Charger Game Notes - Sept. 26, 2009

Sept. 23, 2009 - It has been close to three years since the Hillsdale College football team visited the city of Ashland, Ohio. This visit will be a new one for the Chargers not only because of the time that's passed since their last visit to Ashland, but the venue the two teams will play in.

This year, Ashland University unveiled a beautiful new stadium, and the second game ever played in the new complex, known as Community Stadium, will take place at 1 p.m. Saturday as the Chargers and Eagles play for the 40th consecutive year. Both teams enter this game with overall records of 3-1, making this one of the marquee matchups in the GLIAC this week.

After losing its first game of the season, 10-7 to #4 Bloomsburg, the Eagles offense has come alive during their current three-game winning streak. Ashland has averaged 39.7 points per game in defeating Ferris State, Michigan Tech and Tiffin in the last three weeks. Led by 2008 All-American QB Billy Cundiff, the Eagles have an offense that is as explosive as any in the nation in Division II.

But in the form of the Hillsdale Chargers, Ashland will face an offense that can match it toe to toe. Hillsdale has put together one of the most complete offenses in the conference this season, placing players in the top four in the GLIAC in average passing yards per game, average rushing yards per game, and two players in the top four in average receiving yards per game. The Hillsdale offense is balanced, tough and multi-faceted, making it tough for opponents to key on any one area.

But the story coming out of the Chargers' win over Indianapolis last week was their defense. Hillsdale recorded its first shutout in two years, 23-0, over the Greyhounds. Indianapolis came into the game with the GLIAC's second-best passing offense, but was held without a point vs. a Charger defense that made game-changing plays throughout last Saturday night's contest.

It was the most clutch performance by the defense this season. In their prior two games, the Chargers surrendered a total of 73 points in edging Michigan Tech and losing at Northwood. One of the big changes in Hillsdale's win over Indianapolis was the ability of the defense to force plays upon the offense. Six different players recorded tackles-for-loss for the Chargers, and the team picked off two passes while not allowing a single snap inside its own red zone.

That defense will face its toughest test of the season to date in the form of the Ashland University offense. In addition to Cundiff, regarded as one of the best quarterbacks in the country, the Eagles have a corp of talented wide receivers, and a pair of playmaking running backs that make this a lethal offense. The quarterback is gutsy and talented, the receivers are fast, and the running backs are hard to tackle.

These are the top two passing offenses in the conference, while the Chargers have the number two-ranked pass defense in the league.

On the Hillsdale side, QB Troy Weatherhead leads the GLIAC with 275 passing yards per game. He was held to his lowest passing yardage total of the season last week, 159 yards, vs. the Greyhounds. But RB Vinnie Panizzi was there to deliver his career-high in rushing yards.

Panizzi ran the ball 27 times for 188 yards and a touchdown, moving him up to fourth in the conference in rushing yards. He is now in third place on Hillsdale's all-time rushing yards list with 2,662 yards on the ground in his career. Led by a big and bruising offensive line, Panizzi has given the Chargers a consistent between-the-tackles running attack all season.

Charger senior kicker Mark Petro was named the GLIAC Special Teams Player of the Week last week, after producing 11 points in the win over the Greyhounds. Petro leads all GLIAC kickers in points scored, and leads all of NCAA Division II with 2.5 field goals made per game.

Ashland has held the advantage recently in this series, going 6-3 vs. the Chargers since 2000. But when Hillsdale wins in this series, it wins big. The last time the Chargers beat the Eagles was at Hillsdale's 2007 Homecoming game, 49-28. In that game, quarterback Mark Nicolet set a school record with 426 passing yards in a flawless performance. In the past three Hillsdale wins in the series, the Chargers' average margin of victory was 18 points. In Ashland's last three wins over Hillsdale, the Eagles' average margin of victory is six points.

Last year, Ashland forced four turnovers inside its own 10-yard-line in a 24-17 win over the Chargers in Hillsdale. Seven of Hillsdale's last eight losses have come by a touchdown or less, dating back to the beginning of the 2007 season.