It was technically an upset, but the Hillsdale College football team looked like the superior side from the get go.
Behind the arm of sophomore quarterback Chance Stewart, the Hillsdale Chargers took down the 16th-ranked Indianapolis Greyhounds 30-24 in front of 2,209 fans at Frank “Muddy” Waters Stadium on Saturday night.
“It’s a huge win for our program,” said Stewart, who finished 29 for 42 for 320 yards and 2 touchdowns. “This really gives us a great start to the season. It’s great to feel 1-0 right now.”
The Chargers opened their 2016 campaign with an onside kick which sophomore Trey VanAken recovered. While Hillsdale didn’t score on that opening drive, it set the tone for the rest of the game.
“When you’re playing a good team, you’ve got to mix it up, and you can’t be afraid to go win the game. If you’re playing and calling a game not to lose, chances are you’re probably going to lose,” head coach Keith Otterbein said. “That’s why you open with an onside kick—to get momentum. It didn’t necessarily affect that drive, but it sure affected our mentality.”
Senior kicker Steven Mette converted two field goals in the first and second quarters to give the Chargers a 6-0 lead. After a 56-yard kickoff return by junior Tuwan Payton, the Greyhounds pulled ahead on a 40-yard touchdown from sophomore quarterback Jake Purichia to junior Garrett Willis.
The Chargers responded with a 14-play, 72-yard drive that took 7:52 off the clock. Sophomore tailback Joe Reverman capped off the drive with a 1-yard touchdown to put Hillsdale back on top.
The Greyhounds picked up a field goal before halftime.
In a back-and-forth third quarter, Indianapolis took the lead on a 3-yard sneak by Purichia. On Hillsdale’s ensuing drive, Stewart connected with sophomore wide receiver Trey Brock down the left sideline for a 60-yard touchdown.
Indianapolis retook the lead just 36 seconds later on a 22-yard strike from Purichia to sophomore Malik Higgins. Trailing 24-20 entering the final quarter, the Chargers used a 12-play, 64-yard drive to take the lead for good on a one-yard touchdown pass from Stewart to sophomore tight end Drew Zwiers.
Otterbein said the Chargers’ ability to respond after falling behind on multiple occasions was a result of the leadership throughout the team.
“Every time there was a chance to lose momentum we just sucked it up and went,” Otterbein said. “They stuck together and they just believed that we were going to make enough plays to win the football game.”
After Zwiers’ go-ahead score, Hillsdale’s defense forced a 3-and-out. With the lead and the ball, the Chargers ran a methodical 13-play, 68-yard drive that took 7:17 and resulted in a field goal. The Greyhounds got the ball back with 1:16 remaining in the game needing a touchdown to win, but Hillsdale’s defense held strong again.
“When we kicked that field goal, I knew the game was over,” Stewart said. “They were defeated on the other side and our defense—the way they were fired up—I knew they were going to make that stop.”
While the score was close as the final whistle sounded, the box score told a different story.
The Chargers dominated all aspects of the game, gaining 422 yards of total offense and 23 first downs to the Greyhounds’ 273 yards and 9 first downs. Hillsdale possessed the ball for 42:04, and the Greyhounds didn’t convert a single third down throughout the game. Indianapolis finished with just 50 yards rushing.
“We did a great job stopping the run,” Otterbein said. “That was absolutely a major factor of this football game and how we performed on defense.”
When the Greyhounds did gash Hillsdale’s defense, it was on quick drives through the air. All three of the Greyhounds’ touchdowns came on drives of two or fewer plays with at least one pass of 35 or more yards.
“We did let a couple big plays, and that is always going to be our challenge,” Otterbein said. “You get matchups on the outside and skill-on-skill and you go against good players and sometimes the other team makes some plays too with their good players.”
On the offensive side, Brock finished with 197 receiving yards on 13 catches and Reverman picked up 117 all-purpose yards. In his first game on offense, sophomore wide receiver Austin Sandusky caught five passes for 33 yards.
“We’ve got great receivers,” Stewart said. “I don’t think people understand that we’re about four or five deep there with guys that I can count on to go get open.”
Next week, the Chargers will open up their GLIAC schedule with a home matchup against Walsh at 7 p.m. at Frank “Muddy” Waters Stadium. Walsh lost to Michigan Tech 33-7 earlier today. Hillsdale has never faced Walsh before.
“We haven’t really had to put a game plan together against them so we’ve got to study it a little bit,” Otterbein said. “They’re a good football team. They’re going to be tough. They’re going to be physical.”
