ALBION, Mich. – Special teams were the difference as Kalamazoo College edged Albion College, 20-19, in a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association football game at Sprankle-Sprandel Stadium.
Kalamazoo blocked a punt and Jamison Brown returned it 30 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter. With 26 seconds left, Andrew Fabry missed the extra point after Collin Poore dove into the endzone to finish a 16-yard touchdown pass from Kyle Thomas.
The teams traded field goals through the first three quarters. Fabry was good on a pair of kicks from 38 yards out, while Greg Kearns was good from 27 and 23 yards for Kalamazoo.
After the blocked punt, Albion came back to tie the score at 13. Thomas connected with tight end Brian Blanzy for a 35-yard gain to the Kalamazoo 29. Thomas later connected with his brother, Justin, to move the ball to the Kalamazoo 9. Three plays later, Markell McCoy ran in with 5:49 left in regulation.
The Albion defense forced a three-and-out on Kalamazoo's next possession, but the offense could not overcome a false start penalty and Thomas was sacked on third down.
Kalamazoo scored on the first play after it got the ball back as quarterback Zach VanFaussien got the defense to bite on the play action and found Raekwon Castelo for a 58-yard pitch-and-catch with 1:44 left.
Albion's defense was on the field for nearly 37 minutes, but it only yielded 315 total yards. Josh Padelt and Levi Ladd collected eight tackles apiece, and Mitchell Arendsen wrapped up 2 ½ tackles for loss. Malik Bozell chipped in with an 11-yard sack.
Albion, now 4-2 overall and 1-2 against MIAA rivals, travels to Adrian College next Saturday for a 1 o'clock kickoff at Docking Stadium.
