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<strong>2010</strong> Charger Football<br />
Season Preview:<br />
After a taste of<br />
big-time success in<br />
2009, determined<br />
chargers back for<br />
more in <strong>2010</strong><br />
They say it’s harder to stay at the top than it is to get to the top. That is a<br />
problem the players and coaches with the Hillsdale College football program<br />
are looking forward to tackling.<br />
After seven straight losing seasons from 2000-06, the Chargers have been the<br />
GLIAC’s second-best team since 2007, going 25-10 over the past three seasons.<br />
The high point of that three-year run came in 2009, when the team went 10-3<br />
and qualified for the NCAA Division II playoffs for the first time in school<br />
history.<br />
The challenge for head coach Keith Otterbein and the players now, is to<br />
maintain its spot as a top contender for the GLIAC championship in <strong>2010</strong>.<br />
“Last year was what we’ve been working for, as a coaching staff and players,”<br />
Otterbein said. “But since we assembled for spring practice, our focus has been<br />
totally on the <strong>2010</strong> season and doing what it takes to improve on what we accomplished<br />
last year.”<br />
More than half of 2009’s starters return on both sides of the ball in <strong>2010</strong>, led<br />
by third-year starting quarterback Troy Weatherhead. A smart and accurate<br />
passer, Weatherhead set several single-game and single-season records in 2009,<br />
including passing yards, completions and attempts. He is the most experienced<br />
starting quarterback in the GLIAC entering <strong>2010</strong>, and has grown into a true<br />
leader of the program.<br />
“Troy has done a great job at learning what it takes to lead a football team,<br />
both on and off the field,” Otterbein said. “His knowledge of the offense has<br />
gotten better every year, and he has become a leader off the field, as shown by<br />
his teammates voting him captain.”<br />
Senior offensive lineman Phil Doerfler and junior defensive back Nick Hixson<br />
join Weatherhead as the team’s three captains for the <strong>2010</strong> season. Doerfler<br />
is a focused, hard-nosed lineman who is a true “leader by example.”<br />
Three-year starting running back Vinnie Panizzi graduated, but returning<br />
is sophomore Joe Glendening, who should step into the starting role in <strong>2010</strong>.<br />
Glendening is part of a group of skill-position players on offense that, coupled<br />
with Weatherhead’s experience and savvy, give Hillsdale an enviable offense<br />
this season.<br />
Starting wide receivers Andre Holmes and Mike Blanchard return for their<br />
senior seasons, and give the Chargers a contrast in styles, making them tough<br />
to defend. Holmes is tall, speedy, and led the GLIAC in receiving yards last<br />
year. Blanchard, also a kick returner for the team, makes the tough catches in<br />
traffic and gives the team a much different look from his side of the field.<br />
Doerfler leads a veteran offensive line, which also returns starters Patrick<br />
Harbour, D.J. Loy and Reid Meador.<br />
Defensively, Hixson leads a secondary that enters the season as an area of<br />
strength for the team. Veteran Cody Henderson and sophomore Nick Galvan<br />
return to join Hixson in the defensive backfield. Galvan is a fast, ballhawking<br />
safety who became a starter as a true freshman last year. Henderson was also<br />
a starter as a true freshman in 2007, but is coming off an injury-plagued 2009<br />
Quarterback Troy Weatherhead (16) returns for his third season as<br />
the starter in <strong>2010</strong>.<br />
campaign.<br />
Expect to see some new faces in starting roles on the defense, like redshirtfreshman<br />
Eric Burke, who enters fall practice as a starter at linebacker. Senior<br />
Kyle Carson, a special teams standout throughout his career, becomes a starter<br />
at linebacker this season, joining veteran Nate English at that position.<br />
Two former linebackers make the move to the defensive line, juniors David<br />
Bakker and Ridge Riebold, to help replenish the position most depleted by<br />
graduation last year. Bakker was one of the defense’s most improved players<br />
in 2009, and has the size, speed and skill set, to contribute immediately at his<br />
new position.<br />
There are some big shoes to fill on special teams for the Chargers. All-GLIAC<br />
kicker Mark Petro and All-GLIAC punter Eric Schweller each graduated. Junior<br />
Andrew Wilburn has gotten spot duty at punter in his first two seasons,<br />
but will take over as the full-time starter this year. True freshman Matt Eltringham<br />
will battle it out with returning veterans Colin McGreevy and Steve<br />
Grant for placekicking duties.<br />
“There’s a perception that we lost a ton of players, because of how talented<br />
some of those players were,” Otterbein said. “But the group of guys we have<br />
this year, have learned what it takes to win, and have played together for years.<br />
I am confident that this is a team that can match up with any opponent in our<br />
conference.”<br />
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