Hillsdale College football looks to win consecutive games for first time this season
HILLSDALE — The Hillsdale Chargers look to win consecutive games for the first time during the 2023 season as they travel to Thomas More University in Kentucky for Week 8.
Charger Football: 2022 season recap
The Chargers bounced back from a Week 6 defeat to Tiffin on the road to decimate Kentucky Wesleyan in a 44-14 final.
This would also be the Chargers' first potential win on the road this season. The Chargers won't return home until Week 9, but they have won their past two home games.
Hillsdale College 44, Wesleyan 14
It was a cold and rainy Saturday afternoon when the Chargers hosted Kentucky Wesleyan. The Chargers resorted to a battle in the trenches due to weather conditions, and they dominated Wesleyan despite a close time of possession.
The Chargers' 327 rushing yards on 47 carries was the most for a Charger offense since 2015. The Chargers scored on four consecutive drives to take a 31-0 lead at halftime.
Down 31-0, the Panthers resorted to their passing game to make a comeback attempt. They were held to just 92 rushing yards on the day.
Senior tailback Michael Herzog led the Charger rushing attack with 143 yards and three touchdowns. This was his fifth straight 100-plus yard rushing game and second straight game with three touchdowns. 10 different Chargers got their hands on the ball for the Charger offense.
Roster: 2023 Hillsdale College Football
Week 8 Game Day Information
The Chargers take on Thomas More University at Republic Bank Field in Crestview Hills, Kentucky. The stadium has recently received a new playing surface in 2021.
Game time is scheduled for 12 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 21.
A live webcast of Saturday's game is available through hillsdalechargers.com. Thomas More will have their own home game broadcast of the game via their website.
This is the first meeting between Hillsdale and Thomas More. Thomas More University was a NCAA DIII school as recently as 2019 and played in the NAIA between 2019 and 2022. They now play in the NCAA II G-MAC conference.
Scouting the Saints
Roster: 2023 Thomas More University Football
Thomas More University enters the matchup with a 4-3 overall record, including 3-2 conference standing. Their wins this season include a 37-0 win over University of Virginia's College at Wise, a 18-17 win over Ohio Dominican, a 26-10 win over Walsh University and a 36-28 win over Kentucky Wesleyan.
The Saints dropped their most recent matchup to University of Findlay in a 38-10 final.
Thomas More averages 21.86 points a game and gives up 24.43 points a game. The offense averages 260 yards a game.
Sophomore tailback Jaden Hall leads the team with 432 rushing yards this season and four touchdowns.
Junior quarterback Rae'Von Vaden is a dual-threat weapon for the Saints. Vaden has 407 rushing yards and four touchdowns this season. Vaden has completed 76 of his 148 passing attempts for 782 yards, seven touchdowns and five interceptions.
Evan Brown and Mike Kirch are Vaden's top targets. Four Saints receivers have more than 100 receiving yards this season.
Senior graduate Del Thomas is one of the players to watch on the Saints' defense. The Saints have allowed the second fewest passing yards of any G-MAC football team this season. Thomas has 52 tackles to lead the Saints this season.
The Saints' kicker - Luke Iden - has made seven of his eight field goal attempts this season. Punter Elgin Phillips leads the conference with an average of 42 yards per punt.
This is year two for coach Chris Norwell, who took over the head coaching job after 13 previous seasons as an assistant coach and defensive coordinator.
Charger Notes
Senior tailback Michael Herzog currently leads the G-MAC with 771 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns. This ranks seventh and third, respectively, nationally among all players at the NCAA DII level.
Herzog aims to be the first Charger running back to go over 1,000 yards in a season since All-American David Graham did in 2019. With four games left, he only needs 229 more yards to reach the 1,000-yard mark.
This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Hillsdale College football looks to win consecutive games for first time this season
