ANGOLA, Ind. – The Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology football team defended a potential game winning 2-point play with 1:42 remaining in the fourth quarter to earn a 31-30 victory at Trine University on Saturday night.

Rose-Hulman led 31-24 late in the fourth quarter before a 15-yard touchdown pass from Alex Price to Kyran Pearson brought Trine within 31-30.  Rather than going for the tie, Trine went for the lead and the Fightin' Engineer defense pressured Price to force an errant throw on a 2-point play.

Trine went for the onside kick following the failed 2-point play, and Adam Tice-Saliu hauled in the onside kick recovery to help Rose-Hulman run the clock.  The Thunder had one more possession in its own territory in the final 30 seconds, but the Rose-Hulman defense held to secure the victory.

Shane Welshans rushed for two touchdowns, and Andrew Dion passed for one touchdown and rushed for another to key the Fightin' Engineer offense.  Noah Thomas added a 39-yard touchdown reception to help key the Rose-Hulman performance.

Dion finished 26-39 through the air for 323 yards and one score to lead the 393-yard offensive attack.  Noah Thomas led the receivers with five receptions for 97 yards and one score.  Welshans added 65 receiving yards and 21 rushing yards with two scores.  Grant Ripperda added 36 rushing yards for the Fightin' Engineers.

Other key receivers included Tice-Saliu with six catches for 63 yards; Jailen Hobbs with six catches for 47 yards; and Daniel Huery with six receptions for 40 yards.

Michael Stevens had a team-high 11 tackles and one fumble recover for the defense.  Tyler Smith added nine tackles, 2.5 tackles-for-loss, two pass breakups and one forced fumble.  Kyzer Bowen pitched in with eight stops.  Cameron Dorsey paced the secondary with three pass breakups.

Price finished 17-34 through the air for 257 yards and one score, along with 40 rushing yards and two touchdowns.  

Trine took an early 7-0 lead, capped by an 11-yard touchdown run by Price with 9:03 left in the first quarter.

Rose-Hulman knotted the score at 7-7 late in the first quarter.  Dion connected with Welshans on a 65-yard pass to put the Engineers in the red zone.  The senior quarterback capped the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run with 2:17 left in the opening frame.

Another touchdown run by Price put the Thunder up 14-7 with 12:32 left in the second quarter.  Rose-Hulman answered later in the first half to tie the score at 14-14.  Thomas hauled in a 39-yard touchdown catch and run on a strike from Dion.  Earlier in the drive, Thomas earlier converted a 4th-and-2 with a first down run before scoring with 7:07 left in the first half.

Rose-Hulman took a 17-14 lead into halftime on the foot of placekicker Brett Tuttle.  The junior booted a 43-yard field goal with 44 seconds left in the first half to give the Fightin' Engineers a 17-14 lead at the break.

Welshans put Rose-Hulman up 24-14 with 10:35 left in the third quarter with a 7-yard touchdown run.  Dion connected with Tice-Saliu on a 17-yard pass to put the Engineers in the red zone and set up the score.

Trine closed the margin to 24-17 at the 7:37 mark of the third quarter on a 28-yard field goal by Ryan Hibbets after Rose-Hulman's defense held the Thunder out of the end zone on a long drive.

Rose-Hulman pushed its lead to 31-17 with 1:41 left in the third quarter on the second touchdown of the half by Welshans, a 1-yard scoring plunge.
Xaine Kirby brought the Thunder within 31-24 with 11:40 remaining on a 5-yard scoring run. 

After an exchange of punts, Bowen recorded a key third-down sack to end a fourth quarter drive for the Thunder with 5:55 remaining.

Rose-Hulman improved to 1-1 on the season, while Trine dropped to 1-1.  The Fightin' Engineers return to action next Saturday with a trip to Michigan to face Hope College.