Rose-Hulman Football Keeps Battle of the Borders Sword with 24-17 Win Over Earlham

Box Score

Photo Montage

Derek Eitel finished 13-23 for 134 yards in his first college game, including a 40-yard pass...

TERRE HAUTE, IND. -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology retained the Battle of the Borders Sword for the sixth consecutive year with a 24-17 victory over Earlham College in the football season opener for both teams on Saturday night.

Freshman quarterback Derek Eitel (Marshall, Ill.) directed the Engineer offense with 13 completions in 23 attempts for 134 yards with one touchdown.

Sophomore tailback Tim Schrock (Avon) rushed for a game-high 62 yards on 18 carries, while sophomore Bryan Wong (Warsaw/Tippecanoe Valley) added 52 yards in 15 attempts for Rose-Hulman.

Senior Justin Rummell led the Earlham offense with a 28-47 performance for 352 yards and two touchdowns, with Joe White leading the receivers with nine catches for 163 yards.

To junior Jared Moore for the game's second score.

However, the opportunistic Engineer defense was the game story, as Rose-Hulman forced four fumbles and snagged a game clinching interception.  Senior Tim Wilson (Crystal Lake, Ill./Prairie Ridge) led Rose-Hulman with nine tackles and added two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.

Other key contributors for the defense included junior Bill Guiney (Centerville, Ohio) with eight tackles, one sack, one fumble and one pass breakup; senior Adam Helmerich (Huntingburg/ Southridge) with seven tackles, one forced fumble and one sack; junior Austin Hastings (Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill) with six stops, two tackles-for-loss and one sack; junior Steve Hawkins (Casey, Ill./Casey-Westfield) with six tackles, two hurries and two breakups.

Defensive players grabbing turnovers included junior Alex Dimoff (Stow, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) with a fumble recovery and two pass breakups; junior Casey Boley (Nashville/Brown County) with a fumble recovery on the one-yard line to set up a touchdown; and senior Drew Lopshire (South Whitley/Whitko) with a game-clinching 41-yard interception return off a deflection by freshman cornerback Drew Christy (Fillmore/South Putnam).

The game was also historic for first-year head coach Steve Englehart, who at 29 is the second youngest NCAA football coach in the nation and earned the win in his first college game.

Rose-Hulman relied on a fumbled punt to score first and take a 7-0 lead in the second quarter.  Boley recovered the muff at the one-yard line and Schrock scored on the next play to give the Engineers the lead.

Rose-Hulman ran a successful onside kick on the next play and, two plays later, Eitel connected with junior Jared Moore (Indianapolis/Perry Meridian) on a 40-yard scoring strike to make the score 14-0.

Austin Hastings (53) and Tim Wilson (51) led a gaggle of defensive players making an impact in the win.

Earlham closed within 14-7 at halftime on a 15-yard pass from Rummell to Chris Owens with 33 seconds left in the half.  The Engineers pushed the lead to 21-7 on their first possession of the second stanza when Wong scored from one-yard out to cap a 35-yard drive.

The Quakers added a 32-yard field goal by Max Crumley-Effinger to move within 21-10 late in the third quarter, before Engineer junior kicker Jeremy Sharp (Warsaw) boomed a career-long 39-yard field goal to make the score 24-10.

Earlham moved within a touchdown on a 32-yard scoring strike from Rummell to White with 7:08 left, but the Engineers secured the win when a pass near the endzone was deflected by Christy and into the hands of Lopshire to secure the win.

Rose-Hulman improved to 1-0 for the sixth straight season and hosts Mount St. Joseph next Saturday at 6 p.m. at Cook Stadium.

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