August 27, 2010
On a perfect night for football, East Grand Rapids defeated Jenison 43-11 in front of a home crowd that was engaged and excited from start to finish. East quarterback Ryan Elble threw for 127 yards and 2 touchdowns but the night belonged to senior safety/fullback Sam Nystrom.
East Grand Rapids trailed 3-0 early until Nystrom grabbed the momentum and the ball on a fumble recovery. His 70 yard return for a touchdown stopped an impressive Jenison drive and helped East recover from two early fumbles. “We were ready to go but I don’t think we were together as a team. Once we scored our first touchdown everyone got hyped, turned on, they were in the mode. Our defense played a great game” said Nystrom.
Jenison was led by running back Tyler Hoezee (13 carries, 59 yards, 1 TD) and his punishing running style. The 5’11, 215 lb Hoezee continually and consistently ran over East defenders. However the passing game struggled for Jenison and they were forced to air it out as East pulled away in the second half.
Jenison returned the opening kickoff to the East 38. From there the defenses took over in the first quarter. On 4th and 1 from the East 29, Jenison came to the line ready to go for it. The deep and sudden sound of crashing metal was unmistakable as East fans pounded their feet on the bleachers. Jenison never had the opportunity to run a play as they were flagged for a false start.
Pinned deep in their own territory, East fumbled. Jenison capitalized with a field goal and an early 3-0 lead on a 34 yard field goal from Jesse Fulkerson. East running back David Drummond foreshadowed a brilliant second half with a long first quarter run that was called back for holding. Despite the setback he finished with a game high 152 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
Each side traded fumbles until Nystrom’s return for a touchdown. With the momentum on their side, East kicker Bobby Aardema booted a knuckleball on the ensuing kickoff that confused and pinned Jenison inside their 10. Elble added a 1 yard keeper up the middle of Jenison’s defense for a 14-3 lead at halftime.
Jenison again played solid defense and held East to start the second half. However, three unsuccessful plays and a failed fake punt at midfield ended their drive and their chances. Drummond quickly gained 40 yards on a run, that invoked Brandon Marshall’s game-winning TD against Dallas last year. Nystrom then provided his own excitement, flipping over a defender on his way to a 10 yard receiving touchdown. Drummond added a 2 point conversion.
From there East and Jenison traded rushing touchdowns by Drummond and Hoezee to bring the score to 29-11. East answered quickly with a jump ball to the back of the end zone caught by DeAndre Grady. Grady (2 catches, 17 yards) made two great catches and Nick Mulhall (3 catches, 97 yards) was a deep threat that connected with Elble for a 67 yard reception.
Drummond added his second touchdown on a 26 yard run and Jenison’s Gus Penning (4 catches, 89 yards) provided some late game excitement as East closed with a 43-11 victory and optimism for the future. “We started the game tight. Maybe that’s the first game. They will be better when they relax and that will come” said East coach Peter Stuursma. Jenison played both Zecheriah Keen and Jordan VanDyk at quarterback. Keen and VanDyk both showed moments of brilliance but also moments of inconsistency. Keen’s late passing surge (4-10 72 yards) may have given him the edge moving forward.
High quality action shots from the game are available from David Chandler Photography.
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