There were plenty of heroes in the Hillsdale College football team’s 41-38 win over the Northern Michigan Wildcats on Saturday.
The Chargers struggled to make plays in key situations during their three-game losing streak which they snapped on Saturday. Against the Wildcats, however, players on offense, defense, and special teams stepped up.
“It finally came together and went our way,” head coach Keith Otterbein said. “We played smart football.”
The Chargers led 41-38 with 5:22 remaining in the game. Northern Michigan had the ball at their 45-yard line, but Hillsdale forced a three-and-out as junior linebacker Jay Rose broke up a pass on third-and-7. The Chargers got the ball back with 4:26 left, and looked to run out the clock. Two clutch plays highlighted a successful four-minute drill.
On third-and-9 from midfield, sophomore quarterback Chance Stewart completed a short pass to sophomore tight end John Brennan who broke a tackle and moved 14 yards for a first down.
“John Brennan made a phenomenal catch and run,” Otterbein said. “Otherwise we would have had to punt it away.”
With 1:31 remaining, the Chargers faced fourth-and-3 from the Wildcats’ 29-yard line. Rather than try a long field goal or a pooch punt, the Chargers went for it. Stewart rushed four yards for the game-clinching first down.
“We were just trying to win the game right there,” Otterbein said. “The victory formation is a very fun formation to call, so it was nice to get in that a couple times.”
A cast of players set up Hillsdale’s game-ending drive. Sophomore tailback Joe Reverman rushed for 168 yards and 3 touchdowns. Freshman David Graham blocked a punt that was recovered by senior Chris Koenigsknecht, setting up Reverman’s third touchdown of the afternoon.
“Looking back on it you can easily see how it wouldn’t have gone our way,” Rose said. “It was definitely nice to have those plays go our way and it made it a pretty fun game.”
Sophomore quarterback Chance Stewart completed 20 of his 28 passes for 296 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore wide receiver Trey Brock caught 8 passes for 144 yards, his seventh 100-yard receiving game of the season. Brock has passed Oakland Raiders wide receiver Andre Holmes for the most 100-yard receiving games by a Hillsdale player in a season.
Reverman credited the offensive line and Stewart’s and Brock’s good play for his best performance of the season.
“They can’t really take away the run and the pass at the same time, so it opened up a lot of big holes for me,” Reverman said.
Offenses dominated the first half, as the Chargers and Wildcats traded touchdowns. Hillsdale led 31-28 at halftime. The Chargers never trailed and were tied three times but never led by more than 10. The Chargers generated nine big plays on offense and gained 513 yards total.
“It’s a lot easier to have somebody chasing you than to be the chaser, so we were able to hold serve,” Otterbein said. “When you get into one of those you’ve just got to keep generating touchdowns.”
Both offenses slowed down in the second half, but the Chargers made enough plays to pick up their fourth win of the season.
“There were a lot of different guys that stepped up,” Reverman said. “Those were plays that in previous games we might not have made to win the game.”
With two home games remaining in the season, Hillsdale is 4-4 overall and 3-4 in the GLIAC. The Chargers haven’t enjoyed a winning season since 2012 when they finished 7-4, so they want to win out.
“We want to finish 6-4,” Rose said. “That’s our goal.”
The Chargers will go for their fifth win of the year on Saturday at noon at Frank “Muddy” Waters Stadium against the No. 19 Ferris State Bulldogs who are 7-2 on the year.
“They’ve got talent and they’re well-coached,” Otterbein said. “It’s certainly a big challenge for us.”
Ferris State’s defensive line is one of the best in the GLIAC.
“These guys are manimals,” Otterbein said. “That’s their strength. No one can throw it on them because they don’t have time to throw it on them.”
Since Stewart will likely have less time in the pocket than normal, Otterbein said being efficient on first and second downs and changing his launch point will be important.
If they can make big plays at key moments like they did against the Wildcats, the Chargers are confident they can move one step closer to finishing above .500.
“Everyone’s got to do their job and we should be alright,” Rose said.