HILLSDALE, Mich. – Hillsdale's football team took advantage of a slow start by Ohio Dominican as the host and 25th ranked Chargers scored a 38-20 victory in Saturday's GLIAC opener at Frank "Muddy" Waters Stadium.

With the setback, ODU fell to 1-1 (0-1 GLIAC), while the Chargers moved to 1-1 (1-0 GLIAC).

Hillsdale ran out to a 28-0 halftime lead, outgaining the Panthers 302-67 and controlling the ball for more than 20 minutes. After sophomore Abe Johnson (Cincinnati, Ohio) started the game with a 49-yard kick return, an interception on the first play from scrimmage gave the ball to HC.

The Chargers embarked on a 20-play, 86-yard drive, converting three third downs and two fourth downs and scoring on fourth-and-goal to take a 7-0 lead. The deficit stayed there until the second quarter, when Hillsdale tacked on three more scores, going 5-for-5 on third down conversions in the frame and picking up over 200 yards of offense in the quarter alone.

ODU would get on the board on the last play in the third quarter as Johnson caught a fourth-down pass from sophomore Mark Miller (Cincinnati, Ohio) and took it in from 12 yards out, capping a nine-play, 72-yard drive. The duo would connect again, this time from 13 yards out, for a second score with less than four minutes to play.

Freshman Ronald McCloud (Cleveland, Ohio) scored ODU's final points on an end around from nine yards out with 1:27 left to account for the final scoring.

For the contest, ODU committed four turnovers, was outgained 420-244 and had the ball for just 19:42.

Johnson finished with career-bests in receptions (six) and yards (63) and it was also the first multi-TD game of his career. Junior Ronnel Spates (Cleveland, Ohio) led ODU's rushers with 48 yards on 15 carries.

Junior Justin Bell (Columbus, Oho) set a career-high with 16 tackles, which tied for fifth in ODU single-game history. Sophomore Martavius Lewis (Wellington, Fla.) also had a career-best with nine tackles, with senior Jeff White (Gahanna, Ohio) adding eight stops.

Ohio Dominican returns home and continues GLIAC play with a 1 p.m. kickoff Saturday against Northern Michigan at Panther Field. It is the first all-time meeting between the two schools.

Contact: Scott Miles
miless@ohiodominican.edu