Schedule
Gannon (0-3) at Hillsdale College (1-2, 1-2 G-MAC) | 2 p.m. ET Saturday, April 17 | Frank "Muddy" Waters Stadium | Hillsdale, MI
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Additional Info
Hillsdale Roster | Gannon Roster | 2021 Hillsdale Stats | 2021 Gannon Stats | G-MAC Schedule | Game Notes
Last Week
Hillsdale rallied from a 14-10 halftime deficit with 21 straight third-quarter points to beat Walsh on the road, 31-21, and pick up the Chargers' first win of the Spring 2021 season. Quarterback Luke Keller led Hillsdale with two rushing touchdowns, Josef Hissom added a rushing touchdown of his own, and Matt Harding returned an interception for a touchdown as well. For a full recap, click here.
Scouting the Opposition
With the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference not sponsoring a football season in the 2020-21 school year, Gannon has made the decision to play on as an independent, assembling a five-game schedule against GLIAC and G-MAC foes, as well as rival Mercyhurst.
The Knights are 0-3 so far, with competitive losses at home (22-30 on March 20) and away (22-37 on April 9) to GLIAC program Davenport and a 42-7 loss to G-MAC school Tiffin.
On offense, Gannon has rotated between three quarterbacks. While returning starter Jimmy Keefe and freshman Jonathan Quinque have both gotten meaningful snaps, the lion's share of playing time has gone to redshirt freshman Nick Demchuk, who is 28 for 58 for 365 yards with three touchdowns and four interceptions. Quinque, however, was the quarterback for most of the team's most recent game against Davenport, and could get the start over Demchuk on Saturday.
The Knights have put up solid numbers on the ground. While sophomore Michiah Burton has gotten the most work, rushing for 163 yards on 48 carries, junior Melvin Blanks has also gotten action and been the most effective tailback for the team, putting up 149 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries. Gannon also has a balanced receiving corps, with redshirt freshman Gabe Westcott getting the most targets, but sophomore Johnny Freeman gaining the most yards and junior Sam East catching three of the team's six touchdown passes.
Defense has been an issue for Gannon, which has given up 30 or more points in all three games and is conceding 370.3 yards per game.
The Knights D is led by a playmaking linebacking corps, with junior Keith Thompson leading the team with 21 tackles and 6.5 tackles for loss. Up front, defensive end Nicholas White has been a pass-rushing terror for Gannon, generating four of the team's seven sacks and two forced fumbles.
Senior Tre McNeil and junior Matt Wiitanen lead an extremely young Gannon secondary that's struggled to hold opponents in check so far, conceding 233.67 yards per game and four touchdowns through the air.
On special teams, sophomore Eric Scarpino Is 3 for 3 on extra points and has yet to attempt a field goal, while freshman Hudson Barry is averaging 31.62 yards per punt with a long of 48.
The Knights are coached by Erik Raeburn, who is in his first season in charge after serving as the team's offensive coordinator in 2019. Prior to Gannon, Raeburn was a head coach at Division I Savannah State for three years, and also had notable success at the Division III level at Wabash, making the NCAA DIII playoffs five times in eight years.
The Series
Hillsdale leads the all-time series against Gannon 5-1. The Chargers lost the first meeting with the Knights in 1950, 27-14, but have won every meeting since by an average of 31.8 points per game, dominating the series in the four seasons where Gannon and Hillsdale overlapped in the GLIAC from 2004 to 2007. The most recent meeting was on Oct. 20, 2007, a 59-3 Charger victory.
Other Notes
- Saturday marks Hillsdale's annual senior day celebration, as the Chargers prepare to send off their soon-to-be graduates in style. Being honored today are nine players and two student coaches who are former players. The honorees are: tight end Joey Brenner (#16), defensive back Tommy Froman (#25), wide receiver Alexander Giampietro (#6), student coach Gavin McKenzie, wide receiver Jack Murphy (#27), defensive lineman Kyle Parran (#55), offensive lineman Hunter Pearson (#85), student coach Logan Pentecost, tight end Drew Rubick (#84), and defensive back Michael Valdez (#14).
- Hillsdale returns four All-G-MAC honorees from last season's squad: G-MAC co-Freshman of the Year Luke Keller, first-team defensive back Zach Herzog, second-team wide receiver Konnor Maloney, and second-team linebacker Alex Anschutz.
- Maloney, a senior, became the seventh Charger in program history to crack 2,000 receiving yards for his career against Tiffin, and currently has 2,017, 28 behind Nick Gurica (04-08) for sixth place. He's also 10th in career receptions with 121, and needs two touchdown catches to break into the career top 10 for that stat as well. Maloney's 891 receiving yards in the 2018 season are also tenth all-time on Hillsdale's single-season record list.
- Special teams has been an important part of Hillsdale's success under head coach Keith Otterbein, and they're off to a strong start this season. Senior punter Jack Shannon was named the G-MAC Special Teams Player of the Week after setting a G-MAC record for yards per punt (48.4) against Tiffin on April 3, and leads the G-MAC in the stat with an average of 43.5 yards. Freshman Julian Lee is 10 for 10 on kicks, including two made field goals of 23 and 33 yards.
- Sophomore quarterback Luke Keller showcased his legs as well as his arm in Hillsdale's 31-21 win over Walsh on April 10. Keller ran for 126 yards and two touchdowns, becoming the first Hillsdale quarterback to rush for over 100 yards since Sam Landry ran for 103 against Saginaw Valley St. on Oct. 26, 2013. His total of 126 yards was the most by a Charger QB on the ground since Aaron Scholl ran for 131 yards against Indianapolis on August 28, 2004. Averaging 65 yards per game on the ground, Keller is currently third among all players in the G-MAC in that stat. He also leads the G-MAC in points per game with 8 thanks to his four rushing touchdowns on the seasn.
- A senior captain, Alex Anschutz leads the Chargers with 24 tackles and is currently second in the G-MAC in tackles per game (12). An accomplished student, he's also one of four active football players to earn the President's Scholar-Athlete Award from Hillsdale this spring for maintaining a 3.8 or higher GPA throughout his time with the Chargers, along with Joey Brenner, Cole Johnson and Nathan LaFree.
- The Charger football program has long been known for its strong family tradition, and that continues in 2021 with five sets of brothers on the active roster: Ben Affholter and Nick Affholter, Matt Harding and Michael Harding, Michael Herzog and Zach Herzog, Bryan Hickey and Jacob Hickey, and Calvin McNellie and Carson McNellie. A sixth pair includes Garrett McKenzie and his brother Gavin, a student coach with the football team this season. Numerous other players have parents, grandparents or siblings that played football for Hillsdale College in the past.
- With 115 wins to date, Otterbein is third all-time in career coaching victories at Hillsdale, trailing two Charger Athletics Hall of Famers in Frank "Muddy" Waters (138) and Dick Lowry (134). If he maintains his current career pace of wins per season, Otterbein would pass Waters for the all-time record in the fall of 2024.