The Hillsdale College football team used a massive advantage on the offensive and defensive lines to build a big early lead and roll to a 24-10 victory at Thomas More on Tuesday.

The victory is the Chargers' second-straight and helps Hillsdale improve to 4-5 overall, 3-4 in G-MAC play, just one win shy of the .500 mark.

Hillsdale rushed for 250 yards on the ground behind a punishing offensive line and completely shut down the Saints' rushing attack on the other side of the ball, holding Thomas More to just eight yards on the ground and sacking the Saints' quarterbacks five times in the contest.

The Chargers started hot offensively, scoring on their first four possessions of the game to lead 24-3 at one point in the first half. Hillsdale moved the ball efficiently on the ground, led by quarterback Colin McKernan, who punished the Saints keying on tailback Ben Ngishu by racking up 82 yards on the ground and a pair of touchdowns on option keepers. He was spelled effectively by backup Eli Boyce, who added 66 yards on 13 carries and led a solid first-half drive, finishing with a three-yard touchdown run by Shea Ruddy.

Hillsdale's three touchdown drives came after their opening drive stalled in the red zone, but the Chargers were able to get on the board anyways thanks to a 30 yard made field goal by Dylan DeDario, who also was a perfect 3 for 3 on extra points in the game.

Thomas More was able to close the gap before halftime with a touchdown that made the score 24-10, and Hillsdale was unable to add to its lead in the second half, turning the ball over twice and also getting stopped on fourth down deep in Saints territory. That gave the Saints a chance to get back in the game, but Hillsdale's defense shut the door conclusively on those efforts with a spirited second half performance. 

The Chargers forced three punts, held the Saints to a missed field goal on a drive that started at the Hillsdale 27 after a Thomas More interception, and got an interception of their own from Colin Morrow in the fourth quarter to effectively seal the game. Taking over after the Morrow pick-off with 10:41 remaining in the game, Hillsdale burned off the remaining clock on a master-class 17 play drive that included 16 runs and kept Thomas More from getting another possession.

Jacob Vance led Hillsdale defensively with 11 tackles, one for loss, and a forced fumble, while Drake Badger and Neal Likens each finished with two sacks for the Chargers, with Badger also forcing a fumble and Likens adding a fumble recovery as well. Evan Bienick also finished with a sack, Luke Penola recovered a fumble for the Chargers and Ryan Niksa added two pass breakups as Hillsdale held its opponents under 200 yards of offense for the second-straight week.

Ben Ngishu rushed for 65 yards as well for Hillsdale, Connor Pratt caught two passes for 27 yards and Tutt Carrico added three catches for 22 yards.

Hillsdale can finish above .500 for the third straight season with wins in its final two games, but will have a tough task next week against a Walsh team that is 6-2 overall and in a close contest with league-leading Ashland as this recap is posted. The Chargers must beat the Cavaliers on the road to keep hopes of a six-win finish alive. Kickoff for that contest is at 12 p.m. in North Canton, Ohio.