Zeeland West’s Brandon Holman (6) scores the winning touchdown with 23 seconds remaining last Friday, as Grand Rapids South Christian’s Charlie Vermaas (33) tries unsuccessfully to keep Holman from the end zone.
By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
For the third consecutive week, the Zeeland West varsity football team found itself in a nailbiter that wasn’t decided until the end.
After staging a goal-line stand midway through the fourth quarter, the Dux drove 99 yards in 13 plays, capped by a 7-yard touchdown run by junior Brandon Holman with 23 seconds remaining – the exact amount of time that remained a week earlier when Whitehall scored a touchdown to beat West.
Holman’s ninth touchdown of the season held up as the Dux defeated Grand Rapids South Christian 12-6 last Friday in the O-K Gold Conference opener for both teams. West will bring a 3-1 overall record into its Bird Bowl showdown with Zeeland East at 7 p.m. Friday at Zeeland Stadium.
With the score tied at 6-6 early in the fourth quarter, the Sailors had taken possession at the West 25-yard-line after a shanked punt. South Christian picked up two first downs and had a second-and-goal at the Dux 2. The Sailors gained one yard on second down, then were stopped inches short of the end zone on third down.
Then on fourth down, the middle of the Dux defensive line stuffed the South Christian ball carrier, and West took over at its own 1-yard-line with 6:31 remaining. It was the second time West had stopped the Sailors on a fourth down inside the Dux 5-yard-line in the contest.
“That was a huge stop by our defense. We had the same kind of stop against West Ottawa a couple of weeks ago,” West coach Jeff Bolhouse said. “It was a momentum changer.”
An offside penalty on the Sailors on the next play gave the Dux a little breathing room. Then senior quarterback Austin Ulberg, filling in for the injured Drew Albrecht, completed passes of 11 yards to Holman and 19 yards to Jonah Leslie, and West was on the move.
Later, Holman ripped off a 28-yard run to move the ball into Sailor territory. Finally, Holman went up the middle from seven yards out for the go-ahead score.
South Christian drove to the Dux 41, and got an extra play with no time on the clock due to a personal foul on West. But the Dux forced an incompletion on the last play to preserve the win.
“Our guys just stuck with it. We stuck with the game plan and kept grinding,” Bolhouse said.
The Sailors had an early scoring opportunity after recovering a West fumble at the Dux 34. South Christian drove to the 3-yard-line, but the Dux held on a fourth-and-1 to take over possession on downs.
West broke the scoreless deadlock late in the first half. After struggling to run the ball out of its traditional T-formation set in the early going, the Dux ran exclusively out of a single-wing formation on a 94-yard, 13-play drive. Senior Jonah Leslie finished off the drive with a 2-yard touchdown plunge. The two-point conversion failed, but the Dux led 6-0 at halftime.
The Sailors tied the score late in the third quarter when Easton Raak caught a slant pass from quarterback Austin Burgess, broke a tackle at the West 45 and dashed all the way to the end zone for a 55-yard touchdown. The conversion pass was no good, leaving the teams tied at 6-6 heading into the final quarter.
West outgained South Christian 285-208, including 255 yards on the ground. Holman led the Dux with 137 yards on 18 carries on offense, and also led the defense with seven solo tackles and three assisted tackles. Junior Niko Moungkhoun added 81 yards rushing on 13 carries.
East Rallies to Beat West in Volleyball Showdown
Zeeland East senior middle hitter Savannah Byker (12) attempts a kill during East’s volleyball match with Zeeland West Sept. 16, as West senior middle hitter Evie Elenbaas (8) goes up for a block.
Photo courtesy Geskus Photography
By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
With her team down one set and trailing Zeeland West 20-13 in the second set, Zeeland East varsity interim volleyball coach Grace Steenwyk called time out.
“I think we had a wakeup moment,” Steenwyk said. “We said to each other, ‘hey, we gotta go. This is a big game we knew we wanted to win from the beginning.’ The girls had that mindset shift, they needed to level up, and they put their pedal to the metal on the intensity.”
The Chix stormed back out of the time out, outscoring the Dux 12-2 the rest of the set, capped by back-to-back blocks by the tandem of seniors Gracyn Huizenga and Elyse Smith, to win the set 25-22. They then took the next two sets, 25-14, 25-19, to win the Sept. 16 match and remain unbeaten in conference play.
“We needed to have that time out where we just said, ‘hey, this isn’t us. We’ve gotta play better. We know how we can play and we need to trust our training. So let’s all do it together right now as a team and bring the energy,’” Steenwyk said. “The girls did just that.”
West is vastly improved from a year ago, and came out playing fearlessly against its rival. The Dux took advantage of attack and service errors by the Chix to take the lead midway through the first set. East battled back to tie the set at 22-all on a Savannah Byker kill. But West closed out the set by scoring three of the final four points, capped by junior Brielle Carlson’s block, and the Dux took the set 25-23.
“Our goal tonight was to put pressure on them, and I thought we did that for the first game plus all the way through the second game,” West coach Chris Mack said.
With juniors Hannah VanderZwaag and Sadie Kragt leading the way, the Dux kept the pressure on East in the second set. Kragt’s kill gave West its biggest lead at 20-13, leading to the timeout.
A pair of kills by junior Bri Cole and back-to-back aces by senior Jordan Inosencio highlighted the East comeback that evened the match.
The Chix went on a 13-3 run in the third set to take an 18-9 lead and would not allow the Dux to mount a significant rally.
Then in the final set, East ripped off nine straight points early on, starting with a kill and an ace by junior Lizzie Risdon. The Chix built a 20-8 lead, but then the Dux mounted one final rally to trim the lead to 23-19 on an ace by senior Kylie Glass.
However, Risdon put the exclamation point on the match, slamming the final kill off a West block out of bounds for the win.
“West came out and really took it to us in the first set, but I think we recovered in the second. In the third and fourth we played just how we usually do. We found our rhythm,” said Risdon, who led a balanced East attack with 12 kills and added 21 digs.
Huizenga added 10 kills and sophomore Ava Geerlings chipped in eight. Smith dished out 40 assists and served up three aces, while Inosencio led the Chix in digs with 26 and also had three aces. Cole, Byker and Huizenga each had three blocks.
Kragt led West with five kills and VanderZwaag added four. Junior Halle Reider led the Dux in digs with 12 and sophomore Elle Creevy added 11. Senior Evie Elenbaas had four blocks and Glass had three aces.
“I give it to (East). They’re a good team and they played really well. They had to come and beat us, which I like,” Mack said. “We’ve gotta figure out ways to maintain that level of poise and composure that we showed in the first two (sets).”
Last Thursday, East remained unbeaten in conference play by defeating Spring Lake in four sets on the road, 23-25, 25-14, 25-7, 25-19. Risdon led the Chix with 16 kills, Inosencio had 20 digs, Smith dealt out 35 assists and Mahalia Vis served up four aces. East entered this week at 4-0 in conference play and 14-2 overall.
West, meanwhile, was swept by Hamilton last Thursday, 25-17, 25-14, 25-21. The Dux entered the week at 2-3 in the conference and 7-8 overall.
Zeeland Record
With her team down one set and trailing Zeeland West 20-13 in the second set, Zeeland East varsity interim volleyball coach Grace Steenwyk called time out.
“I think we had a wakeup moment,” Steenwyk said. “We said to each other, ‘hey, we gotta go. This is a big game we knew we wanted to win from the beginning.’ The girls had that mindset shift, they needed to level up, and they put their pedal to the metal on the intensity.”
The Chix stormed back out of the time out, outscoring the Dux 12-2 the rest of the set, capped by back-to-back blocks by the tandem of seniors Gracyn Huizenga and Elyse Smith, to win the set 25-22. They then took the next two sets, 25-14, 25-19, to win the Sept. 16 match and remain unbeaten in conference play.
“We needed to have that time out where we just said, ‘hey, this isn’t us. We’ve gotta play better. We know how we can play and we need to trust our training. So let’s all do it together right now as a team and bring the energy,’” Steenwyk said. “The girls did just that.”
West is vastly improved from a year ago, and came out playing fearlessly against its rival. The Dux took advantage of attack and service errors by the Chix to take the lead midway through the first set. East battled back to tie the set at 22-all on a Savannah Byker kill. But West closed out the set by scoring three of the final four points, capped by junior Brielle Carlson’s block, and the Dux took the set 25-23.
“Our goal tonight was to put pressure on them, and I thought we did that for the first game plus all the way through the second game,” West coach Chris Mack said.
With juniors Hannah VanderZwaag and Sadie Kragt leading the way, the Dux kept the pressure on East in the second set. Kragt’s kill gave West its biggest lead at 20-13, leading to the timeout.
A pair of kills by junior Bri Cole and back-to-back aces by senior Jordan Inosencio highlighted the East comeback that evened the match.
The Chix went on a 13-3 run in the third set to take an 18-9 lead and would not allow the Dux to mount a significant rally.
Then in the final set, East ripped off nine straight points early on, starting with a kill and an ace by junior Lizzie Risdon. The Chix built a 20-8 lead, but then the Dux mounted one final rally to trim the lead to 23-19 on an ace by senior Kylie Glass.
However, Risdon put the exclamation point on the match, slamming the final kill off a West block out of bounds for the win.
“West came out and really took it to us in the first set, but I think we recovered in the second. In the third and fourth we played just how we usually do. We found our rhythm,” said Risdon, who led a balanced East attack with 12 kills and added 21 digs.
Huizenga added 10 kills and sophomore Ava Geerlings chipped in eight. Smith dished out 40 assists and served up three aces, while Inosencio led the Chix in digs with 26 and also had three aces. Cole, Byker and Huizenga each had three blocks.
Kragt led West with five kills and VanderZwaag added four. Junior Halle Reider led the Dux in digs with 12 and sophomore Elle Creevy added 11. Senior Evie Elenbaas had four blocks and Glass had three aces.
“I give it to (East). They’re a good team and they played really well. They had to come and beat us, which I like,” Mack said. “We’ve gotta figure out ways to maintain that level of poise and composure that we showed in the first two (sets).”
Last Thursday, East remained unbeaten in conference play by defeating Spring Lake in four sets on the road, 23-25, 25-14, 25-7, 25-19. Risdon led the Chix with 16 kills, Inosencio had 20 digs, Smith dealt out 35 assists and Mahalia Vis served up four aces. East entered this week at 4-0 in conference play and 14-2 overall.
West, meanwhile, was swept by Hamilton last Thursday, 25-17, 25-14, 25-21. The Dux entered the week at 2-3 in the conference and 7-8 overall.
On the Record
Unity Christian Deals East First Loss
The Zeeland East varsity football team suffered its first loss of the season last Friday, falling to unbeaten Unity Christian 50-14 at Grandville High School in its O-K Gold Conference opener.
The Crusaders scored on all five of their first-half possessions to build a 36-6 halftime lead.
The Chix (3-1) got on the board in the second quarter on a 20-yard touchdown pass from junior Will Drnek to classmate Colby Miller. Senior Peyton Davis scored the other East touchdown on a 2-yard run in the fourth quarter. Senior Bennett Bing had a two-point conversion.
East amassed 285 yards of total offense in the game but gave up 416 yards to Unity, including 387 on the ground.
Drnek completed 16-of-25 passes for 158 yards and one touchdown. He was intercepted once. Junior Isaiah Boonstra caught five passes for 78 yards, including a 45-yard reception, while Miller had four grabs for 38 yards.
Senior Ben DeLost led the ground game for the Chix with 49 yards on two carries, while junior Payton Sackett added 45 yards on nine carries.
DeLost and senior Derek Baxter made seven tackles apiece for East.
Zeeland Swimmers Edge FH Northern
It came down to the final event for the Zeeland girls swimming team in their Sept. 16 dual meet at Forest Hills Northern.
Zeeland took the first two places in the 400-yard freestyle relay to score 12 points to the Huskies’ two, clinching a 98-87 victory.
The team of Ariyah Gettings, Mallory Ensing, Paige Davis and Molly Meyering took the 400 free relay in 3 minutes, 55.84 seconds, one of three relay wins for Zeeland for the meet.
Madison Ensing won two individual events, taking the 50-yard freestyle (:24.43) and 100-yard breaststroke (1:09.96). Gettings won the 200 individual medley in 2:19.00 while Natalie Lauritzen led a sweep of the top four places in the 100 freestyle in :54.71.
The 200-yard medley relay foursome of Lauritzen, Gettings, Davis and Madison Ensing took first in 1:51.15, while Addison Mishler, Mallory Ensing, Lauritzen and Madison Ensing won the 200 free relay in 1:43.52.
East, West Golfers Finish in Top Four at Crestview
The Zeeland East and Zeeland West varsity girls golf teams both posted season-low scores during their O-K Black Conference jamboree hosted by the Dux at Crestview Golf Club in Borculo Sept. 17.
The Chix finished third with a 9-hole score of 191, while the Dux were fourth with a 201. The jamboree was held on the par-36 front nine at Crestview.
East was led by Ximena Knittel with a 46. Ashleigh Pomeroy shot a 47, Natalie Bailey carded a 48, and Taya Schanski had a 50.
West got career-best performances from four different golfers. Allison Purtee shot a 49 to lead the Dux. Aaliyah Le and Gabby Hoekwater each shot a 50 while Brynlee DeYoung recorded a 52.
A day later, East went even lower in a dual match against Jenison at Winding Creek Golf Course, posting a team score of 185 to win by 15 strokes. The Chix had five players shoot under 50, led by Schanski and Knittel with 45s.
The Zeeland East varsity football team suffered its first loss of the season last Friday, falling to unbeaten Unity Christian 50-14 at Grandville High School in its O-K Gold Conference opener.
The Crusaders scored on all five of their first-half possessions to build a 36-6 halftime lead.
The Chix (3-1) got on the board in the second quarter on a 20-yard touchdown pass from junior Will Drnek to classmate Colby Miller. Senior Peyton Davis scored the other East touchdown on a 2-yard run in the fourth quarter. Senior Bennett Bing had a two-point conversion.
East amassed 285 yards of total offense in the game but gave up 416 yards to Unity, including 387 on the ground.
Drnek completed 16-of-25 passes for 158 yards and one touchdown. He was intercepted once. Junior Isaiah Boonstra caught five passes for 78 yards, including a 45-yard reception, while Miller had four grabs for 38 yards.
Senior Ben DeLost led the ground game for the Chix with 49 yards on two carries, while junior Payton Sackett added 45 yards on nine carries.
DeLost and senior Derek Baxter made seven tackles apiece for East.
Zeeland Swimmers Edge FH Northern
It came down to the final event for the Zeeland girls swimming team in their Sept. 16 dual meet at Forest Hills Northern.
Zeeland took the first two places in the 400-yard freestyle relay to score 12 points to the Huskies’ two, clinching a 98-87 victory.
The team of Ariyah Gettings, Mallory Ensing, Paige Davis and Molly Meyering took the 400 free relay in 3 minutes, 55.84 seconds, one of three relay wins for Zeeland for the meet.
Madison Ensing won two individual events, taking the 50-yard freestyle (:24.43) and 100-yard breaststroke (1:09.96). Gettings won the 200 individual medley in 2:19.00 while Natalie Lauritzen led a sweep of the top four places in the 100 freestyle in :54.71.
The 200-yard medley relay foursome of Lauritzen, Gettings, Davis and Madison Ensing took first in 1:51.15, while Addison Mishler, Mallory Ensing, Lauritzen and Madison Ensing won the 200 free relay in 1:43.52.
East, West Golfers Finish in Top Four at Crestview
The Zeeland East and Zeeland West varsity girls golf teams both posted season-low scores during their O-K Black Conference jamboree hosted by the Dux at Crestview Golf Club in Borculo Sept. 17.
The Chix finished third with a 9-hole score of 191, while the Dux were fourth with a 201. The jamboree was held on the par-36 front nine at Crestview.
East was led by Ximena Knittel with a 46. Ashleigh Pomeroy shot a 47, Natalie Bailey carded a 48, and Taya Schanski had a 50.
West got career-best performances from four different golfers. Allison Purtee shot a 49 to lead the Dux. Aaliyah Le and Gabby Hoekwater each shot a 50 while Brynlee DeYoung recorded a 52.
A day later, East went even lower in a dual match against Jenison at Winding Creek Golf Course, posting a team score of 185 to win by 15 strokes. The Chix had five players shoot under 50, led by Schanski and Knittel with 45s.
