Senior Jake Maloney helps the Chargers fight to a 31-14 win on Saturday’s Senior Day game against Ohio Dominican: Courtesy | Ashley Van Hoose

The Hillsdale football team took a 31–14 win against Ohio Dominican University at home Nov. 15 to finish the regular season 6–5 and qualify for the Albanese Candy Bowl game Dec. 6 in Hobart, Indiana.

The Chargers, who finished 5-4 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, will face Upper Iowa University, who finished with a 6–2 record in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. The bowl game will be Hillsdale’s first since 2021.

“The bowl game is a great opportunity for us to learn how to prepare and play for a long season,” head coach Nate Shreffler said. “Our ultimate goal is to win a conference championship and compete in the playoffs for a national championship. This is a step in that direction. We are playing our best football right now and being rewarded and able to continue this season with this group of men is a blessing.”

Junior receiver Shea Ruddy was named GMAC Offensive Player of the Week thanks to two receiving touchdowns, including an 80-yard screen pass reception. Ruddy also finished the regular season as the GMAC leader in all-purpose yards with 1,510, and led the Chargers in both receiving yards with 598 and kick return yards with 783.

Sophomore quarterback Colin McKernan said the team stayed resilient in Saturday’s game.

“We didn’t let things cascade into anything worse than they already were,” McKernan said. “If we let up a big play, we wouldn’t let that affect us going into the next drive. If we got stopped, we didn’t let that affect us. We’d make the big plays, run hard, and I think we did a great job with that.” 

The Chargers scored on their opening drive when McKernan connected with Ruddy on a 4-yard touchdown pass.

Hillsdale added to their lead in the second quarter when freshman kicker Dylan DeDario hit a 36-yard field goal. At the half, the Chargers led the Panthers 10–7.

Although the Chargers briefly lost the lead in the third quarter after an Ohio Dominican touchdown made the score 14–10, a rushing touchdown by McKernan in the third quarter put Hillsdale in front for good.

McKernan had another strong game for the Chargers, completing 14 of 19 passes for 227 yards with two touchdowns. In addition, McKernan rushed for 61 yards and one touchdown.

“We’re focusing on what we need to do, and are getting the little things right,” McKernan said. “Ultimately, I think we are playing our best football now. It always seems to be at the end of the season where we play our best football, but that’s just how it turns out.”

McKernan ended the regular season with 1,914 passing yards and 18 passing touchdowns, both of which placed him third in the GMAC. McKernan also led the Chargers with five rushing touchdowns and was second on the team to freshman tailback Ben Ngishu with 400 rushing yards.

Shreffler said he was happy with how the team finished the season and wants to build on the strong finish going into next year.

“Ending the year on a four-game winning streak and finishing with a winning record is a solid season, but it is short of where we want to be,” Shreffler said. “Great seasons end in championships, and we will continue to build on the good things we did and make improvements this off season.”

The Chargers got strong performances from their young players this season. Ngishu led the team in rushing yards with 716, and freshman quarterback Eli Boyce completed 16 of 26 passes, including seven of nine at Saturday’s game, for 221 yards and two touchdowns. In addition, freshman receiver Braden Rabideau caught two passes for 59 yards in Saturday’s game for the first yards of his college career.

“We have a lot of freshmen who are having an impact on the team,” DeDario said. “I would say at least half of us are actively contributing. It just makes me excited for the future of our team.”

DeDario became the team’s main kicker in October and hit 18 of 21 extra point attempts and all four of his field goal attempts.

McKernan said he is looking forward to the bowl game.

“It’s just a blessing that we get to have Team 133 for one more game,” McKernan said. “I have one more game with the seniors and we can hopefully go out on a high note.”