As homecoming memories go, it will be hard to top the sheer excellence put on display by the Charger football team Saturday.
Led by Chance Stewart's five total touchdowns, Hillsdale College returned to the win column with a 51-24 victory over a tough Michigan Tech University team before more than 2,100 fans at Frank "Muddy" Waters Stadium. The win makes Hillsdale 3-1 overall and 2-1 in the GLIAC.
After missing last week's loss at Tiffin with an injury, Stewart, a sophomore quarterback, put together a fantastic performance, passing for 355 yards and 3 touchdowns, while running for 2 more in the Chargers' most one-sided win over the Huskies in nine years.
Early in the game, Stewart still appeared to be shaking off rust from his one week on the sidelines, throwing incompletions on six of his first eight passes. But he would later find his rhythm, and the team's wide receivers all did a tremendous job of getting open and chewing up big yards after the catch.
The day's big plays started right from the opening kickoff, when sophomore tailback Joe Reverman scampered 72 yards, immediately setting Hillsdale up in scoring territory. A Steven Mette field goal gave the Chargers a 3-0 lead just 59 seconds into the contest.
A 55-yard drive was capped by Stewart himself, who ran an option play 12 yards to paydirt, putting Hillsdale on top 10-04:03 left in the first quarter.
Stewart added his second rushing touchdown of the game, capping a 75-yard drive that was highlighted by a 50-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Trey Brock. Stewart found blue from 10 yards out, making the Charger lead 17-3. Getting that cushion would be important, since the Huskies found their offensive rhythm, and scored 17 points in the second quarter to tighten up the margin.
After an MTU score, Stewart threw a dart to sophomore wide receiver Austin Sandusky, who sprinted untouched through the secondary 53 yards to put the Chargers ahead 24-10 with 3:36 left in the half. Michigan Tech impressively responded with another scoring drive, cutting the margin to seven. Hillsdale appeared ready to counterpunch, but the Huskies intercepted a pass in the end zone with 5 seconds left in the second quarter.
After Mette's second field goal, the Huskies marched 68 yards in 8 plays, scoring on a 26-yard pass to make it a 27-24 game with five minutes left in the third quarter. However, both the Charger offense and defense took their game to another level from that point on.
Reverman found the end zone for the first time in the game from 10 yards out, wrapping up nine play, 65-yard drive that brought the lead back to 10. Then, the defense took over the big-play making.
Scotty Penola and Wain Clarke intercepted passes on back-to-back drives, and Drake Temple recovered a fumble forced by Carter Wilson, ending any hopes of an MTU comeback.
Meanwhile, senior wide receiver Ryan Potrykus streaked by the defense on a 25-yard touchdown pass, and Stewart later found Brock from 27 yards out, helping the Chargers to pull away. Mette tacked on his third field goal of the game to give the Chargers their most points scored in a home game since the 2009 season finale.
Stewart went 19-for-31 for a career-high 355 yards, while running the ball 4 times for 24 yards. Reverman cut through the teeth of the defense repeatedly in the second half, and finished with a season-high 133 yards on 22 carries.
Brock eclipsed the 100-yard receiving mark for the third time in four games this season, hauling in 9 passes for 160. Potrykus had 3 receptions for 51 yards while Sandusky caught 2 passes for 99 yards.
Batdorff was a tackling machine on defense for the Chargers, leading the team with a career-high 13 total tackles, 4 of them solo. Senior Matt Hall also had an interception, off a deflected pass, in the first half.
Penola finished with 9 tackles, while Spencer Nehls had 8 and Jay Rose 7. Drew Mallery added a sack, and cornerback John Terry broke up 3 passes in the victory.
UP NEXT: Hillsdale plays Wayne State in Detroit at 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1
PHOTO CREDIT: Carly Gouge