The Hillsdale College football team's first half in Painesville, Ohio on Saturday left the Chargers trailing.

Hillsdale's second-half left no doubts.

The Chargers outscored host Lake Erie 21-0 after halftime to turn a 10-7 deficit into a 28-10 victory, the Chargers' second of the season.

After trading empty possessions to start the second half, Hillsdale put together its first significant drive of the game, leaning on the connection between quarterback Colin McKernan and receiver Shea Ruddy. McKernan found Ruddy for a 35 yard completion early in the drive to get in Lake Erie territory, then the pair connected again on a 24-yard touchdown pass to give Hillsdale a 14-10 lead. 

Now ahead for the first time in the game, Hillsdale capitalized on a Lake Erie mistake, as Jack Trachet recovered a Storm fumble on the first play on the ensuing drive to set up the Hillsdale offense with excellent field position. Taking over at the 22, the Chargers pounded their way forward on the ground, with five straight running plays that ended in a seven-yard touchdown run by Zach Tetler to put Hillsdale up two scores with just over five minutes to play in the third.

Lake Erie put together multiple drives to try and answer, but Hillsdale's defense held firm to pitch a shutout in the second half. The Chargers held Lake Erie to a field goal attempt the Storm missed, got a fumble recovery by Daniel Southerington after Vince Francescone forced the ball loose, and got an interception by Matt Soderdahl to snuff out the Storm's three attempts to get back in the game. After Soderdahl's interception, Hillsdale put the game on ice with a long drive capped off by Tetler, who scored his third touchdown of the day from three yards out to put Hillsdale up 28-10 with under two minutes to play.

Hillsdale had to battle back from a significant early deficit, as Lake Erie took a 7-0 lead in the first minute of the game on a long touchdown pass, then added a field goal on their next drive. Trailing by double-digits, Hillsdale got the first of two interceptions on the game by Soderdahl to set the Chargers up at the 25 in the first quarter, and Tetler paid off the turnover with a two-yard touchdown run to ensure Hillsdale would hit the break trailing by just three points.

Tetler led Hillsdale offensively with 85 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries, and Logan VanEnkevort chipped in 71 yards on 19 carries as Hillsdale rushed for 206 yards on the ground. McKernan was 7 for 14 for 96 yards and the touchdown, with Ruddy catching three of those seven passes for 76 yards and the score.

Defensively, Hillsdale was able to dominate after a shaky start, forcing five turnovers. Francescone had six tackles and a forced fumble to lead the Chargers, Jake Maloney added six tackles, and Drake Badger chipped in five tackles and a sack. Matt Soderdahl had two interceptions for Hillsdale, and Gavin Chenevey also picked off a pass for Hillsdale.

The Chargers are now 2-5 overall, 2-3 in the G-MAC and continue a road swing next Saturday with a 1 p.m. contest at Kentucky Wesleyan. Both teams will come in with momentum as the Panthers got a road win over Northwood this weekend as well, setting up an intriguing clash.