The Hillsdale College football team took another close, heartbreaking loss to visiting Tiffin on Saturday, as the Chargers hung close but couldn't overcome four turnovers in a 21-14 defeat to the Dragons.

Hillsdale threw three interceptions, including a pick-six on the first drive of the game, and lost one fumble that led to a combined 14 points in a game decided in the end by one score. 

A 52-yard interception return gave Tiffin an early first quarter lead, but Hillsdale was able to answer right back with a nine play, 60 yard drive to even up the score. Quarterback Colin McKernan, playing in place of the injured Eli Boyce, ran in a touchdown from 12 yards out to tie the game at 7-all with 7:03 left in the first quarter. 

After a three and out forced by the Chargers defense, Hillsdale had a chance to capitalize on a short field, but were stopped in the red zone and a 30-yard field goal try by the Chargers to take the lead went wide left.

Energized by the defensive hold, Tiffin went 80 yards on the ensuing drive, seizing the lead on a 12-yard run to go up 14-7 early in the second quarter. A strip sack on the ensuing drive by the Dragons set Tiffin up with short field position and the turnover proved costly as the Dragons took advantage with a passing touchdown to go up 21-7, taking that lead into the half.

Hillsdale's defense stood firm out of halftime, forcing a three-and-out on Tiffin's first drive out of the locker room to give the Chargers the ball back. That shut the tone for a shut-out second half for the Hillsdale D, as the Chargers forced six three-and-outs, gave up just one first down, and conceded just 24 yards of total offense. 

As Tiffin couldn't find any traction offensively in the second half, however, Hillsdale also continued to struggle to get in a rhythm. A 36-yard touchdown run by Tutt Carrico in the third quarter cut into the deficit, but the Chargers couldn't cash in on short fields to get the tying score they needed to seize control of the game back of the Dragons. Hillsdale started four drives across their own 40, including one at the Tiffin 37, but scored on just one of those and were picked off twice, including a final time with 29 seconds to play at the Tiffin 25 to seal the loss.

McKernan led Hillsdale on the ground with 69 yards rushing, including a touchdown, and threw for 127 yards through the air, while Ben Ngishu added 49 yards on the ground as well for the Chargers. Shea Ruddy caught five passes for 63 yards to lead Hillsdale through the air, and tight end Andrew Konieczny chipped in four catches for 29 yards as well.

Evan Bienick had another big game for the Chargers defense, leading Hillsdale with eight tackles, 1.5 for loss, and a half-sack, along with two quarterback hurries, while Luke Penola chipped in seven tackles as well. Drake Badger had a half-sack as well for Hillsdale, Gus Abrahama added a strip sack and Colin Morrow also chipped in five tackles.

Hillsdale falls to 5-3 overall, 3-3 in the G-MAC after back-to-back losses at home, and will need to get back on track quickly with a long road trip to Kentucky Wesleyan on tap next weekend. The Chargers will battle the Panthers at 1 p.m. Saturday in Owensboro, Kentucky looking to seal up the program's fifth regular season above .500 in the last six years.