Two of the leaders of a Hillsdale College football defense that helped propel the Chargers to a winning season and an America’s Crossroads Bowl bid picked up more postseason recognition on Thursday morning.
Senior Alex Anschutz and junior Zach Herzog each were named to the Division II Conference Commissioners Association All-Super Region 1 second team for 2021 after strong final seasons in Charger blue and white. It’s the first D2CCA All-Region recognition for both players in their careers at Hillsdale.
It’s fitting that both Anschutz and Herzog would earn All-Super Region 1 honors in their final season together, as the pair have been a lethal combination for opposing offenses in Hillsdale’s back seven for the last three seasons. In each of the past three years, either Anschutz or Herzog led the Chargers in tackles, with the other one finishing second in tackles two of the three seasons.
Anschutz, who earned first team All-G-MAC recognition earlier this month and was a CoSIDA Academic All-American in the 2020-21 school year, had the finest season of his career in 2021, leading the Chargers and finishing second in the G-MAC and tied for 12th in NCAA Division II with 107 tackles, a career-high.
The playmaking STAR (a linebacker/safety hybrid) in Hillsdale’s lineup also added four tackles for loss, a forced fumble and fumble recovery, two interceptions, five pass breakups and a blocked extra point. A two-year team captain for the Chargers and three-year starter, Anschutz had 10 or more tackles in six of Hillsdale’s 11 games, including a career-high 17 on Sept. 11 against Indianapolis.
Herzog, a safety, has spent his career as one of the Chargers’ top tacklers, leading the team in tackles in both the 2019 and Spring 2021 seasons, while becoming just the sixth Charger since 1960 to earn first team all-conference honors in three consecutive seasons.
He had a strong year once again in the fall of 2021, finishing second behind Anschutz on the team with 98 tackles, as well as sixth in the G-MAC and in the top 30 in NCAA DII in the stat. Herzog earned G-MAC Defensive Player of the Week honors for his game against Kentucky Wesleyan on Nov. 6 where he finished with 11 tackles, a sack, an interception and a fumble recovery in the Chargers’ 31-12 victory.
Both players contributed interceptions to a Hillsdale defense that led the NCAA Division II ranks in the regular season with 20 interceptions, and both players were 2021 team captains.
Both Anschutz and Herzog will finish out their Charger careers with one final game this Saturday, as Hillsdale battles Truman State in the America’s Crossroads Bowl at the Brickyard Stadium in Hobart, Indiana. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. CT and the game can be livestreamed on the Great Midwest Digital Network and also will air on Comcast Channel 900 in Michigan and Comcast/Xfinity Channel 81 in Indiana.