When October and November roll around, the Hillsdale College football team is developing into the team no one wants to see on their schedule.

For the second straight season, the Chargers rallied late in the 2024 campaign, winning five straight games and six of their last seven to turn an 0-4 start into a winning finish.

Key to Hillsdale's midseason turnaround was a revival of the Chargers' rushing attack, spearheaded by senior Logan VanEnkevort. The do-it-all team captain had played several positions for Hillsdale throughout his career and began the season as the team's slot receiver, but after a difficult start on the ground for the Chargers in the month of September, VanEnkevort took over as the team's tailback and never looked back, with five 100-plus yard rushing games in his last six starts.

VanEnkevort's performance helped lift the Chargers from the worst rushing team in the conference on Sept. 28 to the league's best rushing attack by season's end, averaging 163.2 rushing yards per game. Also key to the performance was the play of a veteran offensive line lead by two-time All-Conference honoree Nick Affholter at center and 2023 All-G-MAC honoree Eli Haidamous at guard to help pave the way.

While Hillsdale's offense was rising behind a renewed run game, the Chargers' defense also was stepping up in a big way down the stretch. After a couple of tough early-season performances against elite offenses, Hillsdale was lights out in the final month of the season, holding four consecutive opponents under 300 yards of total offense to help the Chargers to victory in all four games.

Led by defensive linemen Hunter Sperling and Drake Badger and linebacker Jacob Vance up front, the Chargers proved to be especially stingy on the ground. In a 38-17 victory over Thomas More on Nov. 2, Hillsdale held the Saints to -4 yards on the ground, the first time the Chargers had held a team to negative rushing yards since 2011. Hillsdale followed that performance up with a dominant game against a Tiffin offense that led the G-MAC in virtually every category, holding the powerhouse Dragons to just 38 yards on the ground and 248 yards of total offense in a 20-17 upset victory that cemented Hillsdale's winning season.

Big improvements both offensively and defensively may have made an important impact for the Chargers, but Hillsdale was strong in its return game on special teams throughout the season. The Chargers led all of NCAA DII in team kickoff return yardage in the regular season, averaging 29.96 per return, led by dynamic sophomore Shea Ruddy, whose 33.3 yards per return average set a new G-MAC record.

Ruddy became the first player since Chad Gurica in 2006 with multiple kickoff returns for touchdowns in the same season, with a 95-yard return for a score against Walsh on Oct. 12 and a 93-yard return for a touchdown on Sept. 28 against Findlay. He finished second nationally in kickoff return yardage with 732, and was an explosive threat for the Chargers all over the field, adding eight receiving touchdowns and a rushing touchdown while finishing in the top five in the nation in All-Purpose yards on the season with 1,779 yards from scrimmage. For his play, Ruddy was named the team's Most Valuable Player.

The successful finish gave first-year head coach Nate Shreffler a winning season in his inaugural campaign, and the Chargers momentum heading into the offseason. At 6-3 in G-MAC play, Hillsdale was two field goals – a make by Ashland as time expired to win a 24-21 contest on Sept. 21, and a miss by the Chargers as time expired that would have won the game against Walsh on Oct.12 – away from earning a share of the program's first conference title since 2018.

That fine margin gives the Chargers hope that with a strong offseason and continued growth, Hillsdale could be a serious contender for the G-MAC crown in 2025. Working to make that hope a reality will be a focus for Hillsdale this offseason as the Chargers try to sharpen their game for the upcoming campaign.