Eitel (Schneider kick)
EC — Marschand 1 run (Crumley-Effinger kick)
RH — Eitel 1 run (Schneider kick)
EC RH
First downs 26 15
Rushes-yards 30-73 31-92
Comp-Att-Int 30-45-3 15-26-2
Passing yards 422 187
Penalties-yards 5-42 10-63
Fumbles-lost 4-1 1-0
Punts-Avg. 3-32.0 5-37.4
Individual statistics
Rushing — Earlham, Marschand 13-72, Foreman 5-11, Plummer 2-5, Owens 1-3, Kerns 6-(-3), team 3-(-15). Rose, Bueltel 9-27, Wong 7-22, Eitel 10-20, Thornton 3-16, Schrock 2-7.
Passing — Earlham, Kerns 30-44-3 422, Jenkins 0-1-0 0. Rose, Eitel 14-25-2 139, Eason 1-1-0 48.
Receiving — Earlham, Ripperger 10-176, Owens 7-59, Foreman 6-93, Marschand 5-60, Murphy 1-24, Metcalf 1-10. Rose, Eason 5-32, Schrock 4-75, Richter 3-61, Somerall 3-19.
Tackles leaders — Earlham, Randall 5-4-9, Metcalf 5-2-7, Painter 6-0-6, Clark 4-2-6, McCullough 3-3-6. Rose, Eaton 8-5-13, Stevens 8-3-11, Spreen 3-3-6.
College
Rose football wins opening shootout with Earlham
- College
-
-
Bubble intact: ISU headed to NCAA baseball tournament
Forty-eight teams had been chosen for the NCAA Baseball Tournament Selection Show and things were getting antsy in the Indiana State clubhouse on Monday.
-
Indiana State’s baseball fate to be decided today
At high noon today, the train arrives for the Indiana State baseball team.
-
ISU hurdler Swift becomes 5th Sycamore to make NCAAs
Indiana State sophomore Greggmar Swift became the second member of the men’s team and the fifth Sycamore overall to qualify for the 2012 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Finals at Drake University, placing second in the second heat of the 110 meter hurdle quarterfinals Saturday at the NCAA East Preliminary Round.
-
FROM THE PRESS BOX: ISU baseball has pluses, minuses for tourney bid
Last Thursday, when Indiana State’s baseball jumped around in a celebratory dogpile after clinching the Missouri Valley Conference regular season championship at Bob Warn Field, no one thought that a little over a week later, the dreaded NCAA Tournament bubble would fly over Terre Haute. -
Lou Watson, former IU player and coach, dies at 88
Former Indiana University player and coach Lou Watson died on Thursday in Fairfax, Va., the school announced. He was 88.
-
METRO ROUNDUP: ISU’s Pounds qualifies for NCAA Championships
Brandon Pounds of Indiana State missed the 2011 outdoor season with a hand injury but has made up for lost time, qualifying for the 2012 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Drake University with a fifth place finish in the men’s hammer throw at the NCAA East Preliminary Friday.
-
Rose’s Liz Evans wins fourth NCAA high jump title
Junior Liz Evans became the first Rose-Hulman athlete to earn four career NCAA Division III championships by winning the women’s high jump at Friday’s 2012 outdoor national meet at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.
-
Indiana State throwers advance to NCAA championships
A pair of Indiana State juniors punched their ticket to Des Moines, Iowa, on Thursday as Felisha Johnson finished fifth and Mary Theisen ninth in the women’s shot put at the 2012 NCAA East Preliminary track and field championships on the University of North Florida campus.
“Both were very focused and had great starts,” ISU women’s track coach Angela Martin said. “They did just what we wanted them to … be relaxed, have fun, and do what they have already done this season.” -
Blanked by Blach: ISU drops MVC tournament opener
Things went wrong for Indiana State’s baseball team in its Missouri Valley Conference Tournament opener against Creighton, but one statistic glowed white-hot.
-
MVP of the MVC: Lucas first Sycamore to earn Player of Year honors
Indiana State’s baseball team got the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season hardware last week and it’s hoping to grab more gold this week in its quest to win the Missouri Valley Conference baseball tournament.
-
Sycamores try to catch Missouri Valley Conference tourney vibe
A Missouri Valley Conference championship season has bloomed for the Indiana State baseball team in 2012. The Sycamores have been dominant through most of the season.
-
FROM THE PRESS BOX: Subtle switch has fostered MVC baseball parity
When Indiana State was crowned as the regular season baseball champion of the Missouri Valley Conference last Thursday, it marked the fifth different regular season champion the league has had since 2005.
-
ISU claims Missouri Valley Conference baseball title
Entering Thursday’s game against Indiana State, Missouri State starting pitcher Nick Petree had gone 72 1/3 innings without surrendering an earned run, an unofficial NCAA record.
-
ISU baseball in familiar territory with MVC title on line
First place is there is for the taking for Indiana State's baseball team this weekend … so is redemption.
-
A time for firsts: SMWC seniors have national title aspirations
Even though St. Mary-of-the-Woods College has won eight national titles in softball in the last 16 years, seniors Sara Goelz and Jessica Jonas are among the many current Woods players who have not been part of a national championship team.
-
Win over SIU puts Sycamores in first place
As Indiana State’s baseball team tried to climb to the top of the Missouri Valley Conference mountain on Saturday against Southern Illinois, it stood to reason that the air would get more rarefied as they neared the summit.
-
Major Clay takes fourth straight MVC high jump title
For the fourth straight year, Indiana State’s Major Clay will climb to the top spot on the awards podium as the Sycamore captured his fourth high jump championship at the 2012 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference outdoor Track & Field Championships on Saturday.
The competition was conducted at Cessna Stadium on the campus of Wichita State University. -
Edgewood takes Western Indiana Conference golf crown
Edgewood and senior Jackson Cowden took top honors in the Western Indiana Conference boys golf championship played Saturday at Idle Creek.
-
North grad wins 10,000 at Big Ten Championships
Terre Haute North alumnus Zach Mayhew ran a Dan McClimon track record at the University of Wisconsin to win the 10,000 meters at the Big Ten Championships.
-
Top-seeded Rose-Hulman falls in opener of HCAC Tournament
A couple of Rose-Hulman streaks came to an end Thursday night in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference baseball tournament action, but the home-team jinx looks to be still alive.
-
ISU's Ort getting hot at right time for Sycamores
Indiana State’s baseball game notes list game-by-game performance for each Sycamore batter. It lists them box score-style: at-bats, runs, hits and RBI.
-
Terre Haute native getting national attention as freshman for Kentucky
On a day where Terre Haute native A.J. Reed returned home to continue his college career, he got plenty of time to be on-stage.
-
Top seed, home field doesn’t guarantee Rose success
On the surface, serving as host for the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference baseball tournament would appear to benefit Rose-Hulman’s No. 1-seeded team, which finished the regular season 27-12 overall and 18-6 in the conference.
-
Metro roundup: ISU’s Lucas honored by Missouri Valley again
For the fifth time in the last nine weeks, Indiana State junior catcher Jeremy Lucas has been named the Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Week.
-
Sycamores top Shockers in 10 innings in MVC series opener
If free baseball is what you want, Indiana State has what you need. For the sixth time in the span of a month, ISU’s series opener went extra innings.
- METRO ROUNDUP: Rose baseball team takes first game of doubleheader
-
ISU starting pitchers in rhythm heading into Wichita State series
“Gettting into rhythm” is such an oft-used cliché in sports that it’s hard to hear the term and fight the urge to not let it enter one ear and escape another.
-
ISU goes to well too many times
Perhaps the most unnecessary pursuit for a Wabash Valley sports fan during the now-completed weekend was watching the first few innings of nonconference college baseball between Indiana State and visiting Nebraska-Omaha.
-
ISU baseball living on the edge
Indiana State’s baseball team got its game against Nebraska-Omaha in Saturday between morning and evening rain showers. But in the wake of another walk-off 3-2 victory against the struggling Mavericks, one might be forgiven if they felt the Sycamores are walking between the raindrops a bit.
-
PREP ROUNDUP: North Central baseball improves to 10-2
North Central lost a 7-1 game to Vincennes Rivet, and then Nolan Kinnett pitched the Thunderbirds to victory, adding a double and three RBIs against Riverton Parke in a pair of high school baseball games on Saturday.
- More College Headlines
-
Bubble intact: ISU headed to NCAA baseball tournament
Man Falls Off Crane, Dies After Police Standoff
Witness Describes Fla. Face-chewing Attack
Unexpected Smog in Pristine National Parks
Raw Video: Cop Shoots Man Eating Another's Face
Obama Honors Fallen Troops at Arlington Cemetery
Man in Crane at Texas College Says He's Armed
Dairy Farm Uses Chiropractor to Help Cows
Raw Video: Deadly Explosion at Minn. Paper Mill
Romney Campaigns Ahead of Claiming Nomination
Russia Condemns Ally Syria Over Massacre of 108
Romney Promises World's Strongest Military
Diplomatic Expulsions Follow Fresh Syria Report
15 Dead in Northern Italy's 5.8-magnitude Quake
Panetta: Asia the 'Project' for New Navy Grads
Raw Video: Earthquake Shakes Evacuees in Italy
Air Canada Plane Makes Emergency Landing
Obama Pays Tribute to Vietnam Veterans
Beryl Knocks Out Power in Florida
Raw Video: Memorial Day Aboard Intrepid
Angry Birds Spreading Their Wings
Los Angeles Bar Bans Bachelorettes
Hamster Plays Dead
Beyonce Shows Off 60 Pound Weight Loss at Concert
Drunk Women Breaking Into Houses: A New Trend?
LeAnn Rimes Rocks Short Shorts
Gordon Ramsay Carried Off Field
Man Dies Getting Lap Dance
Kim Kardashian Claims Items Stolen from Her Luggage
Bear cools off in Calif. family's pool
Ep. 3: Chopped Desserts
Air Force dad surprises family at baseball game
Justin Bieber Wanted for Questioning for L.A. Scuffle
J.Lo and Marc's Friendly Reunion
Jet makes emergency landing after debris falls off
Cynthia Nixon Ties the Knot
Woman, 80, Falls Out of Skydive Harness Mid-Jump
Keira Reveals Engagement Ring
