2014 GLIAC Football Media Day Webpage
There will be plenty of new faces and names for fans of the Hillsdale College football team to get to know in the 2014 season.
Many of the new starters for the Chargers this year will occupy the same position. The team will be feature a new starting quarterback while looking to replace its entire starting linebacker corps from a year ago, and four new players step in on the offensive line. However, there's lots of experience coming back in the secondary, defensive line and among the wide receivers, so the 2014 Chargers will try to gel together quickly as the new season begins.
The GLIAC released its preseason poll today, and the league coaches voted Hillsdale to finish in fifth place in the North Division. Defending division champions Grand Valley State (North) and Ohio Dominican (South) were pegged as the preseason favorites.
Few are more qualified to mold a young team than the dean of football coaches in the GLIAC, Keith Otterbein. Now in his 13th season leading the team he once suited up for, Otterbein not only has the longest current tenure among head coaches in the conferen
Leading Otterbein's pro-style offense will be sophomore quarterback Mark LaPrairie. The all-time leading passer in the history of Rockford High School – a powerhouse program on the west side of Michigan – LaPrairie has two years of experience in the system, and has a nice combination of foot quickness and accuracy that make him an ideal fit in the offense.
Last year, the offense was robbed of one of its most explosive weapons in the person of tailback Bennett Lewis. A strong, shifty, instinctive back, Lewis was injured late in the season opener against California (Pa.) and missed the final 10 games of last year. He comes into 2014 fully healed and ready to become a significant part of the offense, both as a ball carrier and a threat to catch passes out of the backfield.
One of the team's captains will fill the essential position of H-back,
junior Alex Fogt. His strength, smarts and versatility figure to grow entering his second full season as a starter.
The offensive line lost mainstays Tim Hornak, Nick Landry and Patrick Ryan to graduation. In their place will be a couple of veterans – Aaron Pric
e at center and Matt VanOpstall at left guard – but also some young players who have s
hown plenty of promise.
Hometown prospect Zach VanOrman was a dominant left tac
kle at Hillsdale High School, and enters his redshirt-freshman year penciled in as the starter at that position. Fellow redshirt-freshman Daniel Drummond joins sophomore Tom Burrell on the right side of the line. Look f
or converted tight end Jake Bull to also get a long look at starter-level reps o
Senior Mike Carter and junior Kegan Smith both return at tight end for the Chargers.n the line for Hillsdale.
On defense, Hillsdale will benefit from the return of impact players like Daniel Pittman and Tim Moinet in the secondary and longtime starters Zach Swaffer (pictured), Tyler Jenks, Roger Stewart and Bryan Siegert on the defensive line. Pittman and Moinet have been through all the wars together in their three years starting in the seco
| 2014 GLIAC Preseason Poll | |
| North Division | |
| TEAM | PTS |
| 1. Grand Valley State | 49 |
| 2. Ferris State | 42 |
| 3. Saginaw Valley State | 35 |
| 4. Michigan Tech | 30 |
| 5. Hillsdale | 26 |
| 6. Wayne State | 21 |
| 7. Northern Michigan | 12 |
| 8. Northwood | 9 |
| South Division | |
| TEAM | PTS |
| 1. Ohio Dominican | 36 |
| 2. Findlay | 30 |
| 3. Ashland | 27 |
| 4. Lake Erie | 16 |
| 5. Walsh | 16 |
| 6. Tiffin | 14 |
| 7. Malone | 8 |
ndary, and give the team some hard-hitters on the back end of the defense.
Joining them will be senior Alex Chludzinski at safety
and first-year starter Joe Duff at cornerback.
The team deploys as many as eight players through its defensive line, though seniors Siegert and Jenks and sophomore Swaffer have logged the most time of anyone at the position. Veterans David Galginaitis and Nick DeMiro give them team some muscle, with redshirt-freshman Jordon Harlamert entering the fray on the line this year.
The team lost three three-year starters at linebacker, although that position is hardly bereft of experience. All three projected starters – Drew Mallery, Justin D'Agostino and Butch Herzog – have seen lots of playing time in the past. Senior Garet Lee will also be in the mix to start, and he's been a hard hitter on special teams in his career.
Special teams figure to be an area of strength for the Chargers this season. Senior punter Matt Eltringham returns after a terrific 2013 campaign that saw him get named Second Team All-GLIAC. Sophomore placekicker Steven Mette had a solid rookie season, and is on the 2014 Fred Mitchell Award watch list.
Junior Todd Frickey emerged into an explosive threat in the kick return game last year, highlighted by a kickoff return for touchdown against Malone inside the Pro Football Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio last September. He's the fastest player on the team and will also see lots of playing time in the secondary.
The Chargers still reside in the loaded GLIAC North Division, although the team's schedule features a deeper mix of opponents than in the last couple years. In 2012 and 2013, the Chargers faced every other North Division opponent while only playing three teams from the South. None of its games against South Division teams in 2013 were played at home.
However, this year Hillsdale will face five teams from the South Division, with one of them being defending conference champ Ohio Dominican. Absent from this year's schedule are North Division teams Ferris State and Michigan Tech. This interrupts a 45-year streak where the Chargers took on Ferris State each season.
Back on the schedule for the first time since 2011 are Findlay, Lake Erie College and Ashland. The Chargers' lone non-conference game is at 2013 GLVC champion Indianapolis on Sept. 27.
For the third time in six years, Grand Valley State will be Hillsdale's homecoming opponent. The teams met in 2009 when the Chargers knocked off then-No. 1 GVSU. In 2012, the Lakers earned a 42-23 victory on homecoming.
For the first time since 2005, Hillsdale will play its first two games on the road. Back-to-back trips to Findlay and Lake Erie will come before the team's home opener, set for 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20 against Northern Michigan University.