CHAPTER 23Rose-Hulman Institute of TechnologySept. 21, 2013

 Rose-Hulman 23, Defiance 19

This second tour game of 2013 proved to be fortuitous for me and the “game day” project on three counts. 1) It would be another tightly contested affair; 2) It would be one of three homecoming games I worked into the itinerary; and 3) The campus proved to be the most pleasant surprise of all the campuses I visited, details of which will be illustrated in the landscape photography chapter (Chapter 24) for this school.

For Rose-Hulman Insititute of Technology, this homecoming would prove to be the energizing boost that “homecoming” was meant to be when the tradition was established years ago. 

The Fightin’ Engineers had lost their first two games of the season, so winning the first Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference game of the season – even though it was another struggle – seemed to lift program spirits on this day.   

The 23-19 conquest of Defiance (Ohio) College at Cook Stadium would be the first of four consecutive wins and help the host school finish 2013 with a 7-3 record (7-1 in the HCAC), the only league blemish a 64-14 drubbing by conference champion and nationally ranked Franklin College. 

Still, the league record was good enough for the Fightin’ Engineers to share the HCAC championship with Franklin, which also had lost one conference game (24-17 to Bluffton), although the Grizzlies got the postseason tournament berth by virtue of their 64-14 win over Rose-Hulman.

Rose-Hulman trailed 13-3 at half, but it tallied 20 unanswered points after the break then held on to stop a Yellow Jackets comeback. Indeed, the host school accounted for 213 of its 287 offensive yards in the second half, which started on its opening 11-play, 69-yard drive.

The Fightin’ Engineers climaxed that first drive in the second half with a 1-yard punch-in touchdown by senior running back Danya Francis. The key play in the drive came on a 27-yard pass from senior quarterback Ryan Landwehr to sophomore wide receiver Jacob Dye.

Then with 8:47 left in the third quarter, Landwehr connected with sophomore wide receiver Aaron Abbott on a 57-yard scoring pass to give Rose-Hulman a 16-13 lead (the conversion attempt was no good). When Landwehr scored on a 6-yard run with 4:06 left in the quarter, the Fightin’ Engineers were ahead 23-13.

That score held until 6 minutes left in the game, when the visitors’ Andrew Feldhaus returned a fumble recovery 55 yards for a touchdown. The point after kick was blocked, so Rose-Hulman clung to a 23-19 lead. The Engineers secured the win with 42 seconds left when sophomore defensive back Anthony Adamo intercepted a pass by Defiance junior quarterback Sean Washington.

Special teams proved to be key for the Engineers. Senior punter Eric Schaible averaged 40.6 yards on eight punts, including a 61-yarder early in the game. He also downed a punt on the 1-yard-line in the second half to pin the Yellow Jackets deep in their territory.

For the game, Landwehr completed 14 of 25 passes for 139 yards; Washington, his counterpart, was 14 of 30 for 146 yards and the one interception. Washington also led the Yellow Jackets in rushing, with 83 yards on 21 carries and one touchdown. 

Francis led the Fightin’ Engineers on the ground, gaining 65 yards on 20 carries and the one touchdown. Abbott had six receptions for 66 yards and Dye five for 69 yards for the Fightin’ Engineers; freshman receiver Cody Wilson led Defiance with five receptions for 77 yards. 

The Yellow Jackets would finish the 2013 season with a 3-7 record, including 3-4 in the HCAC. The school won several football championships while a member of the Northwest Ohio Conference in the 1920s and early ’30s, and eight championships in the Mid-Ohio and Hoosier-Buckeye conferences in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s. It joined the HCAC in 2000 and won its only conference football championship the following year, sharing it with Anderson, both finishing with 5-1 league records.

To view a full gallery of shots from this game, follow the link in this sentence. 

The Fightin’ Engineers take the field (above) before their homecoming game vs. Defiance. Before action started on the gridiron, these youths (below) sang the National Anthem.

Above and next two below: The key play in the Engineers’ opening drive of the third quarter was a 27-yard pass play from Ryan Landwehr to Jacob Dye. In the photos above and immediately below, Dye does a nice job eluding Defiance defensive back Leroy Cheatham (1). Dye’s scamper down the left sideline included an acrobatic teeter (second below) to stay in bounds before being tackled 15 yards or so later.

Above: Defiance got on the scoreboard first when sophomore quarterback Sean Washington punched it into the end zone from one-yard out.

Above: A hole opened momentarily for Rose-Hulman running back Greg Lee.

Above: Rose-Hulman head Coach Jeff Sokol during a more calm moment of the game.

Above and next two below: A short pass to freshman running back Cody Wilson resulted in a short second-half gain when defensive back John Burt brought down Wilson along the right sideline.

Above: Rose-Hulman benefited in the second-half by forcing the Defiance offense to start drives from deep in its own territory. The Engineers’ defense swarmed over the Yellow Jackets’ ball carrier on this play inside the 10-yard line.

Above and next three below: Fumbles and dropped passes were rampant in this game. Chris Sander bobbled this first-half punt but fortunately was able to hang onto it. 

Above: Chris Sander (right) and Craig Voges (40) sandwiched Yellow Jackets runner Aaron Spence to make a tackle on this rushing play.

Above and next three below: Quarterback Ryan Landwehr (7) ran for 6 yards through the middle of the line to score Rose-Hulman’s third TD of the third quarter, and give the home team a 23-13 advantage. The score was cause for celebration, led by lineman Jason Waldenmeyer (74) (first photo below), and even a jump bump from head coach Jeff Sokol (second below). Landwehr grabbed some refreshment to watch the action after the ensuing kick-off (third photo below). 

Above: Offensive tight end Jordan Patterson along the Engineer’s bench shortly after Landwehr’s third-quarter touchdown.

The Fighting Engineers’ defense swarmed a Defiance ball carrier (above), and Jordan Harr (49) had reason to celebrate in the first quarter after recovering a fumble (below) by Sean Washington on Defiance’s first offensive play after having recovered a Rose-Hulman fumbled punt reception. 

 

Above: Landwehr and the Fightin’ Engineers were just trying to run out the clock on this play late in the fourth quarter. Landwehr took a minor loss of a yard on the play.

Above: A section of the home crowd that supplemented the cheerleaders’ efforts. One of the favorite moments of the day for me was when the crowd, I think led by these gentlemen, spelled out the full name of the school -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology -- right down to the hyphen in a rousing school cheer.

Above and below: Perspective shots of and from Cook Stadium. The one below looks out onto a forested area that provides a wonderful backdrop for home crowd fans.

Above: It was homecoming weekend at Rose-Hulman, so the homecoming court was introduced to the crowd at halftime. The women on the court included (from left) Katherine Moravec, queen; Elaine Schaudt; Paige Pinkstaff; and Catherine Fiutem. Fiutem, a senior member of the volleyball team, was injured earlier in the day during competition in Hulbert Arena in the adjacent Sports and Recreation Center.

Above: After the game ended, the Fightin’ Engineers gathered and turned toward the home crowd to sing a victory song and lead a cheer. 

Next up: Chapter 24, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology campus

Previously in Game Day Revisited:

Introduction

Chapter 1: Franklin College vs. Trine University, Sept. 2009

Chapter 2: Franklin College campus

Chapter 3: Hanover College vs. Manchester University, Oct. 2011

Chapter 4: Hanover College campus

Chapter 5: Wabash College vs. Wittenberg University, Nov. 2011

Chapter 6: Wabash College campus

Chapter 7: DePauw University vs. Wabash College, Nov. 2011

Chapter 8: DePauw University campus

Chapter 9: Marian University vs. St. Francis (Ill.), Nov. 2011

Chapter 10: Marian University campus

Chapter 11: Franklin College vs. Earlham, Sept. 2012

Chapter 12: Team mascots

Chapter 13: Taylor University vs. St. Xavier (Ill.), Oct. 2012

Chapter 14: Taylor University campus

Chapter 15: University of Indianapolis vs. Delta State (Miss.), Nov. 2012

Chapter 16: University of Indianapolis campus

Chapter 17: Wabash College vs. DePauw University, Nov. 2012

Chapter 18: Tailgating and pageantry

Chapter 19: University of St. Francis (Ft. Wayne) vs. Baker University (Kan.), Nov. 2012

Chapter 20: University of St. Francis (Ft. Wayne) campus

Chapter 21: St. Joseph's College vs. Valparaiso University, Sept. 2013

Chapter 22: St. Joseph’s College campus

Game Day: Rose-Hulman wins homecoming game vs. Defiance

The people I talked to along the sideline of the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology football team on Sept. 21 seemed disappointed that the school had lost its first two games of the season. And the Fightin' Engineers found themselves struggling, too, in this third game -- their Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference opener, a homecoming contest against Defiance (Ohio).

The Engineers trailed 13-3 at halftime at Cook Stadium, then rallied to score 20 unanswered points before needing to hold off a Defiance comeback and claim their first 2013 win, 23-19. The rally began with Rose-Hulman's first drive of the third quarter, climaxed by a one-yard punch-in TD by senior running back Danya Francis, a moment captured in the photo leading off this post.

It was a beautiful day for football at the campus outside Terre Haute, and even more remarkable was this hidden treasure of a campus. What a photographer's delight! I don't mean to tease you unnecessarily, but you'll have to wait until the next post to see and appreciate all that I mean by that observation; this post is devoted to the Game Day action on the gridiron.

The campus atmosphere resembled that of a festival; many alumni returned for the game and gathered in various sections of the student center, academic buildings and even tents set up in the tailgating area. They enjoyed each other's company and spreads of finger food and beverages. Grills were everywhere, and kids had a fun area to enjoy in the tailgate area outside the stadium.

I encountered an ... interesting ... (but also frustrating) photo quirk from the day's shoot, but unfortunately not one I noticed or realized until I worked in post-processing. At some point during the day, something attached itself to the sensor of my backup camera, a Canon 30D. A black mark appeared on images thereafter, forcing me to either crop around it (if I could) or try to do damage repair with the cloning stamp. In some cases, one of those techniques did work. But I had to toss out several images because the repair would require too much complicated retouching for my skills.

This is the first of three consecutive posts focusing on my visit to Rose-Hulman. The second post features pictures I took of the beautiful campus during my visit; the third post returns to the area around Cook Stadium and the Sports and Recreation Center to feature the busy activity on that homecoming weekend.

For a full gallery of game shots from this shoot, visit my site at SmugMug. Next post: The campus of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.

Above and below: The Fightin' Engineers take the field before their homecoming game vs. Defiance. Before action started on the gridiron, these youths sang the National Anthem.

Above and next two below: The key play in the Engineers' opening drive of the third quarter was a 27-yard pass play from Ryan Landwehr to Jacob Dye. In the photos above and immediately below, Dye does a nice job eluding Defiance defensive back Leroy Cheatham (1). Dye's scamper down the left sideline included an arobatic teeter (second below) to stay in bounds before being tackled 15 yards or so later.  

Above: Defiance got on the scoreboard first when sophomore quarterback Sean Washington bulled it into the end zone from one-yard out. 

Above: A hole opened momentarily for Rose-Hulman running back Greg Lee. 

Above: Head Coach Jeff Sokol during a more calm moment of the game.

Above and next two below: A short pass to freshman running back Cody Wilson resulted in a short second-half gain when defensive back John Burt brought fpem Wilson along the right sideline.

Above: Rose-Hulman benefited in the second-half by forcing the Defiance offense to start drives from deep in its own territory. The Engineers' defense swarmed over the Yellow Jackets' ball carrier on this play inside the 10-yard line.

Above and next three below: Fumbles and dropped passes were rampant in this game. Chris Sander bobbled this first-half punt but fortunately was able to hang onto it. 

Above: Chris Sander (right) and Craig Voges (40) sandwich Yellow Jackets' runner Aaron Spence to make a tackle on this rushing play.

Above and next three below: Quarterback Ryan Landwehr (7) ran for 6 yards through the middle of the line to score Rose-Hulman's third TD of the third quarter, and give the home team a 23-13 advantage. The score was cause for celebration, led by lineman Jason Waldenmeyer (74) (first below), and even a jump bump from head coach Jeff Sokol (second below). Landwehr grabbed some refreshment to watch the action after the ensuing kick-off (third below). 

Above: Offensive tight end Jordan Patterson along the Engineer's bench shortly after Landwehr's third-quarter touchdown.

Above and below: The Fightin' Engineers' band pumped up the crowd after the home team's final score, a margin that would come in handy after the Yellow Jackets' defense scored in the fourth quarter on what was ruled a fumbled recovery though it appeared to be more like a grab-away.

Above: A section of the home crowd that supplemented the cheerleaders' efforts. One of the favorite moments of the day for me was when the crowd, I think led by these gentlemen, spelled out the full name of the school -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology -- right down to the hyphen in a rousing school cheer.

Above and below: Perspective shots of and from Cook Stadium. The one below looks out onto a forested area that provides a wonderful backdrop for home crowd fans. By the way, these two pictures were among those marred by the debris I talked about in the text. Can you spot the repair points in the images?  

Above and below: Halftime was packed with activities and entertainment, starting with the cheerleaders, who went through some exercises at midfield. 

Above: It was homecoming weekend at Rose-Hulman, so the homecoming court was introduced to the crowd at halftime after the cheerleaders' show. The women on the court included (from left) Katherine Moravec, queen; Elaine Schaudt; Paige Pinkstaff; and Catherine Fiutem. Fiutem, a senior member of the volleyball team, was injured earlier in the day during competition in Hulbert Arena in the adjacent Sports and Recreation Center. 

Above and next two below: Also at halftime, three teams of high school students from Carmel, Indianapolis and West Lafayette who participate in the annual FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) international youth robotics competition gave a demonstration of their creations that flung flying discs onto the field, where a young man did his best to catch and corral them.

Above and below: Rose-Hulman mascot Rosie the elephant works through a routine as the band plays ... then takes a break out of the sun underneath the grandstands of Cook Stadium.

Above: After the game ended, the Fightin' Engineers gathered and turned toward the home crowd to sing a victory song and lead a cheer.