A win over a team that Lake Erie has traditionally struggled against would go a long way toward accomplishing the Storm’s goal of turning around the program’s fortunes.

Lake Erie endeavored to do just that when Hillsdale (Mich.) visited Painesville Recreation Park on October 3. The Storm shook off a bad start to hold a lead over the Chargers for much of the first half.

Lake Erie fell behind by halftime, but was in the game in the fourth quarter, trailing by just six points. That’s when Hillsdale put together two scoring drives, and the Storm fumbled away a chance at the goal line, as the Chargers pulled away to a 29-9 victory.

Statistically, it may seem as though it was no contest, as Hillsdale rolled up 356 yards of offense and 23 first downs, while limiting Lake Erie to 227 yards and 10 first downs.

As fans on both sides will readily attest, Hillsdale (4-1, 2-1 in the G-MAC) was in a dogfight for this game. But for the third straight week, Lake Erie (2-3, 1-2 G-MAC) lost a game in the fourth quarter.

“It’s been a trend over the last three weeks, where we’ve been in a game in the fourth quarter,” Lake Erie coach David Price said. “We talked as a program about being in a dogfight (every week), and I think that’s exactly where we want to be.

“It might be a little bit of us learning how to win, and it might be that the best way of learning how to win is just by winning. We knew this was a really good team we were playing today, and I was proud of the fight, but we need to execute when it matters the most.”

@LakeErieFB Coach David Price goes over the Storm’s 29-9 loss to Hillsdale pic.twitter.com/IAVQW3fWef

— Jay Kron (@TownCenter2) October 3, 2026

The Storm got off to an inauspicious start when they inadvertently downed the opening kickoff on their own 1, and three plays later, QB Hunter Newell was tackled in the end zone for a safety to give Hillsdale a 2-0 lead.

An interception by Lake Erie’s DeYor Brumfield at the Storm 46 led to the home team’s lone touchdown of the game.

After a holding penalty on first down, Newell connected with Dalen Stovall on a 60-yard completion to the Hillsdale 4, and Newell ran in for the score two plays later. The point-after was no good, but Lake Erie held a 6-2 lead.

The Storm defense turned away the Chargers on fourth-and-goal from the 3 in the second quarter, but Newell stepped out of bounds in the end zone on a pass attempt three plays later, awarding another safety to Hillsdale, making it a very baseball-like 6-4.

Hillsdale took the lead on a 13-yard by QB Eli Boyce, one of two QBs that the Chargers rotated throughout the game, and also converted the two-point try, making it 12-6.

An exchange of field goals led to a 15-9 score at halftime, and that remained the score into the fourth quarter.

In the fourth, touchdown runs by Shea Ruddy (1 yard) and Boyce (6 yards) allowed Hillsdale to pull away. Lake Erie had an opportunity to cut into its deficit late when Hakeem Quran ran for 22 yards to the Hillsdale 1, but the Chargers recovered a fumble on the next play.

Ruddy had 8 receptions for 127 yards for Hillsdale, and Boyce ran for 48 yards and passed for 188. Stovall caught 4 passes for 77 yards for Lake Erie. Quran rushed for 44 yards, and Newell threw for 102.

“Those guys play together, they play hard,” Price said of his defense. “I think our scheme is unique. They are opportunistic, and bend-but-don’t-break. We’ve asked them to take a stand a number of times, and they’ve done just that.”

Lake Erie dropped its third straight game after winning its first two, and will look to put one in the win column with a trip to Kentucky Wesleyan on Oct. 10.

“We’re right there, and that’s kind of what pains me so much,” Price said of his team’s quest for a signature win. “In years past, some of these games have been a blowout by halftime. We know what we’re doing is working, we know that our culture is still intact, but we just need to figure out as a staff what that final hurdle is.”

The score

Hillsdale 29, Lake Erie 9