Hillsdale College (0-2, 0-0 G-MAC) at Truman St. (2-0, 0-0 GLVC) | 12 p.m. CT Saturday, Sept. 18 | James S. Stokes Stadium| Kirksville, MO
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Hillsdale Roster | Truman Roster | 2021 Hillsdale Stats | 2021 Truman Stats | G-MAC Schedule | G-MAC Standings | Game Notes
Last Game:
The Chargers hung tough with Indianapolis, then the #12 team in Division II, rallying from double-digit deficits three separate times in the contest, including a 28-10 third quarter lead for the Greyhounds. Hillsdale cut UIndy’s lead to 28-25 in the fourth quarter, but ultimately came up a couple of plays short in a 35-31 loss. Redshirt freshman wide receivers Isaac TeSlaa and Austen Williams combined for three touchdowns as the Chargers threw for 311 yards in the loss, the most since a Nov. 24, 2018 playoff game against Notre Dame College (OH). Defensively, Alex Anschutz led the Chargers with 17 tackles and forced a fumble on a UIndy punt return that led to a Charger touchdown and helped spark a Hillsdale third quarter rally.
Scouting the Opposition:
Truman enters Saturday’s game on the back of two emphatic road wins against GLIAC foes, including a 27-9 victory over a Wayne State team picked to finish third in that league last weekend.
The Bulldogs haven’t been a fireworks show offensively in the first two weeks, averaging just 280 yards of total offense a game, but what Truman has lacked in flash, they’ve made up for in effectiveness on that side of the ball.
A run-first team, Truman has relied heavily on tailback Cody Schrader, who had a monster 217-yard, four-touchdown performance in week one against Davenport, and added another scoring run against Wayne St. last week.
Nolan Hair, the Bulldogs’ second-year starter at quarterback, hasn’t been called upon much in the first two games but improved from week one to week two, throwing two touchdown passes against Wayne St. Senior receiver Dante Ruffin has been Hair’s most consistent target, while freshman receiver Tate Crane and senior tight end Jake Ellis each have a touchdown reception so far.
While the offense has done its job so far, it’s Truman’s defense that has led the way to a 2-0 record. The Bulldogs dominated their first two opponents defensively and rank first or second in the GLVC in nearly every relevant defensive stat.
Truman has an excellent defensive front, led by breakout freshman star Jack Marth, who earned GLVC Defensive Player of the Week honors last week, and Bennett Swope at the defensive ends.
An aggressive secondary that’s picked off four passes so far will be tough to throw on, led by freshmen Peyton Carr and Ryan Olivas, as well as sophomore Ben Thomas.
On special teams, the Bulldogs have a dangerous return man in Jaylen Jefferson, who took a kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown against Wayne St. last week, as well as one of the top punters in the GLVC in Taylor Cornish. Kicker Josh Scheiderer is 1 for 2 on field goals on the season, both from beyond 40 yards.
The Series:
The Chargers and Bulldogs have met exactly once, back in 1966, though at that time Truman had a different name, Northeast Missouri State. In a mid-October contest played at Hillsdale, the Bulldogs took a 26-13 victory, part of a 3-1 start, but it would be the final game the Bulldogs won as Truman went 0-5 the rest of the way to finish 3-6 overall. The Chargers finished a similar 3-5-1 overall.
Other Notes:
- Against Indianapolis last Saturday, Hillsdale put up its best passing performance since the NCAA DII playoff game against Notre Dame (OH) in 2018, with quarterback Luke Keller throwing for 311 yards and three touchdowns. Key in that were breakout performances by two redshirt freshman Charger receivers. Isaac TeSlaa’s 152 receiving yards were the most by a Charger receiver since Konnor Maloney’s 172 against Indianapolis on Sept. 14, 2019, and his 63-yard second quarter touchdown reception was Hillsdale’s longest pass play since Joe Bentley’s 73-yard receiving touchdown against Michigan Tech on Sept. 7, 2019. Fellow freshman Austen Williams finished with two touchdown catches, the first multi-receiving touchdown game for the Chargers since Maloney caught three touchdown passes against Alderson Braoddus on Nov. 2, 2019.
- 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 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.