Hillsdale College Football Team Wins 600th Game in Program History

Hillsdale College Football Team Wins 600th Game in Program History

Release courtesy of Brad Monastiere, Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations and Event Management, Hillsdale College


HILLSDALE, Mich. - Thanks in part to three interception returns for touchdown, and the breaking of one prestigious record and near-breaking of another, Hillsdale moved to 3-1 on the season with a 63-14 smashing of Notre Dame College in Ohio. The Chargers are 3-1 in the GLIAC and come back home next weekend for a contest versus Northern Michigan University.

This was win number 600 in the history of the program, and in a bit of delicious irony, win number one also came against Notre Dame. But that was the University of Notre Dame, in South Bend, and the final score was 14-12 back in 1892. The proud tradition of excellence built up by Hillsdale College football players over the past 120 years was put on full display by this 2012 team on Saturday.

The 63 points scored by the Chargers are their most in a game in 44 years, and were just five away from the single-game school record of 68. Hillsdale sat just 10 yards away from the end zone, when it elected to take a knee for the final three plays.

Another rare achievement was scored by the Charger defense in this game. The last time Hillsdale had an interception return for touchdown was way back in 2003, when most of these current players were in elementary school. But juniors Nick Galvan, Steven Embry and Matt Payne all had "pick-sixes" in this game. Galvan's came when the team already build a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.

Speaking of touchdowns, no player in school history has carried the pigskin into the end zone as often as senior RB Joe Glendening. He caught a three-yard touchdown pass from senior QB Anthony Mifsud, and later scored on a six-yard scoring run to give him 53 touchdowns for his career, a new career school record.

Glendening's 53 touchdowns have come in a grand total of 25 college starts, and breaks the old record of 52 held by 2009 graduate Vinnie Panizzi. Panizzi broke the record previously held by Hillsdale College Hall of Famer Nate Clark, which was set back in 1955.

The Chargers opened the scoring with a three-play, 63-yard drive capped by a 37-yard touchdown catch by senior Cam White. Mifsud later scampered in from 11 yards out to make it 14-0 with five minutes left in the first quarter. Galvan's 53-yard pick-six less than two minutes later extended the lead to 21.

Embry's score set up Glendening's record-tying and record-setting scores, which came late in the second and early in the third quarters.

Redshirt-freshman Nick Chapel (pictured) caught his first collegiate scoring pass, a 10-yarder from Mifsud, to make the score 49-7 with 9:05 left in the third quarters.

Another redshirt-freshman, Alex Fogt, found the end zone for the first time in his career, catching a two-yard ass from Mifsud with 2:45 left in the third to make it a 56-7 ballgame.

Payne's 33-yard interception return for touchdown capped the scoring in this game for Hillsdale.

Glendening played less than three quarters in the game anf still finished with 102 rushing yards and eight receiving yards in addition to his two scores. Mifsud had a huge day overall, going 21-for-27 for 208 yards, four touchdown passes, and 15 rushing yards and another score.

Chapel led the team in receiving for the first time in his career, catching six passes for 50 yards. Junior Andrew Mott caught five passes for 56 yards, while White matched his 56-yard total through the air.

In addition to the three defensive touchdowns, the Charger defense did a superlative job shutting down Notre Dame College running back Pedro Powell in this game. Powell had rushed for 240 yards against No. 4 Grand Valley State back on Sept. 8, but against Hillsdale, Powell was held to just 30 yards on the ground on nine carries (3.3 yards per carry average). NDC quarterback Ray Russ, who passed for 278 yards against the Lakers, passed for just 90 versus the Chargers, and Hillsdale didn't allow an offensive play of more than 15 yards int he entire game.

Hillsdale picked up six tackles-for-loss in the game, led by two from defensive lineman Joe Snyder. Linebacker Devin Moynihan led Hillsdale with nine total tackles.