RICHMOND, Ind. -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology scored early and often in reclaiming the Battle of the Borders Broadsword for the 16th consecutive year in an 83-14 win over Earlham College on Saturday afternoon.
Rose-Hulman also sent its record sized senior class of 30 out with a school record 31st victory in the last four years. The senior class finished their careers with a 31-10 record, including the program's first trip to the NCAA Division III playoffs in 2016.
The Fightin' Engineers scored 28 points in the opening quarter and 34 in the second quarter to put the game out of reach early. Rose-Hulman ran the ball nearly exclusively in the second half, tying a single-game school record with 435 rushing yards on 66 attempts.
Individually, Mike Riley ended the year with a single-season school record 17 sacks after recording 1.5 on Saturday. Garrett Wight became the first Fightin' Engineer 1,000-yard rusher since 2011 with 216 yards and three scores, and Raymond Burtnick tied the single-season school record with 15 touchdown receptions.
Saturday's game featured quick scoring in the first half. Rose-Hulman built a 28-0 lead after one quarter with two touchdown passes and two rushes. Andrew Dion connected with Zack Murphy on a 34-yard touchdown pass to open the scoring, before Wight scored from seven yards out. Dion then hit Burtnick on a 27-yard scoring strike, before Wight capped the first quarter scoring with a 22-yard touchdown run.
In the second quarter, the points continued as Rose-Hulman increased its lead to 42-0 with 9:11 left in the first half. Dion threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to Noah Thomas to open the second quarter scoring, then Wight had his third touchdown on the day with a 55-yard scamper.
The lead reached 55-0 with two more touchdowns in a 40-second span. Michael Iacono scored on a three-yard touchdown run and, after a quick stop by the defense, Josh Vincent blocked a punt and returned it 23 yards for another score with 6:53 left in the first half.
Rose-Hulman wrapped up the first half scoring with a 3-yard touchdown run by Kevin Dufauchard in the last minute of the opening half to increase the margin to 62-0.
In the seecond half, Rose-Hulman scored the first touchdowns of the third quarter. Eric Morris connected with Burtnick on a 6-yard touchdown pass, before Titus Schammel scored on a 3-yard touchdown run. Earlham answered with the first of two touchdown passes by Wesley Hundley, before Schammel scored the final touchdown of the day with a 1-yard run.
Rose-Hulman gained 621 yards of total offense and held the Quakers to just 214. Wight led the ground attack with 216 yards and three toudchdowns on 18 carries. Schammel rushed for 61 yards and two scores, and Dufauchard had 47 rushing yards and another score. Rose-Hulman relied on its bench during the second half, as 13 different Fightin' Engineers had rushing attempts in the game.
Dion led the passing attack with a 4-4 performance for 118 yards and three touchdowns. Morris was 4-5 for 68 yards and another score. Mack Journell had 55 receiving yards, Burtnick added three catches for 45 yards and two scores, Thomas had a 45-yard catch and a 58-yard punt return, and Murphy contributed a 34-yard touchdown catch.
The Fightin' Engineers even showed depth in the kicking game, with Matt Murray and Andrew Peck making five extra points each, and Adam Clark adding one extra point.
Defensively, Rose-Hulman amassed 10 tackles-for-loss, three sacks and two turnovers in the win. Kenny Kowalski led a balanced attack that included 30 players with at least one tacklew with four stops. Riley had 1.5 sacks, and Carter Hounshell joined Garrett Lowe with one fumble recovery each.
The 83 points scored in the game marks the most scored by a Rose-Hulman football team since 1913.
Rose-Hulman finished the season 8-2 and will open the 2018 season against perennial national power Mount Union on Sept. 1 in Ohio.