Sophomore receiver Shea Ruddy makes a catch for the Chargers against Ohio Dominican. Courtesy | Nicole McCray, Acorn Studios
The Hillsdale football team beat the Ohio Dominican University Panthers 28-6 on Saturday, capping a five-game win streak to close head coach Nate Shreffler’s first year and overcome a 1-5 start to the season.
The Chargers won their final game the same way they won each of their last five wins: a heavy emphasis on running the ball, and stopping the opposition from doing so. Senior wide receiver Logan VanEnkevort finished his final season on a strong note with his fourth straight game with more than 100 rushing yards, totaling 118 rushing yards on 29 carries.
“I was extremely proud of how this season ended,” VanEnkevort said. “It may not have been flashy or how we thought this season would go, but it was gritty. Having another dominant performance this past Saturday to mark the end of a solid winning streak was something to be happy about.”
The Chargers finish their season with a 6-5 overall record, 6-3 Great Midwest Athletic Conference record, and a five-game win streak.
Thanks to VanEnkevort and running backs senior Kyle Riffel and sophomore Zach Tetler, the Chargers finished at the top of the G-MAC with 1,795 rushing yards as a team this year, and tied with the Walsh University Cavaliers for first in rushing touchdowns with 20 as a unit. VanEnkevort finished fourth overall in the G-MAC in rushing yards with 765 yards, while playing two games less than the top three players.
Sophomore quarterback Colin McKernan finished his first season as a starter with 1,455 total passing yards and 13 touchdowns. McKernan completed seven of his 14 passing attempts against Ohio Dominican, as well as a four-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Shea Ruddy to extend the Hillsdale lead to 21-6 in the third quarter.
“The last game went really well,” McKernan said. “It was a great feeling to get that last win.”
Ruddy was awarded the Team MVP award at the annual football program banquet this past weekend. Ruddy finished third overall in NCAA DII in all-purpose yards with 1,779, and fifth in “kick and punt” return yards with 820 total.
“It was nice to end the season with a win and give the seniors what they deserve,” Ruddy said. “The season overall wasn’t what we were working and hoping for, but we did some good things and finished with integrity.”
With 1,059 career receiving yards after two seasons, Ruddy is 615 yards away from making the team’s top 10 all-time receiving yards list, and needs only two touchdowns to make the all-time receiving touchdowns list.
Defensively, Ralph Miller Award Winner and sophomore linebacker Jacob Vance finished his season with 2.5 sacks in the win against Ohio Dominican as a part of his eight total tackles, padding his team-leading 57 total tackles this season. This is the second consecutive season Vance has won the Miller award for the most outstanding linebacker.
Defensive linemen Hunter Sperling and Evan Bienick also contributed to the defensive effort with one sack each. Sperling finished the season with 5.5 sacks, as well as 9.5 tackles for loss, earningthe Joe Vijuk Defensive Lineman Award. Senior defensive back Vince Francescone won the Most Outstanding Defensive Back award for the second time in his career, finishing the year with two interceptions and seven pass break-ups.
The Chargers ended the 2024 season exactly how they finished in 2023 under now-retired head coach Keith Otterbein, riding a five-game win streak after starting the year with a 1-5 record. Even with the win, the Chargers are not playoff or bowl eligible, but finished above the .500 mark for the second straight season.