The Hillsdale College football team battled a tough Michigan Tech squad in the Chargers' home opener on Saturday, but couldn't keep pace with an explosive offensive performance by the Huskies in a 34-21 defeat.

The Chargers defense regularly got Michigan Tech into third and long situations but struggled to get off the field, as the Huskies were 8 of 15 on 3rd down, with many of their conversions coming in the first three quarters as Michigan Tech built its lead. Converting those third downs consistently helped Michigan Tech dominate both time of possession (35:02) and total yardage (486) to pull away from Hillsdale as the game wore on.

It was Hillsdale who looked impressive at the start, as the Chargers took the opening kickoff and drove 75 yards, 70 of it through the air on five Colin McKernan completions, to score first and take a 7-0 lead. On second and 14 from the Michigan Tech 25, McKernan threw up a jump ball to tight end Andrew Konieczny in the end zone, and Konieczny boxed out two Huskies defenders to snatch the ball and score the first touchdown of his Hillsdale career.

Michigan Tech answered right back with a 75-yard drive of its own to tie the game, and scored on each of their two subsequent possessions to build a 21-7 advantage. The Huskies were threatening to run away with the game in the second quarter, but Hillsdale's defense finally answered the bell, stopping Michigan Tech for the first time with four minutes to play in the quarter.

Taking over at their own 30, Hillsdale called a brilliant trick play -- a jet sweep to receiver Shea Ruddy that turned into a passing play as Ruddy sucked the Huskies defense in, then pulled up and threw the ball over the top of the defense to sophomore Ryan Skura 40 yards downfield. Ruddy, a high school quarterback, hit Skura right on the money and the sophomore waltzed into the end zone untouched for a 70-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 21-14.

After another stop, Hillsdale got the ball back with 46 seconds to play in the first half and a chance to potentially tie the game going into the locker room. Taking advantage of a Michigan Tech penalty, Hillsdale drove to the Michigan Tech 19 yard line, but the Huskies picked off a pass in the end zone to snuff out the scoring threat and send the Chargers to halftime empty-handed.

That possession would be the last time the Chargers had the ball with a chance to tie in the contest. Michigan Tech scored on its first drive of the second half to stretch the lead back to two touchdowns, then added two field goals on its next two drives to go up 34-14. Hillsdale made a late push for a comeback, with Carson Ingram forcing a goal line fumble midway through the fourth quarter as Michigan Tech looked to add to its lead that Hillsdale recovered. 

The Chargers went 80 yards in eight plays and under two minutes, with Skura catching a second touchdown pass from McKernan with 2:42 to play that cut the deficit to 2:42 and gave the Chargers some hope. But Hillsdale was unable to recover the ensuing onside kick or make any headway on one final drive with 1:18 to play as Michigan Tech kneeled out the victory.

McKernan finished 17 of 33 for 200 yards and two touchdowns for Hillsdale, with Skura catching five passes for 117 yards and the two touchdowns for the Chargers. Ruddy finished with three catches for 46 yards and was the passer on Skura's 70-yard touchdown catch, and Tutt Carrico added three catches for 33 yards as well. Ben Ngishu led the Chargers in rushing with 39 yards on nine carries.

Colin Morrow led Hillsdale defensively with 11 tackles, including 2.5 for loss, Gavin Chenevey added seven tackles and two pass breakups, and Jonah Jensen finished with seven tackles as well for the Chargers. Neal Likens added two tackles for loss as well for Hillsdale and Kaden Evans chipped in a sack. 

As a team, Hillsdale finished with a respectable 342 yards of total offense and averaged 5.5 yards per play to Michigan Tech's 5.9, but missed opportunities, including the interception and a missed 40-yard field goal, loomed large late.

The Chargers (1-1) hit the road next Saturday to open G-MAC play at Ashland, with a 1 p.m. kickoff scheduled. It's a huge opportunity for Hillsdale, as Ashland is the defending G-MAC champions, and a victory for the Chargers would represent a major early shakeup in the conference title race. It won't come easily, however, as the Eagles were the preseason conference favorites for a reason, and will come in with motivation of their own after a tough 33-26 loss at UIndy this Saturday dropped Ashland to 1-1 as well.