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Chargers fall to Michigan Tech
By Jodi Westrick
Collegian Reporter
Michigan Tech
took advantage of five Charger turnovers Saturday to hand Hillsdale
its second straight loss.
The Huskies scored 21 points on
three interceptions to defeat the Chargers, 47-28.
"Our turnovers were huge,"
coach Keith Otterbein said. "It wasn't a lack of proficiency,
because the offense moved the ball and did a great job. We didn't
get it into the end zone when we needed to and we just had too
many turnovers."
Hillsdale began the game with
a successful drive, moving the ball to the Tech 10-yard line.
But senior quarterback Bill Skelton was unable to find a connection
in the end zone, and sophomore Matt Menchinger's field goal
attempt was blocked.
After regaining ball possession,
the Huskies scored their first touchdown just six minutes into
the game.
Hillsdale's next turnover came
when Skelton threw an interception with six minutes remaining
in the first quarter.
Tech converted this turnover into
another touchdown, increasing their lead to 14-0.
Neither team scored in the second
quarter until the final two minutes of the half, when Hillsdale's
defense forced Tech to punt from deep in their own territory,
and the Chargers started their offensive drive on the Tech 24-yard
line.
However, Hillsdale was unable
to take advantage of their excellent field position after Tech
defender Dustin Daniels intercepted a pass and returned it to
the Hillsdale 15-yard line.
The Huskies soon scored again,
bringing their lead to 20-0 at the half.
"That sequence took a toll
on our emotions," Otterbein said.
"We had to fight the temptation
to feel sorry for ourselves, but that play just took a lot of
wind out of our sails. We couldn't keep playing with the emotion
we needed to."
As play resumed in the second
half, Hillsdale continued to have trouble holding on to the
ball.
The Chargers turned the ball over
again less than four minutes into the third quarter on a Skelton
interception.
Tech's offense then rolled down
the field to score again, increasing Hillsdale's deficit to
27 points.
"Things just weren't clicking,"
sophomore wide receiver Justin Swarbrick said.
"We weren't playing the way
we should. Our defense could have toughened up and we really
just needed to finish our drives."
Another Tech touchdown with six
minutes left in the quarter brought the score to 34-0, but Hillsdale
continued to look for a way to score.
The Chargers finally found the
end zone when freshman running back Dave Laura took the ball
in on a 2-yard run.
It seemed that things were starting
to turn around for the Chargers after they recovered a Tech
fumble with 3:06 left in the quarter.
Hillsdale took only a minute to
score, as Skelton tossed a 4-yard touchdown pass to Swarbrick.
Skelton then connected with sophomore
tight end Keith Recker for the two-point conversion to cut the
Huskies' lead to 34-15.
The Chargers lost their momentum
for a comeback, though, when Tech scored another touchdown with
eight seconds left in the quarter to increase their lead to
41-15.
After Skelton left the game with
a knee injury just minutes into the fourth quarter, sophomore
quarterback Aaron Scholl took over for the remainder of the
game.
Scholl led the Chargers into the
red zone, where freshman Greg Dixon ran the ball in to add six
to the Chargers' score.
At this point Hillsdale trailed
by 20, but Tech scored on their next drive to bump the score
up to 47-21.
The Chargers' final score came
on a Scholl pass to sophomore wide receiver Chris Clay with
1:26 left in the game, making the final score 47-28.
"Overall we were disappointed
with our performance," Scholl said.
"But we have to look to the
future and keep the past in the past. We have to do whatever
it takes to win."
Hillsdale takes on Saginaw Valley
State at home this Saturday. The game begins at 2:30 p.m.
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