Hope College scored on its first two possessions of the second half to pull away for a 52-33 victory over Albion College in Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association football action at Ray and Sue Smith Stadium.
Albion led 13-7 when Markell McCoy scored on a 3-yard run with 9:20 left in the second quarter. Hope scored the game’s next 24 points. Connor Mellon scored on runs from 6 and 25 yards out, Mason Opple threw a 49-yard strike to Cooper Cecchini and Sam Allbritten made a 24-yard field goal.
Albion tried to keep the game within reach – Jacob Clark finished an eight play drive with a 3-yard run – midway through the third quarter. The Briton defense forced a punt on Hope’s next possession, but the offense could not take advantage. Hope intercepted an Albion pass on 3rd and 7 and Hope scored on the next play (Mellon scored his third touchdown of the day on a 9-yard run) as the Flying Dutchmen forged a 38-20 lead.
Albion finished the day with 464 yards of total offense. McCoy achieved his third 100-yard rushing game of the season, collecting 103 yards and two touchdowns on 29 attempts. Jack Bush threw for 128 yards in the second half.
Drew Shafter led the Albion defense with 12 tackles.
Combined with the 51-0 win vs. Trine, this is the first time Hope has scored more than 50 points in its first two MIAA games.
Hope is now 55-31-3 in homecoming games, including wins each of the last four years. The 52 points were the third-most by a Hope team in a homecoming game in school history. Hope scored 60 points in a 60-34 win over Alma in 2007 and 55 in a 55-0 shutout of Kalamazoo in 1983.
Albion continues league play next Saturday with a 2 p.m. game at Kalamazoo College. The Flying Dutchmen travel to Hancock, in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, next Saturday for a game against the Lions of Finlandia University. Kickoff is 12 p.m.
This article was written using a press release, media and information generated by Albion College’s sports information department. It is nearly entirely a repost of the original press release. There are a few lines from Hope’s Greg Chandler as well. For more college sports, follow us on Twitter @MWSNsports or like our page on Facebook.
