Derek Eitel completed the second best passing season in school history (2,270 yards) with 332 vs. Manchester.

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TERRE HAUTE, IND. – Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology secured its best season since 1994 with a 31-28 victory over Manchester College on Saturday at Cook Stadium.

The Engineers finished 7-3 on the season and the Rose-Hulman senior class of 19 improved its record during each year of their playing career.  The 22 victories recorded by the Rose-Hulman senior class over the last four years are the most by a graduating group since 1990.

Sophomore Derek Eitel (Marshall, Ill.) led the Rose-Hulman offense with a 19-28 performance for 332 yards and two touchdowns.  Eitel's effort marked his third 300-yard passing game this season and moved him into second place on the single-season passing list with 2,270 yards in 2007.

Senior Thomas Reives (Indianapolis/Arsenal Tech) led the receiving corps with 148 yards on six catches, including a 74-yard touchdown catch.  Freshman Reed Eason (St. Louis, Mo./Parkway North) added seven catches for 92 yards from his tight end position.

Reed Eason had seven catches for 92 yards.

Caleb Grimes paced Manchester with 16 completions in 26 attempts for 192 yards and two scores.  Jared Yoder paced the Spartans with eight catches for 144 yards.

Defensively, senior Steve Hawkins (Casey, Ill.) led the Engineers with nine tackles.  Senior Austin Hastings (Santa Ana, Calif.) added seven stops, while senior Alex Dimoff (Stow, Ohio) added an interception.

Rose-Hulman jumped out to a 7-0 lead due to Dimoff's 28-yard interception return that placed the ball on the three-yard line.  Junior Bryan Wong (Warsaw/Tippecanoe Valley) scored from three yards out for the first score of the day.

Manchester relied on two quick scores to take a 13-7 advantage.  The Spartans marched 36 yards on six plays, before Brandon Wells scored from one yard out with 5:34 left in the first quarter.

Less than a minute later, Wes Atkins returned an Eitel interception 53 yards for a score.

Rose-Hulman regained the lead at 14-13 on its first drive of the second quarter.  The 68-yard, seven-play march ended with the second three-yard scoring run by Wong on the day.

Manchester earned a 21-14 lead late in the first half, when Grimes and Yoder connected on a nine-yard scoring strike.  The two-point play pushed the Spartans lead to eight.

The combination of Eitel and Eason struck from five yards out to tie the score at 21-21 with 19 seconds left in the first half.

In the second half, Rose-Hulman captured the lead for good on a picturesque 74-yard touchdown pass from Eitel to Reives.  Eitel's throw covered nearly 50 yards, then Reives outran the Spartan coverage to make the score 28-21 in favor of the Engineers with 3:59 left in the half.

Senior Jeremy Sharp (Warsaw) gave the Engineers a two-possession lead at 31-21 on a 30-yard field goal with 11:19 left in the fourth quarter. 

Manchester answered with a late rally to close within 31-28 on a Grimes to Michael Maciejewski seven-yard touchdown pass with 9:02 remaining.  After the Engineers were forced to punt, the Spartans marched 71 yards in 10 plays before Wells narrowly missed a 27-yard field goal with 2:26 left.

Rose-Hulman was able to run out the clock, courtesy of a stretched out five-yard third-down run by Eitel that narrowly earned a first down.

The Engineers recorded their best mark in a season since 1994, including their first winning conference record since 1995.  Manchester dropped to 3-6 overall and 1-5 in league play.