Sophomore Kyle Kudla made plays all over the field for the Hillsdale College football team in a 35-28 road win over Ohio Dominican to close out the season on Saturday.
The Great Midwest Athletic Conference took notice of that performance, naming Kudla the G-MAC Football Defensive Player of the Week for the week of April 19-25, the conference office announced on Tuesday.
Kudla led the Charger defense against the Panthers with nine tackles and also assisted on two sacks, finishing with a total of 1.5 tackles for loss, all game highs for Hillsdale.
The sophomore linebacker also forced a fumble on the day, and made his biggest play of the game early in the third quarter, picking off an Evan Ernst pass on ODU's first drive of the second half that led to a touchdown that put the Chargers up 28-14. Hillsdale used the two-possession lead created by that turnover to control the rest of the game and take the victory to finish the spring 2021 season at 2-2 overall.
In his first year as a starter, the Avon, Ohio product made a big impact for the Chargers, leading the team with four tackles for loss, tying for the lead with 2.5 sacks, one forced fumble and one interception, and finishing second on the team with 32 tackles. With Kudla and nine other defensive starters slated to return to Hillsdale for the Fall 2021 season, the future looks bright for the Chargers.
Photo by Summer Fields