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RICHMOND, IND. -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology rushed for 214 yards, led by a career-high 116 from junior Tim Schrock (Avon), to retain the Battle of the Borders broadsword for the seventh straight year in a 24-16 win over Earlham College on Saturday.

The Engineers gained 335 yards of total offense, with sophomore Derek Eitel (Marshall, Ill.) completing 12 of 25 passes for 121 yards and a touchdown for the balanced attack.  Senior Nate Richter (Zionsville) led the receiving corps with four receptions for 45 yards and one touchdown.

Senior Randy Kerns completed 19 of 35 passes for 227 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Earlham offense.  Senior Joe White hauled in six passes for 97 passes and one touchdown, with a long of 37, for the Quakers.

Defensively, junior Paul Spreen (Williams/Bedford North Lawrence) led the Engineers with seven tackles, two sacks and 3.5 tackles-for-loss.  Senior Bill Guiney (Centreville, Ohio) also had seven stops, while freshman Matt Behling (Columbus/North) added 2.5 tackles-for-loss and a pair of sacks among his three stops.

Nate Richter opened the 2007 scoring with a first quarter touchdown catch.

"Earlham battles and we can never seem to put them away.  We either jump to a big lead and they come back, or it's been a stalemate.  It's always a battle to the end, and I'm obviously happy with the win," said Rose-Hulman head coach Steve Englehart.

Rose-Hulman jumped out to a 7-0 lead on its first possession of the 2007 season.  The Engineers marched 41 yards in eight plays, with Eitel scampering nine yards on fourth-and-eight to keep the drive alive. 

The sophomore quarterback then hit Richter on a 14-yard scoring strike to give the Engineers the lead.

Earlham answered with a 16-play, 74-yard march to close within 7-3 late in the first quarter.  Alexander Cogbill hit a 24-yard field goal to cap the scoring march.

The Engineers increased their lead to 10-3 on the next possession.  Rose-Hulman marched 42 yards in 11 plays, before senior Jeremy Sharp (Warsaw) booted a 37-yard field goal to push the advantage to a touchdown.

Rose-Hulman's lead grew to 17-3 just two minutes later, after an interception by sophomore Drew Christy (Roachdale/South Putnam) placed the ball on the 22-yard line.  Two plays later, junior Bryan Wong (Warsaw/Tippecanoe Valley) sprinted 11 yards for a touchdown.

Earlham responded with a 13-play, 69-yard drive to move within 17-9 with 1:34 left in the opening half.  Kerns connected with Kyle Ripperger on a 15-yard scoring strike to cap the march.  Rose-Hulman senior Matt Gerths (Inver Grove, Minn.) blocked the extra point to keep the lead at eight.

The Engineers opened the scoring in the second half with a whopping 20-play scoring drive.  Rose-Hulman marched 86 yards in the series, with Eitel scoring from two yards out to make the score 24-9 and give the defensive unit a nearly nine-minute rest.

Alex Dimoff made this fourth quarter interception to thwart the late Earlham rally.

Earlham closed the scoring with a five-play, 87-yard march early in the fourth quarter.  Kerns connected with White on a 28-yard scoring strike with 12:00 left to make the score 24-16.

After Rose-Hulman was forced to punt, the Engineer defense forced a key interception that helped secure the win.  Senior Alex Dimoff (Stow, Ohio) made the pick in Earlham territory with 6:43 left.  The Engineers relied on two first downs to run the clock to 2:46, then turned the ball over on downs at the Earlham 31-yard line.

Rose-Hulman's defense made a critical stand to finish the victory.  The Engineers forced three consecutive incompletions to White as Earlham turned the ball over on downs.  Schrock then sprinted 22 yards on a key third-down run to milk the remaining seconds off the clock.

"I'm proud of the way we played.  We overcame adversity, the defense played very well again, and the offense was good at times today," said Englehart.

Rose-Hulman improved to 1-0 on the season, while Earlham drops to 0-1.  The Engineers travel to the College of Mount St. Joseph next Saturday night for the first Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference game of the season.