CINCINNATI, Ohio -- The Rose-Hulman football team suffered a road loss to the Mount St. Joseph Lions in the HCAC title game with a final score of 27-13. This drops the Fightin' Engineers to 6-3 overall and 4-1 in the HCAC.
Brock Zanetell led the team at quarterback with 135 passing yards, plus 15 carries for 11 yards and one rushing touchdown.
Alexander Marsteller was the lead rusher with 58 rushing yards, averaging 3.4 yards per carry.
Matthew Cress was the top wideout with two catches, totaling 35 receiving yards.
Rudy Griffing led the defense with 16 tackles and one forced fumble.
Antonio Barnes led the secondary with six tackles and two interceptions.
William Fleck also made an impact with two tackles, one sack, one tackle for loss, and a forced fumble.
After a three-and-out by the Fightin' Engineers, MSJ was able to get on the board on their first drive of the game. The team went 57 yards in five plays to score a touchdown and take the 7-0 lead.
Rose-Hulman answered in the second quarter, driving 33 yards in 11 plays to set up a 27-yard field goal by
Cohen Peters to make the score 7-3.
Mount added two more touchdowns before the half to extend their lead. After a missed extra point, the Lions led the Fightin' Engineers 20-3 at the halftime break.
Rose-Hulman's defense came out fired up in the second half. On MSJ's second possession,
Antonio Barnes came away with his second interception of the day to set the tone for the Fightin' Engineers.
Austin Hastings recorded another huge turnover for the Fightin' Engineers defense. Hastings picked off the Mount quarterback and returned the ball all the way to the MSJ 13-yard line. This led to another Peters field goal from 29 yards out to make the score 20-6. This would be the score at the end of the third quarter.
The Lions put together a long scoring drive in the final quarter, eating up seven minutes and 46 seconds, going 71 yards in 14 plays to score a touchdown and extend their lead to 27-6 with 5:16 left to play.
Rose-Hulman finally reached the end zone on an 11-play, 68-yard drive that ended in a one-yard rushing touchdown by Zanetell. This would bring the game to its final score of 27-13, with MSJ handing Rose-Hulman their first conference loss of the season.
Rose-Hulman will wrap up the 2026 regular season on the road against Bluffton on Saturday, November 14, at 1:30 PM.
