The Scots football team walked off the field on Saturday afternoon with a dominance over Hope College in a few key statistical categories, but not the final score - the final measuring stick of the game's outcome of course.

Alma lost 43-23 to the visiting Flying Dutchmen on a raw October afternoon at Bahlke Field and is now 0-3 in the MIAA and 0-7 in 2013. Hope improved to 2-1 in the league and 5-2 overall on the season.

Alma outgained Hope by a definitive margin of 456 total yards to 206 and ran 91 offensive plays to just 47 for the Flying Dutchmen. In addition, Alma's offense was on the field for 41:47, while Hope had 18:13 of time of possession. But, five turnovers and 11 penalties proved to be the difference in winning or losing for the young Scots squad and it proved to be a painful lesson.

"We committed too many penalties today and gave up some big plays. We can't take the lead and then on the kickoff, give the lead right back. We've got to continue to make plays," said Alma College Head Coach Greg Pscodna. "We had a couple of personal foul penalties in the second half on third down and that gave Hope a first down. We've just got to eliminate our mistakes.

"We're a better football team than we were seven weeks ago and we've got three games to go on this season. The kids are working hard and we've just got to believe that we can get something done. We're getting close, but we've just got to finish now."

After Alma forced Hope to punt on their first series of the game, the Scots drove 63 yards on 17 plays and took 8:07 off of the clock. The drive did stall however, and Sr. K Jack Pryde (Royal Oak, Mich./Royal Oak) then came out and booted a 36-yard field goal for a 3-0 home team advantage.

The Flying Dutchmen answered on their next drive as they marched 62 yards on nine plays and made it a 6-3 game when RB Shawn Jackson ran seven yards for a touchdown with just five seconds remaining in the quarter. A missed extra point kept Hope's lead at three heading into the second frame.

The Scots again put the hammer down on the Hope defense and took nine plays to go 75 yards to take a 10-9 lead when Sr. QB Jarrett Leister (St. Louis, Mich./Mt. Pleasant) hit Jr. WR Tyler Watters (Williamston, Mich./Williamston) on a five-yard score. The euphoria was short-lived however as Hope KR Vincent Boddy took the ensuing kickoff 90 yards to the house and after a failed two-point attempt, the Flying Dutchmen had regained the lead at 12-10.

However, the Scots' offense was a determined bunch on this day and they had their own answer to the scoring. After an unfortunate kickoff return gave Alma the ball on their own six-yard line, the team embarked on a determined drive that went 94 yards on 15 plays and culminated with a 10-yard Leister touchdown pass to Fr. WR Jamal Randle (Miami, Fla./Krop). The extra point gave Alma a 17-12 lead.

Alma's defense held Hope and forced them to punt on their next possession, but a Leister interception on the Scots' drive proved to be a costly mistake. Taking over on the Scots' 24-yard line, Hope needed two plays (one of them a defensive pass interference penalty) to score the go-ahead touchdown on a Jackson 10-yard scamper at the 1:14 mark. Another two-point conversion failed and the Flying Dutchmen took an 18-17 lead into halftime.

The second half started where the first half left off for the Alma offense. The Scots took the kickoff and drove 61 yards on 10 plays and made it 23-18 when So. RB Robert Gibson (Royal Oak, Mich./Royal Oak) plowed 15 yards for a touchdown. Pryde was wide on the extra point however, and the Scots lead was five points.

The back and forth continued as Hope responded with a 67-yard, six-play drive, scoring a touchdown on a seven-yard pass from QB Michael Atwell to WR Matt Kroll. A two-point conversion then had Hope's lead at 26-23 and they would not trail again on the afternoon.

The Scots' fortunes took a turn for the worse at this point (7:06 left in third quarter), and costly miscues would rule the rest of the game for the home team. After an Alma punt, Hope scored another touchdown for a 33-23 advantage heading into the fourth quarter. Then, following a Leister interception, the Flying Dutchmen kicked a field goal and a 36-23 lead.

Another pick-off ended the next Scots' next drive at the Hope one-yard line and after a Hope punt on their next possession, the turnover bug would again haunt Alma. Leister was tackled at the Hope eight-yard line and the ball was picked up and returned 92 yards for at score and a 43-23 road team advantage. A final interception for the Scots ended the afternoon and Hope walked off the field with the somewhat unorthodox victory.

On the day, Leister finished with 28 completions on 53 attempts for 262 yards with two touchdowns and four interceptions. Gibson led all Alma runners with 72 yards on 13 carries and the score, while So. RB Grant Wilson (Redford Township, Mich./Lee Thurston) was next with 69 yards on 11 attempts. Jr. WR Erik Hines (Menominee, Mich./Menominee) finished with 10 receptions for 84 yards and Watters ended up with 88 yards on seven catches and the touchdown.

Defensively, Jr. LB Eric Strickler (Lapeer, Mich./Lapeer East) and Sr. DL Frank Furnari (DeWitt, Mich./DeWitt) led the team with six total tackles a piece. Sr. LB Austin Smith (Jackson, Mich./Lumen Christi) had 1.5 quarterback sacks, one pass break-up and two quarterback hurries, while Jr. LB Sam Young (Lowell, Mich./Lowell) recorded a half sack and a quarterback hurry.

The Scots next travel to Albion on Saturday, October 26 with kickoff scheduled for 1:00 p.m.