Charged up Champney

HILLSDALE, Mich. - Ethan Champney reeled in a career-high three touchdown passes and Darius Willis added 150 yards receiving from quarterback Will Ark as Michigan Tech escaped with its fourth straight victory over Hillsdale College 28-24 Saturday afternoon at windy Frank Waters Stadium.

"I was really proud of the way we stayed the course and got a win against a quality team on the road today," said head coach Steve Olson. "The conditions were challenging but I give credit to our guys for fighting hard all the way through. We are playing one of the toughest schedules Michigan Tech has ever played this year, and our guys work very hard each and every week to be ready to compete."

Ark was an efficient 26-for-38 through the air for 314 yards and Sam Ahern made the game-clinching interception with three seconds remaining as MTU improved to 4-6 overall. Hillsdale fell to 5-5 with one week to play in the regular season. 

"Will had a tremendous game," Olson said. "He was under a lot of pressure and he stepped up to the moment and found the right targets based on our presnap assignments. When things weren't going right, he bought more time. Ethan (Champney), Darius (Willis), and a lot of other players also had strong performances."

The Huskies started the scoring at 5:53 of the first quarter. Will Ark capped a 10-play, 91-yard drive with a four-yard rush into the endzone, including a nifty cut to open space.

The Chargers struck back in the second quarter as Luke Keller connected with his favorite target, Isaac TeSlaa for 42 yards and a touchdown to draw even 7-7. TeSlaa finished with six catches for 146 yards and two touchdowns.

After a turnover on downs set them back, Champney and Ark connected for 38 yards on the Huskies' final possession of the first half, resulting in a 14-7 lead but Julian Lee tacked on a 40-yard field goal for Hillsdale to make it 14-10 at the break.

Hillsdale College turned the momentum in the third quarter on a Husky turnover. With pressure coming up the middle, Ark failed to make the handoff exchange with Will Marano, resulting in a fumble scoop and score by Julius Graber, who outran Brandon Michalak 27 yards. After another scoring completion to TeSlaa, Ark and Champney hooked up in the endzone on a pair of scoring drives.

Keller marched the Chargers into Husky territory in the final minute but his final pass was intercepted by Ahern in the middle of the endzone and the Huskies kneeled down in victory formation.

Michigan Tech (4-6, 1-3 GLIAC) remains on the road for their final regular season game next Saturday against Saginaw Valley State at 1 p.m.