TERRE HAUTE —
Jeff Sokol hasn’t been a college head coach for very long, so it’s probably safe to say that Saturday’s Rose-Hulman game was one of the tougher losses he’s ever endured — or ever hopes to endure.
“You score more touchdowns than the other team, you score more points … it’s heartbreaking,” the Engineers’ second-year mentor said after a 29-28 loss to visiting Kalamazoo in the season opener for both Division III teams.
Rose entered the final period trailing 29-15, but got freshman wide receiver Jacob Dye open for a 40-yard touchdown pass from Mitch Snyder just 16 seconds into the quarter. A successful extra point cut the lead to seven points.
After an exchange of three-and-out offensive series, the visiting Hornets marched into Rose-Hulman territory threatening to score the clinching touchdown, but a sack by Dean Griffin — he had 21⁄2 of those — stopped the drive. Gray Vreeland, a surprising weapon for Kalamazoo all evening, lofted a punt that died on the 8-yard line.
With less than eight minutes left in the game, the Engineers marched to what looked to be a tying touchdown. On the 11th play of the drive, Snyder lofted a ball into the end zone and Dye came down with it. The official standing nearest the play signaled touchdown, and the Engineers brought their kicking team onto the field.
Not so fast. After a discussion among the officials, the play was overruled, the six points taken off the scoreboard, and Rose faced a third-and-7. Two incomplete passes turned the ball over to Kalamazoo.
“I still haven’t received a good explanation,” Sokol said after the game when asked about that play. “The official at the front pylon saw a good catch … but then someone came in and said they saw [Dye’s] foot on the [out-of-bounds] line.
“I’ve never seen a team lined up for a PAT and had the referee take the touchdown off the board.”
The Engineers may have been discouraged, but they weren’t finished. They forced the Hornets to punt, using their final timeout to prevent Kalamazoo from running the clock on fourth down, and got the ball back at the 40-yard line with 2:29 left.
Rose-Hulman, you may remember, has an All-America running back named Kyle Kovach. The Hornets had certainly remembered, and for about 30 of Kovach’s carries Saturday night they’d bottled him up. And with the clock threatening to run, it seemed the last thing Rose would do would be to run its man up the middle.
On second-and-10, however, the Engineers did just that. Kovach barreled into a couple of potential tacklers, kept his feet churning, and was suddenly on his way to the end zone, a 60-yard scoring run to go with a 65-yard breakaway he’d had in the second quarter. One of the longtime observers in the Rose-Hulman pressbox surmised it was the best run in Rose-Hulman history.
The crowd was ecstatic, the band was playing loudly … and the Engineers messed up the extra point, a high snap leading to a bobbled hold and a desperation pass. After a mad scramble that failed to recover a nicely executed onside kickoff, the Engineers were unable to get the ball back.
Rose-Hulman had the lead three times in the first half, starting with a safety recorded on Kalamazoo’s second play from scrimmage. Lineman D.J. Lawson led the charge as running back Dimeko Price was smothered in the end zone.
That play may have been quarterback Aaron McGuire’s only bad decision on a read-option play, however — had the quarterback kept the ball, he might have gone 97 yards to the end zone — and McGuire soon proved difficult for the Engineers to contain (246 yards passing, 111 rushing despite 35 yards lost in sacks).
Kalamazoo took its first lead after turnovers on consecutive plays gave the Hornets the ball at the Rose 6-yard line later in the first quarter. Rose countered with a 70-yard scoring drive, Snyder completing a fourth-down touchdown pass to Dye, but the Engineers missed this extra point on a kick pulled wide left and the score was 8-7.
Kalamazoo went back on top 14-8 early in the second quarter, McGuire capping a 73-yard drive with a 23-yard fourth-down run — untouched — through the Rose defense. Later in the quarter, however, Kovach broke free for his 65-yard score and a 15-14 advantage for the home team.
The visitors failed to pad their lead on their next drive, missing a 19-yard field goal after having second-and-goal at the 2-yard line. But McGuire scored on a 27-yard run with 54 seconds left in the first half and then on a 1-yard run in the third quarter, a 40-yard drive set up by an Engineer fumble.
“It wasn’t the officials’ fault [that we lost],” Sokol said afterward. “We played less than our best football in the first half.”
Kovach, despite the defensive concentration, still rushed for 223 yards on 34 carries while adding six pass receptions and four punt returns.
“We figured we could keep taking our shots [with Kovach] and eventually he’d pop one,” Sokol said later. “We tried to take advantage of our freshman receiver [Dye, a two-time all-stater at Tipton, had four catches for 73 yards plus the touchdown that was taken away] and get big plays out of Kyle.”
A down side, he added, was special teams performances.
“We gave up a first down [on an 13-yard fourth-and-10 run by the 240-pound Vreeland] and we missed two extra points that really hurt us,” the coach said. “We need to improve [special teams] all across the board.”
Next game for Rose is at Danville, Ky., against former Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference rival Centre.
“Centre won a playoff game last year, and it’s a long trip,” Sokol said. “But our kids are hungry and pissed off right now, and we’ll try to take advantage of that.”
Rose-Hulman
Rose-Hulman comes up a point short in football season opener
- Rose-Hulman
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Rose-Hulman swimmers flying to nationals
Rose-Hulman swimmers John Craig Huster and Orion Martin have qualified for the Division III national meet in the 100 butterfly
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Despite four NCAA Division III titles, Rose-Hulman’s Liz Evans remains as driven as ever
Even though Rose-Hulman senior Liz Evans has won four NCAA Division III titles in the women’s high jump, getting motivated is still easy for her.
Ultra-competitive athletes find ways. -
Balsbaugh’s late-season scoring giving Rose-Hulman a lift
If someone were to predict before last weekend that Rose-Hulman would capture its second straight Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference championship in men’s basketball and that senior Brenton Balsbaugh would be named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, fans probably would believe the first statement but consider the second as wishful thinking.
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Rose-Hulman baseball team kicking off season in Florida
Jeff Jenkins is serious about his baseball.
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Rose-Hulman men clinch conference title
Rose-Hulman will host the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference men’s basketball tournament and claimed the league’s regular-season title with a 59-57 win at Hanover College on Saturday.
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No. 23 Rose-Hulman takes down No. 22 Transylvania on the road
No. 23 ranked Rose-Hulman claimed a two-game lead in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference men’s basketball standings with a 54-49 victory at No. 22 Transylvania University on Saturday.
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Rose-Hulman 18-2 after pulling away from Anderson
Rose-Hulman opened the second half on a 20-3 run to pull away and earn a convincing 71-40 men’s basketball victory at Anderson University on Wednesday night.
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Freshman paces Engineer women to HCAC win
The Rose-Hulman women’s basketball team improved to 10-10 for the season and 6-7 in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference play with a 52-44 win over Anderson on Wednesday in Hulbert Arena.
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Rose men top Franklin
Rose-Hulman improved to 14-2 overall and kept its Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference lead at 8-1 with a 58-42 men's basketball victory at Franklin College on Wednesday night.
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Rose men run winning steak to 11 games
Anderson arrived in Terre Haute with a 7-6 record and a scoring average of 76.5 points per game.
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Anderson holds off rally by Rose women
Rose-Hulman rallied from an 11-point deficit to close within three points late, but Anderson University held on to earn a 64-57 victory in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference women’s basketball Wednesday night inside O.C. Lewis Gymnasium.
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Rose-Hulman men ranked 26th in Division III
Rose-Hulman’s men’s basketball team is ranked 26th nationally in the d3hoops.com national weekly poll released on Thursday.
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Gerken hits game-winner to put Rose-Hulman at 9-1 on season
Making the game-winning shot, with what turned out to be seven-tenths of a second to go, was probably the easy part for Jon Gerken on Saturday afternoon in Hulbert Arena.
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Rose women struggle from field in loss to Hanover
In the Rose-Hulman women’s college basketball game, frigid shooting undermined good work the Engineers did in other aspects of the game against Hanover.
The Engineers came out on the wrong end, 55-43. -
Efficient Engineers stifle Millikin
The word that probably best describes the Rose-Hulman men’s basketball team is efficiency.
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Rose-Hulman women's basketball regains Clabber Girl Trophy
Rose-Hulman reclaimed the Clabber Girl Trophy for the first time since 2009 with an 80-74 women’s basketball victory over Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College on Tuesday night in Hulbert Arena.
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Balanced Rose tops Fontbonne
Senior forward Nate Gissentanner came off the bench to deliver 14 points for balanced Rose-Hulman in a 72-54 men’s basketball victory over Fontbonne University on Wednesday night in Hulbert Arena.
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Rose-Hulman men's basketball preview: Engineers looking to follow up last year’s success
It’s pretty safe to say that expectations for the Rose-Hulman men’s basketball team have not been this high since the late 1990s when the Engineers reached the NCAA Division III tournament three times within a four-year period.
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Rose-Hulman women's basketball preview: Engineers continuing to improve
The Rose-Hulman women’s basketball team didn’t dominate many opponents last season when it ended up with records of 9-18 overall and 6-12 in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference.
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Earlham tragedy leads to Rose football cancellation
Little did Rose-Hulman’s football players and coaches know, their 42-8 home victory over Anderson University last Saturday turned out to be their final game of the season.
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This weekend's Rose-Hulman vs. Earlham football game canceled
Due to Friday's tragic events involving three Earlham College students, the football game between Earlham and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology has been canceled.
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Anderson squeaks past Rose-Hulman
Anderson University scored in the 11th minute and held off a Rose-Hulman charge to earn a 1-0 men's soccer victory in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference semifinal match on Wednesday night at the Engineer Intramural Field.
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Rose swimmers near top because of vets, youth
Rose-Hulman swimming depth is at an all-time high, putting the Engineers at No. 15 in the NCAA Division III national rankings.
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A bigger taste?
On the night of Oct. 14, Rose-Hulman basketball fans were treated to something described by a couple of men’s players as “spectacular” and “epic” when they all jammed into Hulbert Arena for the insititute’s first “Midnight Madness” to tip off a season.
The memorable site wasn’t a 360-degree dunk or a no-look, behind-the-back pass.
It was Rose men’s coach Jim Shaw performing the “Bernie Dance,” based on the deceased character from the 1989 movie “Weekend At Bernie’s.”
“For a second, I thought he was having a seizure,” senior starting guard Austin Weatherford said with a straight face later. -
Rose women picked for 6th
The Rose-Hulman women’s basketball team has been picked to finish sixth in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference this season, according to a preseason poll of league coaches released Tuesday.
Hanover and Franklin were selected for first and second respectively, with just two poll points separating the two squads. -
Rose-Hulman no match for Franklin
Franklin showcased its No. 23 NCAA Division III ranking from d3football.com in a 56-0 victory over Rose-Hulman in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference football Saturday.
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Rose blanks Woods 3-0 in women’s soccer
Rose-Hulman women’s soccer coach Amy Helliwell is riding a youth movement to what she hopes could produce a strong turnaround in this 2012 season.
It has so far.
Led by freshman Hayley Gilliam, a Zionsville native, the Engineers improved to 5-4-1 for the season with a dominant 3-0 victory against cross-county rival St. Mary-of-the-Woods College on Wednesday at Jim Rendel Field. -
METRO ROUNDUP: Engineers dominate HCAC honors
Rose-Hulman Institute student-athletes earned three Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Week awards, in results released by the league office on Monday.
West Vigo graduate John Burt was named HCAC Defensive Player of the Week and Eric Schaible the Special Teams Player of the Week in football, and B.J. Thompson earned Player of the Week honors in men’s soccer.
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Snyder throws for two early TDs in Rose-Hulman victory
Rose-Hulman scored 33 points in the middle two quarters and held off a Defiance rally to earn a 33-20 victory in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference football opener for both schools Saturday.
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Rose’s record setter
Kyle Kovach got off to a great start in Rose-Hulman’s football season opener Saturday night in what turned out to be a heartbreaking 29-28 home loss to Kalamazoo College at Cook Stadium.
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