Read the full story with The Grand Rapids Press: “Ally Bremer helps lead East Grand Rapids…”

Read the full story with The Grand Rapids Press: “Shutout of Comstock Park in volleyball…”

Read the full story with The Grand Rapids Press: “Forest Hills Northern girls golf team…”

Jason is a gifted player possessing speed and has a dangerous shot. Last season Jason had 24 goals and 32 assists and was selected to the Division 1 all-state first team.

Read the full story with The Grand Rapids Press: “Jason Stacy follows successful family path…”

Read the full story with The Grand Rapids Press: “Versatility, speed pay for Hudsonville…”

Check out West Michigan All-Star’s exclusive coverage of the top 5 games of the week on ESPN 96.1, West Michigan’s new choice for sports.

Tune your radio stations to 96.1 to hear Terp and West Michigan All Star breakdown these five key match ups each day this week.

Grand Haven @ West Ottawa, Byron Center @ Zeeland West, Kenowa Hills @ Lowell, Ottawa Hills @ Grand Rapids Catholic Central, and Hudsonville @ East Kentwood.

We’ll give you our prediction and analysis of each key game.

Make sure to send us your comments below.

(Incomplete info: Zen Zimmer, Boyd Meeker, Ryan Hobby, Shawn Keller)

Check out the top-20 rushers and receivers from week-2 too.

 The numbers alone prove East Kentwood’s dominance in boys’ and girls’ soccer. Nine district titles, three regional titles, two state titles—the only two in Division I to come out of West Michigan in boys’ soccer, in fact, and all of this in the past ten years. At least two boys on first team all-state Division I every year for the past five years and at least one girl on first team all-state Division I every year for the past five except 2009. Four players who’ve been named to the state’s dream team—the best of the best—since 2007, all of whom have gone on to play Division I soccer at the college level.

And yet, despite all this success, what does boys’ and girls’ head coach John Conlon tell his players?

  “Embrace the struggle,” he said. “Enjoy the good and the bad. Sometimes things don’t work out your way and you have to be okay with that. That’s what we preach to our kids.”

 For all their accomplishments, life as an East Kentwood soccer player is hardly just about soccer. Though the game is important, school, family, and service to the community are even more important.

 “School and family come before the game,” Conlon said. “That’s the number one thing: that you’re a good citizen and a good student and a good person.”

 Conlon said that their players take part in a lot of different volunteering and community opportunities, such as running free clinics for the Kentwood Soccer Club and working with the AYSO VIP program, which gives children and adults who might have difficulty playing on a mainstream team for a variety of mental or developmental reasons the opportunity to experience playing soccer.

 This desire to give back to the community makes sense when you consider how much of an impact the community has on the team.

“I think it takes a village to raise a child and a community to raise a program,” Conlon said. “We have great parent support.”

 John Turner, a 2007 East Kentwood grad and current Hope College soccer player, also said the community has a big impact on the East Kentwood’s program.

 “At East Kentwood we had a great fan base and support from the community as well as nice facilities to use,” Turner said. “As for our conference I would say we have the most student body following compared to other schools.”

 The community’s support is just one of the factors in the program’s success.

 “We have very dedicated coaches and most importantly we have very talented players,” Conlon said. “We have a culture of success now in terms of kids wanting to be involved and be part of the process.”

According to Turner, the success of the program comes from its leadership.

“Coaching is number one,” Turner said in answer to what makes the program so consistently successful. “John Conlon is an excellent coach and knows exactly what he is doing. He can get the best out of his players at all times.”

 The best Division I soccer in Michigan has been concentrated from Lansing eastward for a long time. East Kentwood has changed that. High-quality coaching, dedicated and talented players, and community support have brought first-class soccer to the heart of West Michigan.

1. Rockford (2-0): The Rams avenged their lost to Holt in the Division 1 regional finals last year on a last-second field goal by junior Steve Mette. Little things like having a reliable kicker go unnoticed a lot in high school football. There’s little chance of the Rams falling down the rankings until October 1^st when Muskegon rolls into town. Linebacker Brett Egnatuck continues to lead the Rams defense with 14 tackles last week.

2. Lowell (2-0):  Lowell plays leap frog with East Grand Rapids, but don’t read much into it. Looking at the numbers, quarterback Gabe Dean couldn’t be any more balanced. The junior QB is 23-for-33 passing for 286 yards and three TDs and has rushed for 290 yards and two TDs on 30 carries. The Red Arrow’s defense has looked stellar so far.

3. East Grand Rapids (2-0): Make that 21 consecutive victories. Like I said, take the Lowell and East swap with a grain of salt. Coach Pete Stuursma does a great job of spreading playing time so that players get the experience they need. They’re in no danger of losing a game until they visit Lowell.

4. Muskegon (1-1): 1^st year head coach Shane Fairfield picked up his first win in convincing fashion last week with a 59-6 stomping of Ottawa Hills last week. Everything seemed to click for the Big Reds. Defensively, Muskegon had no problem containing dual threat quarterback Jalen Couch and fighting off the Bengal’s large offensive line.  Offensively, everything worked beautifully. Quarterback Kevonte Keyes only had passed twice and connected on both attempts while still rushing for 101 yards.

5. Grand Haven (2-0): The ‘Bucs pillaged all of Traverse City the last two weeks and now it’s time for Dalton Stenberg to unleash his bruising body against the OK-Red. Stenberg already has five rushing touchdowns and another blocked punt for a score. Friday night at West Ottawa is just the test the ‘Bucs need to judge their chances against Muskegon and Rockford.

6. Grand Rapids Christian (2-0): No team in the OK Conferences has scored more points than the Eagles (110) in their first two games. New head coach Don Fellows kept his fairly balanced in both games. Big, bruising fullback Andre Davis already has six touchdowns to his name while quarterback Matt Grasmeyer has passed for six scores.

7. Zeeland East (2-0): The new-look Chix are overpowering teams early with their size and speed. Quarterback T.J. VanDyken looked excellent in week one going 10-for-10 with 99 yards while running back Brad Horling continues to impress with his lower body strength and five scores this season.

8. Kenowa Hills (2-0): The Knights have scored at least a touchdown in the last seven quarters of play, and have not missed an extra point yet. Running backs Kitwana Clark and Tito Wingfield have split the season evenly on the ground. If they can get by Lowell this Friday and Grand Rapids Christian next Friday, the Knights are in the clear.

9. West Ottawa (2-0): Things don’t get any easier for the Panthers, thou. With three top-ten teams on their plate in the coming weeks, West Ottawa has a lot to prove. Yes, they pummeled Jackson and Holland Christian 99-9, but both teams didn’t bring much of an aerial threat. Their linebacker corps led by Desmond Morgan and Garrett Daniel has played stellar while running back Zac Boersema continues to shift up the field efficiently.

10. Byron Center (2-0): The ‘Dogs have a very good chance at repeating as conference champs, but only if they get passed both Zeeland West and Zeeland East. Mark October 22^nd on your calendar: Zeeland East at Byron Center. That should determine who wins the conference.

Bubble teams: Catholic Central, Zeeland West, Hudsonville, and Ottawa Hills

Week 2 Top 10 Teams

Week 1 Top 10 Teams

Jaylin Staten from Grand Rapids Christian and Wade Paris from Fremont are based on incomplete data, so if you have corrections, please let us know in the comments.

Check out the top 20 rushers here, and the top 20 quarterbacks here.