The Chargers dropped their third straight game to the Ashland Eagles. Courtesy | Hillsdale College Athletic Department
The Charger football team suffered its third straight loss of the season Sept. 16 to the Ashland Eagles, 38-14, on Ashland’s home turf in Ohio.
The Chargers started out their game against the Eagles with a seven-point pickup after junior kicker Julian Lee successfully completed an onside kick during the opening kickoff.
The opening drive touchdown started on a 51-yard catch by freshman wide receiver Sam Lee, who caught a deep ball to get Hillsdale in the red zone, and then a five yard touchdown play.
Hillsdale Head Coach Keith Otterbein said he wanted the team to start fast, and the onside kick did just that.
“We knew we wanted to capture momentum early. The key to that whole thing, though, is scoring on offense,” Otterbein said. “Once you take that chance, you’ve got to capture the momentum and be able to score, and so we were able to do that and had a pretty nice first drive and kind of set a good tone there for a good chunk of the game.”
Ashland would score a touchdown at the end of the first quarter, making the score 7-7.
The Chargers did not score any more points before the half, giving up an interception with 56 seconds left in the first half which resulted in an Eagles touchdown, giving them a 14-7 lead going into the second half.
While Hillsdale’s offense failed to put several points on the board before the half, the defense kept Ashland in check.
“I think the defense played well all night,” junior defensive lineman Riley Tolsma said. “ I think we bounced back from the performance from last week, but there’s definitely still room to improve.”
During the third quarter, the Chargers struggled to score , with the Eagles capitalizing on back-to-back fumbles and a turnover-heavy game for the Chargers.
The Eagles distanced themselves from the Chargers, who picked up one more touchdown late in the fourth quarter by senior tailback Michael Herzog, who ran for a five-yard touchdown. The game ended 38-14, bringing Hillsdale to 0-3 this season.
Otterbein said the team did well in the first 20 minutes but made some mistakes later in the first half, such as a missed block of a punt and the late interception. Otterbein added that the fumble on the kickoff return in the second half, among other moments, also contributed to some lost opportunities.
“The field position just kind of disintegrated on us and disappeared because we shot ourselves in the foot,” Otterbein said. “We are very typically a team that doesn’t beat ourselves, but unfortunately on Saturday, we did beat ourselves, and our mistakes and our turnovers cost us.”
The Chargers will return for their first home game of the season Sept. 23 when they face off against the University of Findlay during homecoming weekend. Tolsma said it will be nice to return to Muddy Waters Stadium.
“I think we’re just really excited to play in front of the home crowd after playing on the road for three weeks,” Tolsma said.
Herzog said the team’s goals are to reduce turnovers, protect the quarterback, and make sure the team plays a 60-minute game.
“Last week, our defense played an outstanding game. There were drives where Ashland got the ball inside the 25, but our defense was able to put a stop to them, only letting up three points on two drives from a field goal,” Herzog said. “Once we’re able to put together a good collective effort from the team, then we will be able to capture a win. What better fashion than to do that on homecoming?”