Lather, rinse, repeat.
In a near-duplication of its dominating season-opening performance a week ago, the Hope College football team put together another big first half in rolling to a 48-6 victory over Franklin (Indiana) College Saturday afternoon at Ray and Sue Smith Stadium.
The Flying Dutchmen scored touchdowns on all five of their first-half possessions in building a 34-6 halftime lead. Hope, now 2-0, has now scored touchdowns on 11 consecutive first-half drives to begin the season.
Franklin fell to 0-2 with the loss. The win was Hope's first ever against the Grizzlies in seven meetings, although the teams had not faced each other since 1981.
Hope's domination of the line of scrimmage paved the way to 379 rushing yards on 46 attempts – an average of 8.2 yards per carry. The Flying Dutchmen finished the game with 520 yards of total offense.
"I felt like we were more balanced," head coach Peter Stuursma said. "I think the thing we have to clean up a bit (was) we had some mistakes. We had a couple of holding calls, we had a chop block (penalty), but yet we overcame those, which is amazing. If you can overcome those, that's outstanding."
Hope took the opening kickoff and drove 62 yards in six plays, using a mixture of runs and short passes. Senior running back Chance Strickland (Mason, Michigan / Mason HS) capped the drive with a 5-yard run up the middle for the game's first touchdown.
Strickland added touchdown runs of 6 and 8 yards later in the first half and finished the game with 117 yards on 12 carries. He has seven touchdowns in Hope's first two games this season, giving him 31 for his career, tying him for sixth place on the school's career touchdown list with Brandan Campbell (2016-17).
Strickland is just one away from joining the top five of all-time list.
"He's a big, strong kid," Stuursma said of the 6-foot-2, 225-pound Strickland. "He's always falling forward (after contact)."
Senior quarterback Ben Wellman (Bloomington, Illinois / Bloomington), who rushed for 61 yards on five carries and completed 5-of-8 passes for 58 yards, added a 9-yard touchdown run.
Sophomore quarterback Zach Trainor (Milford, Michigan / Walled Lake Western) threw a 44-yard scoring strike to fifth-year senior Grant Holtzer (Okemos, Michigan / Okemos) one play after sophomore safety Brad Raredon (Hudsonville, Michigan / Hudsonville) made a diving interception near the Franklin sideline.
Senior running back Tyler Amos (Portage, Michigan/Portage Northern) had another strong game in his second contest in a Flying Dutchmen uniform as he rushed for 81 yards on 10 carries, including a 2-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Strickland was among the first to celebrate with Amos on his score.
"To see those two genuinely happy for each other (was so great to see)," Stuursma said. "We had a couple backs a few years ago, (Mike) Miklusicak and Brandan Campbell, those two complemented each other. That's what these two are doing. It's so fun to watch. They want to win, and if it takes the both of them, (if) it takes one person scoring more than the other, that's not really of interest to them. They want to win."
Freshman running back Kal Motter (Lawton, Michigan/Lawton) closed out the scoring with his first collegiate touchdown in the fourth quarter on a 5-yard run.
The Hope defense was just as outstanding, limiting Franklin to 222 yards total offense. The Dutchmen shut down All-American running back Garrett Cora, holding him to 24 yards on 17 carries.
"The only points we gave up is when we gave up the ball (at our 30). I felt like we gave up some big plays on third down in particular, but yet we were able to keep them between the 25-yard-lines most of the game," Stuursma said.
Three different players – senior linebacker Cole Luhmann (Rochester, Michigan / Stoney Creek), senior linebacker Andrew Debri (DeWitt, Michigan / DeWitt) and junior defensive tackle Caleb Paarlberg (Alto, Michigan / Caledonia) – led the defense with seven tackles apiece.
Luhmann also recorded four solo tackles and a sack.
Junior defensive end Liam Danitz (West Branch, Michigan / Ogemaw Heights) added six tackles, including two tackles for loss, a sack and a forced fumble.
Senior defensive tackle Oatis Ackermann (East Grand Rapids, Michigan/East Grand Rapids) recovered a fumble inside Franklin's red zone that led to another score.
The Flying Dutchmen go on the road for the first time this season on Saturday, Sept. 21 as they face Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana. Kickoff is 1:30 p.m. Eastern.