It's been a long wait, but the Hillsdale College football team is excited to welcome back a full house of fans for fall football action this Saturday at Frank "Muddy" Waters Stadium.
The Chargers have an exciting contest on tap against a University of Indianapolis team that's ranked in the top 15 in the country in both polls, with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.
There won't just be fireworks on the field, either. Hillsdale is celebrating its annual Business and Industry Night on Saturday, complete with a fireworks show for attendees of the game following the conclusion of Saturday's contest, thanks to game day sponsor County National Bank Wealth Management Team and event sponsors Christie Plemmons Realty and Hillsdale Buick/GMC.
The Chargers are also holding their annual Victory Day at the contest. Every year, the Hillsdale College football team partners with the Victory Day foundation to bring a fun-filled football experience to Hillsdale County children with cognitive and/or physical impairments, giving them a full game day experience that includes an opportunity to play football, cheer with the cheerleading squad, or march with the band. Hillsdale College hosts the event in conjunction with both the Hillsdale High School and Reading High School football programs.
More information on Saturday's contest:
Schedule
#12/#13 Indianapolis (1-0, 0-0 GLVC) at Hillsdale College (0-1, 0-0 G-MAC) | 7 p.m. ET Saturday, Sept. 11 | Frank "Muddy" Waters Stadium | Hillsdale, MI
Follow/Watch
Live Stats | Webcast | Tickets
Additional Info
Hillsdale Roster | UIndy Roster | 2021 Hillsdale Stats | 2021 UIndy Stats | G-MAC Schedule | G-MAC Standings | Game Notes
Last Game
The Chargers held Michigan Tech scoreless through three quarters thanks to a dominant defensive performance, and took a 10-7 lead with under five minutes to play on a one-yard quarterback sneak by junior Luke Keller, but surrendered a passing touchdown with 1:14 to play to come up just short on the road, 14-10, in both teams' season opener last Saturday. Keller led the team in both passing and rushing, and Hillsdale's defense combined for four sacks as Hillsdale nearly overcame a first half with no first downs thanks to a solid second-half performance offensively.
Scouting the Opposition
The 15th-ranked Greyhounds are the highest-rated and quite possibly the strongest opponent on the Hillsdale College schedule this year. UIndy has won three of the last four Great Lakes Valley Conference titles and are expected to be one of the top teams in the mix for the Super Region 3 title in the NCAA Division II playoffs at the end of the year.
Hillsdale is looking to snap a three-game losing streak the Greyhounds, who opened the season with a 34-10 victory over a solid NAIA team in St. Xavier on Saturday. UIndy has a capable signal-caller in senior quarterback Bryce Stancombe, who led the team to a GLVC title in the Spring in his first action as a starter and has a 20-to-1 interception to touchdown ratio for his career.
UIndy suffered a loss in the offseason at running back as All-American Al McKeller transferred from the program, but the Greyhounds had the perfect replacement in 2018 GLVC Freshman of the Year Toriano Clinton, who rushed for 135 yards and three touchdowns against St. Xavier and will be someone the Chargers have to account for at all times.
Graduation and injury losses at receiver will be tougher for UIndy to overcome, though the Greyhounds do have talented players in Frank Bentley and Tory Ponder on the outside. UIndy also returns four starting offensive linemen from the spring, led by team captain and three-time All-GLVC performer Clay Hadley at right tackle.
Defensively, the line should be a strength for UIndy, led by 2019 All-GLVC performer and defensive tackle Jacob Jones. The Greyhounds had three sacks and held St. Xavier to just 83 rushing yards in their season opener.
The back seven is less battle-tested for the Greyhounds, but UIndy still has a talented crew, led by redshirt sophomore safety Loren Strickland, who earned All-GLVC honors of his own in 2019 before redshirting last spring. Linebackers Kiave' Guerrier and Gavin Bane also look like potential standouts after finishing with a combined 21 tackles against St. Xavier.
UIndy has one of the top special teams units in the Midwest, led by decorated kicker/punter Paul Buisman, who's in the top 10 in UIndy history in nearly every relevant kicking category and enters 2021 ranked second in field goal percentage (.783) in program history.
The Greyhounds are coached by third-year head man Chris Keevers, who's accomplished a lot in just two seasons in charge, leading UIndy to the 2019 NCAA DII Playoffs and the spring 2021 GLVC title while earning GLVC Coach of the Year honors in spring 2021. A 25-year assistant at UIndy prior to taking the head job, Keevers has also spent time as an assistant at St. Mary's College (CA) and Division I Purdue, where he started for two years on the defensive line.
The Series
UIndy is an old and familiar opponent for the Chargers, who are meeting the Greyhounds for the 34th time this weekend and are playing UIndy for the eighth straight season, not including the abbreviated 2021 spring season. Indianapolis has a 17-16 edge in the series thanks to a three-game winning streak over Hillsdale, who last defeated the Greyhounds on Sept. 3, 2016 in a 30-24 contest. The last time the two teams played was on Sept. 14, 2019, with Indianapolis taking a 48-21 victory.
Other Notes
- Hillsdale returns 18 starters from the Spring 2021 season, as well as its kicker and punter, giving the team an exciting amount of experience to draw on. All three of Hillsdale's first team All-G-MAC honorees are back – offensive lineman Cole Johnson, defensive tackle Nate Chambers, and safety Zach Herzog – as well as 10 of the Chargers' 11 All-Conference players overall.
- The Charger football program brought home an impressive and historic award haul this summer. For the first time in program history, Hillsdale had three players earn CoSIDA Academic All-American honors – Johnson, senior safety Alex Anschutz and senior wide receiver Konnor Maloney, becoming just the sixth, seventh and eighth players in program history to receive the prestigious honor. All three return this fall. Additionally, 2021 graduate Joey Brenner was named the program's first G-MAC Scholar Athlete of the Year as well, and 79 of Hillsdale's 103 players posted a 3.0 or better GPA for the 2020-21 school year.
- The Chargers' four sacks against Michigan Tech on Saturday were the most by a Hillsdale defense since Nov. 2, 2019, when the Chargers had four sacks in a 56-21 win over Alderson Broaddus. Senior linebacker John Pearson was responsible for two of the four sacks, becoming the first Charger player with multiple solo sacks in the same game since Dan Shanley finished with three sacks against Kentucky Wesleyan on Oct. 26, 2019.
- Maloney, a senior, passed former Chargers stars Nick Gurica (2004-07) and Aaron Waldie (2005-08) to move into fifth all-time in career receiving yards at Hillsdale (2,075) with his 58-yard day at Michigan Tech. He's also 10th in career receptions with 123, and needs two touchdown catches to break into the career top 10 for that stat as well. Maloney's 891 receiving yards in the 2018 season are also tenth all-time on Hillsdale's single-season record list.
- Special teams have been an important part of Hillsdale's success under head coach Keith Otterbein, and the Chargers should be one of the best teams in the G-MAC in special teams again this year. The Chargers return senior punter Jack Shannon, who led the conference in yards per punt and is on pace to set the G-MAC's career record in the stat, and redshirt freshman Julian Lee, who is a perfect 14 of 14 on extra points and 3 of 3 on field goals in his career.
- The Charger football program has long been known for its strong family tradition, and that continues in 2021 with two sets of brothers in the starting lineup. Senior cornerback Matt Harding and sophomore tight end Michael Harding (Livonia, MI/Detroit Catholic Central) will start on opposite sides of the ball, following in the footsteps of older brother Steve Harding, who graduated from Hillsdale in 2014. On the offensive line, twin brothers Nick and Ben Affholter (Quincy, MI/Reading) will hold down the two guard spots. Both are the sons of Brad Affholter, a multi-year starter on the Charger offensive line in the mid-90s. There are two more sets of brothers on the team – Zach Herzog and his brother, Mike, a tailback, and Konnor Maloney and his brother Jacob, a defensive back. Additionally, H-back Calvin McNellie is joined by his brother, Carson, a student manager for the team in 2021.
- With 116 wins to date, 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.
