A first half full of big plays saw the Hillsdale College football team enter halftime at Tiffin on Saturday with a golden opportunity to earn a road win over a quality opponent.

Unfortunately for the Chargers, however, big plays flowed the other direction in the second half, as the Dragons hit two long passing touchdowns in the third quarter to pull ahead and eventually take the game, 28-21.

Hillsdale was strong in all three phases of the game in the first half to go into the break up 21-14. After pinning the Dragons deep in their own end in the first quarter, linebacker Jacob Vance snagged an errant pass by Tiffin quarterback Alex Johnson for an interception and returned it eight yards for a pick-six that put the Chargers up 7-0 early in the game.

After Tiffin answered to tie the game early in the second quarter, Hillsdale responded immediately on special teams. On the kickoff, the Dragons tried to avoid dynamic Chargers return man Shea Ruddy by kicking instead to Jonathan Metzger. But Metzger received the kickoff and, after sucking the defenders to the left side of the field, threw the ball back across to Ruddy on the right, who raced 86 yards through the space Metzger created all the way for another Chargers touchdown.

On the ensuing Dragons possession, Tiffin answered again with a long drive for a touchdown to tie the game at 14-all with 2:12 remaining to halftime, but the Chargers weren't done. Taking over at their own 25, the Chargers went 75 yards before halftime, with quarterback Colin McKernan connecting with Ryan Skura on a 27 yard pass to set up first and goal and then finding tight end Andrew Konieczny for a three-yard touchdown pass with nine seconds left in the second quarter to give Hillsdale the edge at the half.

Hillsdale stopped Tiffin on the Dragons' opening drive coming out of halftime thanks to a forced fumble by Colin Morrow that was recovered by Ryan Niksa at midfield, and the Chargers drove inside the red zone with a chance to go up two scores and seize full control of the game. Hillsdale's drive stalled at the 21, however, and a field goal attempt that would have put the Chargers up 10 points was blocked by the Dragons.

That blocked field goal swung the momentum Tiffin's way, and the Dragons took immediate advantage. On back-to-back drives Tiffin connected on two explosive pass plays, going 69 yards on one play to tie the game at 21-all, and then pulling ahead for good with an 87 yard touchdown pass on the next drive. 

Trailing by seven late in the fourth quarter, Hillsdale made one last strong push to try and even the score. Aided by first down runs from McKernan, Ruddy, and Ben Ngishu, the Chargers drove 63 yards on 13 plays to the Tiffin 17. That was as far as Hillsdale would get, however, as the Dragons stopped the Chargers on fourth down at the 17 to take over with 4:25 to play. Hillsdale wouldn't get the ball back again as the Dragons ran out the clock on the contest.

McKernan was 18 for 32 with 179 yards and a touchdown and an interception on the game, connecting four times with Ruddy for 46 yards, and four teams each with Skura and Tutt Carrico for 41 yards apiece. Ngishu rushed for 87 yards on 19 carries to lead Hillsdale's offense on the ground.

Defensively, Vance had a monster game for the Chargers, with a team-leading 12 tackles to go with his interception return for touchdown. Colin Morrow added six tackles and the forced fumble for the Chargers and Luke Penola chipped in a sack as well.

Hillsdale made plays in the contest but had missed opportunities the Chargers will rue as well, marching inside the Tiffin 25 four times in the game and coming away with points on just one of those drives. Penalties also caused problems for the Chargers, who finished with 11 in the contest for 85 yards. 

The loss drops Hillsdale to 2-3 overall, 1-2 in the G-MAC with another tough road test on tap, as Hillsdale travels to nationally-ranked and 5-0 Findlay for the Oilers' homecoming at 2 p.m. next Saturday. The Chargers will look to pull the upset and turn their season around despite facing a daunting foe on the road.