Tradition • Character • Service

Tradition • Character • Service

Saturday, October 25, 2008

(Updated) Opportunistic Warriors beat Chargers in Motown

Wayne State is probably the most unglamorous team in America with a 7-2 record. This ain't a fashion show though and the Warriors did what they had to do in order to get past Hillsdale 14-7 in Detroit.

Hillsdale outgained Wayne State in total yardage but the Warriors held Hillsdale twice on fourth down thwarting 1st quarter Charger drives. A fumble and 2 interceptions kept the Chargers from finding the endzone as well.

The biggest bright for Hillsdale came as they got their only points on a beautiful Troy Weatherhead to Vinnie Panizzi strike in the first quarter that covered 36 yards.

Full Stats available here.

Transcript of live blog from WSU website

Brad Monastiere, Hillsdale College Sports Information Director's recap:
Wayne State edges Hillsdale 14-7 in defensive struggle
October 25, 2008 - On a cold, windy day in Detroit, the Hillsdale College football team got shut down by one of the best defenses in the GLIAC, as the Chargers lost 14-7 to Wayne State University. Hillsdale drops to 5-4 overall and 4-4 in the GLIAC, while the Warriors improve to 7-2 on the season.

In the lowest-scoring game played by the Chargers in nearly two years, the Wayne State running back duo of Joique Bell and Daryl Graham made the difference in a long drive late in the fourth quarter for what turned out to be the game-deciding score.

Bell scored from one yard out, capping an 11-play, 67-yard drive that took 5:35 off the clock and broke a 7-7 tie with 2:47 remaining in the game. The Chargers had two more possessions in the final two minutes, but were unable to score against an athletic and stingy Warrior defense. This game marked the fewest points scored by a Hillsdale team since Oct. 15, 2005, in a 7-3 loss to Ashland. The Chargers had averaged 31.5 points per game against Wayne State in the past four meetings between the two teams.

Hillsdale’s offense did a good job of moving the ball against Wayne State. The Chargers gained 341 yards of total offense compared to 309 by the Warriors. But Hillsdale turned the ball over three times, twice on interceptions and once on a fumble at the Wayne State one-yard-line. Although Wayne State passed for just 96 yards, the team didn’t commit a single turnover and held a seven-minute edge in time of possession in the game.

The Chargers took an early 7-0 lead on a 36-yard touchdown pass from sophomore QB Troy Weatherhead to junior WR A.J. Kegg. Less than halfway through the first quarter, the Chargers held a 7-0 lead. But those would be the final points scored by Hillsdale on the day, as Wayne State showed why it’s ranked second in the GLIAC in average points allowed per game.
Full Story

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is why, with out Mark Nicolet, Hillsdale football is worthless! Good thing this post is anonymous.... because this years team lacks the upstanding character and leadership that Nicolet brought. Excluding a few players, the team is currently full of stuck-up punks that are preoccupied thinking about their after parties than executing on the field! Until Otter goes we'll continue to see sub par players with sub par academics fill the chargers roster.

Unknown said...

Really? Why post anonymously then?

Unknown said...

"Worthless!" you say? Worthless? If it is so worthless, then what are you doing on the site and bagging on the program...a program that has produced great players but more importantly a huge line of great men like Mark?

Mark Nicolet is exceptional, without a doubt the gold standard of character and leadership. He brought so much to the program and we are lucky to have him still around as an assistant.

You can't always have a team of Nicolet's. Any team, anywhere would be lucky to have one.

"Sub par players with sub par academics"?

Tom Korte is arguably the best ever linebacker to play at a school known for a history of great linebackers. He has NFL scouts coming to Hillsdale for the first time in a long time. He is a tremendously conscientious student who gave up far more glamorous opportunities athletically in order to be part of the institution that is Hillsdale College. He chose Hillsdale and we need to be thankful that he did.

Add in Jared Veldheer, another kid who Otter convinced to come to Hillsdale instead of bigger and more well known places. Quite possibly one of the best tackles ever to wear blue and white and will likely get a nice shot at the NFL and a bright, bright student.

I don't see anything sub par about these guys, in fact if you spend any time with them you come away far more impressed with them as people than you do as football players.

I don't know a lot of these guys on a personal level and I am sure there is a stuck-up punk in there...as there always is...but every time I have any interaction with anyone associated with this program I find the guys to be congenial, polite, and well-spoken. Regardless of what you say, Keith Otterbein has raised the talent level of Hillsdale football to its highest level in at least 20 years. Most of the guys I played with wouldn't get a sniff at the field amongst this bunch and we won a league title. As far as these players having sub-par academics, I have not seen everyone's transcripts so I can't really comment on how well they do in the classroom. I can tell you that at least among the GLIAC, Hillsdale has the most stringent admission requirements by far. There are no waivers like those used by other schools in this league or at other places like Northwestern, Notre Dame, and Stanford. You must be a student first at Hillsdale...whether that still makes them sub par in your eyes then so be it. These players essentially have a full-time job AND attend one of the premiere academic schools in the country. It takes character and brains to balance that anywhere...especially at Hillsdale.

Keith Otterbein deserves a ton of credit for returning Hillsdale to the competitive level where this program now proudly stands. We're not winning championships yet, but let me tell you they have established themselves among the top-tier in a top=tier Division II league. After all, he is the one who brought us Mark Nicolet.

I could go on and on defending a program that needs no defense. Take a walk up to Central Hall and you see many fine representations of Hillsdale Charger Football: John Cervini, Mark Mears, Mike Harner, Jeff Lantis, and Dean Aaron Peterson...all men who slugged it out for Hillsdale on the field yet today insure it remains the amazing place that it is.

Hillsdale football is worthless? Give me a freaking break.


What is really worthless is that this comment ate at my brain so much after reading it late last night that it got me out of bed at 5:15 AM on a Sunday morning because I COULD NOT let it stand without a proper response. Let's continue this conversation however. Please add a little bit of background information on yourself so we better know who and what perspective we are reading from.

Thank you for reading Chargerblue.com. If you find Hillsdale football truly useless feel free to spend time on other sites.

Anonymous said...

Andy,
Thanks once again for your CHARGER FAMILY support and the gift you have with words. I was so upset by the truly disgusting comments made by a player (or parent??) that I also found myself stewing about it at 3AM WONDERING WHO WOULD DISS OUR TEAM,LEADERSHIP and OTTER!! I thought I would wait till after coffee and church to make a comment and to my relief Andy comes through with MY EXACT WORDS!!
I will only add that as a mother I know that every one of our players were the BEST in their high school and when you move on to college these will become players who will not see the field much on saturdays. EVERY CHARGER does his part in preparing his team for saturday games whether he is on the field or not. Every Charger (and parent) SHOULD know this.... "easier said than done" sometimes. ANONYMOUS is very bitter...."get over it you are losing a wonderful part of your life".
Andy, thanks much for all of your CHARGER support!!
CHARGER MOM

Unknown said...

Obviously we can not pin down where an anonymous post comes from. Therefore, I am not going to put a whole lot of stock into what this person has to say.

That is the problem with the Internet, too easy to hide behind some anonymous label.

We know the true heart of Hillsdale College football and that is all that really matters.

Anonymous said...

Regarding the comments from the MOUSE who found his way to this blog. Are you feeling bad becuase you didn't get to finish playing football at Hillsdale? Were you upset because you weren't invited to the parties? Are you full of resentment because Otter didn't think you were good enough to start or you didn't get to play when you were on the team....if you were on the team. Or are you just one of those quitters who are jealous of those who accomplish things in their lives, or maybe you're just a GEEK who likes to stand in the shadows and watch everyone else have fun in their lives while you talk about how good you could have been if you would have played.

It really doesn't matter because you don't matter. You're gutless to remain annoymous and it is a good thing for you that you are. Someone like you doesn't deserve to go to the parties or talk with Charger Players, but I wish you had the guts to say it, wearing pads and a helmet, to the faces of guys like Korte, or Schweller, Veldheer, or Davignon or Doerfler or Berube, Pannizi or Walde...these guys flush more character than someone like you has in their whole personality. Anyway...have a good time living a life of resentment I'm sure you'll be very happy...........NOT!

Go Chargers!

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