Michael Herzog broke a G-MAC and school record Saturday. Courtesy | Isabella Sheehan

When senior running back Michael Herzog and the Hillsdale Charger football team defeated the Ohio Dominican University Panthers 35-17 on senior day Nov. 11, they clinched their first winning record since 2019 at 6-5 overall. After a 1-5 start to the season, the Chargers redeemed themselves, winning five straight games against conference opponents. During these final five games of the season, Hillsdale averaged nearly 39 points and more than 390 yards per game. 

Herzog, who has led the Chargers offensively all year, was awarded the Roy Beck Most Valuable Player award at the team’s banquet Nov. 12. The senior’s offensive performance culminated in a record-breaking end to his final season. He rushed for 175 yards and scored all five Hillsdale touchdowns, breaking the G-MAC record and tying the Hillsdale record for most rushing touchdowns in a single game. His 21 total touchdowns also broke the G-MAC record for most rushing touchdowns in a single season. Herzog now ranks fourth for most rushing touchdowns on the Hillsdale single-season record board.

“I had no idea what the records were coming into the game, I only found out through my family afterward,” Herzog said. “So I want to give a huge thank you to the whole team for making that possible. At the end of the day, it’s all about the win but I’m super proud of myself for what I’ve been able to accomplish this season.”

Herzog led the G-MAC in rushing yards this season, with 1,333 total on the ground, 21 rushing touchdowns, and 1,894 all-purpose yards. Herzog earned G-MAC offensive player of the week three times this season, making his four total weekly G-MAC awards the most in Charger history.

Senior quarterback Garrit Aissen, another offensive leader, finished the day completing 7-11 passes for 179 yards, including a 79-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Sam Lee in the third quarter. Aissen finished his final season with 1,438 passing yards in nine games, with 10 passing touchdowns and a 59.5% completion percentage. 

“A lot of credit goes to the rest of the team. They’ve done an outstanding job at believing in ‘Team 131.’The offensive line has done an incredible job this year at protecting me and Herzog. It’s been a crazy journey and I’m proud to be a part of it,” Aissen said.

Aissen finished his career with 2,809 total passing yards and 24 passing touchdowns in three seasons as a Charger. After serving as a backup to former Charger quarterback Luke Keller, Aissen led a Charger offense that averaged 31 points per game this year. 

“All glory goes to Jesus Christ, and I really hope that the guys on the team take that and make strides with it,” Aissen said. “I hope to leave a legacy of working hard because this season proved that you can do so much by working hard.” 

Most of Aissen’s passes this weekend were caught by Lee, who made five receptions for 151 yards. The sophomore wide receiver finished his 2023 season with 39 receptions for 624 receiving yards and three touchdowns.“It was nice to have some great connections with Garrit in the last game of the year,” Lee said. “We started building that connection in spring ball when Keller transferred.” 

Senior defensive end Riley Tolsma led Hillsdale’s defensive charge with eight total tackles, including one sack. Tolsma achieved his career best of 50 tackles this season, with 6.5 sacks. Junior defensive back Vince Francescone made eight tackles, including a huge stop on fourth and one, preventing the Panthers from scoring on the Hillsdale six-yard line.

The final five conference wins propelled Hillsdale to a 6-3 G-MAC record, the most conference wins since their undefeated G-MAC season in 2018. Hillsdale has now won three of its last five matchups against the Panthers, shrinking the Panthers’ leading margin for all-time matchups to 7-6. Hillsdale’s victory locked in a winning record for an incredible season, fit to send off 23 graduating seniors.