Andre Holmes back on Cowboys practice squad

ESPN Dallas reports: IRVING, Texas – Released from the active roster over the weekend, the Cowboys re-signed wide receiver Andre Holmes to the practice squad after he went unclaimed through waivers on Monday. Holmes played in seven games, seeing most of his action on special teams. He caught two passes for 11 yards. To make room for Holmes on the practice squad defensive linemen Tevita Finau was cut. The Cowboys cut Holmes in order to make room for Anthony Armstrong. With Danny Coale lost for the year because of a torn anterior cruciate ligament, the Cowboys wanted to keep two wide receivers on the practice squad in Tim Benford and Holmes. Original link

Free Shipping Today Too...

Okay Hillsdale Fans, this is the last time I will bug you.

I just found this free shipping deal from CafePress.com as well.

Use promo code: CYBERSHIP when you check out and get free shipping on orders of $50 or more.

Shop now and search "Hillsdale College" when you get there. 

Make it a ChargerBlue Cyber Monday

When I was at the 'Dale we didn't have Internet. If we wanted to buy something on the Monday after Thanksgiving we had to walk uphill  to the bookstore or Checker Records in the snow. Oh, and we had to do research papers with mountainous stacks of BOOKS.

A lot has changed in 20 years. Thank Goodness.











Here is the "Blue Monday" from my day.




 Now check out the deals on this "ChargerBlue Monday".

Follow these instructions:

1. Visit CafePress.com's Cyber Monday link. 
2. Select your type of apparel or item.
3. Search "Hillsdale College".
4. Save big!

Every purchase keeps ChargerBlue.com online and supporting the greatest program in the history of small college football.

My favorite deal is $10 off of this kids sweatshirt.

Cowboys release Hillsdale's Andre Holmes

After recording his third catch of the season on Thanksgiving, the holiday weekend turned sour for Dallas Cowboy Andre Holmes.

The former record-setting Hillsdale College wide receiver was released by the Cowboys on Saturday. 

Bleacher Report tabs Jared Veldheer as 1 of 5 Raiders with "Insanely Bright Futures"

The Bleacher Report's Jeff Spiegel is out with his list of five Oakland Raiders with, as he calls them, "insanely bright futures".

Hillsdale College's Jared Veldheer comes in at number 4.

Article

Four Hillsdale Chargers named to All-GLIAC Football Team

The 2012 GLIAC post-season awards are out and four Chargers have been named to the first team.

Seniors running back Joe Glendening, H-Back Cam White, and Center DJ Loy all earned first team offense honors while junior linebacker Brett Pasche was named to the first team defense.

Junior DB Nick Galvan was the only Hillsdale player to make either second team.

Steve Embry (Jr/LB), Matt Eltringham (So/P), Ben Karba (Sr/DB), Anthony Misfud (Sr/QB), Devin Moynihan (Jr/LB), Dan Pittman (So/DB) all earned honorable mention.

Below is the full ledger from GLIAC.org - Full Release 

2012 All-GLIAC Football Teams
First Team Offense
Position	Name	School	Yr.	Hometown
QB	Taylor Housewright	Ashland	Sr.	Ashland, Ohio/Ashland
RB	Joe Glendening	Hillsdale	Sr.	East Grand Rapids, Mich.
RB	Anthony Taylor	Ashland	So.	Arlington, Va./Washington-Lee
RB	Monterae Williams	Findlay	Sr.	Canton, Ohio/McKinley
H-Back	Cam White	Hillsdale	Sr.	Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Central
WR	Anthony Capasso	Ashland	Sr.	Columbia Station, Ohio/St. Edward
WR	Matt Curtin	Michigan Tech	Sr.	Sturgeon Bay, Wis.
WR	Jeff Janis	Saginaw Valley State	Jr.	Tawas City, Mich./Tawas Area
WR	Charles Johnson	Grand Valley State	Sr.	Elsmere, Ky./Eastern Kentucky
OL	Matt Armstrong	Grand Valley State	Jr.	Lansing, Mich./Sexton
OL	Jace Daniels	Northern Michigan	Sr.	Escanaba, Mich.
OL	Tim Lelito	Grand Valley State	Sr.	St. Clair, Mich.
OL	D.J. Loy	Hillsdale	Sr.	Westerville, Ohio/Central
OL	Zach Vermillion	Ashland	Jr.	Bellefontaine, Ohio/Bellefontaine
OL	Tyler White	Ohio Dominican	Sr.	Cincinnati, Ohio/Anderson
PK	Rockne Belmonte	Northern Michigan	Sr.	Grand Rapids, Mich./Catholic Central
Spec.	Christian Jessie	Northern Michigan	Jr.	Grand Rapids, Mich./East Kentwood
First Team Defense
DL	Zach Anderson	Northern Michigan	Sr.	Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.
DL	Brad Iskow	Ferris State	Sr.	Bad Axe, Mich./Bad Axe
DL	Eli Kovach	Ohio Dominican	Sr.	Eastlake, Ohio/Willoughby South
DL	Jamie Meder	Ashland	Jr.	Parma, Ohio/Valley Forge
DL	Jordan Morgan	Ferris State	Jr.	Chicago, Ill./Mt. Carmel
LB	Justin Armstrong	Michigan Tech	Sr.	Las Vegas, Nev./Mojave
LB	Cody Bloom	Ashland	Jr.	Napoleon, Ohio/Napoleon
LB	Grant Caserta	Saginaw Valley State	Jr.	Holland, Mich./West Ottawa
LB	Tayo Moss	Ferris State	Sr.	South Rockwood, Mich./Monroe St. Mary's
LB	Brett Pasche	Hillsdale	Jr.	Findlay, Ohio/Liberty Benton
DB	Justin Bell	Ohio Dominican	Jr.	Columbus, Ohio/University of Toledo
DB	Gerren Duhart	Wayne State	So.	Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic
DB	Brian Gamble	Ashland	Jr.	Massillon, Ohio/Illinois
DB	Jeff Heath	Saginaw Valley State	Sr.	Lake Orion, Mich./Lake Orion
DB	Fabian Jackson	Northwood	Sr.	Gainesville, Ga./North Hall
P	Stefan Terleckyj	Wayne State	Jr.	Warren, Mich./Warren Mott
Second Team Offense
Position	Name	School	Yr.	Hometown
QB	Jonathon Jennings	Saginaw Valley State	Jr.	Columbus, Ohio/Westerville South
RB	Toney Davis	Wayne State	Jr.	Muskegon Heights, Mich./Muskegon
RB	Tim Hogue	Saginaw Valley State	Sr.	Inkster, Mich./Inkster
RB	Pedro Powell	Notre Dame	Jr.	Liberty, Ohio/Lakota East HS
H-Back	Bryan LaChapelle	Michigan Tech	Sr.	Crystal Falls, Mich./Forest Park
WR	Obadiah Dykes	Tiffin	Sr.	Newark, N.J./Erie C.C.
WR	Dominique Maybanks	Wayne State	Jr.	Muskegon, Mich./Muskegon
WR	Seth White	Findlay	Jr.	Bexley, Ohio/Bexley/Ball State Univ.
WR	Israel Woolfork	Grand Valley State	Sr.	Livonia, Mich./Franklin
OL	Christian Babini	Saginaw Valley State	Jr.	Rochester, Mich./Rochester Adams
OL	Andrew Biedenbender	Grand Valley State	Sr.	Mt. Pleasant, Mich
OL	Scott Dearwester	Findlay	Sr.	Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills
OL	Curtis Ferguson	Wayne State	Sr.	Holt, Mich./Holt
OL	Buddy Poljan	Michigan Tech	Jr.	Hillsdale, Mich.
OL	Trevor Smolinski	Ferris State	Sr.	Battle Creek, Mich./Marshall
PK	Stefan Terleckyj	Wayne State	Jr.	Warren, Mich./Warren Mott
Spec.	Akeem Cason	Michigan Tech	Sr.	Benton Harbor, Mich.
Second Team Defense
DL	Ryan Busch	Saginaw Valley State	Jr.	Holton, Mich./Holton
DL	Jacob Clark	Michigan Tech	Sr.	Lansing, Mich./Catholic Central
DL	Serxho Guraleci	Wayne State	Sr.	Sterling Heights, Mich./Utica Stevenson
DL	Richard Sumlin	Findlay	Sr.	Medina, Ohio/Medina
DL	Nelson Wienke	Michigan Tech	So.	Kingsford, Mich.
LB	Brandon Butler	Findlay	Sr.	Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg
LB	Spencer Remtema	Northwood	Sr.	Rockford, Mich./Rockford
LB	Nick Thomas	Wayne State	Sr.	Akron, Ohio/St. Vincent-St. Mary
LB	Ryan Whittum	Northwood	Sr.	Livonia, Mich./Churchill
LB	Ed Viverette	Wayne State	Jr.	Southfield, Mich./Brother Rice
DB	Ray Ballard	Findlay	Jr.	Columbus, Ohio/Northland
DB	Jaime Barrera	Ferris State	Sr.	Fremont, Calif./Washington
DB	Aaron Cornett	Wayne State	Sr.	South Lyon, Mich./South Lyon
DB	Nick Galvan	Hillsdale	Jr.	Adrian, Mich./Adrian
DB	Mike McMillian	Ashland	Sr.	Hagerstown, Md./Mendocino College
P	Chris Picano	Grand Valley State	So.	Brighton, Mich.
2012 All-GLIAC Honorable Mention Team
Ashland: Domi-on Combs (So/LB), Donnie Dottei (Sr/DB), Tyler Houska (Sr/DE), Jordan McCune (So/RB), Steve Nagy (Fr/FB), James Triplett (Fr/OL); Ferris State: Adam Bennett (Fr/OC), Jake Lampman (So/WR), Carlin Landingham (Jr/OT), Skyler Stoker (Sr/RB), Corey Stone (So/DT), Jason Vander Laan (Fr/QB); Findlay: Clay Belton (Sr/QB), Jaryd Brown (Jr/TE), Tyler Johns (Sr/OL), Josh Kleopfer (Jr/DL), Jamon McClain (JR/DB), Justin Music (Jr/OL);  Grand Valley State: Isiah Grimes (So/QB), Ryan Pettis (Sr/DL), Mike Ratay (So/RB), Luther Ware (Jr/LB), Reggie Williams (Jr/DB),   Hillsdale: Steve Embry (Jr/LB), Matt Eltringham (So/P), Ben Karba (Sr/DB), Anthony Misfud (Sr/QB), Devin Moynihan (Jr/LB), Dan Pittman (So/DB); Lake Erie: Taylor Leppla (Sr/DE), Bryant Loparo (Sr/OL), Sam Marcotte (Sr/P-K), Dennis McElligott (Sr/OL), Tanner Wells (So/OLB); Malone: Dan McCormack (Sr/OL), Frank McCormick (Sr/DL), Logan Francis (Sr/DB), Jake Hardy (Sr/K), Justin McLean (Sr/WR), Antonio Scassa (Sr/LB);Michigan Tech: Cam Allen (So/DL), Emmett Bjorn (Sr/DB), Justin Blake (Sr/DL), Alex Elsenheimer (Sr/WR), Tyler Scarlett (So/QB), Cole Welch (Jr/FB); Northern Michigan:Pat Fehlberg (Jr/OL), Ed Knoblock (Sr/LB), Casey Cotta (Jr/RB), Nick Krause (So/LB), Cody Scepaniak (Jr/QB), Morgan Stenz (Jr/LB); Northwood: Justin Barnes (Sr/DT), Matt Broome (Sr/OL), Kyle Fikki (Jr/DE), Jordan Jonker (Jr/RB), Andrew Harig (Sr/TE), Tony Hite (Sr/P); Notre Dame: Paul Brown (Sr/OL), Ray J. Brown (So/TE), Bob Hansen (Sr/DL), Brian Harp (Jr/OC), Cordell James (Sr/OL), Colton Wallace (So/WR); Ohio Dominican: Jake Brandt (Jr/OL), Andrew Capenter (Sr/OL), Vince German (Jr/DL), Abe Johnson (So/WR), Mark Miller (So/QB), Brent Wahle (Fr/PK); Saginaw Valley State: Michael Albrecht (Jr/WR), Zach Cecich (Sr/TE), Tevon Conrad (Jr/OL), Brian Johnson (Jr/LB), Mark Thrash (Jr/WR), Deangelo Parris (Jr/DB); Tiffin: Marcus Beaurem (So/WR), Joe Collard (Jr/DE), Dustin Craig (So/OC), Brandon Person (So/S), Max Pollom (Fr/OT), Stefan Willis (Fr/S); Walsh: Jamaris Brown (So/DB), Ryan Fehernbach (Sr/DL), Toba Olarewaju (Sr/RB), Andrew Roy (Jr/DL), Anthony Schrock (So/WR), Sir Taylor (Sr/DB);  Wayne State: Andrew Matt (Jr/DE).

Hillsdale leads D1 and D2 schools in Michigan for Academic Success Rate

It is one thing to be accepted at Hillsdale College. It is another thing to complete the rigors of an academic program and emerge with a Hillsdale College degree. No Division I or Division II school does a better job in Michigan at making sure its athletes leave with a degree than Hillsdale does. Charger athletes are graduating at a 90% clip.

Here are the academic success rate numbers as published in the Grand Rapids Press for both Division I and Division II. Related Article by Brian McVicar Charts from MLive.com.

2012 Hillsdale Football Team Awards

Here is the rundown of hardware handed out in Hillsdale at the 2012 team banquet today.

Roy Beck Most Valuable Player: Joe Glendening 
Captains Award: Brett Pasche, Cam White, Anthony Mifsud, Joe Glendening
Coaches' Award: Cam White
One Play Warrior: Alex Fogt
Joe Vijuk Outstanding Defensive Lineman: Joe Snyder
Outstanding Offensive Lineman: DJ Loy
Outstanding Defensive Back: Nick Galvan
Outstanding Offensive Back: Joe Glendening
Ralph Miller III Outstanding Linebacker: Steven Embry
Urbanik Award for Scholarship, Leadership, and Service: Anthony Mifsud

HillsdaleChargers.com: North Champs

Hillsdale College Press Release November 10, 2012 – No regrets. That was the mantra the Hillsdale College football team entered the 2012 season and season finale with, and the Chargers put together an effort to be proud of Saturday afternoon.

Playing staunch defense from start to finish, the Chargers defeated Northwood University 14-3 on a gray Saturday afternoon in Midland to finish 7-4 on the season.

The win gives Hillsdale one part of a four-way share for the 2012 GLIAC North Division title. By virtue of Saginaw Valley State's 55-52 win over Grand Valley State, the Chargers finish the season 7-3 in the conference, even with GVSU, SVSU and Michigan Tech.

Several seniors played their final collegiate games Saturday, and RB Joe Glendening turned in a closing performance for the ages.

Already Hillsdale's all-time leader in carries, rushing yards and touchdowns, Glendening ran the ball 39 times for a season-high 211 yards and two touchdowns. He scored on the first and last possessions of the game, capping his brilliant career with a touchdown burst through the middle late in the fourth quarter to conclude the scoring. He displayed the will and tenacity emblematic of a great player playing the final game in an amazing career.

Glendening's final career numbers stack up like this: 975 carries, 4,772 rushing yards and 62 total touchdowns. All school records.

After surrendering 84 points in its past two games, the Hillsdale defense answered the bell with one of its finest performances of the season. Matt Payne and Brett Pasche each had interceptions, Zach Cherocci and Skyler Davis teamed up on a blocked field goal, and the Chargers held Northwood – a team that had scored 38 points on Ferris State last week – to a season-low three points in this game. Tyler Jenks also recovered a second-half fumble by the Timberwolves.

Junior LB Devin Moynihan led the team with 15 total tackles, while Pasche had 14 and sophomore Daniel Pittman added 11, to go along with airtight pass defense. Sophomore Alex Chludzinski, playing for the injured Nick Galvan, registered a career-high seven tackles and was part of an outstanding collective effort by the Chargers.

The defense stopped Northwood on 12 out of 15 third-down conversion attempts in the game, and held the Timberwolves, traditionally one of the GLIAC's best rushing teams, to just 92 yards on the ground.

The Chargers have now won five straight regular season finales.

Hillsdale has now won at least seven games six straight years, the first time that's happened since the beginning of the Frank "Muddy" Waters coaching era in 1955-60.

The four-way tie for the division championship is reminiscent of the 1992 season, when Hillsdale was part of a four-way tie for first place overall in the GLIAC. That season, the Chargers shared first place with Butler, Grand Valley State and Ferris State.

Hillsdale's Glendening wins GLIAC Rushing Title

He saved his best performance of the 2012 season for his last game. It was only fitting that it would be a Joe Glendening fourth down conversion followed by a Joe Glendening touchdown on the next play that would secure Hillsdale its 7th win of the season and a share of its third straight divisional title on Saturday at Northwood.

Glendening's 212 yards was enough to place him atop the GLIAC rushing standings at 137.9 yards per game. Not only did Glendening lead in yards per game, he also led the league in total rushing yards with 1517. That was sixty more than Notre Dame's Pedro Powell.

Below is the complete list courtesy of GLIAC.org

Yards per game	#
J Glendening Hillsdale	137.9
M Williams Findlay	134.8
P Powell Notre Dame (OH)	132.5
J Vander laan Ferris St.	121.6
T Davis Wayne St. (Mich.)	105.4
Complete leaders

d2football.com's Tony Nicolette: Week 11 Previews

Here is Tony's preview of the Chargers and Timberwolves.

Northwood (4-5, 5-5) at Hillsdale (6-3, 6-4)

The two private schools in the North Division will conclude the slate with 2012 installment of the "Pat Riepma Bowl". Riepma was a standout player at Hillsdale, and in his early coaching career was an assistant at his alma mater. He then went on to build Northwood into a perennial GLIAC power and playoff contender. Riepma is still at Northwood as the AD, and there may not be a finer GLIAC Man out there. We'd love to know if he really is OK with whomever wins this one, although we'd hardly fault him either way!

In any case, this year's versions of the Timberwolves and Chargers saw promising results escape them over the past month. The Woodies finally halted their five-game losing skid last week after opening 4-0. Hillsdale, on the other hand, had control of their own destiny in the North and possibly in the playoff race...but two straight losses have dashed those hopes. Now, it's about pride for both of these clubs...the Woodies can get to the good side of .500, and the Chargers don't want to see one of their all-time greats go out on a three-game skid.

So who gets it done? Well, we have to say we were perplexed at how ineffective Hillsdale was offensively last week. It's been a long time since we've seen such a poor output, and it's hard for us to see that being repeated again...especially back within the confines of Muddy Waters. While Mark Morris has made large leaps forward in play at QB for Northwood, we're still not sure if NU can play the kind of game that has troubled HC's defense of late, and that's power. This should be an entertaining affair, but it's just so hard for us to see Hillsdale dropping three straight. Hillsdale 27, Northwood 22.

Rest of article and other previews

HillsdaleChargers.com: Glendening Regional Finalist for Harlon Hill

Press Release

November 9, 2012 - Hillsdlae College senior Joe Glendening made the first cut on his path to win the most prestigious individual award presented to an NCAA Division II football player.

Glendening is one of six finalists among Super Region 4 schools for the 2012 Harlon Hill Trophy, given to the most outstanding football player in NCAA Division II.

Nationwide, a total of 24 players - six from each region - are on the initial Harlon Hill ballot. Players will be voted on by the sports information director of the 168 Division II football-sponsoring institutions in the next week.
The top two vote-getters from each region will advance to the national ballot.

In 2011, Glendening was a regional winner in the Harlon Hill balloting and was a national semifinalist for the award. He is one of two players in the nation to reach this stage of the balloting in back-to-back years, along with Kutztown QB Kevin Morton.

The other five nominees from Super Region 4 include Ashland QB Taylor Housewright, Indianapolis RB Kay Fiecher, Midwestern State RB Keidrick Jackson, Saginaw Valley State WR Jeff Janis and West Texas A&M QB Dustin Vaughn.

Glendening is Hillsdale College's all-time leading rusher with 4,561 career rushing yards and his 60 total touchdowns scored in his career are also a school record. Earlier this season, he surpassed the school career record for carries, and has 936 entering Saturday's season finale at Northwood.

The GLIAC rushing leader in 2010 and 2011, Glendening was a First-Team All-American and the GLIAC Player of the Year last year, and holds every significant single-season rushing record in school history. He has 25 career 100-yard rushing games and has at least one rushing touchdown in eight of the team's 10 games this season.

One more chance for the Chargers to "Leave No Doubt"

When Hillsdale adopted its "Unfinished Business - Leave No Doubt" motto for the 2012 season, a lot of the mentality was playoffs or bust. Those playoff dreams went bust a couple of weeks ago against Grand Valley and last week just seemed like more of the same as the Chargers never got their bearings in Houghton.

On paper this sure looked like all of the pieces had fallen into place for a big run but the meat grinder of the GLIAC North took its toll and a handful of pieces refused to fall into place. It might be easy to assume this crew is going to just "play out the string" tomorrow in Midland against Northwood. I serious doubt that will be the case.

Tomorrow is the last go for a truly great senior class including Hillsdale's newly minted all-time leading rusher Joe Glendening. His 4558 yards may likely stand as long, if not longer than Scott Schulte's 19 year record did. Not only does tomorrow end Joe's college career, it ends one of the truly great amateur football careers the State of Michigan has ever witnessed. Let's hope he and his offensive line put on a show to appropriately cap his amazing run.

A victory tomorrow gives this senior class 34 wins, the same number last year's seniors had. 34 wins is the most of any class since a couple of groups in the 1980s had 37. A win over Northwood would also give this group a .720 win percentage.

Don't forget either that Hillsdale might be out of the playoff hunt but they are still alive for a share of the GLIAC North crown. If Hillsdale can win and Saginaw Valley can beat Grand Valley, then the Chargers, Cardinals, Lakers, and possibly Michigan Tech (who needs to defeat Wayne State) would all share the title. It's a shame that in this scenario none of those clubs will be playoff bound either.

Regardless of playoffs or not, this team and program's body of work over the course of the last six years has left no doubt that Hillsdale College has clawed its way into the upper echelon of one of the great Divsion II conferences. There will always be unfinished business. Let's see how these boys can end this season tomorrow. 

Joe Glendening just 10 yards from Hillsdale record

Last Saturday in Hillsdale sure didn't go according to the script I had mentally written.

Hillsdale was supposed to come out, handle Grand Valley and Charger running back Joe Glendening would run for 167 or more yards, becoming Hillsdale's all-time leading rushing in his last home game at Muddy Waters Stadium.

None of the Above happened. It was an ugly day. Joe finished with 157 and as I think of it now, I am glad he wound up short. As hard as it was for these seniors to have a blowout ruin Senior Day, at least Glendening's record breaking moment doesn't have to be associated with last Saturday. Joe is all about team and even if he had broken Scott Schulte's record on Saturday there would have been little to celebrate.

The greatest thing about football is that except for one weekend, there is always another opportunity and a fresh start just seven days away. Hillsdale can still win its third straight GLIAC Divisional title with wins in its final two games. Last Saturday might as well have been 4 years ago instead of 4 days ago.  The Chargers are going to get on a bus and regroup together all of the way to the U.P. to face Michigan Tech. They'll think about all they can still accomplish and how wonderful it is that they have at least two more Saturday's together. They'll get Joe his ten yards to complete his clean sweep of every Hillsdale rushing record on the books. Hopefully all of the pieces will come together and a happy ride home with a win over Michigan Tech will be a fitting celebration.

Joe Glendening has been about team ever since he decided to attend Hillsdale College. He'd be the first to tell you that his records are more about his linemen blocking for him, his coaches calling the right plays, and every other teammate doing his job seven days a week than about him.

I was fortunate enough to play with Scott Schulte and when we still talk about Charger football I tease him about his record slowly fading away.  Scott just laughs, "The war is over Andy. I hope the kid gets his record."

So do I Joe. So do I.

Hillsdale's Joe Glendening rushing marks at Hillsdale College

Hillsdale Senior Day 2012 Video

Hillsdale - Grand Valley Photos Online

Although the day didn't go Hillsdale's way, we have lots of great photos to share.

Patrick Heckenlively's Gallery

Jim Drews Gallery