Box Score

The Malone University football team fell on the road to Hillsdale (MI) College Saturday night by a final score of 27-10.  The Chargers led 14-10 at intermission and then tacked on a pair of second-half touchdowns to secure the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) victory.

Malone matched Hillsdale, the defending GLIAC Champions, yard-for-yard and nearly point-for-point over the first 30 minutes, posting 198 yards of offense through the first two quarters compared to 195 total yards for the Chargers.  However, Hillsdale's potent rushing attack and stingy defense helped the hosts pull away down the stretch as the Pioneers were held to just 55 total yards in the second half.  The Chargers, meanwhile, more than duplicated their first-half offensive production, ending the evening with 417 total yards.  Hillsdale, which opened the season ranked at No. 17 in the AFCA Division II National Poll, improved to 2-1 overall (2-0 GLIAC) with the victory while Malone slipped to 0-2 (0-2 GLIAC).

The Chargers grabbed an early lead on the opening possession of the game as quarterback Anthony Mifsud capped off a 10-play, 60-yard scoring drive with a 28-yard touchdown pass to halfback Cam White.

The Pioneers answered right back, knotting the game at 7-7 less than three minutes later on a 26-yard screen pass from quarterback Will Szpor to running back Ronnie Beers. 

The first-quarter scoring then continued on Hillsdale's ensuing possession as the Mifsud-White connection struck again – this time on a four-yard TD toss – to put the hosts back in front, 14-7.

Malone again managed to respond to the Charger scoring drive, putting together an 11-play, 62-yard march of its own that culminated with a 32-yard field goal by Pioneer kicker Jake Hardy in the early stages of the second quarter.

Although each team put points on the board during its first two possessions, both squads came up empty over the remainder of the half and headed to the locker room with the score remaining at 14-10.

Mifsud pushed the Charger lead to 20-10 late in the third quarter after connecting with Andrew Mott on a 22-yard touchdown pass.  Hillsdale was unable to tack on an extra point, though, as Pioneer defensive back Glen Raphael managed to dart across the line and block the PAT try.

Facing a two-score deficit, the Pioneers then got a big dose of Hillsdale's All-American running back Joe Glendening and the Charger ground game over the remainder of the contest.   After being held out of the end zone over the first three quarters, Glendening, the 2011 GLIAC Player of the Year, finally broke through with a 22-yard TD run at the 13:02 mark of the final stanza, pushing the Hillsdale lead to 27-10. 

Malone ended the night with 111 yards on the ground and 142 through the air.  The Pioneers did not commit a turnover but were penalized 10 times for a total of 88 yards.  The Chargers also featured a balanced attack with 201 yards rushing and 216 passing.  Hillsdale did throw one interception but converted on seven of 14 third downs and committed only five penalties.

Szpor completed 13 of his 25 pass attempts over the course of the game for 142 yards and one touchdown.  Running back Steven Niewiedzial picked up 33 rushing yards on 10 carries while running back Malik Felton gained 32 rushing yards on six attempts.  AT Turner was the Pioneers' top receiver with four catches for 42 yards.

Safeties Logan Francis and Demarco Donaldson led the way for the defense with 11 and 10 tackles, respectively.  Linebacker James Benedix posted seven stops while fellow linebacker Brandon Commodore recorded six tackles.  Linebacker Antonio Scassa also made solid contributions, picking off a pass while also making six tackles.

For Hillsdale, Mifsud completed 18 of 29 passes for 216 yards and three scores.  Glendening ended the night with 137 rushing yards on 27 attempts. Mott pulled in six catches for 80 yards to pace the Charger receiving corps.  Linebacker Brett Pasche anchored the Hillsdale defense with a game-high 14 tackles and one sack.

The Pioneers' rigorous early-season schedule continues next Saturday as the squad welcomes Wayne State (MI) University, the 2011 NCAA Division II National Runner-up, to Fawcett Stadium for a 7:00 p.m. contest.  Fans can catch all of the action on the Malone Sports Network (radio broadcast on WNPQ 95.9 FM or streaming live audio on the internet at www.thelight959.com).  Live video and statistics will also be provided.  Click here for links to each.