The Hillsdale College Football team is preparing for another underdog season, as the G-MAC coaches preseason poll once again ranks the team fifth prior to its season opener in Lake Erie next Saturday.
“I haven’t thought about it for two seconds,” head coach Keith Otterbein said. “It’s a preseason poll, those don’t matter, they go off of past history.”
The coaches poll that was released prior to last season predicted a similar fate for the Chargers, as they were again picked to finish fifth. Despite an 0-3 start, and a 6-6 overall record, the Chargers went 5-2 in G-MAC play, finishing in second place behind the Findlay University Oilers, who were 6-1.
Hillsdale, however, beat the Oilers 34-29, meaning if the Chargers had won just one more game, they would have taken the Conference crown.
That one game that held the Chargers back was a 33-17 home loss to the Lake Erie College Storm, who finished just 2-5 in G-MAC play.
“They remember it, and they remember who it was,” Otterbein said. “That’s our opener, we did not play well against Lake Erie. Either way I think we were close, one big play away from gaining momentum, but we didn’t do it, so we lost the game that on paper we were supposed to win.”
Junior wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa said that he and his teammates are well aware of the weight the game held.
“It’s on the forefront of our minds,” TeSlaa said. “That was one game where, if we won that one, I think there’s a chance we would have that ring on our finger right now, so we’re definitely looking for revenge.”
That opportunity will come when the Storm host the Chargers at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 3.
The game will kick off a season that will pose new challenges for the team, as they graduated excellent players on both sides of the ball, including five of the team’s six leading tacklers on defense.
To help fill that gap, junior Riley Tolsma will move from linebacker to defensive end.
“I played linebacker my whole life, ever since I was like nine years old, so this is definitely a new experience,” Tolsma said. “So far in camp I’ve loved it, and I think the coaches made a great decision to move me, because I think in the long term I’ll be a lot more comfortable, and be able to thrive in that position better.”
Otterbein praised Tolsma’s play during preseason camp, as well as that of his fellow defensive linemen.
“A group of those guys have really stepped up,” Otterbein said. “They’re a strong group, but they’re very athletic. I think it’s going to be hard for people to sit back there in pocket and pat the football to try and get it down field. The more pressure we have, the quicker that quarterback has to get rid of it, so that takes a lot of pressure off of that young secondary.”
In the secondary, the team will look to replace defensive backs like Zach Herzog, who became the first Charger to be drafted into the Canadian Football League, and Joe Schnieder, who ranked fifth in the conference in interceptions last year, with four.
On the other side of the ball, the Chargers will return many of their skill players, including TeSlaa who led the team in catches, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns, despite the end of his season being slowed with injuries.
“I played quarterback all throughout high school, so freshman year here at Hillsdale was my first year playing receiver,” TeSlaa said. “So I was really just learning the position, really just trying to figure it out, then last year figuring it out a little more, then this summer I worked out a lot of the small things, getting out of my breaks faster and learning more about defenses.”
The team has also been adjusting to a shift in its coaching staff following long-time defensive coordinator Craig Blanchard passed away shortly after last season.
“With his passing, we plugged in Riley Deckard as our linebackers coach,” Otterbein said. “The defensive staff is kind of figuring each other out as well, and they’ve seemed to gel well and our teaching at a very high level.”
