Hillsdale College Sports Roundup: Football preview vs. Missouri S&T, softball schedule
From Hillsdale College
Here are the top stories circulating around Hillsdale College sports this week. Let's take a look at the upcoming football game against Missouri S&T and get a sneak peek at the upcoming Charger softball schedule this fall.
Preview: Chargers look to bounce back with road trip to face Missouri S&T
Last Week
The Chargers jumped out to a 13-0 halftime lead against visiting Truman State, dominating the Bulldogs in the first half as Hillsdale looked to avenge two losses to Truman in 2021. But the Chargers couldn't hold on to that lead in the second half, as Truman controlled the ball for 20 of the 30 minutes after halftime and wore down Hillsdale, scoring 21 unanswered points to pull out a 21-13 victory. Riley Tolsma led the Charger defense with 2.5 sacks, Kyle Kudla finished with 13 tackles and Isaac TeSlaa and Sam Lee each caught a receiving touchdown for Hillsdale.
Scouting the OppositionHillsdale makes the long road trip to Rolla, Missouri looking to bounce back against a Missouri S&T team that's had an up-and-down start to the season.
The Chargers pulled off a thrilling victory over the Miners at home last season, a 38-31 come-from-behind affair, but face a very different S&T squad this week – just three offensive starters return for Missouri S&T from that game, all on the offensive line, and five defensive starters.
Junior Max Conard is the starting quarterback for the Miners, and he did appear for one series in the Chargers' 2021 win. So far this season he's had moments of strong play overshadowed by inconsistency – currently he has 324 yards passing for two touchdowns and three interceptions on a 52.8% completion rate.
Conard's top targets are receivers Isaiah Wright and CJ Jarmon, who have each caught a touchdown pass this season, though S&T likes to spread the ball around, with six receivers catching between seven and three passes so far. At running back, 2021 kick returner Gideon Niboh has taken over the top spot and splits carries with sophomores Cameren Smith and Josh Sanders.
The bulk of S&T's offensive experience is on the line, led by senior Jorge Escalante, a returning first-team All-GLVC player. Jake Seidel and Cole Littrell are also returning starters for a unit that sets the tone for the Miners offense.
Defensively, S&T is led by another returning first-team All-GLVC player in senior linebacker Ben Straatmann, who leads the Miners with 30 tackles, three sacks and three fumble recoveries so far. The Miners have a strong secondary led by senior safety Stefan Camplin, while linebacker Nick Mattli and defensive end Bentley Hart also contribute to a productive pass rush for S&T.
On special teams, Parker Boyce has taken over both the kicking and punting duties. He's averaging an impressive 44.87 yards per punt so far, and is 1 of 2 on field goal tries with a long of 26.
S&T's young offense has struggled so far this season, ranking at or near the bottom of the GLVC in most categories, but the Miners' defense has been solid, and played a big role in the program's lone overtime win so far over Drake.
The Miners are coached by Andy Ball, who's in his first season in the lead role. Prior to being elevated to the head job this past spring, Ball was the program's offensive coordinator and associate head coach for four seasons under Todd Drury, and also spent time at Truman State, Missouri Western and Central Missouri prior to his time at S&T.
The SeriesHillsdale is 2-0 all-time against the Miners after winning a 38-31 contest against Missouri S&T last year during the Chargers' homecoming game. The two teams' first meeting came in 1968, when the Chargers beat S&T, then known as Missouri-Rolla, 24-16 in a midseason contest.
Softball: Chargers’ fall schedule to include showcase game under the lights against Big Ten opponent
In preparing to defend its 2022 G-MAC regular season crown, the Hillsdale College softball team has beefed up its fall exhibition schedule with tougher opponents to help take the next step.
The Chargers have already hosted two teams that made the NCAA Tournament this past Sunday to kick off the slate of exhibition contests – NCAA DI regional qualifier Oakland University, and NCAA DII super regional qualifier Grand Valley State University – in two tough contests.
The games continue on Oct 1, as Hillsdale travels to a strong NAIA squad in the University of Northwestern Ohio, taking on the Racers in a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m.
The next day, as Hillsdale takes NAIA host Concordia (MI) and NJCAA powerhouse Lansing Community College in back to back contests starting at 11 a.m.
It's all building to the final contest of the fall for the Chargers, an October 21 exhibition game under the lights at Secchia Stadium against a Big Ten foe, Michigan State University, at 5 p.m.
You can find Hillsdale's full fall schedule and the current projected slate for the spring season below:
Sep 18 (Sun) 11:00 AM EDT VS OAKLAND
Sep 18 (Sun) 3:00 PM EDT VS GRAND VALLEY ST.
Oct 01 (Sat) 1:00 PM EDT AT NORTHWESTERN OHIO
Oct 02 (Sun) 11:00 AM EDT AT CONCORDIA (MI)
Oct 02 (Sun) 1:00 PM EDT VS LANSING COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Oct 21 (Fri) 5:00 PM EDT AT MICHIGAN ST.
This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Hillsdale College sports: Football preview vs. Missouri S&T; Softball
