Hillsdale Preview - Game 2 on 9/11/10
So who remembers October 10, 2009? I sure do, anyone at Muddy Waters Stadium that day in Hillsdale does and you can be sure both these teams remember that date as well. Despite having our ultimate revenge at home in the playoffs last year with a first-half shock and awe campaign, there is still an uneasiness in the air about this game. Hillsdale’s 27-24 regular season upset of the Lakers last year struck a David and Goliath chord. Well after last weekend, GV is once again in the number one spot in both the AFCA and D2Football.com polls. Hillsdale now sits at #11 on the AFCA poll, and 14th on D2Football.com. That target on our backs is all that much bigger…again.
Last weekend, the Chargers offense exploded in their home and season opener against Ferris State racking up 453 total yards in a convincing 35-17 beating of the Bulldogs. Hillsdale still has their prolific passer, Troy Weatherhead. Andre Holmes, the Charger’s 6′5″ senior WR compiled 132 yards recieving and a score in the season’s first contest. “David” now has a new weapon that wasn’t used much last season. Anyone remember a kid from East GR named Joe Glendening? All he did was run for 88 yards and two touchdowns last weekend against Ferris. They have weapons to be sure. Oh yes, and Mr. Glendening is only a sophomore.
Even though they lost their star Jared Veldheer to the Oakland Raiders in the NFL draft, the Chargers are still a very formidable opponent who has tasted our blood before. Coach Otterbein will have his team ready to go and we’ll see their best shot. A win in our place might cement that program as for real. If they lose but keep it close and win out the rest of the season, it WILL factor in strength of schedule when playoff seeding time rolls around. They want nothing more than to make a headline statement again and they’d love to do it in front of our crowd. Hillsdale always brings a large following so expect a good number to come Saturday. They too remember what it felt like on October 10, 2009.
So friends… this is what we wanted. For years, we had to defend our beloved program from critics and “haters” who cited our scheduling of weak out-of-conference and in-conference opponents. We beat #8 out of the LSC in our place last week and Saturday we get another top-25 match up in only the second week of our season. This can be a blessing and a curse all in one. Whichever it turns out to be, the results will factor heavily come November.
Saturday has all the ingredients of an explosive contest. See you at Lubbers!