The Charger football team dropped to 0-4 on Saturday despite another late second-half surge, falling to their Great Midwest Athletic Conference rival Findlay University 28-21. The loss ends any hope of a G-MAC championship this season.

The Chargers got off to a rough start, throwing interceptions on two different drives in the first quarter. However, the defensive squad was able to hold Findlay to a 14-0 lead by the end of the first half. 

After sophomore quarterbacks Cole Canter and Reid Shumaker were unable to generate much offense in the first half, redshirt freshman quarterback Colin McKernan entered the game at the beginning of the third quarter and was able to connect with sophomore wide receiver Shea Ruddy for a 31-yard touchdown to bring Hillsdale within seven. A late interception thrown by McKernan ended the game at 28-21.

“I think we’re still just coming together as a team,” McKernan said. “We made some great drives towards the end, which obviously weren’t good enough, but I really do feel like this is not an 0-4 team. We just have to not beat ourselves early on.”

McKernan finished his half of play with seven completions for 165 yards on 13 attempts, as well as two touchdowns and an interception. The Brighton, Michigan, native now leads the Chargers with 553 passing yards this season.

After Findlay scored to make it a 21-7 game, McKernan found Ruddy again, this time for 57 yards, to cut the lead to seven once again. Ruddy finished with 126 receiving yards on three catches. His 96-yard kickoff return touchdown added to a grand total of 343 all-purpose yards on the day, and earned him the G-MAC Athlete of the Week.

“It’s a great honor to have that award,” Ruddy said. “I’d much rather have that with a win, or just take the win, but I just have to keep doing my thing and keep moving forward.”

Ruddy also led Hillsdale in rushing yards with 59 on three carries. In the backfield for Hillsdale were running backs redshirt junior Kyle Riffel and redshirt freshman Zach Tetler, who splits time carrying the ball for the Chargers. 

Defensively, the Chargers held the G-MAC scoring leader Findlay to only 28 points, combining for six tackles-for-loss, as well as two interceptions. Junior linebacker Jacob Vance continued his stellar season with seven solo tackles and two sacks.

“We know there’s nobody we can’t beat going forward,” Vance said. “Findlay’s likely going to win the conference at this point, and there’s no reason we couldn’t have won that game. We just gotta keep doing what we’re doing and be strong in the first half.”

Redshirt junior defensive backs Will Whims and Jack Trachet both had their first interceptions of the season and combined for 12 total tackles. Trachet also contributed two pass-breakups and has a total of 23 tackles this season. 

The Chargers will head to Midland, Michigan, this Saturday to face the Northwood University Huskies at 1 p.m. 

“I think we’re in one of the most competitive conferences around, which is why I like competing in it,” McKernan said. “Any given year anybody can win, it’s just important to stay locked in.”