Chargers storm past Lake Erie

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Chargers storm past Lake Erie

Wade Wood run

The biggest party on Saturday night went down at Frank “Muddy” Waters Stadium.

Behind an offensive outburst not seen in Hillsdale in five years, the Hillsdale College Chargers sped past the Lake Erie Storm 52-29.

“That’s the most fun I think all of us have had playing football in a long time,” senior left guard Justice Karmie said. “We were out there having a good time, and that’s something we want to be able to do every week.”

Karmie and the rest of the Chargers’ offensive line opened up the running lanes, and Hillsdale’s tailbacks took advantage.

Junior Bennett Lewis rushed for 163 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries, and senior Wade Wood finished with 108 yards and a touchdown on just eight touches. Lewis and Wood are the first pair of Hillsdale players to rush for 100 or more yards in the same game in 11 years.

“We were just having fun,” Lewis said. “We all wanted to do well and we were just having fun out there with our offensive line. It was good to get a win.”

As a team, the Chargers finished with 350 yards of offense on the ground and 471 yards overall.

“Our offensive line did a really good job controlling the line of scrimmage,” head coach Keith Otterbein said. “I thought on both sides of the ball we did a nice job controlling the line of scrimmage.”

The Chargers needed just four plays to drive 55 yards for their opening touchdown. The Storm responded with a field goal, but the Chargers followed that up with a four-play, 60-yard touchdown drive. Hillsdale continued to attack Lake Erie with the running game, and by halftime the Chargers held a 31-14 advantage.

Hillsdale scored 21 unanswered points in the second half to put the game away.

Lake Erie’s offense moved the ball effectively throughout the game, but weren’t able to finish off their drives with touchdowns. The Storm finished with 561 yards of offense, 90 more yards than the Chargers collected.

“The biggest thing I see on the defensive side of the ball is we’ve got to eliminate giving up the big play, whether it’s run or pass,” Otterbein said. “To have any sustained success we can’t give up the big plays we’re giving up now.”

The Chargers finished the game without being penalized.

“I don’t know in 36 years of coaching if I’ve ever coached in a game where there were zero penalty yards for a football team,” Otterbein said. “That’s like the teenager, we just didn’t caught.”

The Chargers’ win gave them a 1-1 record, while Lake Erie fell to 0-2 with the loss. Hillsdale hits the road on Saturday for their first away game of the season, a 4 p.m. date with Northern Michigan University.

“Concept-wise, they don’t throw a ton at you, but their whole persona is they want to be bigger, tougher, and stronger than everybody that they play,” Karmie said. “We need to be ready to have a really physical knock-down drag-out game for 60 minutes.”

Northern Michigan is 459 miles from Hillsdale, so the Chargers will have to endure their first lengthy trip of the season.

“It’s a long bus ride,” Otterbein said. “We’ve got to rent a lot of movies.”