Heartbreaking home loss to McKendree drops Football to 2-1

Home Charger Football Heartbreaking home loss to McKendree drops Football to 2-1
Heartbreaking home loss to  McKendree drops Football to 2-1

For the third time in three games this season, the Chargers went down to the wire against their opponent. This time, however, they weren’t able to break through. McKendree University handed Hillsdale its first loss of the year on Saturday, 24-21, at Frank “Muddy” Waters Stadium.

The defeat dropped the Chargers’ record to 2-1.

The game began auspiciously enough, as Hillsdale’s offense moved the ball 68 yards to take a 7-0 lead early in the first quarter.

During the drive, junior quarterback Chance Stewart connected with two targets for 27 yards through the air and scrambled for 10 yards on the ground. Sophomore running back Christian Shepler carried the ball three times for 24 yards, including a 1-yard score for his first collegiate touchdown.

“We took what the defense gave us,” Shepler said. “If they’re showing us a scheme that we can run the ball against, we’ll run the ball. If they’re showing us something that we can pass the ball against, we’ll pass the ball. We have guys who can make plays in both the running and passing game.”

Later in the first quarter, the Bearcats forced a fumble on a sack of Stewart. McKendree’s offense took over at Hillsdale’s 28-yard line.

The short field allowed the Bearcats to get on the board with a touchdown. The extra-point sailed wide of the goal post, and the Chargers led 7-6 at the end of the opening quarter.

Early in the second quarter, the Bearcats missed what would have been a go-ahead field goal. Hillsdale gave McKendree another opportunity, however, when they turned the ball over a second time.

The Chargers had moved the ball into McKendree territory when sophomore running back Casey O’Brien’s fumble gave possession back to the Bearcats. The turnover overshadowed an otherwise solid performance from O’Brien, who helped move the Chargers onto McKendree’s side of the field and broke off a 19-yard run earlier in the drive.

McKendree capitalized on Hillsdale’s miscue, and marched 68 yards for a touchdown and two-point conversion to take a 14-7 lead.

The Chargers responded before the close of the first half, as Stewart connected with junior wide receiver Austin Sandusky for a 6-yard touchdown with 18 seconds remaining in the second quarter.

“Sandusky has always been a key part of our offense because of his speed and route running,” Stewart said. “He brings a different element to our team with his kill set and is just another key weapon on the offensive side.”

Stewart finished the game 12-for-20, his highest completion percentage in a game this season, but with only 104 yards, his lowest output through three contests.

The teams headed into the tunnel at halftime tied at 14.

The Bearcats took a three-point lead on their first drive of the second half, thanks to a 19-yard field goal. The Chargers again responded, when sophomore running back David Graham turned a 4th-and-1 attempt into a 39-yard touchdown run. With it, Hillsdale took a 21-17 lead.

Graham has scored in all three games this season, and has four touchdowns to begin the year. He continues to get the bulk of the carries in the backfield, while junior running back Joe Reverman continues to recover from offseason surgery.

“Right now, the stats prove that the guy we want to touch the ball the most is David Graham,” head coach Keith Otterbein said of the rotation of Graham, Shepler, and O’Brien at the running back position. “But for the time being, you’re going to see all three of those faces as we keep going.”

Hillsdale gained 213 yards on the ground for the evening, the most as a team in a game this year. Graham, Shepler, and O’Brien all carried the ball at least seven times, and all three backs averaged more than five yards per carry.

“I think it’s a healthy competition. We’re always pushing each other,” Shepler said.  “We’re all pretty unselfish guys, so we’re happy for each other, too.”

A 72-yard touchdown drive at the end of the third quarter gave the lead back to McKendree, 24-21. Neither team scored in the final quarter. Hillsdale’s defense has not allowed any fourth-quarter points this season.

The momentum seemed to shift in the Chargers’ favor early in the fourth quarter, when sophomore defensive back Merrick Canada intercepted an overthrown pass to get the ball back to Hillsdale’s offense.

“The quarterback threw a bad pass and I was deeper down the field so I just sat back there and it kind of came right to me,” Canada said. “Because they were really athletic, we played zone defense and played a little bit off the line, so they couldn’t just run guys by us and toss it over our heads.”

Unlike the Bearcats, Hillsdale was unable to turn the takeaway into points.

The interception was the only turnover the Chargers forced in the game, compared to the two McKendree created in the first half.

“One of our defensive goals is to win the turnover battle,” sophomore linebacker Dan Shanley said. “That’s something we’re going to focus on this week. It’s always good to get takeaways, but we need more.”

Shanley made 13 total tackles in the game, 10 of which were solo, to lead the team. He was one of many defenders who had a hand in limiting McKendree to only 3.2 yards per rushing attempt.

“I think we played well against the run,” Shanley said. “There’s definitely room for improvement and things we’ve got to do better, but there’s definitely positives we can take away, because that’s a good McKendree team we played. Their running backs are pretty athletic.”

Conversely, Hillsdale’s offense struggled to find consistency all night long. Hillsdale routinely began drives deep in its own territory. Eight of the Chargers’ 12 drives began at or inside their own 20-yard line.

“Field position is always huge,” Stewart said. “Starting at our own 1-yard line isn’t ideal, but it’s something we work on and are prepared for. It comes down to the offense getting into a groove and putting together nice drives.”

All three of Hillsdale’s scoring drives began outside of their own 20-yard line. Of the Chargers’ 62 plays from scrimmage, 42 were rushing plays. Otterbein said field position and turnovers were both factors in the offense’s inability to generate momentum.

“Certainly the longer the field, the tougher it is to drive the ball,” he said. “The key is to give yourself a little breathing room. Field position absolutely made a difference, but just as relevant is the fact that we turned the ball over twice.”

Otterbein said one way the Chargers can improve their field position is by gaining better yardage on punt and kick returns, something he admitted wasn’t a focal point for the team heading into week three.

The road ahead doesn’t get any easier for the Chargers, as they travel to the University of Indianapolis on Saturday to take on the undefeated, No.14 Greyhounds. Hillsdale defeated Indianapolis at home last year, 30-24.

“This is one of those games that’s kind of a non-conference rivalry,” Otterbein said. “We know what we’re going to get with institutions like Indianapolis. They’re very sound fundamentally. They play really hard. It’s a good opponent for us to have.”