Schedule

#16 Indianapolis (0-0, 0-0 G-MAC) at Hillsdale College (0-0, 0-0 G-MAC) | 6 p.m. ET Saturday, Sept. 7 | Frank "Muddy" Waters Stadium | Hillsdale, MI
 
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Hillsdale Roster | UIndy Roster | 2023 Hillsdale Stats | 2023 UIndy Stats | G-MAC Schedule | G-MAC Standings
 
Last Season

A difficult schedule saw Hillsdale get off to a nightmare start in 2023, opening the season with four straight losses and sitting at 1-5 in early October. Despite what looked like a potential lost season, Hillsdale stuck together and kept believing, turning things around with a five-game winning streak to close the season and securing a winning record at 6-5 overall. A hard-fought 35-33 road victory at Thomas More that saw Hillsdale stop a potential game-tying two-point conversion try with under a minute to play proved to be an important catalyst in the stellar finish. Along the way, senior tailback Mike Herzog had one of the greatest seasons by a player at his position in program history, setting multiple program and G-MAC records and capping his career with an epic five-touchdown performance in a 35-17 win over Ohio Dominican in the season finale. Herzog was honored after the season as a consensus All-American and a finalist for the Harlon Hill Trophy. The Chargers had six players total recognized by the G-MAC as All-Conference honorees, including offensive linemen Nick Affholter and Eli Haidamous, who return in 2024.
 
Scouting the Opposition

Hillsdale faces a formidable challenge in its season opener from a nationally-ranked UIndy team hungry to take the next step in the NCAA DII playoffs after nine GLVC titles in the past 11 seasons.

The Greyhounds are ranked 16^th in the AFCA DII preseason coaches poll and 15^th in the D2Football.com poll to open the 2024 season with a loaded roster returning significant experience from last season's 9-2 and GLVC title-winning squad.
UIndy is stacked at the skill positions offensively, returning GLVC offensive player of the year Gavin Sukup at quarterback, along with their top three rushers and three of their top four receivers.

A junior college transfer, Sukup was stellar in directing the UIndy offense in 2023, ranking second in the nation in yards per passing attempt and third in passing efficiency while finishing with 2,716 passing yards and 25 touchdowns on the season.

He'll have plenty of familiar weapons to work with, as the Greyhounds return first-team All-GLVC tailback Jon Lewis, who just missed breaking 1,000 rushing yards in 2023, as well as GLVC Freshman of the Year Anthony Crowell at receiver. UIndy also gets the healthy return of playmaking receiver Alonzo Derick, who nearly led the team in receiving yards in 2023 despite only playing in four games due to injury.

Up front, UIndy loses two All-GLVC starters, but returns two first-team offensive linemen to build around in right tackle Ryne Butz and right guard Ryan Ritchie, giving the Greyhounds a strong foundation.

On the other side of the ball, UIndy returns three first-team All-GLVC starters in defensive end Aaron Barnett, who led the team in sacks in 2023 with seven, linebacker Clay Schulte, who led the Greyhounds in tackles with 82, and safety Michael Brown, who tied for the team lead in interceptions.

Brown will lead an experienced secondary with fellow returning All-GLVC honorees in nickel San Flowers, safety Kivonte Houston and cornerback Jalyn Givan. The Greyhounds have more questions on the defensive line but bring in two potential impact transfers in Amoree Stephens (Limestone) and Amarion Evans (Roosevelt) to shore up the unit.

With both its kicker and punter from last season graduating, the Greyhounds will turn to Kalamazoo College transfer Ian Burr to take over both jobs. Burr was an All-Conference honoree as both a kicker and punter at the DIII level in 2023. UIndy also returns the GLVC's top long snapper in Michael Wojciechowski and two experienced return men in Crowell and Markez Gilliam.

UIndy is coached by Chris Keevers, who is entering his sixth year at the helm of the Greyhounds. In five previous seasons, Keevers has gone 37-10, won three GLVC crowns and made three NCAA DII Playoff appearances. Prior to taking the head job at UIndy, Keevers was defensive coordinator for 12 years for the Greyhounds.
 
The Series

With five straight victories, UIndy has taken a narrow edge in what has been a long running and competitive series between the two teams. The series currently stands at 19-16 in favor of the Greyhounds, who pulled away in the second half for a 39-20 home victory on Sept. 2, 2023 in both teams' most recent meeting. Hillsdale's last victory in the series was a 30-24 win on Sept. 3, 2016. Not only is the overall record in this series close, but the individual games themselves are often tight – five of the last nine games between the two teams have been decided by seven points or less.

Other Notes

• New head coach Nate Shreffler may be entering his first season as the man in charge, but the veteran coach is no stranger to the sport and to Hillsdale. Shreffler is entering his 26^th season as a coach for the Chargers after successful stints as the team's offensive line coach (1999-2009) and offensive coordinator (2010-2023). Hillsdale's all-time leading passer, rusher and receiver all played in offenses led by Shreffler, and he was the position coach of Hillsdale's most recent NFL draft pick, Jared Veldheer. A 1993 graduate of Hillsdale College, Shreffler was a three-year starter on the offensive line and an important part of the team's 1992 conference title.
• The biggest strength on paper for the Chargers is a veteran offensive line, and especially an interior trio who are all entering their third year together as starters. Senior center Nick Affholter, a two-time All-G-MAC player and two-time Hillsdale lineman of the year anchors the unit. He's flanked on the left by guard Eli Haidamous, another All-G-MAC honoree, and on the right by his twin brother, Ben Affholter, who might have been an All-Conference player as well in 2023 if he hadn't missed time while recovering from an injury. Along with that gifted trio, Hillsdale also returns right tackle Carter Cushman as a second-year starter.
• Hillsdale's leading tackler in 2023 and Linebacker of the Year Jacob Vance returns for his sophomore season in 2024, after a meteoric rise the year before. As a redshirt freshman, Vance didn't dress for the first two games of the season, and didn't crack the lineup until a week four contest against Findlay. Despite the late start, Vance quickly established himself as one of the Chargers' most reliable defensive players and contributed greatly to Hillsdale's season-ending winning streak. He'll be positioned to play a major role for the Chargers in 2024.
• Hillsdale's two captains this season are senior wide receiver Logan VanEnkevort and junior defensive end Landon VanBeek. VanEnkevort was Hillsdale's Special Teams Player of the Year in 2023 and is one of Hillsdale's most versatile players, having played as many as six different positions for the Chargers over the past two seasons. His success on and off the playing field has earned him several accolades, including a nomination for the National Football Foundation's William V. Campbell Award, the sport's academic Heisman Trophy. VanBeek, meanwhile, has been a critical part of Hillsdale's defensive line for multiple seasons and is making the move to end this fall after excelling on the interior for Hillsdale in 2023.
• The Charger football program continued to shine academically this past season, with eight players earning College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honors, including returners Benjamin Affholter, Bart Bixler and Ty Williams. In addition, 48 Hillsdale football players received Academic All-G-MAC honors for posting a 3.3 or better cumulative GPA through the spring 2023 semester.
• The Charger football program has long been known for its strong family tradition, and that continues in 2024 with multiple sets of brothers on the roster. On the offensive line, twin brothers Nick Affholter and Benjamin Affholter (Quincy, MI/Reading) will hold down interior line spots for the third straight season, and are joined on the roster by younger brother Zac Affholter, a true freshman lineman. All three are sons of Brad Affholter, a multi-year starter on the Charger offensive line in the mid-90s and an assistant coach with the team in 2023. There are several other sibling duos on the team -- sophomore wide receiver Corban Creason (Coppell, TX/Founders Classical Academy) and freshman defensive back Christian Creason; junior offensive lineman John VanOpstall (Jenison, MI/Jenison) and younger brother Chris VanOpstall, and sophomore wide receiver Shea Ruddy (Temperance, MI/Ottawa Lake Whiteford) and freshman defensive back Ryin Ruddy. Along with those sibling pairs, several other players on the roster have older brothers, fathers or grandfathers who suited up for previous Charger teams.