Football Loses At Hillsdale 24-14

HILLSDALE, MICH. – The Northwood University football team dropped a 24-14 contest at Hillsdale Saturday afternoon (November 8)

Northwood is now 4-6 overall, 3-6 in the GLIAC. Hillsdale stands at 4-6 overall, 3-6 in the GLIAC.

Hillsdale used a pair of big plays late in the first quarter to go up 14-0 on Northwood. The Chargers got a 54 yard TD pass to put the first points of the day on the board. Later, HC returned a punt 35 yards to put the ball in the red zone. Four plays later, the Chargers found the end zone to go up 14-0

Northwood got back into the game thanks to a big play by sophomore cornerback Ayrn Curts (Detroit, Mich./West Bloomfield). He intercepted a pass and returned it 54 yards for a touchdown, cutting the lead down to 14-7. It was Curtis' sixth interception of the season, good for second in the GLIAC.

Both teams threw interceptions in the final moments of the half, which the Chargers took advantage of for a field goal to give Hillsdale a 17-7 lead at the break.  HC owned the stat sheet in the opening 30 minutes, finishing with a 198-60 edge in total yards.

Northwood came out strong in the second half, going down and putting a touchdown on the board on the opening drive. The big play of the drive was a Jimmy Strom (Duluth, Ga./Pinecrest Academy) to Devonta Elzy (Chicago, Ill./Simeon) 44-yard pass. Jared Briguglio (Saginaw, Mich. /Swan Valley) capped the drive with a one-yard touchdown run, cutting the Charger lead down to 17-14.

Hillsdale wasted no time responding to the Northwood touchdown, marching right down the field to score a TD of the own.  The Chargers went 72 yards in 11 plays, putting Hillsdale back on top 24-14.

The defenses controlled the rest of the game, as neither team would score in the final 20:50 of the game.

For the game, Hillsdale finished with a 358-205 advantage in total yards. Northwood finished the game with 132 yards passing and 73 yards rushing. Hillsdale ended up with 152 yards passing and 206 yards rushing.

The Northwood defense had several strong performances, led by sophomore linebacker Michael Fisher (Rochester, Mich./Adams). He finished with 16 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, a sack and a pass breakup. Ryan Spicuzzi (Macomb, Mich./Dakota) and Mike Keith (Roseville, Mich./Warren De La Salle) added 12 and 11 tackles respectively. Curtis finished with five tackles, two pass breakups, one interception return for a touchdown and a blocked kick.

Vashon Nutt (Chicago, Ill./Homewood-Flossmor) had 52 yards receiving to lead the Northwood offense.

Northwood will finish the season with a home game against Malone Saturday (November 15). Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.