Calvin clips 'Berg 40-37 in OT thriller

Heidelberg was down by 14 points to Calvin at the end of the fourth quarter and rallied to tie the game with minutes remaining in regulation. Unfortunately for the Student Princes, they came up short in overtime: Calvin 40, Heidelberg 37."That was a great football game. One of those games that you don't want either team to lose because they played so damn hard," Heidelberg coach Scott Donaldson said. "It was a very good opponent, and we didn't execute early. I'm unbelievably proud of the fight we had. Come and go down 14 going into the fourth and rallying up. Tying the game up. I'm unbelievably proud of the heart of this team."Heidelberg's rally started after Knight quarterback Thomas Vaccaro found Jude Klunder wide open on a flag route in the end zone for a 41-yard touchdown pass. Logan Nap's point after was good—giving Calvin (3-0) a 34-20 lead with 2:20 left in the third quarter.After picking up a first down at the beginning of their next drive, 'Berg's Drew Miller took off on a 21-yard dash that moved the ball into Knight territory. The next play, Heidelberg QB Ty Poorman connected with Dmitry Peters for 15 yards.Then, the Calvin defense pressured 'Berg into turning the ball over on downs as Poorman's pass was incomplete on fourth-and-7 at the Knight 25-yard line.Calvin advanced the ball into Student Prince territory when they called Hunter Hogan's number four times in a row for runs of 11, 6, 4, and 11 yards respectively. The fifth give in a row to Hogan though was stopped by Heidelberg's Kris Williams for a three-yard tackle-for-loss. A couple incompletions after forced the Knights to punt.The Princes showed some resolve with a 10-play, 80-yard scoring drive that lasted 3:53 of game clock.On second-and-9, Miller took off for a 24-yard scamper to get past midfield. A personal foul against Calvin moved 'Berg up to the Knight 26. 'Berg handed it to Miller again—this time straight up the middle for 23 yards. Miller would punch it in from three yards out to cap off the drive. It was 34-27 in favor of the Knights with 7:30 remaining in the game.That's when Heidelberg recovered an onside kick to give itself the ball back at Calvin's 38-yard line.On third-and-1, an illegal substitution penalty by Calvin moved the chains for the Student Princes. The next play, Poorman threw to Peters for a 16-yard pickup to get to the Knights 9. On fourth-and-goal, Poorman dropped back to pass and received defensive pressure so Poorman moved up in the pocket and fired the ball to 'Berg's Solomon Sandoval for the eight-yard touchdown.Calvin started its next possession at its own 27. On second-and-10, Vaccaro hit sophomore wideout Luke Michmerhuizen for 19 yards. Michmerhuizen's 6-foot-7 height was an advantage for the Knight offense throughout the night.Four straight runs by Hogan for 21 combined yards saw Calvin with a third-and-5 scenario at the 'Berg 33. Vaccaro was able to scramble from Student Prince pressure and get six yards for the first down.Three more runs to Hogan gave Calvin a fourth-and-1 situation at the Heidelberg 18. The Knights sent their kicking unit onto the field to win the game with 14 seconds to go in regulation. Logan Nap's field goal attempt from 35 yards out sailed wide left, and both teams headed into overtime.In overtime, a 10-yard rush by Miller set Heidelberg (1-2) up with a third-and-1 situation. The Calvin defense stepped up though—stopping Miller for a five-yard loss. Coach Donaldson sent the special teams out on the field, and Ethan Ramsdail knocked down a 38-yard field goal to give Heidelberg their first lead since the second quarter.The Knights' Vaccaro passed right to Klunder for 12 yards on first down. A couple plays later, on third-and-8, Vaccaro threw it up for Michmerheuizen to grab for an eight-yard TD and the walk-off victory for Calvin.Miller and Hogan each rushed for over 230 yards—Miller with 239 and Hogan with 233 in the overtime thriller."Drew was phenomenal today. Absolutely," Coach Donaldson said about Miller's performance. "Obviously, the O-line led for him, but Drew was breaking tackles. He ran absolutely possessed today."The game started with both teams swapping punts before the Student Princes went on a 10-play, 73-yard scoring drive sparked by Poorman's 19-yard pass right to brother Cole Poorman on a post route for 19 yards.Two plays later, Poorman and Peters linked up for 10-yards and a first down followed by a 13-yard rush on a draw play up the middle by Miller moved Berg into the red zone. On third-and-9, starting QB Poorman had to sit out one play because of his helmet coming off on the previous down. Backup Alex Arledge stepped-in, looked right then threw left to a wide open Solomon Sandoval in the end zone.Heidelberg was up 7-0, 6:31 in the first quarter.After trading punts, Hogan went around the left end for a 21-yard run. Hogan then picked up 11 yards on third-and-10 to keep the Knight drive alive. A delay of game penalty stalled out the drive tough, and Calvin's Sal Ruffino nailed a 34-yard field goal with just under two minutes remaining in the opening quarter: 'Berg 7, Calvin 3.In the second quarter, a 'Berg personal foul penalty moved the Knights down to the Student Princes' 16. The next play, Vaccaro chucked the ball to Michmerhuizen for Calvin's first TD of the game. Calvin led 10-7.Heidelberg responded on their next possession when Miller washed several Knight defenders with a spin cycle move on his way to a 34-yard score to make it 14-10 in favor of 'Berg with 11:49 left in the first half.At the end of the half, Calvin's Hogan punched it in from 5 yards out to leave the score at halftime 17-14 in favor of the Knights.In the third quarter, a 'Berg fumble left Calvin with great field position to start at the Princes 40. A personal foul on the Student Princes moved the Knights down to the 12-yard line. Two plays later, Hogan scored on a seven-yard carry. Calvin led 24-14.A Poorman interception led to the Knights having a short field, but the Berg defense held strong—only giving up a 25-yard field goal.Poorman kept it up the middle for a one-yard score with 4:16 to go in the third quarter to get the Berg within seven points before Calvin's late third quarter TD that sparked 'Berg's rally.Heidelberg next plays its homecoming game on Oct. 4 at 1:30 p.m. against Capital.