Hanover at Rose-Hulman, Oct. 10
Rose-Hulman upends Panthers with late touchdown
The Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology scored with 1:55 remaining to edge Hanover College's football squad, 41-38, in a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference tilt. The contest was played Saturday, Oct. 10, in Terre Haute, Ind.
Rose-Hulman's Tyler Thornton burst into the endzone from one yard out for the game-winning score.
The play was set up by a 64-yard pass from the Engineers' Derek Eitel to Thomas Reives. The pass play gave Rose-Hulman a first down at the Hanover 12-yard-line with three minutes left in the game.
Hanover, now 1-4 overall and 1-2 in the HCAC, had to rally from a 27-14 halftime deficit to have a shot at the league victory.
The Panthers scored on a 12-yard pass from sophomore quarterback C.J. Croft (Fort Campbell, Ky.) to receiver Daniel Passafiume (Louisville, Ky.) just three minutes into the second half to make the score 27-21.
Freshman kicker Pavel Polochanin (Indianapolis, Ind.) booted a 30-yard field goal to shave the margin to 27-24 with 2:43 left in the period.
Hanover grabbed the lead early in the fourth quarter. Croft tagged Passafiume with a four-yard touchdown pass to give the Panthers a 31-27 advantage with 13:37 to go.
Rose-Hulman, however, answered on the following kick. Kyle Kovach rambled 76 yards for a touchdown as the Engineers reclaimed the lead at 34-31 with 13:37 left in the game.
Hanover snatched the lead back just four minutes later. Croft capped an 11-play drive with a 28-yard touchdown strike to senior receiver Adam Miller (Franklin, Ind.) to push the Panthers ahead 38-34.
Sophomore linebacker Nick Faris (Franklin, Ind.) intercepted an Eitel pass on Rose-Hulman's next possession. The effort gave Hanover the ball at the Panthers' 34-yard-line.
Rose-Hulman's defense, however, forced Hanover to punt after limiting the Panthers to minus-one yard through three plays.
The Engineers started the game-winning drive at their own 24-yard-line with 3:25 on the clock.
Croft totaled 413 yards of total offense in the outing. He completed 28-of-54 passes for 287 yards with five touchdowns and an interception. He also rushed for a career-high 126 yards on 23 carries.
Passafiume, a sophomore, hauled in 12 of the balls for 116 yards and four touchdowns. Miller had nine catches for 93 yards and a score.
Rose-Hulman (3-3; 1-2 HCAC) had 357 yards of total offense. The Engineers racked up 187 rushing yards. Kovach and Kyle Thornton had two rushing touchdowns apiece for the squad.
Eitel completed 16-of-27 passes for 170 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.
Senior defensive back Corry Stewart (Nashville, Tenn.) also picked off a pass for Hanover.
Sophomore defensive back Rory Mannering (Walton, Ind.) led the Panthers' defense with 12 tackles. Senior linebacker Daniel Cornely (Palmetto Bay, Fla.) and freshman linebacker Neil Johnston (Owensboro, Ky.) added 10 stops each.
