Hillsdale football team off to first 2-0 start in eight years with thrilling 42-41 win over NMU

Hillsdale football team off to first 2-0 start in eight years with thrilling 42-41 win over NMU
Hillsdale College Release

September 8, 2007 - On a day when the two offenses lit up the scoreboard, it was a huge defensive play in the final minute that keyed Hillsdale's second straight victory to open the season.

Sophomore defensive lineman Jordan Knudsen forced a fumble on a hit on Northern Michigan University quarterback Buddy Rivera to sew up a thrilling 42-41 win for the Charger football team in Marquette.

Hillsdale is now 2-0 for the first time since the 1999 season, and will play its Homecoming game on Sept. 15 vs. Ashland University. NMU drops to 0-2 on the season with the loss.

Knudsen's play came as Northern Michigan was driving inside Hillsdale's 40-yard-line in the last minute of play in a game that featured more twists and turns than you'd find at Cedar Point. Both teams took turns making big plays on offense, including a record-breaking rushing performance by Northern Michigan, and another brilliant day passing the ball by Charger QB Mark Nicolet.

Nicolet connected with wide receiver Aaron Waldie on a 64-yard touchdown pass that proved to be the game-winning score. Waldie, who caught TD passes of 40 and 73 yards in the season opener last week, caught six passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns. Fellow wide receiver Nick Gurica also caught six passes, covering a season-high 126 yards. A.J. Kegg hauled in a career-best six passes as well.

Nicolet, who was nearly perfect last week vs. Gannon, turned his game up a notch in this one, completing 23-of-36 passes for a career-high 376 yards and three touchdowns, with no interceptions. In the first two games of the season, Nicolet is completing 70 percent of his passes with eight touchdowns vs. just one interception.

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