Box Score

October 29, 2011 - The 17 graduating seniors of the Hillsdale College football team will have good memories of their final home game.

A big fourth-down tackle by sophomore linebacker Steven Embry sealed a 14-10 win for the Chargers over Northwood University on a cold, windy Saturday afternoon at Frank "Muddy" Waters Stadium. Hillsdale has now clinched its fourth straight winning season and is 6-3, and 6-2 in ther GLIAC. The team will travel to the University of Findlay next weekend for a contest against the Oilers. 

This was a game the Chargers struggled to control at times. The team committed two turnovers and had a field goal blocked, which helped make the final score closer than the statistics indicated. Hillsdale dominated nearly all phases of the stat sheet, outgaining the Timberwolves 424-183, possessed the ball for 17 more minutes, and ran 29 more plays.

Despite all those advantages, Northwood took a fourth-quarter lead on an 8-yard run by QB Aaron Shavers that gave the team a 10-7 advantage with 11:24 left in the game.

A little more than two minutes later, the Chargers responded with the only big play of the game. Junior QB Anthony Mifsud lofted a perfect pass down the middle of the field to senior Nick Hixson, who caught the ball in perfect stride and outran the Northwood defense for a 75-yard touchdown pass that put the Chargers back in front, 14-10. Hixson, who has stepped in as a third-down wide receiver this season, made his biggest play as an offensive player at the most crucial time for Hillsdale.

The Charger defense closed out the win, stopping the Timberwolves twice in the game's final nine minutes. Hillsdale's offense burned nearly six minutes off the clock late in the fourth quarter, forcing Northwood to burn its final two timeouts, and pushing the team back deep inside its own territory with 1:41 to go.

Northwood completed a pass to make it 4th down and 3 yards to go, but the team was flagged for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after the play was over, turning a manageable down-and-distance situation into a near-impossibility, given how seldom the team passes. Although the Timberwolves completed the 4th-and-18 pass, it was well short of the first-down marker, thanks to the tight defense of Embry.

Senior RB Brad Spencer made his second career start for the Chargers, and ran the ball a career-high 29 times for 97 yards. Spencer ran with toughness and did an excellent job filling in for the injured Joe Glendening.

Mifsud added to the team's rushing attack with nine carries for 57 yards, but just as importantly, no yards lost rushing. The team's offensive line did a very good job of pass protection, giving Mifsud time to make pass-run decisions when he had open space. Mifsud opened the scoring in the game with a two-yard burst to put the Chargers ahead 7-0 with 9:55 left in the second quarter.

Sophomore Andrew Mott led the team with five catches, gaining 47 yards. Hixson caught four passes for a team-high 119 yards and a touchdown. Junior Cam White caught two passes for 27 yards.

Defensively, the Chargers played a fast, swarming game from start to finish, limiting the Timberwolves to just 48 passing yards. 

Sophomore Devin Moynihan led the bakanced effort on defense with 11 solo tackes, including a forced fumble, which was eventually recovered by Ben Karaba. Hixson, Embry and freshman Daniel Pittman racked up six tackles apiece, and sophomore Skyler Davis played well from his defensive line position, with three solo tackles and two tackles-for-loss.