OLIVET, Mich. – The Kalamazoo College football team suffered its first loss of the season, dropping a 45-12 contest at Olivet Saturday afternoon.

The Hornets are now 4-1 overall, including 1-1 in MIAA play. Olivet stands at 2-3 overall and 1-1 against league foes.

Down 7-0 in the first quarter, Josh Nichols hit Aaron Zekman for a nine-yard gain to get things started. Facing a third-and-one at the Olivet 46, Sheldon Riley rumbled three yards for a first down.

On second-and-eight, Nichols connected with Devin Yankee for an 18-yard strike. Moments later, Kalamazoo went for it on fourth-and-11 at the Olivet 24-yard line. The play call paid off as Nichols hit Lucas Hanifan for a 24-yard touchdown, making it 7-6.

Olivet scored on its ensuing drive, pushing the score to 14-6. After a fumble, the home team extended the margin to 17-6 at the break.

The home team added 21 points in the third quarter for a 38-6 advantage, but the Hornets struck in the fourth frame. Taking over on its own 49-yard line, Nichols found Braeden Lavis for a first down. Two plays later, he connected with Jonah Spates for a 15-yard gain. After finding Andrew Durbin for 11 yards, Riley scampered for a nine-yard gain to get into the red zone. On third and goal from the three-yard line, Hanifan caught a touchdown strike from Nichols for the score. After a failed two-point conversion, the score remained at 38-12.

Olivet tacked on a late touchdown for the 45-12 final.

Nichols connected on 22-of-38 for 228 yards with two scores. Dawson Skupin connected on all three attempts for 31 yards while Zach Metz was 2-for-3 with 20 yards through the air.

Riley rushed for 51 yards on 12 attempts to lead the ground attack.

Hanifan hauled in two touchdown catches. He had seven receptions for 63 yards. Andrew Durbin caught three passes for 43 yards.

Carson Deines led the defense with 11 tackles, including six solo stops. Raymond Cargill had five tackles including one for a five-yard loss.