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Angola, Ind. – Trine's explosive rushing attack allowed the Thunder to defeat Concordia, 62-19 Saturday at Zollner Stadium.
Going into second half, Trine held 12-7 lead before the offense exploded. In the third quarter the Thunder scored five touchdowns, with three coming from Lamar Carswell (Toledo, Ohio / St. Francis de Sales) and one each from Mark Wilson (Indianapolis, Ind. / Lawrence Central) and Evan Wyse (Archbold, Ohio / Archbold). The Cougars had no answer for Trine's rushing attack, as the Thunder racked up a school-record 537 rushing yards.
The Thunder scored 36 points in the third quarter. After Concordia pulled within 20-19 with 8:49 to play in the third quarter, Trine scored 42 unanswered points to claim the victory. Twenty-eight of those points in the unanswered run came in the third quarter.
Carswell's 23-yard TD extended the score to 27-19, before a long rushing TD by Wyse extended the lead to 15 just one minute later. Carswell added a scoring run of four yards, before breaking a 48-yard scamper where he broke several tackles to cap the scoring in the period. The Thunder scored quickly and often during the decisive third quarter, with just one of the team's five scoring drives needing more than five plays.
Trine set a single game record for yards of total offense with 683 yards, topping previous record set at Albion last year by 35 yards. The Thunder set a new single game record for rushing yards by beating the previous-best set in last season's opener against Manchester.
Carswell led the rushing attack with 23 carries for 322 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 14 per-carry. Carswell's 322 yard performance was his fourth-straight game with 100-plus yards this season and the sixth time in his collegiate career. His rushing performance placed him second in team history with rushing yards in a game.
Wyse had some say in the rushing attack with 71 yards on five carries for two touchdowns. Wyse was able to out race Concordia defenders in a foot race of 48 yards to kick-off the multiple scoring drives by the Thunder to add insurance to the lead in third quarter.
Andrew Duckett (Niles, Mich. / Brandywine) added to the rushing attack as well. Duckett scored his first collegiate touchdown with a 53 yard race to the endzone off a read option. Wilson contributed with a touchdown.
Marcus Winters (Toledo, Ohio / Central Catholic) added a 88 yard punt return TD in the fourth quarter. It was the longest punt return in Trine program history. The return was the team's first punt return touchdown since 2012.
The Thunder's defense was paced by Taylor James (LaPorte, Ind. / LaPorte) with 10 tackles. Trine had two stops on Concordia's two-point attempts. The Thunder held the Cougars to 17 points below their average.
Concordia's Daniel Thaddous and Payan Rodolfo led the Cougars defensive effort in tackles, Thaddous with 12 and Rodolfo with 11. Shane Virnala threw for 326 yards and three touchdowns for Concordia.
Trine returns to action next Saturday, Oct. 8th, when they start MIAA play against conference opponent Albion. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. in Fred Zollner Athletic Stadium.
Article courtesy Cody Konieczki, Trine University, Communications New Media '17