The Hillsdale College football team scored the final 21 points of Saturday's road contest at Truman State, but couldn't overcome a 38-3 third quarter deficit in a 38-24 loss to the Bulldogs.
Sophomore Jake Burger, making his first start at quarterback for the Chargers, led a spirited fourth quarter comeback, completing a 12-yard touchdown pass to tight end Michael Harding and a 16-yard touchdown throw to receiver Isaac TeSlaa on back-to-back drives to get Hillsdale back in the game.
Building on that momentum, Chargers defensive lineman Ryan Sellars picked off a Truman St. pass and returned it 19 yards for a touchdown with 3:20 to play. After forcing a Truman three and out, Hillsdale was driving to cut the Bulldog lead to single digits with 2:15 to play when Truman finally ended the Chargers' comeback hopes with a strip-sack fumble recovery that allowed the Bulldogs to run out the clock.
Hillsdale couldn't overcome a first half that saw the Bulldogs score points on six consecutive possessions to take a massive lead into halftime. After Truman took the opening drive 65 yards in nine plays for a touchdown, the Chargers answered with a solid drive of their own, going 50 yards on 12 plays to set up a career-long 42-yard field goal by Julian Lee that made the score 7-3.
But as Truman picked up steam, following up that initial touchdown drive with two more back-to-back to take a 21-3 lead, the Chargers struggled to keep pace, finishing the half with just 56 total yards of offense on their final four drives of the half.
The Chargers turned things around at halftime, stopping a long Truman drive out of the half with a forced fumble by Zach Herzog that Hillsdale recovered. Defensive improvement helped the Chargers find their groove offensively, as a Jackson Gillock interception helped set up Burger's second touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, and Sellars' interception return for a touchdown also was crucial. The offense did its part as well, piecing together touchdown drives of 77 and 65 yards to allow the defense time to regroup in the fourth quarter.
The effort wasn't enough to overcome the 35-point deficit, but it did give the Chargers a chance at an unlikely comeback.
Burger had a solid first start for the Chargers, going 21 of 36 for 213 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 30 yards on 11 attempts.
His favorite target was TeSlaa, who came into the game with 11 career catches but had 12 against the Bulldogs for 106 yards and a touchdown. The redshirt freshman from Hudsonville, Michigan also became the first Hillsdale receiver with back-to-back games of more than 100 receiving yards since Trey Brock in 2018.
Harding also finished with 24 yards and a touchdown on three catches for Hillsdale, Alec Foos caught two passes for 39 yards, and Tim Boyd chipped in 31 yards on two catches. Logan VanEnkevort led the Chargers in rushing with eight carries for 33 yards.
Defensively, Alex Anschutz and Zach Herzog each led the way with nine tackles, and Kyle Parran and Zach Urda each chipped in a sack for the Chargers.
Along with his made field goal, Lee hit all three extra points he attempted as well for the Chargers.
Hillsdale is now 0-3 on the year after the loss, though all three defeats have come at the hands of quality opponents. The Chargers will look to turn the corner next week against another opponent from Missouri, as Hillsdale hosts Missouri S&T at 4 p.m. for a homecoming weekend matchup.
Photo by Anthony Lupi '22