Tiffin University (2-2, 1-1 G-MAC) comes home to take on Hillsdale College (2-2, 1-1) in its home opener at 4 pm Oct. 4.

Tiffin holds a 8-10 oveall record against the Chargers with the scoring margin being close. Hillsdale has outscored TU 477-439. Tiffin has went 4-1 over the last five meetings with Hillsdale including a 35-21 win in 2023. Tiffin's lone loss was in 2021 by a slim 24-21 margin.

LAST TIME OUT

Tiffin University (2-2, 1-1 G-MAC) came up with 10 fourth-quarter points to put some distance between it and Lake Erie, picking up its first G-MAC win of the year 27-14. Overall Tiffin outgained the Storm 439-277 including 255-94 on the ground. They doubled up Lake Erie on possession time (39:18 to 20:42) and had 19 first downs to the Storm's 9.

HILLSDALE NOTES

The Chargers are 2-2 (1-1 G-MAC) with a 1-1 mark on the road so far. Hillsdale is coming off a 44-0 home win against Kentucky Wesleyan.  

Starting quarterback Colin McKernan has gone 53 for 99 for 654 yards with 8 touchdowns and three interceptions.  

Ben Ngishu is the leading rusher and has 60 carries for 344 yards and three touchdowns. Ngishu averages 86.0 yards per game which is third in the G-MAC. Quarterback Colin McKernan also uses his legs as he's rushed 54 times for 126 yards.  

The Chargers have four receivers with over 100 yards. Andrew Konieczny has 13 catches for 182 yards with one touchdown. Tutt Carrico leads the team in receiving touchdowns with three and has 9 catches for 148 yards. Ryan Skura has 6 catches for 125 yards with two touchdowns and Connor Pratt has 9 catches for 133 yards with two touchdowns. Shea Ruddy has 6 catches for 188 yards with one touchdown and has also thrown a 70-yard touchdown pass.  

Ruddy handles all returns, returning 3 punts for 29 yards and 8 kickoffs for 209 yards. 

Defensively, Colin Morrow leads the team with 23 tackles and Jacob Vance has 21. Ryan Niksa has a team-leading 17 solo tackles. Vance, Drake Badger, and Neal Likens all have 3.0 TFLs. Niksa has 19 total tackles while Jonah Jensen has 18 and Kaden Evans has 15. 

Niksa and Gavin Chenevey both have 5 pass break ups. Evans and Drake Badger have one sack each. As a team, the Chargers have five sacks which is the second fewest in the conference.  

Three kickers have seen playing time. Jordan Westrich is 0 for 2 on field goals while Jude Barton and Dylan DeDario are both 1 for 1. Westrich is 5 of 6 on PATs, DeDario is 3 of 4 and Barton is 0 for 2.  

Ian Woodyard handles the punting and has 17 punts for 676 yards, averaging 39.8 per punt. He's pinned 6 inside the 20-yard line and has three over 50 yards.  

The Chargers average 24.0 points per game offensively and defensively allow 19.3. 

TIFFIN NOTES

Quarterback Alex Johnson leads the G-MAC in passing yards per game, averaging 245.0 and his nine passing touchdowns are also the most in the conference. Through four games, Johnson has gone 85 for 129 for 980 yards with four interceptions.  

Running back Ronald Blackman leads the team and G-MAC in rushing, averaging 101.5 yards per game. Blackman has carried the ball 85 times for 406 yards with one touchdown. Tyrese Banks-Dorn has 24 carries for 113 yards with two touchdowns. Nick Johnson has 8 carries for 31 yards.  

Blackman is also the leading receiver on the team with 17 receptions for 206 yards with one touchdown. Will Linkhart has 14 catches for 151 yards with one touchdown. Emari White has 10 catches for 147 yards with one touchdown. Ethan Holbrook leads the team in receiving touchdowns with three and has 14 catches for 139 yards. Other top receivers include Banks-Dorn (11-110), Jaedyn McKinstry (4-91-1), Joey Zalewski (7-69-1), and Josiah Raber (5-63). 

Holbrook has returned 12 punts for 167 yards with one touchdown and White has returned 10 kickoffs for 234 yards.  

Defensively, Jacob Tueimeh leads the team in solo tackles (22) and total tackles (33) and has forced two fumbles. Isaiah Foster has 21 tackles, and Aidan Fischer has 19 while Ethan Evers has 18. Khris Walton and Uzonna Nzekwe are tied for the team lead in TFLs with 3.0 each. Malik Baker has 14 tackles and Jalen Coles has 10. Walton also has a team-leading three sacks. Kevin Hornbeak has recorded 1.5 sacks and 2.5 TFLs.  

Dennis Crawford leads the team with five pass break ups and Evers has the only interception on the squad which came last week against Lake Erie to seal the win.  

Placekicker Ben Rudolph is 12 for 13 on PATs and 4 for 5 on field goals. Punter Joseph Weiers is leading the G-MAC in average yards per punt with 47.5. He has punted 17 times for 807 yards and has pinned 10 inside the 20-yard line while leading the conference with six punts of over 50 yards.  

The Dragons average 27.3 points per game offensively and allow 20.5 defensively.