For three quarters, the Hillsdale College football team stared the No. 2-ranked Grand Valley State University Lakers right in the face and didn't back down.
Then in the fourth quarter, the Lakers pulled away.
Grand Valley State improved to 8-0 on the season with a 35-17 win over the Chargers on a perfect fall day at Frank "Muddy" Waters Stadium. The loss dropped Hillsdale to 3-4 overall and 2-4 in the GLIAC.
Through seven games this season, the Lakers hadn't given up a first-half touchdown, or trailed in the second half to anyone. Hillsdale achieved both, playing with a combination of smarts and energy.
As the third quarter ended, Hillsdale was holding a 17-14 lead, and feeling good about how it was playing, especially on defense. The Chargers were stepping up, particularly in the secondary, keeping the explosive GVSU offense relatively under control.
But Laker running back Marty Carter galloped into the end zone from 14 yards out 31 seconds into the fourth quarter to put GVSU into a 21-17 lead. Just 1:22 later, Lakers quarterback Bart Williams connected with wide receiver Matt Williams on a 55-yard touchdown pass, and just like that, Hillsdale found itself behind 28-17 in the fourth quarter.
Another touchdown with less than four minutes to go set up the final score, which was not indicative of how closely the game was played.
GVSU opened the scoring on the first play of the second quarter, when Carter dashed off the right side for a 54-yard touchdown run. Grand Valley State has traditionally punished teams with big plays, and this one fit right into that category.
But the Chargers had some big plays of their own in their arsenal. On the next drive, sophomore quarterback Chance Stewart fired a dart to sophomore wide receiver Trey Brock, who then danced around three Laker defenders, taking it to the house for a 56-yard touchdown, and suddenly, the game was tied at 7, and it battle was joined.
Grand Valley State countered with a touchdown to go up 14-7 with 8:59 left in the second quarter. The Chargers answered back, putting together an impressive 14-play drive that covered 86 yards. It was capped on a three-yard scoring run by sophomore tailback Joe Reverman, tying the game up at 14 with two minutes left in the half.
Neither team scored in the third quarter until Charger kicker Steven Mette booted a 35-yard field goal to put Hillsdale on top with 2:14 left in the third quarter.
Hillsdale missed out on two golden opportunities to score early in the game. A missed field goal and a fumble ruined two Charger scoring chances before the Lakers could put points on the board. Later in the game, GVSU forced a Charger fumble at its own one-yard line, once again denying the Chargers points in the red zone.
Reverman showed impressive power and burst, running for 125 yards and a touchdown to key the Charger rushing attack.
Brock was the victim of two targeting penalties assessed on the Lakers, which resulted in two ejections. Despite that, he still caught 6 passes for 109 yards and a touchdown. Stewart completed 24 of 37 passes for 259 yards and a score, and gained 22 yards on the ground. Senior Ryan Potrykus caught 5 passes for 36 yards, while junior Timmy Mills had 2 receptions for 36 yards.
Defensively, safety Wyatt Batdorff turned in another strong performance with 11 tackles, 8 solo. Cornerback John Terry played an outstanding game, making 4 tackles while breaking up a deep pass attempt by the Lakers. Junior Jay Rose added 9 total tackles, while Spencer Nehls had 8.
UP NEXT: Hillsdale plays its final road game of the season next week at Northern Michigan.
PHOTO CREDIT: Carly Gouge