Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

One of the nation's top undergraduate
engineering, science, and mathematics colleges

updated 09/22/2009

Late Rally Falls Just Short as Engineers Fall at Greenville

Kyle Kovach led the Engineers in rushing and forced a Greenville fumble (photo courtesy Shirley Davis).

GREENVILLE, ILL. - Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology marched 67 yards in nine plays to score a potentially game tying touchdown with seven seconds left, but Greenville College senior J.J. Willis blocked the subsequent extra point and the Panthers topped the Engineers 19-18 on Saturday.

Greenville held a 19-12 lead with 1:43 left in the fourth quarter, when senior Kyle Stevens (Santa Cruz, Calif./Harbor) hauled in an interception and returned it to the Engineer 33-yard line, setting up a final chance for Rose-Hulman to knot the score.

Senior Derek Eitel (Marshall, Ill.) converted two fourth downs on the possession, rushing for five yards on fourth-and-three and completing a 14-yard pass to senior Thomas Reives (Indianapolis/Tech) on another fourth-and-three. The drive also featured a 17-yard pass from Eitel to freshman Kyle Kovach (Munster/Andrean), a 12-yard strike to senior Reed Eason (St. Louis, Mo./Parkway North) and two pass interference penalties to reach the redzone.

With seven seconds remaining, junior Adam Somerall (Birmingham, Ala.) hauled in a six-yard strike from Eitel to bring Rose-Hulman within 19-18. Willis blocked the extra point and Greenville recovered the subsequent onside kick to secure the victory.

Eitel battled through a 16-33 performance for 232 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions to lead the offensive effort. Junior Andrew Huddleston (Chesterton, Ind) and Eason led the receivers with five catches each for 73 and 63 yards. Reives added 67 yards on three receptions, highlighted by a 40-yard catch.

Kovach rushed for a team-high 37 yards on 14 carries, and senior Calvin Bueltel (Huntingburg, Ind/Southridge) added 36 yards on 11 carries on the day. Kovach also added a forced fumble of Greenville punter Jeremy Burrows and returned it 12 yards to set up a fourth-quarter field goal.

The Rose-Hulman defense held Greenville to 195 yards total offense in the contest. Anthony Ambers led the Panthers with 69 rushing yards, Ketrone Blanks rushed for 57 yards and one score, and Zach Freidrich hauled in five catches for 43 yards and another touchdown.

Junior Scott Eaton (Fishers, Ind/Hamilton Southeastern) paced Rose-Hulman with 12 tackles, including six solo efforts. Junior Austin Davis (Franklin, Ind) contributed eight stops (five solo), with Stevens adding seven tackles, the interception and one forced fumble. Junior J.D. Hill (New Palestine, Ind) also recovered a fumble on the day.

Rose-Hulman jumped out to a 2-0 lead after Greenville’s first possession. The Panthers were stopped by the Engineers on three plays, and a fourth-down punt snap from the 34-yard line sailed over the lead of the punter and was kicked through the endzone for a safety.

Greenville took advantage of an Engineer fumble to claim a 7-2 lead midway through the first quarter. Mark Mitchell capped the short drive with a 12-yard run with 8:42 left in the stanza.

Rose-Hulman responded immediately with an 11-play, 73-yard drive to reclaim a 9-7 lead. Eitel connected with Huddleston on a 23-yard pass and Bueltel scampered 21 yards to put the Engineers in position for the score. Eitel hit Eason with a nine-yard scoring pass to give Rose-Hulman its second lead of the day.

Later, Greenville stopped three Engineer first half drives inside the Panther 30-yard line by forcing two turnovers and stopping Rose-Hulman on downs once. The Panthers claimed a 13-9 lead at the break with a scoring march of their own. Ketrone Blanks capped the 75-yard, 10-play march with a 16-yard run on fourth down to give Greenville the lead.

The score remained the same until the fourth quarter, when Joel Lira connected with Friedrich on a seven-yard touchdown pass to cap a 67-yard, 14-play scoring drive and give Greenville a 19-9 lead with 13:26 left.

Rose-Hulman took advantage of the Kovach forced fumble on special teams as junior Nick Schneider (Naperville, Ill.) improved to 4-4 on the season on field goals with a 40-yard boot that brought the Engineers within 19-12.

The teams exchanged possessions until the Stevens intercepted put Rose-Hulman in position for the final rally.

Greenville improved to 2-1 on the season, while Rose-Hulman dropped to 2-1. The Fightin' Engineers open the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference season with the annual Homecoming game against Mount St. Joseph next weekend.