October 7, 2000 - Kalamazoo College at Colorado College

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The Kalamazoo College defense withstood a last-minute drive as the Hornets defeated Colorado College 23-19 today.

Colorado regained possession at their own 12-yardline with 56 seconds left in the game. The Tigers marched down the field and stood at the Hornets' two-yardline with three seconds left in the game. Colorado quarterback Chris Witt fired a pass into the end zone as receiver Craig Wirt cut across the middle from the right side. Kalamazoo defensive back Mark LaCombe reached out from behind and knocked the ball away as time expired and the Hornets escaped with the victory.

Kalamazoo led 10-0 at halftime. Dwight White scored on a three-yard run with 7:13 left in the first quarter. Tom Hillemeier added a 30-yard field goal with nine seconds left in the half.

The second half was a see-saw battle as Colorado gained a 13-10 lead less than eight minutes into the half. Kalamazoo's first possession of the half resulted in a blocked punt in the end zone which Colorado recovered for the score. With 7:37 left in the third, Colorado quarterback Chris Witt ran 46 yards up the middle to give the Tigers the 13-10 lead.

Kalamazoo answered with 4:07 left in the third as Bryan Gnyp connected with Todd Wilson in the right corner of the end zone for an eight-yard touchdown.

Colorado countered and took a 19-17 lead with a 24-yard touchdown pass by Witt to Andy Cornell with 10:41 left in the fourth quarter. Five minutes later (5:40), Dwight White ran five yards for his second touchdown of the game. The Hornets two-point conversion attempt failed, leaving the Hornets with the four-point lead (23-19).

The last minute heroics by Colorado were squelched as LaCombe deflected the ball in the end zone to secure the victory for the Hornets.

Colorado had 336 yards of total offense to Kalamazoo's 309. The game was filled with penalties as Kalamazoo was called for 14 resulting in 208 yards lost. Colorado was flagged six times for 77 yards. Colorado held a five minute time-of-possession advantage (32-27).

Justin Gross rushed for a game-high 90 yards on 14 carries. Dwight White had 77 yards on 20 attempts with two touchdowns. Bryan Gnyp completed 14-of-25 passes for 118 yards with one touchdown and one interception. T.J. Thayer had 11 receptions for 98 yards.

Kalamazoo's defense was led by Brant Haverdink and Brad Zielaskowski, who each had 14 tackles. Haverdink had two tackles for loss totaling eight yards, a sack, and an interception. Zielaskowski had three tackles for loss of five yards. Brett Foster had nine tackles. Brad Wright had six tackles and a sack. Mark LaCombe had an interception return of 20 yards to go along with the critical pass break-up in the end zone.

Game Statistics