DEFIANCE, Ohio -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology improved to 4-2 on the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference football season after handling Defiance College 35-6 on Saturday in Ohio.
Garrett Wight scored three touchdowns and Noah Thomas added the other two touchdowns in the win. Wight rushed for 86 yards and two touchdowns, and also hauled in four pass receptions for 42 yards and a third score. Thomas had a team-high 120 yards on eight carries and had 43 receiving yards on five catches, with one rushing and one receiving touchdown.
Andrew Dion finished 18-30 through the air for 159 yards and two touchdowns as part of the team's 468-yard offensive attack. The Fightin' Engineer defense was equally impressive, allowing just 102 yards of total offense in the first half and 42 in the second half.
Individually, Matt Michalak led the Rose-Hulman defense with nine tackles, three tackles-for-loss and two sacks. Interceptions were a big story to the day, as Caleb Brown, Parker Lappin and Zach Phillips each hauled in interceptions during the contest.
Other statistical leaders for the defense included Coleson Carmell with seven tackles; Andrew Hesse and Jacob Hendrich with five each, and Jack Heyl with two tackles-for-loss.
Rose-Hulman jumped out to a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter in starting the game quickly. Thomas caught a seven-yard pass from Dion with 7:39 left in the first quarter for the opening score, then Wight scored a pair of touchdowns. The first was a three-yard run with 13:34 left in the second quarter, and the second touchdown was a 20-yard reception on a pass from Dion just three minutes later.
Defiance closed within 21-6 at the half, but Rose-Hulman had both touchdowns in the second half. Thomas scored on a 42-yard run with 7:31 left in the third quarter, and Wight capped the scoring with a one-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter.
Rose-Hulman stands 4-4 overall and 4-2 in league play, while Defiance dropped to 0-8 and 0-6 in conference games. The Fightin' Engineers travel to Hanover College for an in-state matchup next Saturday.
