Everyone catch their breath yet?
Points and yardage were accumulated at a pace never before seen in the 122-year history of Hillsdale College football Saturday afternoon in Painesville, Ohio. But the only numbers that mattered went in the Chargers' favor.
Three offensive records were set as Hillsdale came back to defeat Lake Erie College 48-41 to improve its record to 1-1 overall and 1-1 in the GLIAC. The Chargers will play their home opener next weekend, hosting Northern Michigan University at 1:00.
A total of 42 points were scored in an incredible fourth quarter. The game was tied four times in the game's last 16 minutes, but the final margin was determined in part, by a big-time defensive play by Hillsdale.
Linebacker Kyle Johnson recovered a fumble forced by Zach Hill one play into a Lake Erie drive after the Chargers tied the score at 41 with 1:45 left in the fourth quarter. Sophomore quarterback Mark LaPrairie, who tied the school's single-game passing record, directed the game-winning, 28-yard drive that was capped by a 3-yard touchdown by tailback Bennett Lewis.
The Chargerswere able to concentrate on running the ball after getting such good field position after the turnover. That forced the Storm to burn two of its three timeouts, leaving little time for Lake Erie to counter the final score on its last drive. The Storm were able to run just two plays on its final possession, ending the thriller.
Before Johnson's fumble recovery, LaPrairie scored the game-tying touchdown with his feet, but his right arm provided most of the fireworks. He completed 21-of-39 passes for 426 yards and 3 touchdowns. His passing yardage tied the school record he now shares with former All-American Mark Nicolet, who matched that total in a win over Ashland on September 15, 2007.
LaPrairie's favorite target was junior wide receiver John Haley, who had a day unlike any other at his position in school history. He hauled in 8 passes for a school-record 268 yards and 2 touchdowns. His average of 33.5 yards per catch is also a school record, and he burned the Storm deep all day.
Haley's two touchdown receptions alone covered 113 yards, the first a 35-yard strike, and the second on a 78-yard bomb from LaPrairie that gave the Chargers a 17-10 lead. Haley also caught passes that spanned 42, 33 and 28 yards in the ballgame.
The offense generated a school-record 611 total yards, and the 1,206 total yards by both teams are the most ever in a game involving Hillsdale College.
Lewis was a workhorse in this game, setting two career-highs with 41 carries for 183 yards on the ground. Unlike many rushing games with that many yards, Lewis didn't have many long runs - his longest of the day was 22 yards - but he kept grinding away at the Lake Erie defense all day. He carried the ball on six of Hillsdale's last nine plays of the game, the last resulting in the game-winning touchdown.
Redshirt-freshman Taylor Cone caught his first career touchdown pass, a 30-yarder at the end of the third quarter, that gave the Chargers a 27-20 lead. Senior Evan Bach had 3 receptions for 35 yards, while tailback Jack Wiseman contributed 26 yads on the ground.
Defensively, sophomore Joe Duff had an interception and sophomore Zach Swaffer had 2 sacks. Senior Butch Herzog paced the Chargers with 9 total tackles, and nine different players figured in a tackle-for-loss.
Photo courtesy Lake Erie College athletics