If there's one thing that's clear about the 2021 Hillsdale College football team, it's that it's at its most dangerous when it's most overlooked.
On Saturday, for the second time this season, the Chargers hit the road in Great Midwest Athletic Conference play as a massive underdog to the favorite to win the G-MAC crown after a disappointing home loss to Lake Erie last week.
And just like the Chargers' earlier road win at defending league champion Tiffin, Hillsdale outworked and outplayed host Findlay for four quarters, coming away with a 34-29 win that completely alters the G-MAC title race with three games remaining.
Hillsdale was in the game from the very beginning, but didn't fully seize control of the contest until midway through the fourth quarter, after Findlay took a 22-21 lead on a 35-yard interception return by Jack Trombetti.
The Chargers responded to that Oiler touchdown with a nine play, 75 yard drive, capped by a 37-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Garrit Aissen to redshirt freshman receiver Isaac TeSlaa to retake the lead with 8:19 to play.
On Findlay's next offensive play, Charger senior Alex Anschutz forced a critical turnover, picking off Oiler quarterback Matt Winzeler and returning the interception 22 yards to the Findlay eight. Two plays later, Hillsdale cashed in the short field, as Aissen connected again with TeSlaa for the redshirt freshman's third touchdown of the game to give Hillsdale a decisive 34-22 advantage.
Findlay was able to cut into Hillsdale's lead with a passing touchdown with 4:31 remaining, but Hillsdale kept them from getting another good chance, running over four minutes off the clock and forcing the Oilers to burn all three timeouts on their final drive. That gave the Oilers just 13 seconds to go the length of the field, and Hillsdale got the stop it needed to secure the victory.
Offensively, the Chargers had their best outing of the season, totalling 481 yards of total offense. Both Aissen and TeSlaa had career games, collaborating on not just the two fourth quarter scores, but also on an 81-yard second quarter touchdown reception that gave the Chargers a 14-7 lead. Aissen also connected with Foos on a 21-yard touchdown in the first quarter and went 27-37 for a career-high 388 yards and four touchdowns, while TeSlaa finished with nine catches for 193 yards and three scores. Both Aissen's passing yardage and TeSlaa's receiving yardage were the most by a Hillsdale player in a single game since All-Americans Chance Stewart and Trey Brock put up 485 passing yards and 302 receiving yards, respectively, against Indianapolis in 2018.
Foos also had a huge game for the Chargers, catching nine passes for 106 yards and the touchdown, and tight end Michael Harding added three catches for 48 yards. Redshirt freshman tailback Jack Robinson led Hillsdale with 61 yards on 22 carries, and Aissen chipped in a one-yard rushing touchdown.
The Charger defense was an unsung hero on the day, holding a powerhouse Findlay rushing offense to nearly 100 yards below their season average and forcing Winzeler into two interceptions and a sub-50 percent completion percentage. Along with Anschutz's game-changing interception, Hillsdale also got an interception in the firsh half by senior Matt Harding. Junior Zach Herzog finished with 13 tackles to lead the Chargers and senior Nate Chambers chipped in five while also teaming up with fellow senior Kyle Parran on a sack.
With the victory, the Chargers improve to 4-4 and 3-1 in the G-MAC, moving into a four way tie for first place after handing Findlay its first conference loss of the season. Hillsdale controls its own destiny for a share of the crown with three games remaining, and can guarantee a piece of the title by winning out, starting with a trip to Ashland next Saturday at 1 p.m.
Photo by Meredith Whipper, Findlay Athletics