Special teams play and turnovers can be an overlooked part of football -- but they can very easily decide a game.
The Hillsdale College football team found that out the hard way on Saturday, as visiting Findlay took advantage of big plays on special teams and a critical turnover to pull away for a 41-20 victory on Saturday at Frank "Muddy" Waters Stadium.
On paper, Saturday's contest was a close game -- the Chargers had the edge in first downs, 15-13, and were outgained just 391 to 318 in total offense.
But Findlay created 10 points off of special teams plays and also used the short field created by a turnover to score another touchdown and turn a close game into a rout.
The Chargers actually started the game out in front, going 67 yards in four plays after a Findlay 3 and out to open the game, and taking a 6-0 lead on a 46-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Luke Keller to receiver Isaac TeSlaa.
On the ensuing Findlay drive, the Chargers were able to hold Findlay to a field goal and get the ball back, but the momentum shifted when Hillsdale fumbled deep in its own end and the Oilers recovered -- leading to a go-ahead 18 yard rushing touchdown.
The Chargers answered back right before the end of the first quarter, on another Keller-TeSlaa hook up -- this one from 26 yards out to go back in front, 13-10, with five seconds left in the first period.
Findlay seized control of the game in the second quarter. Two long touchdown drives -- followed by a Charger 3 and out each time, allowed the Oilers to jump ahead by double digits. A 55-yard punt return with 36 seconds left to go in the half set up the Oilers to tack on another field goal right before halftime and take a 27-13 lead into the break.
Trailing by two touchdowns, the Chargers hung around for much of the third quarter, but were unable to sustain drives offensively to close the gap. Findlay was able to land the knockout blow late in the quarter with two explosive plays -- a blocked punt recovered in the end zone by the Oilers, and a 71-yard touchdown run on the first play of a Findlay drive, to give the Oilers a commanding 41-13 lead.
The Chargers had opportunities to close the gap, but couldn't capitalize. A dropped pass on 3rd and 3 on Hillsdale's first drive of the second half kept the Chargers from sustaining the drive at midfield, and after the blocked punt later in the third quarter, tailback Michael Herzog broke loose on what looked like a 75-yard touchdown run to cut into Findlay's lead -- but a holding call against the Chargers wiped out the score.
Trailing 41-13 late and operating quickly, the Chargers went 80 yards in eight plays and three minutes and 34 seconds of clock to cut the deficit to 41-20, as Keller connected with tight end Michael Harding on a 12-yard touchdown pass, his third of the day.
On the ensuing kickoff, freshman Sam Lee forced a fumble on a short kick that looked like it could give the Chargers the ball inside the Findlay 10 with 8:10 to play -- but the Oilers managed to come away with the recovery in the pile, and ran off most of the rest of the remaining clock to put the game away.
Keller played a strong game in defeat for the Chargers, going 23 of 35 through the air for 244 yards and three touchdowns. TeSlaa caught six passes for 107 yards and two touchdowns, while Harding snagged five balls for 57 yards and a touchdown and Tim Boyd added four catches for 30 yards as well.
Herzog was Hillsdale's leading rusher with 53 yards on 12 carries as the Chargers had to deemphasize the run in the second half to attempt to mount a comeback.
Junior Julius Graber led the Charger defense with 10 tackles, while senior Kyle Kudla and redshirt freshman Vince Francescone each chipped in nine tackles. Nicholas Goerss finished with eight tackles, including 1.5 for loss, and shared a sack with Francescone, while Max Torbert added a sack as well for the Chargers. Matt Soderdahl added three pass breakups in a strong performance in coverage at cornerback for Hillsdale.
The Chargers fall to 4-4 overall, 3-3 in the G-MAC with the loss. Hillsdale faces a tough task next week in the second of three straight home contests, as the Chargers host unbeaten Ashland, the G-MAC leader and a top-10 team in the nation, on Saturday for a 1 PM kick, but also have the opportunity to play spoiler if they can find a way to pull the upset.
Photo by McKenna Eichholz