HANOVER, Ind. -- Hanover College placekicker Austin Steurer hit a game winning 29-yard field goal with 13 seconds remaining to lift the host Panthers past Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology 27-24 in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference football action on Saturday afternoon.

Rose-Hulman rallied from a 21-14 halftime deficit to tie the score at 24-24 with 6:31 remaining on a 33-yard field goal by Adam Clark.  Hanover marched to the Rose-Hulman 32-yard line on its next possession, facing a 4th-and-1.  The defensive duo of Kyzer Bowen and Michael Stevens combined to stop Hanover short of a first down on a running play, giving the Engineers the ball in a tie game with 2:13 left.

Rose-Hulman reached the Hanover 45-yard line with 1:19 left and faced and 4th-and-1.  The Engineers were stopped narrowly short of the first down, giving Hanover one last possession in regulation time.

The Panthers marched 43 yards in eight plays on the ensuing drive, reached the Rose-Hulman 12-yard line.  The Engineers defense forced three straight incompletions, courtesy of two pass breakups from Tyce Miller and one from Andrew Hesse, to force Hanover into a field goal try.  Steurer booted the kick through to break the tie with 13 seconds left.

Jailen Hobbs returned the ensuing kickoff 34 yards to the Rose-Hulman 40-yard line, but the Hanover defense was able to stop the Engineers on the final two plays to secure the victory.

Rose-Hulman led 14-7 after the first quarter courtesy of two offensive touchdowns.  Andrew Dion scored from three yards out on a rushing score, and Shane Welshans caught a 53-yard touchdown pass from Dion to give the Engineers a 14-7 lead after the opening quarter.

Hanover scored both touchdowns in the second quarter, courtesy of a 14-yard touchdown run and an 18-yard touchdown pass, to take a 21-14 lead into halftime.

Rose-Hulman tied the score with 4:06 left in the third quarter, on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Dion to Zimmerman.  Hanover regained the lead on a 24-yard field goal by Steurer with 8:20 left to set the stage for the final drives of the game.

Dion finished 14-30 through the air for 228 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Rose-Hulman offense.  He also rushed for 26 yards and one score.  Welshans led the ground attack with 86 yards on 24 carries.

Adam Saliu hauled in seven receptions for 128 yards, and Welshans and Zimmerman had touchdown catches on the day.

Several defensive players had strong statistical days for Rose-Hulman.  Bowen had a team-high 15 tackles and three tackles-for-loss.  Stevens recorded 13 tackles, two tackles-for-loss and 1.5 sacks.  Rashard Brown added 11 tackles and one pass breakup, and Bryce Mefford also had 11 tackles.  Chaikou Sow added nine stops and a fumble recovery in the Hanover red zone.  Miller had a team-high two pass breakups along with six tackles.

Matthew Weimer led the Hanover offense with a 20-36 performance for 284 yards and one touchdown.  Walt Ballinger rushed for 92 yards and one touchdown, and Shawn Coane rushed for 39 yards and a score.  Jared Frank led the Hanover receivers with 138 yards on six receptions.

Hanover improved to 3-0 on the season, while Rose-Hulman dropped to 2-1 with a narrow loss to the defending league conference champions.  The Fightin' Engineers are scheduled to return home to face Franklin College next Saturday at Cook Stadium with a 1:30 pm kickoff.