Glendening needs ho-hum day at Tiffin to etch two huge marks in Hillsdale record books

Joe Glendening 32 celebrates after a touchdown vs. Grand Valley St.
Patrick Heckenlively Photo

Hillsdale's Joe Glendening already holds the record for most rushing attempts in a season with 312. That is nice but it's the kind of record that holds about as much glamor and style as a Ford Focus. A little more, okay way more stylish than that is the single-season touchdown record Glendening broke last week with his four scores against Tiffin. In 2009, Vinnie Panizzi scored 25 in 13 games. Joe Glendening has 27 combined rushing and receiving touchdowns through 9 games.

With a slightly above average day at Tiffin on Saturday, Joe the Show can grab two of the highest profile, longest standing, and most glamorous records on the Hillsdale books.

In 1955, Nate Clark scored 24 rushing touchdowns and set a Hillsdale College record that has stood for 56 seasons. Glendening enters Saturday's game one shy of that with 23 rushing TDs.

In 1992, Scott Schulte set the Midwest Intercollegiate Football Conference on fire with an electrifying 1,582 yards. Joe needs 167 yards to eclipse that single-season mark.

Both Clark and Schulte are Hillsdale College Hall of Famers.

Those may sound like single-game career-high type feats for many backs, but consider the circumstances. Glendening is second in the nation in rushing, averaging 157.3 yards per game and leads the nation in scoring with 18 points per game. So 167 and 2 scores is a rather pedestrian day for a kid who has broken records at every level of competition he's faced. Now factor in the opponent Tiffin's averages. The Dragons are yielding 285 yards per game in rushing alone and 52 points per game.

An interesting tidbit to add to the Schulte record is the fact that Hillsdale's last overall conference title (shared with GVSU, Ferris State, and Butler) came during that record setting 1992 season. A win by the Chargers on Saturday ends that drought although they will likely share the title again. Other similarities include the fact that Schulte set the record during his junior year. Glendening is a junior. Both also missed at least a part of their seasons due to injury.

One similarity we can all do without is the blinding snow storm that capped Schulte and the Chargers' great 1992 season. Hillsdale beat Wayne State 41-14 that day as snow piled up and Muddy Waters  Field was plowed at least twice.