The Hope College football team battled challenging elements and an evenly matched opponent before falling 9-7 to the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse on Saturday in the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs.
La Crosse (8-2) denied a fourth-quarter comeback from the Flying Dutchmen in a matchup of nationally ranked teams at a snow-covered Ray and Sue Smith Stadium, stopping a potential game-winning drive after Hope had scored on its previous possession.
Hope (No. 15 AFCA/No. 18 D3football) finished with a 9-2 record. La Crosse (No. 13 D3football) advanced to the third round and will play at top-ranked and defending national champion North Central College (Illinois) next week.
"Congratulations to Wisconsin–La Crosse. Very good team, well-coached, very disciplined. They're big and strong," head coach Peter Stuursma said. "I'm super proud of my guys. At the end, I thought we had a really good shot to drive down the field and either kick a field goal or score. That also says a lot about the players that I have the luxury of coaching. They don't quit. It's not in their DNA."
VIDEO: Post-game press conferences
The Flying Dutchmen trailed 10-0 with 6 minutes, 49 seconds remaining after La Crosse put together back-to-back scoring drives during the third quarter: 65 yards capped by a 4-yard touchdown run from running back Gabe Lynch, and 38 yards ending with Michael Stack's 25-yard field goal. Sophomore Austin Harvey (Rockford, Michigan / Rockford) blocked Stack's PAT after Lynch scored.
Led by quarterback Alex Thole (Schoolcraft, Michigan / Schoolcraft), Hope crafted an eight-play, 80-yard drive that ended with a 4-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end/H-back Skye VanderKuyl (Holland, Michigan / Zeeland West).
Despite a penalty that pushed the Flying Dutchmen's kickoff back to their 20-yard line, Hope forced La Crosse to go three-and-out. Senior defensive lineman Liam Danitz (West Branch, Michigan / Ogemaw Heights) delivered his second sack of the game — and 15th of the season — to force the Eagles to punt from their 19-yard line.
Hope took over at its 40 and advanced to the La Crosse 38. After a 7-yard Thole rush on third down, a La Crosse blitz forced an incompletion on fourth-and-3, allowing the Eagles to take over and run out the clock.
"Obviously, a great game. I kind of thought it was going to be like this," La Crosse head coach Matt Janus said. "The elements played an effect for both teams. We knew it was going to be a defensive battle. We told our team all week [Hope was] going to be a really good team. It came down to a couple of plays. Two top-18 teams playing each other in a snow game — the atmosphere, the snow — you write movies about that stuff, right?"
The two teams combined for just 460 yards of total offense: Hope had 250 on 67 plays; La Crosse had 210 on 58.
Lynch recorded a game-high 93 rushing yards on 16 carries. Junior receiver Jonny Rohen-Blanton (Rockford, Michigan / Rockford) led the Flying Dutchmen with 66 receiving yards on seven catches.
La Crosse finished with seven tackles for loss, including one sack. Hope made six tackles for loss, including two sacks.
Senior defensive back Tyler Shavey collected a team-high seven tackles for the Eagles, one of three Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference teams in the NCAA second round and one of two advancing. The University of Wisconsin–Platteville is the other after beating Alma College 24-7 on Saturday.
Senior linebacker Colton Schreur (Wayland, Michigan / South Christian) posted a game-high 15 tackles, including two for loss. Senior defensive lineman Caleb Paarlberg (Caledonia, Michigan / Caledonia) finished with nine tackles.
Stuursma praised his 21 seniors after the game. They led Hope to the first back-to-back seasons with at least nine wins — and the first back-to-back postseason appearances — in program history.
"We had a little meeting after the game with our seniors. I wanted to individually thank our seniors who took us on a journey for four years," Stuursma said. "They sacrificed. They committed to our program. They did so many things that we don't even see. They helped the young guys. They mentored them."