His Hope College football team down two touchdowns, Terrell Harris looked high into the clear sky on a beautiful fall afternoon at Ray and Sue Smith Stadium and zeroed in on a punt falling toward him.
Moments later, the jubilant Flying Dutchmen football team and a crowd of 2,344 were celebrating a historic and game-altering second-quarter play.
Harris returned the punt a Hope-record 90 yards for a touchdown, springboarding the Flying Dutchmen to a 42-28, come-from-behind victory against Loras College on Saturday in the home opener.
The senior education major from Whitehall, Michigan (Whitehall HS) surpassed the college's 64-yard record for Hope's longest punt return for a touchdown, set by Sherwood VanderWoude against Albion College in 1959.
Most importantly, Harris breathed life into his struggling team that trailed 14-0 early in the second quarter and was flirting with a 0-2 start to the season. Hope dropped its season opener last week at nationally-ranked Aurora University.
Instead, the Flying Dutchmen are 1-1 heading into the rematch with Mount St. Joseph University (Ohio) on Saturday, Sept. 16, at 1 p.m. at Ray and Sue Smith Stadium.
"We were frustrated. Where's the juice? Where are we going?" head coach Peter Stuursma recalled before the Harris punt return at the 12:05 mark of the second quarter. "Terrell turned it on. Wasn't that fun to watch?
"Credit to Terrell because last week he was frustrated with his performance. He came back with two touchdowns. The way he played was electrifying. That single play jump-started us, and we never looked back."
Harris took a long route to the end zone, hauling in the punt at the Hope 10-yard near the Loras sideline and going back five more yards while turning around.
Sprinting across the field toward the Hope sideline, Harris sprung free thanks to well-executed and penalty-avoiding screen blocks from seniors Ryan Howe (Grand Rapids, Michigan / Forest Hills Northern) and Travis Vredeveld (Zeeland, Michigan / Zeeland East). After turning upfield, Harris broke one tackle and nimbly ran around another before sprinting into the end zone.
"I caught it on the sideline, and I just my guys working," Harris said. "My guys work hard every day. We take special teams so serious. All I saw was guys working and doing their jobs. I saw green, and I just took it."
Added Stuursma, "I want to point out two things in that play. Of course, Terrell made the play. Ryan Howe and Travis Vredeveld made two blocks; you can't blindside block anymore. They made screen-type blocks that sprung Terrell, and Terrell did the rest. Credit to Coach (Jinks) Arnold; he does a great job with our special teams."
The Flying Dutchmen took off from there, tying the score twice before halftime — 14-14 on a 3-yard touchdown run by junior running back Chance Strickland (Mason, Michigan / Mason) with 5:37 left in the second quarter, and 21-21 on a 34-yard Harris touchdown reception from freshman quarterback Zach Trainor (Milford, Michigan / Walled Lake Western) with 58 seconds remaining.
In the second half, Hope took the lead for good on a 53-yard touchdown run from senior running back Elijah Smith (Hastings, Michigan / Hastings) 1:18 into the third quarter, and a 22-yard touchdown pass from Trainor to senior wide receiver Grant Holtzer (Okemos, Michigan / Okemos) 4 ½ minutes later.
Hope then answered a Da'Mani Brown 30-yard, third-quarter touchdown reception 3:53 into the fourth quarter with a 55-yard drive and a 5-yard Strickland touchdown run.
Strickland and Smith both were 100-yard rushers for the Flying Dutchmen. Smith finished with 139 yards on 18 carries. Strickland had 127 on 25 attempts. Hope rushed for 296 yards as a team — its most in 14 games.
Hope's defense slammed the door on Loras, piling up sacks late to preserve the non-league victory in the first meeting between the two teams. Loras plays in the American Rivers Conference.
Senior defensive lineman Connor Naklizki (Byron Center, Michigan / Byron Center) and sophomore defensive lineman Micah McCurry (Clarendon Hills, Illinois / Hinsdale) both sacked Loras quarterback Evan England on the final two plays of the game. Naklizki finished with a team-leading 2 ½ sacks.
Sophomore defensive back Nick Flegler (DeWitt, Michigan / DeWitt) topped the Flying Dutchmen with nine tackles, including eight solos. Sophomore linebacker Micah Bush (Hudsonville, Michigan / Unity Christian) was second with eight tackles, including four solos.
"We gave up some plays and balls we shouldn't have. But, our guys kept hanging in there," Stuursma said. "We've been talking about how the offense and defense play off of each other. I think at the end we finally got some pressure to them. When you can get pressure, the DBs can make plays."