In the 2023 season, the Hillsdale College football program had a start it probably would like to forget.
But rather than give up, the Chargers instead battled back and authored a finish that will be remembered for many years to come.
Hillsdale showed incredible resilience, ending the season on a five-game winning streak and going 6-1 over their final seven contests to shake off a tough 0-4 start and finish 2023 with the program's seventh .500 or better season in eight years.
The Chargers drew a brutal start to the 2023 schedule, with three road games and tough contests against the defending GLVC and G-MAC champions, as well as perennial G-MAC title contender Findlay, in its first four contests. Hillsdale battled in all four contests, including staging a stirring comeback against the Oilers on homecoming, but couldn't break through in any of those first four contests.
The Chargers began to turn things around with a cathartic 40-18 victory over Northwood on Sept. 30, and hung tough with eventual 2023 G-MAC Champion Tiffin on the road in a 35-21 loss, but were still 1-5 with five games to play. Many teams would have given up there, with no hope of a playoff berth and only a slim one of a winning season, but the 2023 Hillsdale College football team wasn't most teams.
Hillsdale bounced back in a big way in a 44-14 win over Kentucky Wesleyan on Oct. 14, kicking off a five-game winning streak to close the season that included four blowout victories and a gritty last-second stand to win a 35-33 thriller on the road at Thomas More. As Hillsdale began to rack up victories, the Chargers found an identity offensively, with a battle-tested and physical offensive line paving the way one of the greatest rushing seasons in school history from senior tailback Michael Herzog.
The Chargers went out in style in a 35-17 victory over Ohio Dominican on Nov. 11, with Herzog tying the program record for single-game rushing touchdowns with five in the win over the Panthers. All told, Hillsdale had three games with 300 or more rushing yards, a feat Hillsdale hadn't accomplished since its 2011 GLIAC Championship-winning team.
Herzog's record-setting season culminated in an impressive set of honors, as the senior tailback became Hillsdale's first G-MAC Player of the Year, first first-team All-American, and first finalist for the Harlon Hill Trophy since 2018, a truly historic haul for Hillsdale's 2023 MVP.
In addition, three Hillsdale offensive linemen – senior Ben Geno and juniors Nick Affholter and Eli Haidamous – earned All-Conference awards. Junior defensive end Riley Tolsma and sophomore Sam Lee also earned All-G-MAC recognition for Hillsdale.
The stunning finish to the 2023 season proved to be the perfect send-off for legendary head coach Keith Otterbein, embodying the resilience and diehard will he had always aimed to cultivate in his players. Otterbein announced his retirement following the 2023 campaign, and departs the program third in all-time wins with 133, and having led Hillsdale to four conference titles and all three of the Chargers' NCAA DII Playoff berths.
Stepping into the coaching role is longtime offensive coordinator Nate Shreffler, a life-long Hillsdale man who has spent 25 years coaching for the Chargers after four years playing on the offensive line in the early 90s. Shreffler will look to carry the program into a new era while maintaining the strong foundations built up over 131 years of excellence on the field at Hillsdale.
Photo by Isabella Sheehan