Hanover vs. Rose-Hulman, Oct. 11
Rose-Hulman outlasts Panthers in Homecoming tilt
The Hanover College football squad piled up a season-best 446 yards of offense and 33 first downs, but could not get past the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. The Engineers defeated the Panthers, 44-33, in Hanover's 81st annual Homecoming game, Saturday, Oct. 11, at L.S. Ayres Field.
Freshman quarterback Nick Sharp (Indianapolis, Ind.), making his second collegiate start, completed 41-of-61 passes for 404 yards and four touchdowns to help spark Hanover in its best offensive showing of the season. Sharp did not throw an interception and was sacked just once in the outing.
Senior wide receiver Tyler Thiems (Indianapolis, Ind.) matched his school single-game record with 18 catches and finished the day with 140 receiving yards, including a 15-yard touchdown.
Rose-Hulman, off to its best start in more than 10 years, improved to 5-1 overall and 3-0 in the Heartland Conference with the victory. The Engineers collected 442 yards of offense, including 276 yards on the ground.
Thiems' touchdown reception gave Hanover a 7-3 lead with just 35 seconds left in the opening period. Rose-Hulman countered with two touchdowns in the second period and grabbed a 16-7 lead at the intermission.
Sharp connected with senior tight end Bobby Smart (Coral Springs, Fla.) on a 28-yard touchdown strike to pull the Panthers within 16-14 midway through the third period. Rose-Hulman, again, answered with two short scoring drives to ease ahead 30-14 after 45 minutes of action.
Freshman running back Jeremy Cook (Batesville, Ind.) found paydirt with 10:52 left in the game on five-yard lob from Sharp. The touchdown, Cook's second of the season, pulled Hanover (0-4; 0-2 HCAC) within 30-20.
Rose-Hulman running back Calvin Bueltel, who had 167 rushing yards and three touchdowns in the game, scored on a 34-yard dash to push the Engineers ahead 37-20 with six minutes left.
Both teams scored within an eight-second span late in the game. Sharp capped a nine-play, 70-yard drive with a two-yard plunge to pull Hanover within 37-26 with 3:48 remaining in the game. After recovering an onside-kick, Rose-Hulman countered with a 40-yard scamper by Tim Schrock on its first play from scrimmage to jump ahead 44-26 with 3:40 to go.
Smart hauled in an eight-yard pass from Sharp with 2:37 remaining for the game's final margin.
Sophomore linebacker Michael Spillmann (Franklin, Ind.) led Hanover's defensive unit with 13 tackles. Junior defensive back Corry Stewart (Nashville, Tenn.) added 10 stops and returned his first collegiate interception 32 yards to set up Cook's fourth-quarter touchdown.
The outing marked the 11th time that Hanover and Rose-Hulman have tangled in the Panthers' Homecoming game. Hanover, now 49-32 in Homecoming games on campus, had won eight of the previous 10 meetings.
Hanover vs. Rose-Hulman stats
