On a sun-drenched and comfortable late October afternoon, the Alma College Football team hosted Hope College in a league contest at Bahlke Field. Hope used three touchdowns in the final five minutes of the first half to blow open a close game and defeated the home team by a margin of 33-7.

The defeat dropped the Scots to 2-5 in 2014 and 0-4 in the MIAA, while Hope left town with a league mark of 2-1 and are now 5-2 overall this season.

The first quarter saw three punts - two by Alma and one by Hope - and a turnover in downs by the Flying Dutchmen before a scoring drive was mounted. After the Scots' second punt, Hope methodically drove down the field, using 12 plays to go 78 yards and taking a 7-0 lead on a three-yard run by RB Reggie Duncan.

The Scots followed that score with a punt but the Alma defense stiffened and forced Hope to kick it right back to the home team. Then, on first down at their own 46-yard line, Scots Sr. WR Tyler Watters (Williamston/Williamston) took a handoff from Fr. QB Dylan Zaborowski (Jackson/Michigan Center) and threw a halfback pass to Sr. WR Erik Hines (Menominee/Menominee) for a 56-yard touchdown pass.

After the extra point, the contest was tied at 7-7 with 10:42 left in the first half.

The Flying Dutchmen responded with another long drive - this time 72 yards on 12 plays - and took the lead when RB Bill Brown plunged one-yard for a touchdown at the 4:54 mark. The extra point went wide left but Hope had a 13-7 advantage.

Alma earned two first downs on their next possession before disaster struck the offense. Zaborowski was facing third and eight from his own 40-yard line and had his pass intercepted by Hope S Andrew Lapak, who returned it 36 yards to the six-yard line.

On the first play of the ensuing drive, Duncan ran six yards around the end and the Flying Dutchmen had another score. A two-point conversion was no good, but Hope increased their lead to 19-7 with 2:06 remaining in the first frame.

The Scots drove to the Hope 44-yard line on their next possession, but a fourth down pass attempt from Zaborowski to Watters fell incomplete, and the visitors took over the ball at the 58 second mark of the half.

Three plays and just 20 seconds later, Hope QB Matt Kish completed a pass to WR Matt Kroll for 23 yards and a touchdown. Just like that, the Flying Dutchmen had a 19-point advantage (26-7) heading into the halftime break.

The second half was relatively uneventful as neither team was able to generate much offense and the produced just seven points between themselves in the frame. The lone touchdown came from the Flying Dutchmen and occurred in the third quarter.

After three Alma possessions and two by Hope, the visitors were able to generate the only points of the second half after a miscue on a Scots punt. The snap to So. P Alex Crocker (Suttons Bay/Suttons Bay) went over his head and all he could do was pick it up and boot it as far as he could. It ended up going back to the original line of scrimmage (Scots' 25-yard line) for a punt of zero yards.

This gave Hope a golden opportunity to put the dagger in the Scots' hopes on the afternoon and they took advantage of it. Just two plays into the drive, Hope RB Zac Boersema ran four yards for a touchdown and the lead swelled to 33-7 with 7:24 left in the third quarter.

Even though the scoring was complete for the day, each team did have drives that extended deep into the other team's territory the rest of the way. However, no more points were produced and Hope earned the 33-7 margin of victory.

For the game, Hope had 385 total offensive yards to Alma's 312 with an 18-16 advantage in first downs. The Flying Dutchmen earnedd 208 rushing yards on 41 attempts, while the Scots had 123 on 37 rushes.

Zaborowski led all Alma runners with 36 net yards on 13 attempts, while Fr. RB Tommie Dawson (Detroit/Redford Union) finished with 35 yards on 12 carries. Zaborowski completed eight of 26 pass attempts for 75 yards and an interception, while Jr. QB Derek Talaga (South Lyon/South Lyon) hit on six of 12 attempts for 60 yards in relief.

Watters led all receivers with six receptions for 44 yards, while Hines finished with 86 yards on four catches and a score. Fr. WR Daniel Kroupa (Melbourne, FL/Eau Gallie) added three catches for 23 yards.

Defensively, Sr. LB Sam Young (Lowell/Lowell) again paced the Scots with 11 total tackles, including one for loss. Jr. LB Gavin Smith (Westphalia/Pewamo-Westphalia) was next with nine total tackles, 1.5 quarterback sacks and two tackles for loss. Fr. DB Austin Kent (Holt/Holt) had eight tackles, one fumble recovery and one interception in his most extensive playing time of his young career for the Scots.

Next Saturday, the Scots play their final non-league game of the season when they host Lakeland College (WI) at Bahlke Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.