Despite a stellar effort from senior tailback Michael Herzog and one of the team's better defensive performances of the season, the Hillsdale College football team was unable to hand host Tiffin its first loss of 2023 in a 35-21 road defeat on Saturday.
Herzog put up his fourth 100-yard rushing game of the season and just the second three-touchdown game of his career in an elite performance against one of the G-MAC's best run defenses entering Saturday, finishing with 146 yards on 27 carries and scoring all three of Hillsdale's touchdowns in the game on the ground to give the Chargers a chance.
Hillsdale also got a solid performance from its defense, which forced two turnovers and became one of just two defenses so far this season to keep Tiffin's G-MAC-leading offense under 40 points in regulation.
But despite solid play both on the ground and defensively that kept Hillsdale in the game until late, the Chargers ultimately couldn't overcome their own mistakes well enough to pull the road upset. The Chargers turned the ball over six times in the contest, including a fumbled snap in the end zone on a first-quarter punt attempt that was recovered by the Dragons for a touchdown. A second fumble by the Chargers at midfield was recovered by the Dragons and led to another Tiffin score in the second quarter, with those two touchdowns proving to be the margin of victory in Saturday's contest.
While those miscues would prove costly in the end, the Chargers did put together a strong showing overall. Hillsdale rushed for 232 yards on the ground, 50 more than any prior opponent had put up against the Dragons defense. The Chargers showed they could run the ball on the opening drive, going 79 yards in 13 plays and taking seven full minutes off the clock before Herzog punched in a score from two yards out.
Tiffin responded with a scoring flurry, going 75 yards for a touchdown on their opening drive, and then taking advantage of the two fumbles listed above to build a 21-17 lead. Despite the adversity faced by Hillsdale, the Chargers refused to go away quietly. On Hillsdale's first possession after Tiffin scored a third straight touchdown, quarterback Jake Burger picked up 38 yards on a scramble to set up Herzog for his second rushing touchdown of the day from seven yards out with 8:44 to play in the half.
Tiffin retook a two-touchdown lead with 4:13 left in the second quarter, and had multiple chances to put the game out of reach before halftime after back-to-back interceptions by the Chargers. But Hillsdale's defense stood tall, with the Chargers' Sam Zemis picking off a Tiffin pass on a trick play to see off one drive, and Hillsdale forcing a 24-yard field goal attempt that Tiffin missed on the second.
Coming out of halftime, the Chargers again got a big defensive stand to create an opening for the offense. With Tiffin driving deep into Hillsdale territory at the 11 yard line, the Dragons fumbled the ball and Zemis pounced on it, stopping a promising drive that could have put Tiffin up three touchdowns in its tracks and giving the ball back to Hillsdale.
The Chargers offense took advantage with arguably their best drive of the day, going 89 yards in 13 points, capped by Herzog's third rushing touchdown. The senior dragged multiple defenders into the end zone from nine yards out ot cut Tiffin's lead to 28-21 with 7:46 to play in the third quarter, and put the Dragons on upset alert.
That was as close as Hillsdale would get, however. After the Chargers defense forced a punt to get the ball back, Hillsdale went three and out offensively, and on the ensuing Tiffin drive the Dragons found paydirt on a 12 yard run to extend the lead to 35-21. Hillsdale had two more drives to try and close the gap but both ended in interceptions, and Tiffin was able to kneel out for the victory.
Along with Herzog's strong performance on the ground, Burger added 65 yards on 14 carries, and also went 9 of 19 through the air for 125 yards. Freshman Shea Ruddy had another impressive performance, catching two passes for 72 yards to lead Hillsdale's wide receivers, and Herzog added a 21 yard catch as well.
Defensively, Matt Soderdahl led Hillsdale with 11 tackles and two pass breakups, Jacob Vance added eight tackles and Riley Tolsma seven. Junior Trevor DeGroote chipped in two tackles for loss and a sick as well, while Zachary Tokie added 1.5 tackles for loss. Kicker Julian Lee was a perfect three for three on extra points for Hillsdale.
Hillsdale falls to 1-5 overall, 1-3 in G-MAC play. With games against the top two teams in the G-MAC in their rearview mirror, the Chargers have a chance to get on a run in the second half of their season if they can build off of successes and reduce their number of unforced errors. The path begins with a home contest against Kentucky Wesleyan next Saturday at 1 p.m. The Panthers are off to a solid start at 3-2 overall, 2-1 in the G-MAC, but Hillsdale will be playing to get their season back on track and get some measure of revenge for a tough 31-27 road loss in the final seconds at Kentucky Wesleyan last year.
Photo by Anthony Lupi