October 5, 2002 - Kalamazoo College vs. Case Western Reserve University
KALAMAZOO, Mich. - Kalamazoo went toe-to-toe with Case Western Reserve's high-powered offense and emerged with a 47-44 win at Angell Field.
Case Western entered the contest ranked first in the nation in total offense with 569.0 yards per game. The Spartans' running back Brandon McDowell entered the week third in the nation in all-purpose yards with 234.0 yards per game, however McDowell did not play in today's game.
The scoring happened fast and often, with the first score coming just one minute and twenty seconds into the contest when Case Western's Eli Grant hooked up with Jason Cellura for a 10-yard touchdown. That three-play, 49-yard drive was set up by a 47-yard return by Dan Moore on the game's opening kickoff. The longest drive of the game consumed only four minutes and nine seconds, and only two of the 14 scoring drives took over four minutes.
Case Western led 14-7 after the first quarter. Each team scored 19 points in the second quarter, giving Case Western a 33-26 advantage at halftime. The Hornets outscored the Spartans 14-3 in the third quarter to lead 40-36 entering the final quarter, and 47-36 only a minute into the fourth. Case Western would score their final points with 6:43 left in the game to fall 47-44.
Besides the 91 total points, the two teams amassed 943 yards of total offense and ran a total of 148 plays in the game.
Kalamazoo had 504 yards of total offense (230 rushing, 312 passing). Case Western had 439 yards of total offense (82 rushing, 375 passing), 130 yards off its season average. Kalamazoo won the time of possession battle, 34 minutes to 26 minutes. Kalamazoo had five turnovers, four of which resulted in 24 Spartan points, while Case Western had three turnovers, two of which resulted in touchdowns for the Hornets.
Dwight White had a huge day on the ground for Kalamazoo, rushing for 170 yards on 26 carries with two touchdowns. His 170 yards is the third-highest single-game total in school history (271, Ed Lauermann vs. Kenyon, 1963), and only one yard away from the second-highest total. Matthew Jarboe ran nine times for 36 yards.
Bryan Gnyp was 22-of-31 passing for 312 yards with one interception. Gnyp threw four touchdown passes, tying his career-high and school single-game record also held by Gregg McDonald and Chris Berkimer.
Andy Graham had 10 catches for 129 yards with three touchdowns, and moved into the number six spot on the Hornets' all-time list for both career receptions (97) and career receiving yards (1,346).
T.J. Thayer had seven catches for 70 yards and a touchdown. Ben Farkas turned three catches into 102 yards.
Brian Baucher, Joe Meier, and Jeremy Vanisacker each had nine tackles for the Hornets. Meier had one sack and two tackles for loss. Dan Derksen forced a pair of fumbles, one which was recovered by Brett Foster and another which was recovered by Conor Lefere and returned 31 yards for a touchdown. Kyle Bainbridge blocked a punt and had two pass breakups, one of which was on a key fourth-down play late in the game. Mark LaCombe returned an interception 17 yards.
Case Western's Eli Grant completed 30-of-45 passes for 375 yards with five touchdowns and only one interception. He entered the game ranked eighth in the nation in passing efficiency (166.4) and improved on that number today despite the loss.
Grant hooked up with Jason Cellura 15 times in the game for 169 yards and four touchdowns. David Kallevig entered the week ranked fifth in the nation in receiving yards per game (138.3) and improved that number today with 11 catches for 185 yards and a touchdown.
The Spartans running game suffered without McDowell, finishing with 64 total yards and 2.5 yards per carry. Thomas Penoyar ran 14 times for 32 yards. Jason Cellura had four carries for 21 yards.
The Spartans' defensive back Joe Orlandini finished with a team-high 19 total tackles, including three for lost yardage and a sack. He also had an interception and forced a fumble. Devin Harris and Mike Collins had fumble returns of 53 and 40 yards, respectively.
Kalamazoo (3-1) travels to Hope College next Saturday for Hope's homecoming. That game has a 2:00 start. Case Western (2-2) returns home to host Maryville College, Tenn.
