In its final game of the spring 2021 season, the Hillsdale College football team sent its eight graduating seniors off with a 35-28 victory over host Ohio Dominican on Saturday.
Perhaps more importantly for the fall season to come, the Chargers also continued to establish an offensive identity that is proving to be a formidable one indeed.
Behind a strong day for the Hillsdale offensive line, the Chargers' deep stable of running backs rushed for 240 yards and four touchdowns on the ground and 4.9 yards per carry. Hillsdale put up those numbers against a Panthers defense that had given up just three rushing touchdowns in five games this season, and entered the day allowing opponents an average of 103.8 yards per game on the ground.
Two true freshmen, thrust into key roles due to injuries, led the way for the Charger ground game. Jack Robinson rushed for first-half touchdowns of 10 and two yards to help the Chargers keep pace with Ohio Dominican early, and in his first appearance of the season, Logan VanEnkevort led the Chargers in rushing with 87 yards on eight carries, including two second-half touchdown runs of nine and five yards that helped keep the Chargers out in front.
The two teams got off to a quick start offensively, trading touchdowns on the first three possessions of the game. Ohio Dominican quarterback Evan Ernst connected with his favorite target, receiver David Turner, twice in the first quarter to give the Panthers a 14-7 lead.
The Chargers rallied, capping off a 63 yard, seven play drive with a Robinson touchdown run to tie the game at 14-all with 5:57 left in the second quarter.
On the ensuing Panther possession, a sack by Nate Chambers and Kyle Kudla forced ODU to punt, and Hillsdale pounced on the opportunity right before halftime. Quarteback Luke Keller completed a 51-yard pass to freshman Isaac TeSlaa that= set up a three-yard touchdown pass from Keller to Michael Harding five plays later that gave the Chargers a 21-14 halftime lead.
In the third quarter, Hillsdale seized control for good. A Kyle Kudla interception early in the quarter set the Chargers up at midfield, and Hillsdale took advantage with an 11-play, 53-yard drive capped by VanEnkenvort's nine yard touchdown run. That put the Chargers up 28-14 with 5:36 to play, and ensured the Panthers would be playing from behind for the rest of the game.
ODU responded with a long drive of their own, with Travis Whittaker scoring on a 10 yard touchdown run to start the fourth quarter and get the Panthers back within a touchdown. After a Hillsdale turnover on downs, ODU got the ball back with 8:40 to play and a chance to tie, but the Charger defense held firm once again, with Chambers recovering an ODU fumble to give Hillsdale a short field.
With a chance to salt the game away, the Chargers ran nearly four minutes off the clock, finishing the drive with another VanEnkevort touchdown run that put Hillsdale back up by two scores with 2:33 to play.
ODU was able to string together a drive and score one more time to cut the lead back to 35-28 with 1:06 to play, but the Chargers recovered the ensuing onside kick attempt to seal the victory.
Along with VanEnkevort's 87 yards on eight carries, Keller added 68 rushing yards on 14 carries for the Chargers, Robinson chipped in 48 yards on 15 carries, and Josef Hissom added 36 on 10 carries.
Keller finished the day 9 of 16 passing for 102 yards, connecting with TeSlaa twice for 69 yards, and Harding three times for 11 yards.
Kudla led the Charger defense with nine tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss, a sack, a forced fumble and an interception. Zach Herzog chipped in eight tackles and Nick Crum six for the Chargers, and Chambers and Joe Royer each chipped in four tackles and a half of a sack.
Hillsdale had a strong day in special teams once again as well. Julian Lee finished the Spring season perfect on kicking attempts, going 5 for 5 on extra points, and Jack Shannon averaged 48 yards per punt with a long of 50.
The Chargers finish the spring season at 2-2 overall, and 2-2 in G-MAC play. With several freshmen who saw extensive playing time and back-to-back wins to finish the campaign, Hillsdale should be able to carry a wave of momentum into fall practices in August and make a run to move up in the conference standings in the Fall season.
Photo by Jaycie Burger