Fifth-year senior Colin Morrow forces a turnover.
Courtesy | Ashley Van Hoose
Hillsdale defeated both the Lake Erie College Storm 29-9 Oct. 3 on the road, and the Thomas More University Saints 38-7 Sept. 26 at home to improve to 4-1 on the season and 2-1 in Great Midwest Athletic Conference play.
This is the first time Hillsdale has started a season 4-1 since 2018, when the Chargers finished the season 10-3 and reached the NCAA Division II Playoff Regional Semifinal.
“It’s great to start out 4-1,” senior wide receiver Shea Ruddy said. “That’s never happened since I’ve been here, so I think everyone’s super excited about it. We’ve got the tough part of our schedule coming up here, so we’re looking to continue it and get some really good wins on the resume.”
Hillsdale’s strong defense was on display in both games. Through five games, the Chargers lead the G-MAC in scoring defense, giving up just 10.0 points per game on average.
“The defense has been knocking it out of the park,” head coach Nate Shreffler said. “They’re doing a great job executing the game plan and keeping teams off-balanced and making them one-dimensional. So, hats off to our defense because they’ve been showing up every week and making it a little bit easier on the offense.”
Against the Storm, senior Drake Badger sacked Lake Erie quarterback Hunter Newell in the endzone for a safety on the first drive of the game. Hillsdale trailed the Storm 6-2 after the first quarter.
“Anytime the defense gets a stop and scores points, that’s a huge thing for the team,” Shreffler said.
Midway through the second quarter, Newell was again sacked in the endzone for a safety, this time by fifth year Neal Likens and senior Evan Bienick. Junior quarterback Eli Boyce ran for a 13-yard touchdown, and Hillsdale converted the two-point conversion, to give the Chargers the lead on the ensuing possession.
According to James Gensterblum, director of athletic communications, it is the first time Hillsdale had two safeties in the same game going back to 1998 when the college started keeping game-by-game statistics.
Badger finished the game with nine tackles and 2.0 sacks. He was named G-MAC Defensive Player of the Week. Hillsdale had 4.0 sacks as a team. Bienick added a fumble recovery.
On offense, Shreffler said he wants to see his team start faster.
“We had essentially six negative plays right in a row from the start of the game, and we can’t do that,” he said.
Ruddy led the offense with eight catches for 127 receiving yards and a rushing touchdown. Junior wide receiver Tutt Carrico added 47 receiving yards.
“As far as Lake Erie, we had a couple of missteps early on in the game, and even about halfway through the game, but we persevered,” Ruddy said. “I think that is a big takeaway from that game, perseverance.”
Boyce finished the game with 188 passing yards. He also had two rushing touchdowns.
Hillsdale got off to a fast start against the Saints when Boyce connected with sophomore running back Ben Ngishu for a 6-yard touchdown pass on the opening drive of the game.
Senior quarterback Colin McKernan threw for 105 yards, ran for 23 yards, and added a rushing touchdown. Boyce led Hillsdale with 66 rushing yards and threw for 96 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Sophomore quarterback Avery Holt completed his only pass of the day, a 4-yard touchdown to senior tight end Andrew Konieczny.
Ruddy had 68 receiving yards. Carrico added 48 receiving yards. Freshman tight end Will Simpson caught his second career reception, a 30-yard touchdown from Boyce.
“Against Thomas More, we played a pretty solid game overall,” Ruddy said. “I would say we played to our level and played with effort. Our big focus this year has been beating teams with our effort, and I think that’s been pretty evident so far.”
Against the Saints, the Chargers’ defense allowed just 188 total yards.
Junior defensive back Ryin Ruddy had an interception. Badger and Bienick each contributed 1.0 sacks. Bienick and freshman Matthew McIlroy each recovered a fumble.
“Our defense was playing like everyone knew what they were doing, playing hard, and playing fast,” Bienick said in a postgame press conference. “We’ve been really good at not letting up the deep ball, not letting them run much. I think we did a great job overall.”
The Chargers return home to play nationally ranked Walsh University at 2 p.m. Oct. 10 at Frank “Muddy” Waters Stadium during homecoming weekend.
