Schedule
Hillsdale College (3-1, 1-1 G-MAC) at Lake Erie (2-2, 0-2 G-MAC) | 1 p.m. ET Saturday, Oct. 3 | Jack Britt Memorial Stadium | Painesville, Ohio
 
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Live Stats | Webcast | Tickets
 
Additional Info
Hillsdale Roster | Lake Erie Roster | Hillsdale Stats | Lake Erie Stats | G-MAC Schedule | G-MAC Standings
 
Last Game
The Chargers rode a fast start offensively and another dominant defensive performance to a 38-7 win over Thomas More to remain unbeaten at home in 2026. Hillsdale scored touchdowns on each of its first three drives, including touchdown passes by Eli Boyce to Ben Ngishu and Will Simpson, and an 11-yard touchdown run by Colin McKernan, to build a big early lead. After the Saints closed the gap to start the third quarter, the defense helped get the Chargers back on track, thanks to a fumble recovery by Evan Bienick. Hillsdale got two late scores to pull away for good, and Hillsdale held Thomas More to 188 yards of total offense and forced three turnovers in the win.

 
Scouting the Opposition
The Hillsdale College football team will look to avoid an upset on the road as it travels to face a Lake Erie team that appears to be on the rise in 2026.

With two early wins, the Storm have already equaled last year's win total and have been competitive in all four contests so far. Lake Erie looks to be on track for its best season since a 5-6 performance in 2021.

Continuity is making a big difference for the Storm, especially on the offensive side of the ball. For the first time in several seasons, Lake Erie has been able to bring back a decent chunk of its top players from 2025, and is building off the foundation laid last season to take a step forward.

That starts on the offensive line, where three players with starting experience – Logan Bernesser, Chase Riedel, and Nick Donlan – return, as well as a fourth player who saw significant action in 2025 in Luis Funes-Hernandez.

The Storm also have veterans at the skill positions, as 2025 leading rusher Julian Means-Flewellen and Lake Erie's top pass catcher, tight end Devin Morgan, are both on the roster in 2026 and off to great starts. Tyleik Maxwell and Gideon Tafari-Thompson, two more top targets for the Storm in 2026, saw action for Lake Erie in 2025 as well, while Dalen Stovall has been a productive transfer addition from Youngstown State.

All that experience has made easing in new starting quarterback Hunter Newell, a transfer from Marian (IN), much smoother. Newell has played well, completing 66.7% of his passes with five touchdowns and three interceptions for the Storm.
Defensively, Lake Erie is led by a strong linebacking corps with three difference-makers carrying the load. Returners Quinterrius Jemison and Kemari Ward are 1-2 on the team in tackles and have combined for half of the team's 10 sacks, while Boston College transfer Jason Hewlett is third on the team in tackles and tied for the team lead in interceptions.

Up front, Jalen Joyce and Raphael Worthy lead a solid unit, while cornerback Anthony Anderson is tied with Hewlett with two interceptions to lead the team. Safeties DeYor Brumfield and Jaiden Coriano are also making major contributions for the Storm, who are one of the G-MAC's top teams in takeaways with six interceptions and three fumble recoveries.

William Allen Batton IV returns as Lake Erie's punter and is having a solid season, averaging 42.8 yards per punt. Josh Valero is 1 of 5 on PATs but has hit a 45-yarder for the Storm. Curtis Thomas has a kickoff return touchdown of 100 yards for Lake Erie and is a dangerous player, while Jayson Nami handles punt return duties.

Lake Erie is coached by Dave Price, now in his third season. The former Tiffin defensive coordinator has the Storm on an upward trajectory so far in his tenure.
 
The Series
Hillsdale is 12-1 all-time against Lake Erie and has won four straight over the Storm, including a 35-10 win at home last season. While the overall record is lopsided, Lake Erie hasn't always been an easy out for the Chargers, with four of those wins coming by single-digit margins. The Storm's lone victory in the series was a 33-14 win in Hillsdale during the 2021 season.

 
Other Notes

• Hillsdale College athletics will once again stream on FloCollege for the 2026-27 season as the Great Midwest Athletic Conference continues with a media rights deal with FloSports. All 11 Hillsdale College football contests in 2026 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.
• Hillsdale head coach Nate Shreffler is entering his third 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 winning records in Shreffler's first two seasons in charge, and he was the first Hillsdale coach to finish above .500 in his debut season since Hillsdale Hall of Famer Dick Lowry in 1980.
• Senior Shea Ruddy set another record to start this season on a 96-yard kick return for a touchdown against McKendree, breaking the G-MAC record for career return yards set by current Indianapolis Colt Ashton Dulin. Showcasing the versatility that made him a consensus All-American in 2025, he also added two more receiving touchdowns to lead the Chargers with three scores. An electric player in the return game, Ruddy led all of college football in 2025 with 960 kickoff return yards and three kick return touchdowns while becoming the only NCAA DII player in the nation to finish with a rushing, passing, receiving and kickoff return touchdown in 2025.
• Already a two-time All-American and Academic All-American, Ruddy added two prestigious honors in the last two weeks by being selected to the 2026 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, and as a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy. Just 22 college football players from across the country make the Good Works team, which honors outstanding efforts in community service among student-athletes. Ruddy was recognized for his work with the emergency room and surgery at Hillsdale Hospital, as well as serving as the chair of Hillsdale's Be The Match bone marrow donor registry drive, and several other charitable efforts. Ruddy is the first Hillsdale player to be recognized as a part of the team since Phil Davignon in 2008, and Hillsdale's fourth Campbell Trophy Semifinalist in four seasons.
• Sophomore tailback Ben Ngishu had a historic season opener for the Chargers against McKendree, rushing for 212 yards, the most by a Hillsdale player since All-American David Graham's 232 yard effort against Lake Erie in 2019. Ngishu had touchdown carries of 80 and 78 yards, the two longest touchdown runs by a Charger since Joe "The Show" Glendening's 80 yard score against Ohio Dominican on Oct. 8, 2011. The 2025 G-MAC Freshman of the Year, Ngishu looks poised to build on that campaign with an even bigger one as a sophomore, as he has added three more touchdowns the last three weeks and ranks among the top five running backs in yardage in the G-MAC so far.
• Hillsdale's defense has been an elite unit in 2026, giving up just 10.3 points per game in four contests so far, and holding one of the G-MAC's top offenses, Northwood, to just seven points in a meeting on Sept. 19. The Chargers lead the G-MAC and rank fourth in all of NCAA DII in fewest points allowed, and they've done it without forcing a slew of turnovers, with just five total takeaways on the season. Hillsdale is playing well on all three levels, with a variety of players who've stepped up and made major impacts at every spot.
• Ruddy isn't the only standout receiver the Chargers have, as junior Tutt Carrico is proving to be a prolific player in his own right. After an impressive sophomore campaign that had him rank among the G-MAC leaders in receiving yards and touchdowns, Carrico exploded for three touchdowns and 111 yards receiving against Wayne State on Sept. 12. It's Hillsdale's first three receiving touchdown performance in a single game since current Detroit Lion Isaac TeSlaa caught three TD passes against Walsh in 2022. Carrico was named the G-MAC Offensive Player of the Week for his game against the Warriors.
• Fifth year linebacker Jacob Vance is another Charger who made the DIIFootball.com Elite 100 preseason watch list and has been a difference-maker for Hillsdale as the team's leading tackler in each of the last three seasons. Vance was named to the All-Super Region 1 team in 2024 and earned first team All-G-MAC honors each of the last two seasons. He was the Chargers' Team MVP in 2025 as well as a team captain, and has a chance to become the first player in program history to be named the team's linebacker of the year in four straight seasons.
• Hillsdale brought back several strong pass rushers from last year's team, and the Chargers have done damage up front so far, with seven sacks against Wayne State falling just shy of the program single game record. Sophomore Jayden Njoroge was responsible for 3.5 of those sacks, the most in a single game by a Charger in over two decades, but he's far from alone, as Drake Badger had double-digit sacks in 2025 and Luke Penola and Jacob Vance are both capable pass rushers from the linebacker position as well. In total, Hillsdale's 14 sacks are tied for second in the G-MAC, and Hillsdale will look to continue putting pressure on the quarterback against a Lake Erie squad that's given up just six sacks in four contests so far.
• Fifth-year senior Ryan Niksa had a stellar 2025 campaign, finishing second in NCAA DII and leading the G-MAC with 16 pass breakups to play a major role for the Chargers defense. A starter at cornerback for Hillsdale, Niksa will look to lead a veteran secondary unit that also includes decorated fifth-year safety Colin Morrow and is aiming for major improvement in 2026.
• Hillsdale has selected four captains for the 2026 campaign: Jacob Vance, who will serve as a captain for the second straight season, along with Ruddy, fifth-year offensive lineman Jesse Mendoza and junior linebacker Luke Penola.
• The Charger football program continued to shine academically this past season, with eight players earning College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honors, including returners Ruddy, Penola, Carrico and senior safety Jonah Jensen. In addition to making the All-District team, Ruddy went a step further, becoming the first football player in Hillsdale College history to be named a CSC Academic All-American two years in a row. In addition, 53 Hillsdale football players received Academic All-G-MAC honors for posting a 3.3 or better cumulative GPA through the spring 2024 semester, and the Chargers led NCAA DII with 17 graduating players earning a spot on the NFF Hampshire Honor Society for their achievements in the classroom.