A strong start to the second half put the Hillsdale College football team in position for a Senior Day victory that would clinch a winning season against Michigan Tech on Saturday.
But in an unfortunate bit of deja vu for the Chargers, Hillsdale couldn't keep Michigan Tech out of the end zone in the closing seconds, and came up just short against the Huskies in a 28-24 loss.
The defeat, in which Hillsdale held a 24-14 fourth quarter lead, was eerily reminiscent of Hillsdale's 14-10 loss at Michigan Tech in September of last season. In that contest, the Chargers held a 10-7 lead over the Huskies late, but surrendered the go-ahead touchdown with 1:14 to play.
This Saturday, Tech went 72 yards in nine plays and a minute and 33 seconds to score the go-ahead touchdown on a 12-yard pass with 40 seconds to go. Hillsdale thought it had gotten off the field and potentially clinched the game earlier in the drive when Jackson Gillock broke up a fourth-down pass by the Huskies, but the officiating crew flagged Gillock for pass interference, which allowed the drive to continue, and the Huskies took advantage.
Hillsdale had jumped out in front earlier in the second half thanks to two huge plays. Late in the third quarter, trailing Michigan Tech 14-10, senior linebacker Zach Urda forced a fumble that was recovered and ran back 40 yards for a Charger touchdown by senior safety Julius Graber. After trailing for the entire game to that point, Graber's touchdown completely flipped the momentum.
After forcing a three and out, Hillsdale took advantage of the momentum shift on the next drive. Hillsdale's Luke Keller connected with wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa on three straight passes, the final one a 14-yard touchdown pass that gave the Chargers a 24-14 lead with 13:33 to play. The catch was TeSlaa's second touchdown of the game, as the sophomore finished with 146 yards and two touchdowns on six catches for the day.
It looked like Hillsdale was in control, but Tech struck back quickly, going 88 yards in six plays and scoring to cut Hillsdale's lead to 24-21 with 7:57 to play. Up three and with a chance to put the game away, the Chargers put together a strong drive, milking 5:44 off the clock. But an on-target fourth-down pass from the 28 that could have been TeSlaa's third touchdown of the day was broken up by Michigan Tech's Kevin Lee in the end zone -- giving Tech the ball back with 2:13 to play and setting up the Huskies' go-ahead scoring drive.
Trailing 28-24 with 40 seconds to play and only one timeout, Hillsdale made a solid effort to get a game-winning score. A good kickoff return by Michael Herzog got the Chargers to midfield, and Keller quickly drove the Chargers to the Michigan Tech 23. But with just 10 seconds on the clock, Keller had no choice but to force a throw to a covered receiver in the end zone, and Michigan Tech intercepted the pass to end the game.
Along with TeSlaa's strong performance, Keller also had a solid game for Hillsdale, going 16 of 28 through the air for 247 yards, and adding a team-best 62 yards on the ground. Logan VaneEnkevort caught two passes for 39 yards, and Michael Harding added three catches for 20 yards as well.
Defensively, senior linebacker Kyle Kudla had a strong final contest in his last home game as a Charger, finishing with a team-high eight tackles, while Matt Soderdahl chipped in seven and Zach Urda added six, along with the fumble recovery. Sophomore Riley Tolsma chipped in a sack, and Kendall Tobin added two quarterback hurries in his final home game as a Charger as well.
Kicker Julian Lee was a perfect 3 for 3 on extra points for Hillsdale and added a 27-yard field goal just before halftime as well.
The Chargers fall to 5-5 on the year, and finish the 2022 season on the road next week at Ohio Dominican. Hillsdale will be looking to clinch a winning season with an upset victory, but will face a tough test against the 6-3 Panthers, who are just a game out of first place in the G-MAC.
Photo by Anthony Lupi