Sophomore wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa and the Hillsdale football team’s defense stepped up late to put the Chargers back in the win column with a tough, 17-10 out-of-conference win in Missouri against the Missouri S&T Miners.
Hillsdale improved to 3-1 overall as TeSlaa posted eight catches for 177 yards and both of the team’s touchdowns, including one which he caught with a freshly broken hand.
Not only did TeSlaa’s performance earn him his third career G-MAC Offensive Player of the Week award – his second of the season – but it also put him back in the nation’s lead for most receiving touchdowns. He is also keeping pace with the nation’s best in total receiving yards, sitting at fifth with 572.
“Their linebackers stepped up, their secondary stepped up and got really involved,” head coach Keith Otterbein said. “If they’re cramming that many people around the football, that means #4 is getting some single coverage, and he can make plays when he’s out there alone, and certainly Isaac had another great game.”
On the other side of the ball, senior linebacker Kyle Kudla led the way with eight tackles including 2.5 tackles for loss, a sack, and a pass breakup. Kudla’s 37 total tackles and six tackles for loss, put him at second and fourth in the conference respectively. His performance earned him G-MAC Defensive Player of the Week for the second time in his career.
“At the end of every game, I have a little internal reflection, and I make sure I left everything out there, and if I can look at myself in the mirror and say that I gave it my all, then I can be a little bit satisfied,” Kudla said. “I’m really proud of our whole unit, especially on defense, every guy doing their job allows me to make plays when my number gets called.”
The Chargers’ first offensive drive took more than five minutes off the clock and ended with a 29-yard field goal from sophomore kicker Julian Lee to give the team a 3-0 lead.
The teams then traded interceptions before the Miners used a 10-play drive and a 37-yard field goal to tie the score at three-a-piece.
Defense dominated much of the first half, as the teams combined for three punts and another interception from senior quarterback Luke Keller before the game’s next score
With time ticking down in the first half, and the Charger offense backed up inside its own 25, Keller uncorked a deep ball down the left side for TeSlaa, who ran into the endzone with two seconds left before halftime.
The first time the Miners’ offense got the ball in the second half, however, they used less than two minutes of game time, and a 41-yard touchdown run, to even the score up at 10.
“This is the second week in a row where we laid an egg in the first four minutes of the second half,” Otterbein said. “We’ve got to find a way to do better. We got the ball: three and out, punted it, and they drove it, and there were some breakdowns in that.”
The defensive battle continued through the third, with the game’s next score not coming until a 25-yard touchdown strike from Keller to TeSlaa in the first two minutes of the fourth. The one-handed catch capped off an 82-yard drive that took 5:51 off the clock.
“We called a post for me, so I got in there, broke on the corner, he was trailing me, and Keller threw a great ball,” TeSlaa said. “I don’t know if it was mentally, I didn’t want to go up with my left hand, because I’m sure I could have caught it with two hands, but I went up, stuck one hand up there and got it.”
Now with the lead, the Chargers defense stepped up, allowing just 21 combined yards on the Miners’ final three drives. A key pass breakup and sack respectively ended each of those first two drives, and a fourth-down pass breakup by senior defensive back Julius Graber forced a turnover on downs on the Miners’ final possession.
“Our defense really stepped up and played our most complete game of the season yet,” Kudla said. “We were forcing consistent punts on their end, a couple of forced fumbles, the big interception by Vinnie Fransescone, and I’m super proud of the way we battled, especially when we were facing adversity on the offensive end, those guys know that we have their back.”
Hillsdale now looks ahead to its third and final night game of the season. The team will be resuming in-conference play, traveling to Kentucky to face the Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers in an attempt to stay undefeated in G-MAC play.
“We can’t expect to go down there and show these guys our resume on a piece of paper and think we’re gonna win,” Otterbein said. “They fly around, they’re very athletic, maybe more athletic than what we just saw this last weekend. They’ve been in a couple tight ball games where their record doesn’t necessarily reflect the fact that they are 1-3.”