ANGOLA, Ind.-- Trine raced its way past Manchester for a 38-14 opening-night victory Thursday night under the lights of Fred Zollner Athletic Stadium.
Big plays from a pair of freshmen helped spark the Thunder to the victory in the head coaching debut of new Trine head coach Troy Abbs. Lamar Carswell (Toledo, Ohio/St. Francis de Sales) raced his way through the Spartan defense for a 15-carry, 172-yard, three-touchdown performance. The rushing effort marked the fifth-highest rushing total in a single-game in team history and was the most-ever by a Trine player making his debut. Freshman corner Marcus Winters (Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic) came away with two of Trine's three interceptions. The Thunder forced four turnovers while committing just one.
Carswell's performance helped Trine set a team single-game rushing record with 403 yards on the ground. The previous team record had stood since 2010. The Trine offensive line opened up holes all night for seven players to contribute to that total.
Taylor Masiewicz (Belmont, Mich./Rockford) had an efficient night on his way to 270 yards of total offense. The dual-threat quarterback completed 12-of-19 passes for 152 yards and a touchdown, while running for 118 yards on just 10 carries.
Both of Winters' interceptions came on Manchester's first two drives of the game. The second of the freshman's picks led to the first score of the year for the Thunder. After a Trine drive stalled just inside the Spartans' 15-yard line, Mark Haydock (Fort Wayne, Ind./Snider) connected on the first field goal attempt of his collegiate career to make it 3-0 in the first quarter.
Carswell's first TD of the night capped a seven-play, 64-yard drive to put Trine up 10-0 early in the 2nd quarter. Carswell's run came immediately on the heels of a 32-yard scamper by Masiewicz.
The Thunder defense rose to the occasion for a fourth-down stop on the ensuing Manchester possession. Five plays later, Trine was in the end zone again as Masiewicz connected with Frantz Petitpapa (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Archbishop McCarthy) for a 28-yard score and a 17-0 Thunder lead with 7:50 to play in the first half.
Manchester was able to get on the board before halftime when Logan Haston connected with Hunter Hardee on a 23-yard TD strike. Haston completed 19-of-30 passes for 156 yards and the touchdown. He was intercepted twice. Hardee accounted for 112 yards on the ground on 10 carries and caught two passes for 30 yards and the score.
Trine came out strong after the half, with Carswell eating up 42 yards of the 58-yard scoring drive. The freshman punctuated the drive with his second TD, this time from two-yards out to push the score to 24-7.
Kyle Wiswell (Three Rivers, Mich./Mendon) forced a fumble on the ensuing Spartan possession, which Quinton Daniels (Fort Wayne, Ind./Snider) recovered to set Trine up for another scoring drive. Carswell ripped off 52 yards on four carries on the drive. Frank Vuocolo (Jackson, Mich./Grass Lake) punched it into the end zone from a yard out to make the score 31-7 with 2:24 to play in the third. Vuocolo rushed for 61 yards on 10 carries.
Tyler Pruitt capped the ensuing Spartan drive with a one-yard scoring run to cut the score to 31-14 early in the fourth.
An answer-drive by the Thunder effectively put the game out of reach. Carswell capped the drive with his final touchdown of the night, this one from 13-yards out. Trine went on to win by the 38-14 final, as James Gregory (Akron, Ind./Tippecanoe Valley) added a late interception and nearly returned it all the way to help seal the victory.
Kai Kekoa Sasan (Harvest, Ala./Sparkman) led the Trine defense with a career-high 11 tackles. Joseph Griffin (Fort Wayne, Ind./Wayne) earned 1.5 sacks, while Jacob Boswell (Kokomo, Ind./Western) added a solo sack. The Thunder had eight tackles-for-loss on the evening.
Trine returns to action next week when they travel to play North Central as part of the MIAA scheduling agreement with the CCIW. Kickoff is slated for 2 p.m. EDT (1 p.m. local).