Schedule
Northwood (5-1, 3-1 G-MAC) at Hillsdale College (2-4, 1-3 G-MAC) | 1 p.m. ET Saturday, Oct. 18 | Frank "Muddy" Waters Stadium | Hillsdale, MI
 
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Additional Info
Hillsdale Roster | Northwood Roster | Hillsdale Stats | Northwood Stats | G-MAC Schedule | G-MAC Standings

Last Game
Hillsdale fell behind 16-7 at the half on the road against undefeated and nationally ranked Findlay despite a 58-yard touchdown run by Ben Ngishu, but a fourth-quarter strip sack by Drake Badger that was recovered in the end zone by Colin Morrow for a touchdown got the Chargers back into the game. Trailing 16-14, Hillsdale drove inside the Findlay 10-yard line with under five minutes to play but couldn't get in the end zone and missed a potential go-ahead field goal as the Oilers hung on. Nigshu led the Chargers with 78 yards rushing and the touchdown, while Evan Bienick finished with 10 tackles, 3.5 for loss for Hillsdale.
 
Scouting the Opposition
As Hillsdale returns home to Frank "Muddy" Waters Stadium after a challenging road trip, the Chargers face another stiff test in a Northwood team that's off to its best start since 2006 and dreaming of its first conference title since 2004.
 
Despite a new starter under center, Northwood is paced by an impressive passing attack. Sophomore Ethan Hamby is completing 67% of his passes for the Timberwolves with 11 touchdowns and no interceptions. Case Boos has been Hamby's favorite target, with 28 catches for 411 yards and three touchdowns, but Hamby has spread the ball around, with Case's brother Lake Boos and Mitch Rivard all hauling in multiple touchdown catches as well.
 
Northwood complements its top-notch passing attack with a solid ground game, led by senior and Lake Erie transfer Devin Brown, who continues to cause problems for G-MAC defenses in his fourth year of meaningful playing time with 343 yards and two scores on the ground. Hamby also is a dangerous runner with two touchdowns of his own, putting more pressure on defenses to try and handle the dual nature of the threat he poses. Trent Hill is a capable understudy for Brown in the backfield with multiple rushing touchdowns as well.
 
A veteran offensive line has played a big role in Northwood's offensive success this season. Four of five starters return for the Timberwolves from the 2024 squad and the continuity up front has paid dividends, with Northwood having conceded just nine sacks so far this season. As a unit, Northwood ranks third in the G-MAC in points per game (27.3) and second in passing offense (217.3).
 
Northwood also has excelled defensively, conceding a G-MAC best 11.5 points per game to opponents through six contests. While the Timberwolves have yet to play the other two highest-octane offenses in the league in Findlay and Tiffin, there's no denying Northwood has been effective at getting stops thanks in significant part to a pass defense that ranks among the G-MAC's best.
 
Northwood doesn't have one standout pass-rusher, but the Timberwolves have been getting pressure from everywhere, with nine different players contributing at least one sack. That pass rush has aided a secondary that's snagged seven interceptions. Cole Simpson has been a standout on the back end for Northwood, with three of those interceptions, and he's also leading the Timberwolves in tackles (41) with 1.5 sacks as well. Lorenzo Alfred is another standout for Northwood at the safety position.
 
The Timberwolves are also decent against the run, thanks to another set of strong linebackers following in a long tradition of them in Joe Lathers, Kanye Jackson, Jack Murray and Jalin Pitchford.
 
Drew Cady handles all the kicking for the Timberwolves and has been one of the top kickers in the league with six made field goals, including a 50-yarder, this season as well as 20 straight extra points. As a punter, Cady is averaging 38.4 yards per punt with 13 of his 20 landing inside the opponent 20.
 
Carter Minix is a dangerous return man, with a 97-yard kickoff return for touchdown and a 59-yard punt return already this season for the Timberwolves.
 
The Series
While Hillsdale enters this weekend as the underdog, as a whole the Chargers have dominated the recent series with Northwood. Hillsdale is riding a 10-game winning streak over the Timberwolves into Saturday's matchup, albeit one that's had several close contests, including a 14-13 win in Midland last year. The Chargers lead the overall series, which dates back to 1963, 35-17. Northwood's last win was in 2009, a 38-37 thriller, and the Timberwolves' last win in Hillsdale was in 2004.
 
Other Notes

• There's two trophies at play in this Saturday's meeting between the Chargers and Timberwolves. The winner of this rivalry contest will receive the brand new Riepma Cup, presented to the victor of the annual football game between Hillsdale and Northwood and honoring Pat Riepma, an All-American quarterback at Hillsdale who went on to become the winningest football coach in Northwood history as well as the Timberwolves AD. Also at stake is an important point in the standings for "The Jack", the all-sports trophy that Hillsdale and Northwood compete for annually. Hillsdale captured "The Jack" last season and has staked an early lead in the competition for it this season thanks to a victory in volleyball in September that gives them a 1-0 edge right now.
• This Saturday, Hillsdale honors its first "Homegrown Charger", a new program designed to salute former Chargers student-athletes who grew up in Hillsdale County and then went on to star for Hillsdale College on the playing field. The first recipient is 1965 grad Larry Covey, a four-sport star at Hillsdale College who excelled in football and track and field after an All-American prep career at nearby Hillsdale High. The ceremony honoring Larry Covey will take place in the pregame.
• There will be a new streaming home for Hillsdale College athletics in the 2025 season as the Great Midwest Athletic Conference has agreed to a media rights deal with FloSports. All Hillsdale home and conference contests will stream with FloSports as a part of its FloCollege brand. FloSports is a subscription-based livestreaming service that hosts 40,000 contests and has deals with over 20 conferences in the NCAA. You can find out more information and sign up to watch the Chargers at this link.
• Hilllsdale head coach Nate Shreffler is entering his second season as the man in charge, and the veteran coach is no stranger to the sport and to Hillsdale. Shreffler is entering his 27^th season as a coach for the Chargers, including 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 Chargers finished with a 6-5 record in Shreffler's first season in charge, making him the first Hillsdale coach to finish above .500 in his debut season since Hillsdale Hall of Famer Dick Lowry in 1980.
• After four relatively quiet weeks, Shea Ruddy showed why he's one of the most feared special teams players in the country with an 86-yard kickoff return against Tiffin on Oct. 4. The return TD is his third as a Charger and puts him over 1,000 kickoff return yards for his career. In 2024, Ruddy was the first Hillsdale College player in the NCAA DII era to be named both an All-American and an Academic All-American in the same season after setting a G-MAC record by averaging 33.3 yards per return, while ranking second in the nation in kickoff return yardage (732) and fifth in All-Purpose Yards (1,779) and is putting up similar numbers in the return game this year, while also serving as one of the team's leading receivers.
• True freshman tailback Ben Ngishu has been one of the biggest and most pleasant surprises for the Chargers in 2025, seizing the starting job just two months into his time at Hillsdale and currently leading not just the Chargers but the G-MAC as a whole with 509 rushing yards. A native of Wylie, Texas, just outside of Houston, Ngishu had back-to-back 100 yards games against Ashland and Kentucky Wesleyan and ranks second in the G-MAC in yards per carry and rushing touchdowns. Ngishu is on pace to have the best performance by a Chargers freshman tailback since GLIAC Freshman of the Year Joe Reverman in 2015.
• Junior Jacob Vance had a career first against Tiffin on Oct. 4, returning an interception for a touchdown for the first time in his three years as a starting linebacker for the Chargers. Vance remains a linchpin of the Hillsdale defense, leading the team in tackles as both a freshman and a sophomore, and he's on track to do it again this season with a team-high 35 through six games. A 2024 first team All-G-MAC and All-Super Region 1 linebacker, Vance was a preseason All-American to D2Football.com and should be in line for more recognition at the end of the season if he stays healthy and continues to produce.
• Along with Ngishu, Hillsdale's gotten breakout seasons so far from a variety of sophomore receivers. Tutt Carrico leads the Chargers in all categories with 17 catches, 276 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns, while fellow sophomore Ryan Skura has 179 yards and two scores, and tight end Andrew Konieczny adding 205 yards and two touchdowns as well. The trio have combined to catch seven touchdown passes, helping fuel a career year to date from another important sophomore, quarterback Colin McKernan, who's now in his second season as the starter.
• The Chargers defensive line had a big week against Findlay this past Saturday to keep the Chargers in the contest, recording six sacks against the Oilers, the most in a single game by a Hillsdale team since a 38-19 win over Ashland on Sept. 26, 2009. Junior Drake Badger, Hillsdale's sack leader a year ago, had two sacks, including a game-changing strip sack that led to a Chargers touchdown, and freshman Jayden Njoroge added two sacks as well. Hillsdale will need another great pass rushing performance this weekend against a Northwood team that is among the G-MAC leaders in passing yards per game and passing efficiency.
• Defensive lineman Hunter Sperling was honored as Hillsdale's nominee for the William V. Campbell trophy, awarded by the National Football Foundation. Considered the "Academic Heisman", the award goes to a senior college football player who makes major contributions on and off the field while also excelling in the classroom. Sperling, an active volunteer in several charitable endeavors and an Economics major with a 3.86 GPA, is also a team captain in his third year as a starter, with 83 career tackles, 13.5 for loss, and 7.5 sacks in 35 games played at defensive tackle.
• Hillsdale has another major award nominee in senior wide receiver Connor Pratt, who is a contender for a spot on the Allstate Good Works team. Pratt, who started and was one of the team's most productive targets as a junior, has been active in a wide variety of community service projects, including Hillsdale's Victory Day, Guys With Ties, and Be The Match Bone Marrow Registry drive fundraisers, as well as several solo volunteer efforts.
• Hillsdale has selected three captains for the 2025 campaign – Vance, Sperling and Carter Cushman, a three-year starter at right tackle for Hillsdale. All three captains are veteran players with significant contributions on the field and as leaders of the program.
• The Charger football program continued to shine academically this past season, with six players earning College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honors, including returners Sperling and Ruddy. In addition to making the All-District team, Ruddy went a step further, becoming just the ninth football player in Hillsdale College history to be named a CSC Academic All-American as a special teams player. In addition, 40 Hillsdale football players received Academic All-G-MAC honors for posting a 3.3 or better cumulative GPA through the spring 2024 semester.