For the second straight Saturday, the Hillsdale College football team mustered a bold second-half comeback from a dire situation against a quality opponent, and held the ball with under two minutes to play and a chance to tie or take the lead.

Unfortunately, for the second straight week, the Chargers came up just short at the finish, falling 28-21 to undefeated Findlay today on the road to drop to 0-4 seven days after a tough 24-21 loss at home to Ashland.

Much like previous weeks, Hillsdale found itself in a deep hole after the first half, trailing 14-0 after struggling to move the ball against a tough Oilers defense in the first two quarters. 

Despite the rough start, Hillsdale showed itself to be a second-half team once again. Sophomore receiver Shea Ruddy had a huge second half, scoring all three Hillsdale touchdowns and providing a massive spark to a team that looked out of sync in the first 30 minutes.

Ruddy helped get Hillsdale on the board to start the second half, getting Hillsdale into Findlay territory on the opening kickoff with a 34 yard return. Good field position from that return jump started the Chargers offense, as redshirt freshman Colin McKernan, who entered the game after halftime, hooked up wih Ruddy on a 31-yard touchdown pass to cut Findlay's lead to 14-7 early in the third quarter.

From there, in the second half, each time it looked like Findlay was close to pulling away, the Chargers found a big play to stay in the hunt. The Oilers hit a big pass play to start the fourth quarter that helped them pull ahead 21-7, but Ruddy and Hillsdale answered with a 57-yard touchdown reception from McKernan to pull within a score with 11:03 to play.

Findlay matched that score with another big pass play to make it a two-touchdown game again, but Ruddy responded immediately on the kickoff, returning it 93 yards for a Hillsdale touchdown to pull within 28-21 with 10:08 to go. Both teams traded three and outs before Findlay went on a long drive to the Hillsdale 14, setting up for a field goal that would have put the game out of reach with 3:01 to play. The field goal, however missed from 31 yards out, giving the Chargers one final shot to tie.

McKernan directed a solid drive, converting two third downs, including a 35-yard pass to Ruddy that helped Hillsdale cross midfield. The Chargers got down to the Findlay 19 with 1:10 to play and a chance to go for the end zone and even the score, but the Oilers came up with a game-clinching interception in the end zone.

Ruddy led Hillsdale in both receiving, with 126 yards and two touchdowns on three receptions, and rushing, with 59 yards on three carries on the ground. Including his returns, Ruddy finished with 343 all-purpose yards and accounted for nearly three-quarters of Hillsdale's 452 offensive yards in the game. McKernan was the third of three Chargers quarterbacks to play on the day and finished 7 for 13 for 165 yards and the two touchdowns. Altogether the Chargers were 9 for 24 for 170 yards and two touchdowns through the air, but were picked off three times.

Will Whims led Hillsdale with eight tackles and an interception as the Chargers defense forced two turnovers and recorded three sacks to help keep Hillsdale in the game, but fell victim to big plays as well. Jacob Vance finished with seven tackles and two sacks as well for the Hillsdale defense, Jack Trachet chipped in four tackles, two pass breakups and an interception, and Vince Francescone added three tackles and two pass breakups as well.

Hillsdale (0-4, 0-2 G-MAC) has another critical road contest this coming Saturday, traveling to in-state rival Northwood for a 1 p.m. kickoff. The Chargers are looking to extend a nine-game winning streak against the Timberwolves and avoid what would be the program's first 0-5 start since 1998 with a loss.

Photo by Sarah Chappelle