Football team improves to 7-0 with 55-21 win at Kalamazoo

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Olivet College football team improved to 7-0 on the season with a convincing 55-21 victory over Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) rival Kalamazoo College today at Angell Field in Kalamazoo. The Comets now have a 7-0 record for only the second time in program history, with the last time being in 1901 when they finished the season with an 8-0 record.

The game did not start off well for Olivet, as junior quarterback Braden Black's pass was intercepted on the first play from scrimmage. The Hornets immediately capitalized with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Alex White to Elijah Hamilton-Wray on their first play.

The Comets then took advantage of a Kalamazoo turnover to score their first touchdown. On the 11th play of a drive, Black threw a nine-yard scoring strike to senior tight end Dominik Givens. Sophomore Gunnar Aper's PAT kick was good and the score was tied at 7-7 with 7:06 left in the first quarter.

Olivet seized a 14-7 lead with a scoring drive, which spanned the end of the first and start of the second quarter. Sophomore Jerome Washington capped the drive with an eight-yard touchdown run into the end zone.

Late in the first half, senior Matthew Zajac recovered a Hornet fumble on a muffed punt at the Kalamazoo 5-yard line. On the first play of the drive, Black scampered five yards into the end zone for a touchdown. Neither team put any more points on the scoreboard, so the Comets led 21-7 at halftime.

Kalamazoo cut its deficit in half with a touchdown on its first possession of the third quarter. Olivet answered with a touchdown on a 53-yard pass from Black to sophomore Travis Lankerd. Following a short punt, Black threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Kornelius Saxton to put the Comets up 35-14.

The Hornets had to punt one more time and pinned Olivet at its own 15-yard line. After picking up two yards on first down, Black tossed an 83-yard touchdown pass to Bailey. The pass play ties for the third-longest reception in school history. The Comets led 42-14 to start the fourth quarter.

Olivet scored a pair of rushing touchdowns in the final quarter. The first was from nine yards out by freshman Andre Houston and the second was from 14 yards out by sophomore Nolan Briggs. Kalamazoo scored a touchdown as the clock expired at the end of the game.

For the game, the Comets rolled up 603 yards of offense, the fifth-most in school history for a game. Black completed 12-of-19 passes for 255 yards and four touchdowns to go along with nine carries for 56 yards. Saxton hauled in three passes for 62 yards, while Bailey caught two passes for 92 yards. Washington topped the ground game with 24 carries for 154 yards. Houston had 17 rushes for 92 yards.

Senior Curtis French registered a team-high nine tackles to lead the defense. Junior Zechariah Jenkins finished with six tackles, including 2.5 for loss yardage.

The Hornets totaled 190 yards of offense – 79 on the ground and 111 through the air. White was 11-of-24 for 73 yards. He also had a team-high 10 carries for 31 yards. Hamilton-Wray caught six passes for 29 yards.

The Comets host Albion College next Saturday at 1 p.m. Olivet enters the game in sole possession of first-place in the MIAA standings after Albion lost to Trine (Ind.) University, 55-51.