The Hillsdale College football team took its first loss of the season at home on Saturday, as the Chargers couldn't capitalize on a dominant first half in a 21-13 loss to visiting Truman State.
Hillsdale rolled to a 13-0 halftime lead, looking strong on both sides of the ball. After the defense stopped Truman State's first drive with a sack by Kyle Kudla and Kendall Tobin on third down, the Chargers went 77 yards in eight plays, cashing in the first score of the game on a 25-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Luke Keller to Sam Lee. Despite a missed extra point, Hillsdale still led 6-0 with 4:13 left in the first quarter.
The Chargers added to the lead in the second quarter, cashing in a Jackson Gillock interception of Truman quarterback Nolan Hair that gave Hillsdale the ball at the Bulldog 37 with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Keller to sophomore Isaac TeSlaa. TeSlaa's sixth receiving touchdown of the season gave Hillsdale a 13-0 lead with 3:39 left in the half, and another stop by the Chargers meant Hillsdale headed into halftime up by two touchdowns.
But the momentum in the game flipped in a big way on Truman's first drive in the second half. The Bulldogs went on an 17 play, 88 yard scoring drive that took nearly 10 minutes off the clock to cut Hillsdale's lead to 13-7, converting multiple fourth downs on the way.
After Hillsdale went three and out on the next drive offensively, the time of possession for the Truman offense on a hot day started to take its toll. The Bulldogs took another four minutes off the clock and scored the go-ahead touchdown with 14:11 to play in the fourth quarter, taking a 14-13 lead.
Hillsdale's defense stood tall after another short Charger offensive possession and got a much-needed stop thanks to a big tackle-for-loss on third and short by Vince Francescone, but pinned deep on their own side of the field, Hillsdale couldn't get much traction offensively on the ensuing possession, setting up a short field for the Truman offense that the Bulldogs cashed in for a 21-13 advantage with 7:43 to play.
Backs to the wall, Hillsdale moved the ball well on the next drive, battling across midfield and reaching the Truman 35, but the Chargers couldn't convert on third and fourth down to keep the play going. After a stop, Hillsdale got the ball back with no timeouts and 53 seconds left, but Keller's Hail Mary pass to TeSlaa was broken up in the end zone with no time remaining on the clock.
The Chargers outgained Truman 149-84 in the first half with an impressive performance on both sides of the ball, but mustered just 65 yards of offense after halftime in the loss.
Senior Michael Herzog led Hillsdale on the ground with 18 carries for 82 yards, and Keller was 12 of 21 for 109 yards and two touchdowns through the air, connecting five times with TeSlaa for 49 yards and the receiving touchdown.
Defensively, sophomore Riley Tolsma had a huge game at defensive end for Hillsdale, recording two and a half sacks along with five tackles to lead the Chargers. Kyle Kudla had a game-high 13 tackles and a sack assist for Hillsdale, and Julius Graber chipped in 12 tackles as well.
Hillsdale falls to 2-1 after the non-conference loss to the Bulldogs, but remain 2-0 in G-MAC play. The Chargers will hit the road next Saturday to play Missouri S&T at 7 p.m. ET in the second part of the annual G-MAC/GLVC crossover, looking to bounce back and build some momentum heading back into conference play.
Photo by McKenna Eichholz