Redshirt freshman running back Bobby Hoth made his debut in the game against the Lake Erie College Storm Oct. 28. Courtesy | Isabella Sheehan
The Hillsdale Charger football team won its third straight matchup this season against the Lake Erie College Storm in an offensively dominant 52-21 game Saturday, improving to a 4-5 overall record this season, as well as a 4-3 conference record.
After redshirt freshman linebacker Jacob Vance recovered a Lake Erie fumble on the first drive of the day, senior running back Michael Herzog continued his dominant season with a 27-yard run to get the Chargers in the red zone, and then he gave Hillsdale an early 7-0 lead on a 4-yard run.
Herzog finished the day with three touchdowns and 156 rushing yards, surpassing 1,000 total rushing yards this season for the first time in his collegiate career. Herzog became the tenth Charger football player to ever accomplish that feat.
“I was only able to get to 940 last season, so I’m pretty excited,” Herzog said. “Today was a special one because if you look at my yards after contact it’s pretty low, so I have to give a big thanks to the big men up front for making that 150 plus game possible.”
Herzog won his second G-MAC offensive player of the week award this season with his performance. His total of 1,002 rushing yards is the most of anyone in the conference and eighth in NCAA DII through nine games. His 16 rushing touchdowns also leads the G-MAC, and is tied for third in NCAA DII.
“You can’t stop the MOG train,” senior quarterback Jake Burger said, in reference to Herzog’s nickname.
Offensive superiority became key for the Chargers throughout the rest of the game, putting up 201 rushing yards in the first quarter alone, including a 71-yard run from Herzog at the end of the quarter. Senior kicker Julian Lee recovered an onside kick which set Herzog up for a touchdown. Sophomore tight end Josh Lee blocked a punt which redshirt freshman defensive back Colin Morrow returned for a touchdown. The Chargers took a 35-0 lead before the quarter finished.
The Chargers finished with 505 total yards against Lake Erie, with 359 of them on the ground. In addition to Herzog, senior running back Caden Goggins had 54 total rushing yards, which was a season high for him.
Senior Garrit Aissen got the start at quarterback, but he only had four throwing attempts before getting subbed out by Burger. Aissen completed three of his four throws, including one for a 34-yard touchdown to freshman receiver Shea Ruddy. Hillsdale had a total of four quarterbacks play in the game, including sophomores Gordie LaFontaine and Reid Schumaker, who both got reps in the fourth quarter.
“It was really awesome to see the younger guys get in at the end of the game,” Aissen said. “We spend every day at practice with these guys and they don’t get the credit they deserve so it’s really cool.”
Burger saw a few more passing plays than Aissen, completing five of his seven throwing attempts, including a 49-yard pass to sophomore receiver Joe Schmidt, and a nine-yard touchdown pass to Lee in the third quarter.
Defensively, the Chargers played their best half of football so far this season, holding Lake Erie to only seven points in the first half. The blocked punt, two fumble recoveries, and interception by junior safety Sam Zemis were some of the defensive highlights of the day. Zemis’ interception was his third on the year and his second in two games.
“Defensively, we just have a different mindset than earlier on in the year,” Zemis said. “We had to clean up a lot of stuff earlier in the year, just making mistakes, missing tackles, but we’ve definitely been able to right the ship and rally together and perform much better.”
The Chargers look to extend their three-game win streak against their G-MAC rival the Walsh College Cavaliers Nov. 4 on the Cavaliers’ home turf in North Canton, Ohio. Walsh brings a 1-6 conference record and a four-game losing streak into their matchup against Hillsdale where the Chargers are 4-1 in their last five games.