The one-play-at-a-time mindset can become cliched, especially in sports.
But that approach is how Hillsdale College was able to win its fourth consecutive game, in dramatic fashion Saturday afternoon.
The Chargers overcame a 16-point third-quarter deficit to defeat Northwood University 37-30 in overtime in Midland. The win improves Hillsdale 4-2 on the season.
The Timberwolves built a 30-14 lead after a short touchdown drive late in the third quarter, leaving the Chargers on their heels and facing a big deficit on the road. But Hillsdale played a mature fourth quarter and overtime, not trying to get back all the points at once, and doing a great job of converting fourth-down attempts to keep drives going.
On its two fourth-quarter touchdown drives, Hillsdale ran a total of 27 plays covering 140 yards and eating up 12:46 of the clock. What was also key in those drives was not just finishing them with touchdowns, but making two-point conversions. The first was on a run from David Graham and the second, with 4:45 to go, came on a pass from Luke Keller to Konnor Maloney.
Hillsdale won the overtime toss and promptly scored, when Keller plowed his way into the end zone from just inches away to give the Chargers their first lead since the first quarter, completing a 23-0 scoring run.
Northwood then took over, but Hillsdale got the stop it needed, on a 4th-and-2 pass play that fell incomplete.
The Chargers outgained the Timberwolves 409-241 and set a new season-high with 40:30 of possession time. Hillsdale ran 30 more offensive plays than Northwood and held the Timberwolves to just 111 yards passing. Hillsdale was 6-for-7 on fourth-down conversion attempts, an incredibly high and effective number for any football team. One of those conversions came courtesy of defensive lineman Matt Gray, who ran six yards on a fake punt attempt to keep a drive alive for Hillsdale in the game.
Despite the rousing comeback by the Hillsdale offense, the game's most impactful play may have been made by defensive lineman Nate Chambers in the first quarter. He blocked an extra point after the Timberwolves' first touchdown. That point allowed Hillsdale to remain just two scores behind when it trailed 30-14, and that point allowed the Chargers to successfully tie the game and force overtime.
The Timberwolves built their lead thanks largely to special teams play. Northwood's first two kickoff returns covered 72 and 91 yards, the latter good for a touchdown that gave NU a 13-7 lead. Northwood started four drives outside its own 45 yard line, winning the field position battle early on in the game.
But the Chargers stayed within themselves during their comeback, mixing up the run and pass effectively, with Graham getting consistent positive yardage, and Keller finding a wide variety of receivers.
Alec Foos hauled in a 29-yard pass from Keller to make it a 30-22 game on the first play of the fourth quarter. Foos was one of seven different players to catch a pass from Keller in the win.
The second scoring drive was a thing of beauty. It took 18 plays and 75 yards with more than nine minutes of time on the clock until Josef Hissom scored from one yard out. Maloney's conversion catch from Keller tied the game up at 30 with 4:45 to go.
Keller finished the game 16-for-26 for 228 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also rushed for 40 yards and what turned out to be the game-winning touchdown. Graham was a workhorse, carrying the ball a career-high 33 times for 113 yards and a score.
Maloney led the receiving corps with 5 catches for 67 yards and a touchdown. Freshman Joe Bentley caught 4 passes for 57 yards while Foos had 3 receptions for 56 yards.
Defensively, Dan Shanley led the Chargers with 9 total tackles, with Zach Herzog registering 8. Nate Jones and Jason McDonough each had 7 total tackles, and Drake Temple recovered a fumble.
PHOTO: Jaycie Burger