Junior Shea Ruddy snatches the ball while in Northwood’s clutches: Courtesy | Reva Ludwig
The Hillsdale football team lost 48-19 at home against Northwood University Oct. 18, moving its season record to 2-5, and its conference record to 1-4.
“We played with great effort, but unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to overcome our mistakes,” head coach Nate Shreffler said. “The offensive line did a solid job protecting the quarterback for the second week in a row, and the wide receivers made a number of contested catches. Both of these are positives and will need to continue.”
Sophomore quarterback Colin McKernan led the Chargers in both passing and rushing, with 253 yards through the air and 51 yards on the ground.
“It’s always good to have a threat on the ground,” McKernan said. “It’s another thing for defenders to watch out for. Obviously, we’d like to get our running backs to be the leading rushers, but when the quarterback’s on the ground, it’s also a big thing.”
With the win, Northwood claimed the inaugural Riepma Cup traveling trophy. The award is named for former Hillsdale quarterback Pat Riepma ‘83, who went on to be Northwood’s winningest football coach in program history and Northwood’s athletic director before his death in 2015.
Northwood scored a touchdown on its opening drive and added two more before the end of the first quarter to take a 21-0 lead.
The Chargers scored touchdowns on their first two drives of the second quarter, but missed the second extra point attempt, cutting the deficit to 21-13.
Northwood answered back with another touchdown and then kicked a 46-yard field goal with 10 seconds left in the half to move out to a 31-13 lead.
The Chargers scored a touchdown in the third quarter, but were otherwise held scoreless in the second half. Northwood added two touchdowns and a field goal to move the game to its final score.
In spite of the loss, McKernan said the team’s energy is generally positive.
“We’re not a team that’s going to turn on each other or divide in the locker room,” McKernan said. “Through all the goods and the bads, we’re going to stay together.”
Sophomore receiver Tutt Carrico had a career-high 143 receiving yards, including a 42-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter.
“We made several plays on both sides of the ball. It just was not enough,” Carrico said. “We need to clean up pre-snap penalties.”
McKernan said the team is going to work on building discipline going into the next game.
“The discipline that we have right now is not up to the standard of what we need it to be,” McKernan said. “That’s going to be a heavy focus all week. We just need to stay focused on what we need to do and what the standard is.”
The Chargers will next face Lake Erie College at home in their Military Appreciation Day game Oct. 25.
