The Hope College football team struggled to establish its running game in the early stages of Saturday's Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association opener at Adrian College.
The Flying Dutchmen managed just four yards on the ground in the first quarter and 68 yards for the first half.
Hope stayed committed to the run, and it paid off in a big way in the second half as the Flying Dutchmen came from behind to beat the Bulldogs, 30-21, at Docking Stadium.
The Flying Dutchmen improved to 4-1 on the season and avenged an MIAA-opening loss to Adrian at Ray and Sue Smith Stadium a year ago. The Bulldogs slipped to 1-4.
"We won a hard-fought one. We might not have won this game last year when we had our little stretch," Hope coach Peter Stuursma said. "I'm proud of the resilience of our team. We hung on."
Hope trailed 21-17 late in the third quarter when it put together a classic smash-mouth drive, moving 69 yards in 11 plays, all of them on the ground.
The carries were nearly evenly distributed between junior running back Chance Strickland (four carries) of Mason, Michigan (Mason), freshman quarterback Zach Trainor (four carries) of Milford, Michigan (Walled Lake Western) and senior running back Elijah Smith (three carries) of Hastings, Michigan (Hastings).
Strickland powered his way into the end zone from five yards out for his second touchdown of the game with 12:45 remaining. The extra point failed, but the Flying Dutchmen led 23-21.
Hope had a chance to add to its lead on its next possession, driving from its own 1-yard-line into the red zone. But an interception and return gave Adrian the ball at its 45 with five minutes remaining..
The Bulldogs moved the ball into Hope territory but fumbled in the red zone. Junior free safety Sam Cochran of Zeeland, Michigan (Zeeland East) recovered the fumble at the Hope 19-yard-line.
"We were moving the ball very well on the ground, but we had a turnover we didn't need," Stuursma said. "When they got the ball, we had a big 15-yard penalty. Then they had a couple of big runs. But when they put it on the turf we were right there and just slammed the door shut."
Hope made Adrian pay for the fumble. On third-and-3 from the Hope 26, Smith broke free for a season-long 69-yard run to the Bulldogs' 5-yard-line.
"They loaded the box (to stop the run). We ran a counter play that just hit. We had a great block from (senior offensive tackle) Alex Weber (of Lake Orion, Michigan - Orchard Lake St. Mary's Prep)," Stuursma said. "We got to the next level, and Elijah did the rest. As the game was going, we kept wearing them down. Our offensive line took over."
On the next play, Strickland hit paydirt again on a 5-yard touchdown run, his third of the game and 10th of the season, tops among all MIAA players. Sophomore placekicker Chase Balkon of Byron Center, Michigan (Byron Center) kicked the critical extra point to give Hope a two-score lead at 30-21 with two minutes exactly remaining.
The Flying Dutchmen defense took care of the rest, sacking Adrian quarterback Mark Lopez twice on the final series, including a fourth-down sack by fifth-year senior Brady Howe of Zeeland, Michigan (Holland Christian).
Hope finished the game with 288 yards rushing on 47 attempts, including 220 yards on 29 carries in the second half.
Smith led the ground attack with 134 yards on 13 carries, including 120 in the second half, for the sixth 100-yard rushing performance of his career.
Strickland added 78 yards on 13 carries and the three touchdowns, while Trainor contributed 78 yards on 18 carries, many of those on designed runs.
"Chance and Elijah are both playing at high levels right now. They're a tough combination," Stuursma said. "Chance is more of a power back and Elijah is a slasher. They kept moving the chains for us."
After Adrian opened the scoring on the first of Lopez's three touchdown passes, Hope tied the game on a 13-yard touchdown by Strickland with less than five minutes left in the first half. The Bulldogs came back with another touchdown pass, but Hope got a 26-yard field goal by Balkon just before halftime and trailed only 14-10.
Hope took its first lead in the third quarter when Trainor connected with senior wide receiver Grant Holtzer of Okemos, Michigan (Okemos) on a 57-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown to put the Flying Dutchmen in front 17-14.
Adrian later capitalized on a Hope fumble to regain the lead on Lopez's third TD pass, 13 yards to Khris Crumsey.
The Flying Dutchmen finished the game with 499 yards of total offense to 324 for Adrian. Hope was 12 of 17 on third-down conversions. Trainor completed 16 of 28 passes for 211 yards to complement Hope's ground game.
On defense, junior linebacker Luke Palmer of Fort Wayne, Indiana (Homestead) led the Dutchmen with eight tackles.
Junior linebacker Cole Luhmann of Rochester, Michigan (Stoney Creek) added seven stops, including two tackles for loss and a sack on Adrian's final drive.
Junior defensive tackle Oatis Ackermann of East Grand Rapids, Michigan (East Grand Rapids) also had seven tackles.
Hope returns home for an MIAA contest against unbeaten Albion College (5-0) on Saturday, Oct. 7, at Ray and Sue Smith Stadium. Kickoff is 1 p.m.