ANDERSON, Ind. -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology rushed for 256 yards and five touchdowns, forced three turnovers and scored a defensive touchdown to top Anderson University 48-23 with a balanced team performance on Saturday afternoon.
The Fightin' Engineers gained 420 yards of total offense, led by 256 yards on the ground. Garrett Wight led the rushing attack with 125 yards and two touchdowns. Stanley Hogan added 73 rushing yards and two scores, and Parker Lappin pitched in 56 yards and one rushing touchdown.
Lappin also finished 12-26 through the air for 147 yards and one touchdown to lead the offense across the 400-yard mark. Zack Murphy led the receivers with 80 yards on six catches and one touchdown, while Raymond Burtnick added 57 receiving yards.
The Rose-Hulman defense made its presence felt with four sacks, three forced turnovers and a defensive touchdown. John Kirby had a team-high five tackles and one interception for a defensive unit that featured 25 players with at least one tackle. Preseason All-American Alec Thompson had the biggest defensive play of the day, returning an interception 57 yards for a touchdown.
The Anderson offense was led by Jason King with eight completions for 82 yards and Deontae Kelly with two touchdown receptions.
Rose-Hulman took a 14-3 lead early in the second quarter with two touchdowns in three minutes. The Fightin' Engineers capped an 11-play drive with a 1-yard touchdown run by Wight, then Thompson hauled in his interception return with 12:12 left in the opening half. After Anderson closed to within 14-10, Rose-Hulman bolstered its lead to 21-10 at the break with an 18-yard touchdown run by Wight.
In the second half, Anderson closed to 21-17 midway through the third quarter with a 16-yard touchdown pass. Rose-Hulman answered with three straight touchdowns to secure the victory.
Hogan scored from five yards out to make the score 28-17 with 4:59 left in the third quarter. Lappin pushed the lead to 35-17 with a 4-yard scoring run, then connected with Murphy on a 32-yard touchdown pass to give Rose-Hulman breathing room. Hogan scored the day's final touchdown to cap a 10-play drive in the fourth quarter.
The Anderson offense was held to just 245 total yards and 18-43 through the air with three interceptions. The Fightin' Engineers also outrushed Anderson 256 yards to 54 on the afternoon.
Rose-Hulman remains tied with Franklin for first place in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference standings with the win. The Fightin' Engineers improved to 4-1 overall and 3-0 in HCAC play, while Anderson dropped to 1-4 and 1-2 in conference games. Rose-Hulman hosts Mount St. Joseph in the Homecoming Game next Saturday at 2 p.m. at Cook Stadium.
