The Hillsdale Chargers football team gave up 14-straight points to the Michigan Tech Huskies, falling 28-24 in this season’s final home game.
The Chargers led by as many as 10 points in the fourth quarter on Senior Day before back-to-back touchdowns — including a go-ahead 12-yard score with 40 seconds left — gave the Huskies a four-point lead and the win.
“I felt like we played well all around, but coach said it was going to come down to the final drive and whether or not we were able to come through,” sophomore wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa said. “Unfortunately, we came up short offensively and then defensively we also just came up a little short at the end there.”
The loss drops the team to 5-5 overall and leaves one remaining chance to finish the season with a winning record. A fumble late in the third quarter, forced by senior linebackers Zach Urda and returned for a touchdown by senior defensive back Julius Graber, stood out in the last game in Frank “Muddy” Waters Stadium for the team’s 12 graduating seniors.
“It was pretty exciting, I was thinking I was never gonna get an opportunity to score in college,” Graber said. “Zach Urda getting in there and forcing the fumble to start, that’s what made the play possible, I have to give a shoutout to him. He’s one of my roommates too, so we were pretty hyped that we could duo that one.”
TeSlaa’s performance stood out for the Chargers, as he posted six catches for 146 yards and both of the team’s offensive touchdowns. His stellar game keeps his season-totals on pace with the nation’s best in Division II, ranking fifth in receiving yards with 1177 and tied for fourth in receiving touchdowns with 13.
“My goal is just to go out there and do my best every play every game,” TeSlaa said. “So to do that and then get these accomplishments is obviously nice.”
TeSlaa also continues to crack into Charger record books. While still having a game left to play, his season so far has been among the best in program history for a receiver. His game Saturday vaulted him past the legendary Trey Brock’s (‘19) sophomore season in both yards and touchdowns.
TeSlaa’s current season now sits as the fourth best in yards and third in touchdowns for any single season in Charger history.
“Isaac’s special,” head coach Keith Otterbien said. “His ability, I think, that separates him from other receivers that I’ve watched, whether it’s here or elsewhere, is he judges the ball flight and adjusts his path to the ball and can high-point it and anticipate where it’s going to be better than the guys around him.”
Early in the second quarter, fifth-year quarterback Luke Keller found TeSlaa in bracket coverage on third and 17 for the Chargers’ first score of the game, tying it up at seven-a-piece.
Hillsdale then gave up another touchdown on the next possession before maneuvering into field goal range and cutting its deficit to four points as time expired in the first half.
Both offenses were quiet for much of the third quarter, with the teams combining for four straight punts to open up the second half. With less than three minutes to go in the quarter, however, Urda forced a fumble in the backfield, which Graber returned for a 40-yard touchdown.
“Those are lifetime memories,” Otterbein said. “20 years from now, the wins and losses don’t matter, but some of those specific plays jump out, those are the kind of memories that those guys will always reflect on.”
The Chargers’ offense then expanded its lead in the opening minutes of the fourth, finishing off a 64-yard drive with a 14-yard one-handed touchdown grab from TeSlaa, who reached back and grabbed a ball thrown behind him for his second score of the game.
Huskies’ receiver Ethan Champley grabbed touchdowns on two drives that combined to last just over four minutes, completing a miraculous comeback.
The Chargers will close out their season at Ohio Dominican University against the Panthers at 1 p.m. on Saturday. It will likely mark the final game in a Charger uniform for 12 seniors.
“I felt that especially this year, like we’ve flown through this season, it’s crazy to think that we’re already on our last game on Saturday,” Graber said. “It was definitely a unique experience that we had here, with the spring season and Corona sending us all home my freshman year, and the way we all came back and had a spring practice schedule, and then turn around and play the spring season, it was strange. It definitely left us with different memories than a lot of other people that have come through this program.”