November 4, 2000 - Albion College at Kalamazoo College

KALAMAZOO - In a game filled with offense, the difference in total yards for each team was also the difference in the final score. Albion finished with 440 yards of total offense while Kalamazoo had 436, and Albion escaped with a 27-23 victory.

Albion struck first with a 79-yard touchdown completion from Travis Rundle to John Bennink with 7:16 left in the first quarter. What followed was a see-saw battle between two of the top kickers in the league. Tom Hillemeier put Kalamazoo on the board almost five minutes later with a 34-yard field goal. Albion's Keith Debbaudt put Albion back up by seven with a 30-yard field goal four minutes into the second quarter. Hillemeier countered with another 34-yard field goal just three minutes later. Debbaudt hit a 35-yard field goal with 38 seconds left in the half to put Albion up 13-6 going into halftime.

Kalamazoo tied the score at 13-13 with 7:15 left in the third quarter on a three-yard touchdown run by Dwight White which capped off an 82-yard scoring drive. Albion then drove 61-yards and scored on an eight-yard run by Bill Poirier to take a 20-13 lead with 3:17 left in the third.

Dwight White finished a 13-play drive that took six minutes and 22 seconds off the clock with a one-yard run with 11:55 left in the game, tying the score at 20-20. Kalamazoo took their first and only lead of the game with 7:06 left following a 29-yard field goal by Hillemeier.

Albion regained the lead, 27-23,  after a 10-play drive resulted in a two-yard scoring run by Tom Weinmann with 2:32 left in the game. Kalamazoo's ensuing drive failed and gave Albion the ball back with 2:01 on the clock. The Hornet defense forced Albion to punt and Kalamazoo had the ball at their own 20-yardline with 52 seconds left in the game. On second-and-ten quarterback Zach Ellis scrambled for 14 yards and fumbled. Albion recovered and took a knee to end the game.

Kalamazoo falls to 4-4 (2-2 MIAA) with the loss. Albion improves to 7-2 (3-1 MIAA).

Quarterback Zach Ellis had a career-day, completing 22-of-40 passes for 254 yards with one interception. He also rushed for 79 yards on eight carries. Albion's Travis Rundle was 13-of-23 for 211 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.

Justin Gross rushed for 45 yards on 10 carries and Dwight White had 41 yards on 17 carries with two touchdowns. Bill Poirier had 132 yards on 21 carries and one score. Dan Dreyer had 54 yards on nine carries.

T.J. Thayer led the Hornet receivers with 91 yards on eight catches. Andy Graham had 69 yards on six catches. Albion's John Bennink had 134 yards on five receptions including the 79-yard score.

Brant Haverdink led the Hornet defense with 15 total tackles. He now had 108 on the season, the second-highest single-season total in school history. Brent Klein had 12 stops including one for loss. Brad Wright had two tackles for loss and one quarterback sack. Conor Lefere had two interceptions.

Kalamazoo finishes the season at Adrian College next week with a 1 p.m. start.

Game Statistics