For the third consecutive week, the Hope College football team found themselves having to battle back from a double-digit deficit.
This time, the hill proved to be too much to climb for the Flying Dutchmen.
Hope pulled to within one score on three separate occasions Saturday afternoon, but could not complete the comeback as they fell to the Lions of Mount St. Joseph University, 33-28, at Schueler Field in suburban Cincinnati, Ohio.
The Flying Dutchmen fell to 2-1 with the loss in their first road game of the season, while MSJ, which is expected to contend for the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference championship, improved to 3-0.
Penalties, dropped passes and turnovers haunted Hope all day long. Hope was penalized 12 times for 115 yards and committed two turnovers - one of which cost the Dutchmen a scoring opportunity early in the game and another that led to a Mount St. Joseph touchdown that put Hope in a 13-0 hole late in the first quarter.
"You can't expect to win a game when you turn the ball over that many times and you have that many penalties," head coach Peter Stuursma said after the game. "We never led, and yet we had the ball, first down on the (MSJ) 12-yard-line, and we went backwards."
"Too many penalties, too many turnovers - that's on me, that's coaching, 100 percent. We were undisciplined. I tip my hat to them. They deserved to win."
Hope again showed tremendous grit in getting back in the game after falling behind by two touchdowns. The Flying Dutchmen got on the board in the second quarter, driving 72 yards in six plays, with junior running back Elijah Smith of Hastings, Michigan (Hastings HS) capping the drive with an 8-yard touchdown run. The extra point kick by senior placekicker Dylan Hillger of Holly, Michigan (Lake Fenton) cut the Lions' lead to 13-7.
After MSJ responded with a 12-yard touchdown pass, Hope stormed back down the field. A 40-yard pass completion from senior quarterback Chase Brown of Comstock Park, Michigan (Comstock Park) to senior wide receiver TJ McKenzie Jr. of Muskegon, Michigan (North Muskegon) put the ball in Lions' territory. Brown finished the drive with a 13-yard touchdown strike to junior wide receiver Terrell Harris of Whitehall, Michigan (Whitehall).with less than a minute remaining in the first half, and Hope only trailed 19-14 at halftime.
A long touchdown pass in the third quarter once again bumped the Mount St. Joseph lead into double digits. Once again, the Dutchmen responded as Brown hit senior wide receiver Ian Rampersad of Grand Rapids, Michigan (Forest Hills Northern) with a 22-yard touchdown pass, cutting the Lions' lead to 26-21.
Mount St. Joseph scored again early in the fourth quarter to increase the lead to 33-21. But Hope came back down the field again, needing just 64 seconds to drive 62 yards in three plays. McKenzie caught a bubble screen pass from Brown, picked up a key block down field, and dashed 41 yards. With 10:25 remaining, the Flying Dutchmen trailed 33-28.
The Lions drove into the red zone on their next drive, but then Hope got a break as a 30-yard field goal attempt was wide right. The Flying Dutchmen found themselves in a position to drive down the field and take the lead for the first time all day.
The drive started out promising, as Smith ripped off a 37-yard run to the MSJ 28. But on back-to-back plays, apparent Hope first downs were wiped out by penalties - first a holding penalty that nullified an 11-yard scramble by Brown, then an offensive pass interference call that wiped out a 24-yard completion to McKenzie. Hope was forced to punt with five minutes to go.
But the Flying Dutchmen would never get the ball back. The Lions picked up four first downs and ran out the clock to secure the victory.
"Our guys always battle. I'll never question our guys' heart. I'll never question the way they battle. But we can't make that many mistakes and expect to win," Stuursma said.
Hope finished with 455 yards of total offense - 292 through the air and 163 on the ground. Mount St. Joseph gained 491 yards in total offense, including 352 on the right arm of junior quarterback Josh Taylor, who threw for two touchdowns and ran for a third.
Brown led the Hope offense with 16 completions in 27 attempts for 292 yards and three touchdowns. He was intercepted once. Harris and Rampersad each had six catches, with Harris gaining 95 yards and Rampersad 91. McKenzie caught three passes for 94 yards.
Smith led the rushing attack for the Flying Dutchmen with 83 yards on 10 carries, while senior Kenyea Houston of Chicago, Illinois (Westinghouse Prep) added 71 yards on 15 carries.
Defensively, senior safety Adam Vander Kooy of Indianapolis, Indiana (Brebeuf Jesuit Prep) intercepted his fourth pass of the season to go along with seven tackles, and sophomore safety Tyler Stezowski of Holland, Michigan (Hamilton) recovered a fumble.
Three other Flying Dutchmen had seven tackles in the game - junior linebacker Mohamed Kamara of Kalamazoo, Michigan (Kalamazoo Central), senior linebacker Adam Gill of Grand Rapids, Michigan (Forest Hills Northern) and sophomore linebacker Andrew Debri of DeWitt, Michigan (DeWitt).
The Flying Dutchmen hit the road next Saturday for their final nonconference game as they face the University of Northwestern (Minnesota) in St. Paul, Minnesota. Kickoff is noon Central time.