ADRIAN, Mich. – Justin Thomas hauled in a 40-yard touchdown from his brother, Kyle, with five seconds left as Albion College bounced back from a 20-point deficit midway through the second quarter to stun Adrian College, 49-42, in Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association football action.
Adrian led, 27-7, on Emmanuel Stewart's 82-yard run with nine minutes left in the second quarter. Stewart finished with 283 yards and four scores on 30 carries.
Weather caused a suspension in play, and it gave Albion an opportunity to regroup.
Albion responded with the next three scores (Kyle Thomas scored on a 32-yard run in the second quarter and Quinten Jackson returned a fumble recovery 24 yards and Brian Blanzy hauled in an 11-yard pass in the third quarter) to take a 28-27 lead.
The teams traded scores from there. Stewart ripped off a 53-yard run and Joe Cleary hauled in a 17-yard pass from Jack Wurzer for Adrian. Albion countered with Justin Thomas on the receiving end of a 66-yard pass to forge a tie at 35 and Markell McCoy scoring on a 16-yard run to earn a tie at 42.
McCoy finished with 133 rushing yards on 21 carries, for an average of nearly 6 ½ yards per play. Thomas finished with 124 receiving yards and three scores.
Levi Ladd led the Albion defense with 15 tackles. Malik Bozell and Mitchell Arendsen were credited with 10 tackles apiece. Arendsen finished with three tackles for loss. Josh Padelt and Drew Shafer also collected interceptions.
Albion (5-2 overall, 2-2 MIAA) makes its final road trip of the season next Saturday when it tackles Trine University.
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