The Hillsdale College football team fell behind early on the road at Michigan Tech on Saturday, and was unable to dig itself out of that first-half hole in a 45-20 loss to the Huskies.
The Chargers had early opportunities to score, recovering a muffed punt at the Michigan Tech 33 after going three and out on their first possession of the game, and piecing together a 47-yard drive on the following possession to get to the edge of the red zone. But Hillsdale got a combined three points off of those two opportunities deep in Huskies territory, off a 31 yard field goal by Julian Lee.
While Hillsdale came up empty-handed on multiple possessions in the first half, the Huskies took full advantage of theirs. After being stopped on downs on their opening drive of the game, Michigan Tech scored touchdowns on their next three possessions and also took a Hillsdale fumble 47 yards for a fourth score to put up 28 points.
Hillsdale drove to get a second field goal by Julian Lee, a 38-yarder, late in the second quarter to add another score, but the Huskies took a 28-6 lead into halftime, then added another touchdown on a short field early in the second half to take a 35-6 lead and pull away.
The Chargers continued to battle after halftime, stringing together a 13-play, 73-yard drive that tailback Michael Herzog finished off with a two yard touchdown run to answer the Huskies' first score of the half, and later getting a one-yard touchdown run by quarterback Garrit Aissen in the fourth quarter, but every time Hillsdale scored in the second half, the Huskies answered with points of their own to keep the Chargers at a distance.
Execution problems plagued the Chargers in the loss. Offensively, Hillsdale turned the ball over three times, with the first half fumble leading directly to points for Michigan Tech. Defensively, Hillsdale was victimized by big plays for the second straight week, giving up 7.2 yards per play to the Huskies and 9.8 yards per pass play, for a total of 412 yards of offense and 38 points scored against the Chargers' defensive unit.
Herzog led the way for the Chargers offensively, breaking the 100-yard mark for the second straight week with 106 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries. Quarterback Garrit Aissen added 115 yards through the air on 19 of 32 passing, connecting with Logan VanEnkevort four times for 38 yards and Jonathan Metzger three times for 23 yards.
Will Whims led Hillsdale defensively with seven tackles, while Zachary Pardonnet chipped in four tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery and Riley Tolsma added three tackles, two for loss, and a sack as well. Julian Lee made all four of his kicks for the Chargers, hitting both field goals he attempted as well as two extra points.
The Chargers fall to 0-2 on the season and finish a tough road swing to start 2023 with a trip to nationally-ranked Ashland at 7 p.m. on Sept. 16 for the start of G-MAC play. Hillsdale stunned Ashland last season at home, knocking off the then-unbeaten and sixth-ranked Eagles 36-20 in one of the biggest upsets of 2022, and the Chargers will aim to get back on track and hold on to the Donald Mossey Traveling Trophy for another year.
Photo Courtesy of Michigan Tech Athletics