October 2, 2004 - Kalamazoo College vs. Hope College

KALAMAZOO - Kalamazoo lost its MIAA opener 29-16 to Hope College at Angell Field this afternoon. Kalamazoo trailed 17-0 at halftime.

The Hornets turned the ball over six times this afteroon, including four times in their final five possessions. The fifth possession the Hornets turned the ball over on downs.

Kalamazoo actually trailed 20-0 at one point, but sandwiched back-to-back touchdowns around a Hope field goal to make the score 23-14. Hope added a touchdown with 5:40 left in the game to make the score 29-14, but Kalamazoo's Nick Toboy recovered a fumbled snap on the extra point attempt and returned it to the end zone for a two-point PAT return leading to the final 29-16 score.

Kalamazoo's first touchdown was an 11-yard pass from Tim Kaselitz to Mike Benson with 6:04 left in the third quarter. The scoring play was set up by a 49-yard pass from Stan Peplinski to Jeff Green. The Hornets scored with 3:48 left in the third following Hope's field goal on a 90-yard kickoff return by Nick Toboy.

Hope scored its first touchdown on a 41-yard pass play from Joe Schwander to Jake Schrock. Schwander also connected with Joe Verschueren on a 28-yard touchdown pass, and with Kevin VandenBosch on a three-yard pass. Nate Barnett made three field goals on the afternoon.

Hope had 346 yards of total offense to Kalamazoo's 261. Hope had 128 yards rushing while holding Kalamazoo to 44 yards on the ground. The Hornets were 2-of-14 on third down conversions. Hope was 4-of-19.

Tim Kaselitz was 23-of-44 passing for 208 yards with one touchdown and four interceptions for Kalamazoo. He was sacked four times.

Mike Leifeld had seven catches for 73 yards. James Woodfork and Stan Peplinski each had five catches. Jeff Green had three catches for 75 yards.

Mike Benson rushed for 35 yards on 12 carries.

Kalamazoo's Jeremy Vanisacker had a huge day in his first full game back at linebacker. Vanisacker led the defense with 22 total tackles (18 solo) including five and a half for lost yardage and a fumble recovery. Nick Toboy and Chris Werme each had seven tackles. Pat Davis had three sacks.

Hope's Joe Schwander was 17-of-34 passing for 262 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. He was sacked six times.

Jake Schrock had five catches for 153 yards. Kevin VandenBosch had five catches for 27 yards. Verschueren had three catches for 38 yards.

David Booko led Hope with 44 yards on 11 carries. Paul Burgess had 39 yards on 12 carries.

Andy Snyder and Bryan Scheffers each had six tackles for Hope. Scheffers had three and a half sacks. Snyder had an interception return for 35 yards. Joe Diekevers had three interceptions.

Kalamazoo travels to Wisconsin Lutheran next Saturday, Oct. 9.

Game Statistics