The Hillsdale College football team couldn’t catch a break on Saturday, and the Tiffin Dragons took advantage. The Dragons handed the Chargers their first defeat of the season 37-20, snapping Hillsdale’s six-game winning streak, dating back to last year.
“Every time we got a chance to get some wind in our sails, it seemed like we didn’t,” head coach Keith Otterbein said. “We played hard, we just didn’t make the right plays at the right times to capture the momentum enough to win the football game.”
In the first half, the Chargers were stopped on third-and-short and fourth-and-short situations multiple times and gave up a fumble. In the second half, Hillsdale’s defense struggled to get off the field and the offense struggled to pick up the pace playing from behind.
“We missed some early opportunities,” Otterbein said. “It just felt like we were spinning our wheels a little bit.”
After giving up just 154 rushing yards and allowing only four third-down conversions in their first two games combined, the Chargers allowed Tiffin to gain 268 yards on the ground and convert 10 of their 15 third-down conversion attempts. Hillsdale’s defense couldn’t stop Tiffin quarterback Antonio Pipkin, who rushed for 107 yards, in addition to his 190 yards through the air.
“He’s a really athletic quarterback,” Otterbein said. “They spread you out sideline-to-sideline and create a lot of space for him. With all that space and their athleticism, we didn’t really tackle great.”
On several occasions, the Chargers forced Tiffin into third-and-long situations before allowing the Dragons to pick up the first down.
“It just kills you when you give up third-and-longs like we did,” junior linebacker Jay Rose said. “We’ve just got to do a better job of bouncing back from those because we let it get to us. If we do a better job of that we probably win the game.”
Making his first collegiate start in place of sophomore quarterback Chance Stewart — who suffered a crack in his sternum — redshirt freshman Steven Ficyk completed 18 of his 29 passes for 259 yards and a touchdown. Ficyk picked up his first career touchdown with 14:55 remaining in the fourth quarter on a 35-yard pass to junior wide receiver Timmy Mills, but all he wanted was a win.
“I would’ve traded anything that happened for a win,” Ficyk said. “But for a first start it was a good first step definitely.”
Otterbein was impressed with Ficyk’s composure.
“He did really well,” Otterbein said. “There’s always more room to improve but generally I was pretty pleased with the way he stepped in there.”
Ficyk didn’t know he was going to start until the Wednesday before game day, when he got a call from Otterbein as he walked into one of his classes telling him he would be the starter.
“I didn’t focus that whole class,” Ficyk said.
To help Ficyk adjust to the speed of the collegiate game, Otterbein called shorter pass plays at the beginning of the game, but had to abandon those as the Chargers fell further behind in the second half.
“We were getting him on the edge and giving him some pretty easy passes to complete,” Otterbein said. “A lot of those easier, shorter ball-control type throws that they were having difficulty covering early, based on game situations in the second half, we couldn’t really get back to them.”
In his first start, Ficyk was surprised by the size and the speed of the opposing defense.
“There were plays that in high school it would have been a five-yard gain and I got caught from behind instantly,” Ficyk said.
Stewart returned to practice on Tuesday, so Ficyk doesn’t know when his next start will come. But he knows he’ll be ready.
“I’m just going to keep preparing like I’m the starter. I know what it’s like now,” Ficyk said. “I’m going to do what I can to help Chance when I’m on the sidelines and just try to make the team the best I can.”
The Chargers are now 2-1 on the season and 1-1 in GLIAC play. Hillsdale went 11 months without picking up a loss.
“It’s kind of weird that it’s been this long,” Rose said. “But it’s good to bounce back and get a little bit of a reality check and play this next game with a chip on our shoulders.”
Hillsdale can improve to 3-1 for the first time since 2012 with a homecoming win over the Michigan Tech Huskies on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. Otterbein said the Huskies might have the “most physical” defense the Chargers will play.
“They fly around,” Otterbein said. “They’re really good on the defensive line getting off blocks, running around in the secondary, and the linebackers come down very aggressive on defense.”
Offensively, the Huskies emphasize the run but they’ll mix in trick plays. Otterbein and Michigan Tech head coach Tom Kearly were graduate assistants together at Central Michigan in the early 1980s, so they know each other well.
“He’s going to mix in some reverses and some misdirection. He’s going to spread the field and let his quarterback run it,” Otterbein said. “They do a good job of figuring out formations so that they can outflank you with their offense and get their quarterback either running it or throwing it.”
The Chargers don’t want to waste their strong start to the season.
“Monday’s lift was probably the most enthusiastic we’ve been all year, and we just want to show our 2-0 start wasn’t a fluke,” Ficyk said. “We’re ready to get back out there for homecoming and have some fun out on the football field and get this win.”