The start of their season couldn’t have gone much worse, but the end couldn’t have gone any better.
The Hillsdale College football team overcame the Wayne State Warriors 31-24 in overtime on Saturday to send its seniors off on a four-game winning streak.
“That was a storybook ending,” head coach Keith Otterbein said. “There comes a time when a team just says, ‘We’re not losing, we’re not going to let this go,’ and we just made enough plays on both sides of the ball.”
After redshirt freshman tailback Joe Reverman put Hillsdale ahead in overtime with a 9-yard touchdown run, senior defensive back Todd Frickey picked off a pass in the end zone on Wayne State’s ensuing possession to seal the victory for the Chargers.
“That was definitely a moment I will never forget, but my teammates deserve a lot of the credit for that as well,” Frickey said. “The win was big for both our seniors and for the team as a whole.”
Before scoring on Hillsdale’s final offensive possession, Reverman opened the scoring on the second play from scrimmage, running 62 yards untouched into the end zone to give the Chargers an early 7-0 lead.
“Joe said that’s the biggest hole he’s ever run through and that made us feel pretty good on the offensive line,” senior left guard Justice Karmie said.
On the Chargers’ next possession, redshirt freshman quarterback Chance Stewart threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to freshman wide receiver Trey Brock, doubling Hillsdale’s advantage to 14-0 less than nine minutes into the game.
“Chance throws a really nice deep ball,” Otterbein said. “As you gain more confidence as a football team and more confidence as an offense you can take some of those shots.”
But the Warriors fought their way back into the game. A Romello Brown two-yard rush gave Wayne State a 17-14 lead heading into halftime.
“Even after we were up 14-0 early we knew it was going to be a battle,” Karmie said. “Coach always says you’ve got to weather the storm.”
Brown’s third touchdown of the game gave the Warriors a 24-17 lead with 7:41 left in the fourth quarter, but Stewart connected with junior tight end Joe Srebernak for a 16-yard touchdown with 1:21 left in the game to force overtime.
“We had to really work hard to get it to overtime,” Otterbein said.
After he sealed the win with his interception, Frickey was mobbed by students and his teammates on the field.
The Chargers started the season 1-6 and suffered through a five-game losing streak, but were able to turn their season around, winning their final four games to finish 5-6.
“There came a time where we had to decide whether we wanted to stay the course and keep working hard or limp through the rest of the season,” Frickey said. “We had a lot of great senior leaders on this team who refused to lose, which lead to a turnaround in our season. Our win Saturday was the culmination of our team’s continued hard work and dedication.”
After finishing the season with 1,083 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns, Reverman was voted team MVP by his teammates. On Tuesday, Reverman was named GLIAC Freshman of the Year and Second-Team All-GLIAC.
“I know we have so many other great players on the team and for them to be able to recognize me as the MVP is pretty humbling,” Reverman said. “I didn’t necessarily feel deserving because our offensive line was so good this year, but it meant a lot.”
Saturday’s win was just as important for the team’s younger players as it was for the seniors.
“The momentum is huge,” Otterbein said. “We ended on a four-game winning streak, and everything is upbeat and positive.”
Even with plenty of momentum heading into next season, Otterbein is looking for his players to continue to improve over the offseason.
“The reality is we’re going to have to have a bunch of guys really develop and step up and replace some guys that have played a lot of football,” Otterbein said. “We’ve got guys but they’ve got to develop first and foremost over the winter and get bigger, stronger, and faster.”
Otterbein’s players realize that.
“If each person gets better then our team can get better as a whole,” Reverman said. “I’m sure everyone wants to do that.”
The Chargers will continue to lift over the next few months but won’t hold organized practices until after spring break when spring practice begins.
Hillsdale played 11 games this season, but as of right now the Chargers have just 10 games scheduled for next season. Otterbein said there’s a “50-50” chance they’ll add an eleventh game in the middle of the season, which is where their current bye week would be.
“Because of people coming and going in the new league, those are really tough to fill,” Otterbein said.
The Chargers have six home games scheduled for next season, and matchups against Michigan Tech, Grand Valley, and Ferris State.