Charger game notes - Oct. 3, 2009

October 1, 2009 - Coming off one of the program's biggest wins in 20 years, the Hillsdale College football team is looking to avoid the dreaded "L" word this Saturday.

After beating the #15-ranked team in the nation on the road, any team should be wary of a letdown. But these Chargers have a great ability to focus, and that ability will be necessary when they take on the University of Findlay at 4 p.m. Saturday at Findlay's Donnell Stadium.

Both teams are 4-1 coming into this game, and arrive at this contest in a place neither program has been in a long time.

The Chargers, thanks in large part to their 38-19 win over Ashland last week, have vaulted into the national rankings. Hillsdale is ranked 24th in the latest Division II polls, released by the AFCA and D2football.com. This is the first time Hillsdale has been nationally ranked since the final week of the 2007 season, and the highest ranking achieved by the team since the early 1990s.

Findlay is also 4-1 and is fresh off a shutout of Northwood, 14-0. This is the first time the Oilers have been 4-1 after five games since 2003. The Oilers' only loss this season has come to another 4-1 GLIAC team, Wayne State, 35-21.

Hillsdale has won three straight games in this series, which has seen most games closely contested. Four of the past five meetings between the teams haven't been decided until the final possession of the game. That includes Hillsdale's 20-13 win over the Oilers at the Chargers' 2008 Homecoming Game.

The last time the two teams played at Findlay was Nov. 3, 2007, and the Chargers celebrated their 45-7 win over Findlay in record-breaking fashion. Wide receiver Aaron Waldie caught a school-record five touchdown passes in that game. He also set the school's single-season touchdown reception record in that game, finishing 2007 with 18.

That win pushed Hillsdale's record to 8-2 that season. Ironically, it was after that game that the Chargers entered the Division II Top 25 poll at #25. Now, two years later, it's before the meeting with Findlay that Hillsdale has reentered the poll.

After a 38-37 loss at Northwood Sept. 12, Hillsdale's defense has toughened and its running game cranked up a couple of notches. The Chargers allowed 73 points in their first two GLIAC games, a win over Michigan Tech and a loss to Northwood. But in the two games since then, Hillsdale has surrendered a total of 19 points, both of those efforts coming against teams with the No. 2-ranked passing game in the GLIAC coming into those meetings.

Hillsdale recorded its first shutout in nearly two years when it blanked the University of Indianapolis 23-0, under the lights at home on Sept. 19. The 38-19 win on the road over Ashland stands out as Hillsdale College's most impressive football win of this decade, considering the quality of the opponent, the fact the game was on the road, and how the Chargers won it.

Led by the offensive line, and senior RB Vinnie Panizzi, Hillsdale rushed for 283 yards as a team in that win, and Panizzi's 231 yards and three touchdowns were good enough to net him GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week honors. Panizzi has a combined total of 419 rushing yards in the last two games, and has achieved new career-highs in rushing yards in a game each of the past two weeks.

The Hillsdale offense will face a big challenge in the Findlay defense, which is playing with speed and confidence after its shutout of Northwood. A big key to the Oilers' 4-1 start has been its plus-13 mark in turnover margin, best in the GLIAC. Findlay forced six Northwood turnovers last week, and Hillsdale must maintain its offensive discipline against a ballhawking team like the Oilers.

On offense, WR Mike Chambers leads the GLIAC in average receiving yards per game, and will present a matchup challenge to Hillsdale's secondary.

This game marks the first of a four-game stretch of the schedule where the Chargers face four teams with a combined total of three losses. Findlay (4-1), Grand Valley State (5-0), Northern Michigan (3-1) and Wayne State (4-1) are all tangled up with the Chargers at the top of the GLIAC standings. The winner of the Hillsdale-Findlay game will gain a big edge on the race to chase down undefeated and top-ranked Grand Valley State for first place in the GLIAC.