The flu sidelines 5 Chargers from Saturday's showdown with Wayne State

Hillsdale College announced Friday five of its Charger football players  and one basketball player are sick with what looks to be the H1N1 influenza virus.

Vice President of Administration Richard Péwé  said the illnesses will not affect Saturday’s game against Wayne State University.

“Anytime you lose one or two players there could be an impact but we aren’t going to take a chance with our players’ health,” Péwé said.

Péwé said the school seems to have isolated the virus and is doing everything it can to prevent further infection of the student population.

“The real good news is we had a couple cases yesterday and Monday but none today,” he said. “We isolate them, then disinfect everything. It’s not too bad compared to what the other local schools are dealing with right now.”

Hillsdale College Athletic Department would not release which players would be sitting out for Saturday’s game.

A trainer at Wayne State who did not wish to be named said all the players for the Warriors are healthy.

“We are there to play the game and we are going to take the precautions that we normally do to prevent illness,” he said. “We wash our hands, take a shower after the game and have hand sanitizers that we use. We aren’t overly concerned.”

The Chargers, who are 3-0 at home, are hoping to pull a win over the Warriors after losing to them 14-7 in Detroit last year.