KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The Kalamazoo College football team lost 26-12 to No. 20 Wheaton (Ill.) College at Angell Field on Saturday.
Kalamazoo College knew it had a challenge in facing Wheaton (Ill.) College, ranked No. 20 in the nation among NCAA Division III teams.
The Hornets kept the game very interesting, but two scores by the Thunder in the fourth quarter secured a 26-12 win over K.
On offense, Kalamazoo was able to move the ball at times, gaining 320 yards, averaging 4.1 yards per play. Senior quarterback Aaron McGuire (Vicksburg) completed 22 of 32 passes for 176 yards and two touchdowns. McGuire and senior running back Dan Grost (Ortonville Brandon) each gained 45 yards rushing.
The Hornets' defense was led by senior Connor Rzeznik (Walled Lake Central) with 15 total tackles, including a fumble recovery. Junior Dylan Zerki (Waterford St. Mary's) had 10 tackles and an interception. Sophomore B.J. Smith (Muskegon Orchard View) broke up two passes in the secondary.
Wheaton knew it was in a big battle right from the start as Kalamazoo College forced punts on the Thunder's first two possessions. The Hornets forced incomplete passes on a third down on the both drives.
Kalamazoo College drove to Wheaton's 28-yard line, but McGuire had a pass deflected and it was intercepted. The Thunder started from the29-yard line and drove 71 yards in 10 plays, using 3:48 to score and take a 7-0 lead. Jesse Geary rumbled over from the 1-yard line with 3:57 remaining in the first quarter.
After both teams traded punts, K went to work on Wheaton's 26-yard line with 47 seconds remaining in the first quarter. Using both his legs and arm, McGuire drove the Hornets 74 yards in 11 plays for a touchdown. Two key plays in the drive came when McGuire hit senior Cameron Shegos (Flint Kearsley) in the left flat for a 12-yard gain, and after a holding penalty put the Hornets back to the 48-yard line, the two hooked up for a 28-yard gain to the 24-yard line.
Three plays later, McGuire scrambled to his left, and just as he was about to be sacked, threw across his body to senior Alex Dietrich (Lawton) in the end zone for a 19-yard TD strike. However, the extra-point snap and hold was bad, but Kalamazoo had cut the deficit to one point, 7-6, with 12:46 left in the half.
The Hornets' defense had allowed some big plays, but it was stout when needed and that was shown on Wheaton's drive after Kalamazoo's touchdown. While the Thunder were able to drive to K's 9-yard line, the Hornets jumped on a bad handoff and Reznik recovered the loose ball on the 8-yard line with 7:13 left in the first half.
Kalamazoo College couldn't move the ball and Wheaton started a drive on its own 40. The Thunder drove to the 15 before quarterback Reece Butler took the snap, took three steps back and fell down for a sack. The 38-yard field goal by Sam Cote was good to make it a 10-6 Wheaton lead.
The Thunder increased their lead to 17-6 in the third quarter due to some nifty footwork and a few tough breaks for Kalamazoo. On third down from the Hornets' 25, Butler scrambled around to avoid a sack and threw a TD pass to Geary, but Wheaton was called for pass interference, moving the ball back to the 40.
On the next play, Butler evaded a huge rush of K defenders who almost caught the quarterback, but he threw to Luke Thorson, who broke a tackle and scored to make it 17-6 with 4:41 left in the third.
In the fourth quarter, a safety by Wheaton made it 19-6. The Thunder increased its lead to 26-6 with 7:48 left in the game.
Kalamazoo College had one more drive and it went 74 yards in eight plays, McGuire hitting Shegos over the middle for an 8-yard scoring pass for the game's final points.
The Hornets' next game is on the road against Wisconsin Lutheran on Saturday.
Story by Paul Morgan for Kalamazoo College