Schedule
Michigan Tech (3-6, 2-3 GLIAC) at Hillsdale College (5-4, 4-3 G-MAC) | 1 p.m. ET Saturday, Nov. 5| Frank "Muddy" Waters Stadium | Hillsdale, Michigan
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Hillsdale Roster | Michigan Tech Roster | 2022 Hillsdale Stats | 2022 Michigan Tech Stats | G-MAC Schedule | G-MAC Standings | Game Notes
Last Week
Hillsdale pulled off maybe the biggest upset at the NCAA DII level this season, stunning sixth-ranked Ashland 36-20 for its first win against a top 10 team since 2011. Hillsdale took the lead for the first time right before halftime on a one-yard touchdown run by Michael Herzog, and pulled away in the second half on a 42 yard touchdown pass from Luke Keller to Ty Williams and a pick-six by Jackson Gillock. Keller was near perfect, going 16 of 20 through the air for 223 passing yards and a touchdown, and adding a rushing touchdown as well. Receiver Isaac TeSlaa caught six passes for 116 yards as well.
Scouting the Opposition
Although just 3-6 on the season, there's a stark divide in the results for Michigan Tech that shows the team is better than its record indicates. The Huskies are 3-1 against unranked DII opponents, but 0-5 against FCS St. Thomas and four ranked teams in GLIAC play, including two top five teams in the nation in Grand Valley State and Ferris State.
Tech actually gave Ferris State a real scare in a 28-20 defeat and will be a challenging opponent for Hillsdale as the Chargers look to secure another winning season this Saturday.
The Huskies' offense has struggled in 2022, especially on the ground, where junior William Marano leads the team in rushing but is averaging just 2.5 yards per carry. Things are better through the air, where Tech can lean on veteran quarterback Will Ark. Ark has been a little bit erratic this year, with a 54.6 completion percentage, but has made several big plays, with 1,561 yards passing and 12 touchdowns this season.
The big play threat for the Huskies is receiver Darius Willis, who has 703 yards and eight touchdows, while fellow sophomore Brandon Michalak also has 469 yards and five touchdowns as well.
Up front, Tech returns starting linemen Louis Thom and Hayden Huttula, but are looking for more consistency as the Huskies rank at or near the bottom of most offensive categories in the GLIAC.
On defense, Tech has a strong linebacker in sophomore Marc Sippel, who ranks third in the nation in total tackles with 109 in nine games, as well as two returning 2021 All-GLIAC team members in the secondary in Braxton Blackwell and Michael Bates Jr. Sophomores Josh Cribben and Austin Schlicht are the top pass rush threats for Tech on the line with a combined seven sacks, and Blackwell, Hunter Buechel and Sam Ahern each have two interceptions for the Huskies this season.
Tech has an excellent kicker in sophomore Drew Wyble, a second team All-GLIAC player last season who is 5 of 6 on field goals and 23 of 24 on extra points with a long of 40 this season. Brenden Lach and Will Ark split the punting duties for the Huskies.
Michigan Tech is coached by Steve Olson, who has a 22-28 record leading the program entering Saturday's game. Olson was the defensive coordinator at Michigan Tech for three seasons before taking the top job, and also has coached at Minnesota-Crookston, Jamestown College and Northern State before coming to Houghton.
The Series
Hillsdale is 19-11 all-time against the Huskies, and 2-3 in their last five meetings. Michigan Tech won the most recent meeting, 14-10, on Sept. 4, 2021 in Houghton, Michigan. The two teams have played regularly since 1980 after spending many seasons together in the GLIAC, and the rivalry has continued even though the two teams no longer share a conference.
Other Notes
- Hillsdale will honor its 12 graduating seniors before this Saturday's contest – wide receiver Tim Boyd, defensive end Brant Carter, safety Nick Crum, linebacker Nicholas Goerss, safety Julius Graber, linebacker Kyle Kudla, fullback Nate LaFree, cornerback Josh Peroni, defensive tackle Ryan Sellars, wide receiver Will Syrus, defensive tackle Kendall Tobin, and defensive end Max Torbert.
- While both of the Chargers' 2021 All-Americans graduated this past spring, several decorated players return for Hillsdale this fall, led by sophomore wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa, a second-team All-G-MAC player and the Chargers' leading receiver in 2021. Junior tight end Michael Harding, sophomore cornerback Jackson Gillock and sophomore placekicker Julian Lee also return after earning third-team All-G-MAC honors in 2021.
- Sophomore wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa became just the sixth player in Charger history to surpass 1,000 receiving yards in a season in the win over Ashland, and his 1,031 yards now rank ninth all-time for a single season. His 1,031 total receiving yards and 11 touchdowns through nine games lead not only the G-MAC but also rank highly nationally, as he is tied for fifth among NCAA DII players in receiving touchdowns, and is fifth in receiving yardage. The sophomore already is tied for the fifth-most receiving touchdowns in a single season in Charger history, and is ninth in receiving yards with two games remaining.
- Senior tailback Michael Herzog continues to put up big numbers on the ground for the Chargers in his first season as a starter. His 813 rushing yards are second in the G-MAC through nine games, and gives him a shot to become Hillsdale's first 1,000 yard rusher since David Graham in 2019, and just the 10th different player to do so in program history.
- Hillsdale has been able to put consistent pressure on the quarterback this season, totaling 20 sacks through nine games so far. Sophomore Riley Tolsma is fifth in the G-MAC with 5.5 sacks, and senior Kyle Kudla is close behind in a tie for eighth with four sacks.
- Kudla, in his third season as a starting linebacker for Hillsdale, is having his best year to date. The Avon, Ohio native earned G-MAC Defensive Player of the Week honors for his performance in the team's 17-10 win at Missouri S&T on Sept. 24, finishing with eight tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, a sack and a pass breakup. On the season, Kudla's 78 total tackles are tied for second in the G-MAC and are tied for 35th nationally at the NCAA DII level, and his 9.5 tackles for loss are tied for fourth in the G-MAC.
- Senior quarterback Luke Keller had a sensational performance in Hillsdale's 36-20 win over Ashland to help the Chargers upset the Eagles. Keller has made major improvements in his fourth season as a starter, improving his completion percentage by over six percent over his previous season best, and matching his previous high of 16 passing touchdowns with two games remaining in the season. Keller also has moved into the top 10 at Hillsdale in both career passing yards (4,748, 8th) and passing touchdowns (38, 8th).
- Hillsdale cornerback Jackson Gillock had one of the biggest plays of the game in the Chargers' 36-20 upset of #6 Ashland on Saturday, as Gillock returned an interception 17 yards for a touchdown to put Hillsdale up 36-20 in the fourth quarter. It was Hillsdale's first interception return for a touchdown since Ryan Sellars returned an interception for a score at Truman State in September 2021. Gillock, a sophomore, has seven career interceptions through two seasons as a starter.
- The Charger football program continued to shine academically this past season, with graduated Hillsdale seniors Cole Johnson and Alex Anschutz becoming the first football players in Charger history to repeat as CoSIDA Academic All-Americans. In addition, 57 of Hillsdale's 119 players received Academic All-G-MAC honors for posting a 3.3 or better cumulative GPA.
- The Charger football program has long been known for its strong family tradition, and that continues in 2022 with a set of brothers in the starting lineup. On the offensive line, twin brothers Nick Affholter and Benjamin Affholter (Quincy, MI/Reading) will hold down interior line spots for the second straight season. Both are the sons of Brad Affholter, a multi-year starter on the Charger offensive line in the mid-90s. There are several other sibling duos on the team – twin brother Josh Lee and Sam Lee (Toledo, OH/Central Catholic) join the squad as freshmen this year, and sophomore tight end Ben Hinrichs is joined by his younger brother, Christian (Escondido, CA/Classical Academy). Along with those sibling pairs, several other players on the roster have older brothers, fathers or grandfathers who suited up for previous Charger teams.
- With 127 wins to date, Charger head coach Keith 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.