Box Score
NCAA Championship Bracket
KUTZTOWN, Pa. - For No. 5 seed Hillsdale on the road at No. 4 Kutztown in the NCAA DII Super Region One playoffs it was a tale of two halves, but oh, what a statement was made in the final two quarters.
Hillsdale outscored the Golden Bears 34-6 in the second half, including a flurry of 24 unanswered points, as both offensive and defensive units answered the call for an eventual 40-26 triumph at Andre Reed Field.
It was the Great Midwest Athletic Conference’s second playoff win in the league’s young history after No. 7 Findlay beat No. 2 Shepherd in 2017. But with 4:24 left in the first half, the prospects of that happening in 2018 appeared to be a tough sell when the Chargers (10-2, 8-0 Great Midwest) found themselves down 20-3.
It was the Collin DiGalbo show up to that point and the junior Kutztown quarterback was on point, completing his first 11 pass attempts.
But a conference-record tying field goal by sophomore first team all-conference kicker Joe Philipp from 51 yards out keyed a second-half surge that probably very few inside University Stadium saw coming.
Philipp nailed two field goals in the first half to account for Hillsdale’s only points, but the adjustments made at halftime by Great Midwest Coach of the Year Keith Otterbein and his staff quickly stole the show.
The defense forced three consecutive three-and-out sequences to a frustrated Kutztown offense out of the locker room. Great Midwest Player of the Year and quarterback Chance Stewart took advantage to shine on the biggest stage.
In the ensuing drives, the Chargers stormed back to complete their comeback, going ahead 27-20 on a 28-yard dash up the sideline by running back David Graham.
Stewart picked apart the Golden Bears with precision and patience, beating the KU defense with his arm and legs with notable plays on some impressive scoring drives. On Graham’s first rushing score from five yards out, he was carried by the offensive line (both legs off the ground) to the end zone.
Drawing the game even at 20-20 with 5:26 left in the third quarter, Stewart avoided the rush, rolled out to his left and found Austin Sandusky in the back of the end zone to cap a 10-play drive.
The HC defense kept Kutztown off the field in short order again before Stewart completed passes to three different receivers before Graham gave the Chargers their first lead of the game.
DiGalbo engineered a scoring drive that would have tied the game, but a missed extra point from Kutztown with 7:37 still translated into a 1-point cushion for Hillsdale.
Stewart to senior wide receiver Trey Brock was the common theme from there on out as the Chargers put the game on ice. Brock had four catches for 72 yards on the next drive, including an acrobatic 20-yard grab in the corner of the end zone.
Brock then gashed the Kutztown secondary directly after a Golden Bears timeout for a 60-yard touchdown for the final score of the game.
Stewart threw for 305 yards and had three touchdowns to break the Great Midwest single-season passing yardage record previously held by Ohio Dominican’s Grant Russell. Graham was able to run for 112 yards on 20 carries and Brock’s relatively quiet first half was reversed with eight catches for 170 yards and 2 TD’s.
Hillsdale was ranked 23rd in the AFCA Coaches Poll while Kutztown was ranked 20th.
The Chargers are making their third appearance in the NCAA Championship bracket for the third time in program history. Next up is NCAA Super Region One No. 1 seed Notre Dame (OH) next Saturday from South Euclid, Ohio. A kickoff time has not yet been officially released.