The Hope College football team jumped out to an early 14-0 lead Saturday afternoon and never let up in winning 54-17 over the University of Northwestern (Minnesota) Saturday afternoon at Ray and Sue Smith Stadium.
It was the Flying Dutchmen's third consecutive victory.
Hope, which opens Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association play on Saturday, Sept. 30, at Adrian College, improved to 3-1 on the season. The Eagles, defending champions of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference, slipped to 1-3.
"It was a great win, a great team win. We played a lot of guys. Our start was huge," Hope head coach Peter Stuursma said after the game.
After rallying from early 14-0 deficits in each of the last two weeks to defeat Loras (Iowa) College and nationally-ranked Mount St. Joseph (Ohio) University, the Flying Dutchmen made sure they started fast against Northwestern.
After a short Northwestern punt on the opening drive, Hope drove 50 yards in eight plays, with junior running back Chance Strickland of Mason, Michigan (Mason) pounding it in from 2 yards out for the touchdown. Junior placekicker Jac Chiarelli of Wilmette, Illinois (New Trier) kicked his first collegiate extra point for a 7-0 Hope lead.
Then a minute and 20 seconds later, freshman safety Brad Raredon of Hudsonville, Michigan (Hudsonville) picked off his first collegiate interception and returned it 55 yards for a touchdown, and Hope led 14-0 at the midway point of the first quarter.
"Brad caught it, and I think he was like, 'oh my gosh, what do I do with it now,'" Stuursma said. "Then he went back to being a receiver like he was in high school. Obviously he's a big, strong kid."
Freshman quarterback Zach Trainor of Milford, Michigan (Walled Lake Western) then went to work. Given plenty of protection by his offensive line, Trainor put together his best performance of the season. His 1-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter extended Hope's lead to 21-0.
Trainor then went to the air, throwing touchdown passes of 42 yards to senior wide receiver Terrell Harris of Whitehall, Michigan (Whitehall) and 51 yards to senior wide receiver Grant Holtzer of Okemos, Michigan (Okemos) as Hope built a 34-7 halftime lead.
Late in the third quarter, Trainor struck again, capping an 80-yard, 11-play drive with a 28-yard scoring strike to Holtzer as the Hope lead grew to 41-7.
"The more football he plays, the better he's going to be," Stuursma said of Trainor. "He's feeling more comfortable. I think the things that you see, the little intricacies of things like, we're in the red zone and he throws it out of bounds instead of giving (up) a sack. We did take a sack afterward and I talked to him and he knew right away, 'I should have thrown it away.' Those are the things, processing things, that are going to come in handy going into MIAA league play."
Trainor finished the game 13 of 21 through the air for 200 yards and three touchdowns. He did not throw an interception and was not sacked once. Trainor also added 38 rushing yards on seven carries.
Two other quarterbacks threw touchdown passes in the second half for the Flying Dutchmen.
Junior Ben Wellman of Bloomington, Illinois (Bloomington) threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Gavin Reames of Muskegon, Michigan (Fruitport).
Fifth-year senior Chase Brown of Comstock Park, Michigan (Comstock Park) hooked up with freshman wideout Eli VanderVeen of Hudsonville, Michigan (Hudsonville) on a 66-yard touchdown pass.
Hope finished the game with 512 yards of total offense, 314 through the air and 198 on the ground. The Flying Dutchmen defense limited the Eagles to 65 yards rushing (2.1 yards per attempt) and intercepted three passes.
Holtzer had his first career 100-yard receiving performance with six catches for 111 yards.
VanderVeen added 97 yards on two catches and Harris 71 yards on five receptions.
Sophomore safety Nick Flegler of DeWitt, Michigan (DeWitt) had two of Hope's three interceptions. He also led the Flying Dutchmen in tackles with eight.
Kickoff for Hope's MIAA opener at Docking Stadium in Adrian is 3 p.m.