The numbers don't lie -- few teams in NCAA Division II are on the Hillsdale College football team's level when it comes to forcing turnovers.
On Saturday, the Chargers came up big in the turnover battle once again, forcing visiting Kentucky Wesleyan into six turnovers and turning those takeaways into 17 points in a runaway 31-12 victory over the Panthers in a key Great Midwest Athletic Conference contest.
Hillsdale entered the game against Kentucky Wesleyan tied for the national lead in interceptions this season with 15, and may very well stand alone in that category after adding four more picks to the total on Saturday. The first of the game, an interception by defensive tackle Joe Royer after fellow lineman Kyle Parran batted a pass into the air at the line of scrimmage, gave the Chargers the ball at the Kentucky Wesleyan 11 and led directly to Hillsdale's first touchdown, a three yard run by Alec Foos out of the wildcat formation that put Hillsdale up 7-0 less than five minutes in.
The Chargers picked off Panthers quarterback JaKwon Roberts three more times, with senior STAR Alex Anschutz, junior safety Zach Herzog and redshirt freshman safety Sam Zemis each grabbing an interception for themselves.
Hillsdale other two takeaways came on special teams, where the Chargers continue to excel, and both led to scoring drives on short fields. With just 55 seconds to go in the second quarter and the Chargers holding a 14-6 lead, Hillsdale punted the ball back to Kentucky Wesleyan. The Panther returner, David Florence, couldn't hang onto the football and sophomore linebacker Zach Urda pounced on the loose ball to give Hillsdale possession at the Kentucky Wesleyan 15. On the very next play, the Chargers took advantage of the short field, as sophomore quarterback Garrit Aissen hit sophomore tight end Michael Harding on a crossing route for a 15-yard score that gave the Chargers a 21-6 halftime edge.
The Panthers switched punt returners after the mistake but fell victim to the same miscue in the fourth quarter, as new return man Deonco Wilkerson muffed another Shannon punt that was recovered by Herzog at the Kentucky Wesleyan 14 with 11:21 to play. Four plays later, redshirt freshman kicker Julian Lee hit a 26-yard field goal to give Hillsdale a decisive 31-6 advantage.
The Chargers were outgained by the Panthers 270 to 219 in total offense but thanks to turnovers and excellent special teams play decisively won the field position battle. Along with those six turnovers, Hillsdale's senior punter Jack Shannon had another outstanding day, hitting eight punts for an average of 43.4 yards per punt, a long of 54, and three punts inside the 20. The Chargers started six drives on Kentucky Wesleyan's side of the field, while the Panthers never had less than 65 yards to go at the start of any drive offensively.
Hillsdale's offense took advantage of the short fields repeatedly. Along with the 17 points off of turnovers, Hillsdale also strung together a nine play, 47 yard drive after a short Kentucky Wesleyan punt to take a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. The Chargers converted a fake punt to extend that drive with Matt Gray rushing for 19 yards on the misdirection, then Aissen connected with Foos on a 15-yard touchdown pass to cap the drive.
At the start of the second half, Hillsdale also cashed in a short field. Redshirt freshman Jack Robinson returned the opening kickoff 60 yards to the Kentucky Wesleyan 39, then seven plays later the tailback from Chardon, Ohio ran in a one yard score to give Hillsdale a 28-6 advantage.
Aissen was just 7 of 18 passing for 83 yards for Hillsdale but made plays when it counted, connecting on the two touchdown passes to help the Chargers pull ahead. Foos finished the day as Hillsdale's leading receiver with three catches for 28 yards, and Austen Williams added a 23-yard reception as well.
Logan VanEnkenvort added 52 yards on 15 carries to lead Hillsdale on the ground, and Jake Umholtz added six rushes for 36 yards as well.
Defensively, Herzog had an all-around excellent defensive day to lead the Chargers. Along with the two takeaways, the junior chipped in a team-high 11 tackles and a sack. Anschutz added eight tackles as well for Hillsdale, and junior defensive end Kendall Tobin added four tackles, 2.5 for loss, and a sack as well.
The Chargers improve to 5-5 overall and 4-2 in the G-MAC with the victory, and will wrap up the 2021 season with a home contest against Ohio Dominican on Saturday at 1 p.m. Hillsdale will be celebrating its 21 seniors at that game, and will look to send them off on a winning note.
Photo by Anthony Lupi
