Football one step away from playoffs
Nathan McClallen
Issue date: 11/5/09 Section: Sports
The Hillsdale College football team left Ferris State University on Saturday with a four-game winning streak, and one game closer to the playoffs.
The Chargers dominated both sides of the ball in a 59-14 dismantling of an overmatched Ferris team that is now 1-9 on the season.
"We were able to grind it out and keep their offense on the sidelines," said head coach Keith Otterbein of the blowout.
The team went into halftime with a 31-0 lead, a number that reminded the junior quarterback Troy Weatherhead that no lead is safe.
"Last year at Tiffin [University] it was 31-0 at halftime, and they came all the way back and took a 37-31 lead with 1:20 left," he said. "We had to put together a final drive to go win on them."
The Chargers opened up with a defensive score on the first play of the third quarter - an eight yard fumble recovery and return by senior Joe Stempien. It was the first touchdown by the Charger defense in six years. Stempien picked up a dropped screen pass that turned out to have been a lateral, which makes it a live ball, and walked into the endzone.
"There was nothing magical, nothing really special about the play," he said. "We're trained as linebackers to pick up every loose ball; it's just good coaching."
Stempien wasn't the only player to record his first touchdown on the day.
Freshman Joe Glendening blocked a punt on Ferris State's first drive, and then returned it 25 yards for the score.
He later scored a two-yard rushing touchdown to double his career total.
The final score of the game was a 17-yard touchdown pass from junior Matt Bryan to senior Jesse Norris, the first collegiate score for both players.
The Hillsdale defense had to overcome the loss of one of their captains on the thirteenth play of the first series. Senior linebacker Mat Szula left the game with a broken scapula, effectively ending his playing career at Hillsdale. Guys have had to step up all year for various reasons, according to Weatherhead, but this injury will be harder to overcome as a team.
The Chargers dominated both sides of the ball in a 59-14 dismantling of an overmatched Ferris team that is now 1-9 on the season.
"We were able to grind it out and keep their offense on the sidelines," said head coach Keith Otterbein of the blowout.
The team went into halftime with a 31-0 lead, a number that reminded the junior quarterback Troy Weatherhead that no lead is safe.
"Last year at Tiffin [University] it was 31-0 at halftime, and they came all the way back and took a 37-31 lead with 1:20 left," he said. "We had to put together a final drive to go win on them."
The Chargers opened up with a defensive score on the first play of the third quarter - an eight yard fumble recovery and return by senior Joe Stempien. It was the first touchdown by the Charger defense in six years. Stempien picked up a dropped screen pass that turned out to have been a lateral, which makes it a live ball, and walked into the endzone.
"There was nothing magical, nothing really special about the play," he said. "We're trained as linebackers to pick up every loose ball; it's just good coaching."
Stempien wasn't the only player to record his first touchdown on the day.
Freshman Joe Glendening blocked a punt on Ferris State's first drive, and then returned it 25 yards for the score.
He later scored a two-yard rushing touchdown to double his career total.
The final score of the game was a 17-yard touchdown pass from junior Matt Bryan to senior Jesse Norris, the first collegiate score for both players.
The Hillsdale defense had to overcome the loss of one of their captains on the thirteenth play of the first series. Senior linebacker Mat Szula left the game with a broken scapula, effectively ending his playing career at Hillsdale. Guys have had to step up all year for various reasons, according to Weatherhead, but this injury will be harder to overcome as a team.
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