Grandville and Jenison were both looking for their first OK Red conference win as they squared off on Friday night.  The Wildcats, in fact, were looking for their first win in general, after losing four very close games by a combined ten points.  After clinging to a slim one point margin at the end of the first quarter, the Bulldogs were unable to overcome the Jenison offensive attack, as the Wildcats posted a strong 57-46 victory.

After trailing Grandville by a score of 10-9, the Jenison offense came alive, never being outscored in any of the final three quarters.  The Wildcats‘ attack was led by senior Eric Evans, who brought home 23 points, leading all scorers.  The turning point for Jenison came in the second and third quarters, in which the Wildcats outscored the Bulldogs by a combined score of 32-22, the ten point gap proved to be too much for Grandville to overcome.

Seth Cook led the Bulldogs in scoring, with a team-high 12 points.  Joey Lanning and Sean Rogers each chipped in 10 points.  Jenison‘s Cory Barrigear also scored 10.

Jenison improves their record to 1-4 overall, 1-1 in the OK Red.  Their next action will be on Tuesday, as they travel to West Ottawa.  Grandville falls to 1-4 overall, 0-2 in the OK Red.  The Bulldogs will take to the road and square off against East Kentwood this upcoming Tueday.

Matt Philpott Photography was proud to bring you coverage of tonight’s game.  Please visit his website to learn view other sports action, or to learn more about services he offers!

Zeeland West entered tonight’s game looking to build upon a successful first game of their season.  Conversely, Byron Center was looking to get their season going after a bad loss to open their season.  The Bulldogs fell in a deep hole early on, trailing 12-4 at the end of the first quarter, but came thundering back in the second to send teams to the locker rooms tied at 24.

The Dux narrowly edged out Byron Center during play in the third, despite putting the Bulldogs in the bonus midway through the quarter, and came into the final quarter of regulation with a slim 35-32 lead.  As Byron Center appeared to run out of gas in the final eight minutes of play, Zeeland West’s offense managed its most productive quarter of play, scoring 16 points en-route to a 51-45 final.

Zeeland West ups its record to 2-0 overall, 1-0 in the OK Green.  The Dux will next host cross-street rival Zeeland East on Friday night.  Byron Center falls to 0-2 on the year, 0-1 in the OK Green.   The Bulldogs see action again on Friday night when they travel to Hamilton.

Matt Philpott Photography was proud to bring you coverage of tonight’s game.  Please be sure to visit his website to view more sports action photos, or to learn about purchasing prints!

On a night when defense ruled and offenses struggled to gain any consistency, the Zeeland East never seemed worried.  Being held off the board for majority of the game, the Chix kept their heads up and managed to find just enough offense at just the right time in the fourth quarter, to score a come-from-behind 13-7 victory over the visiting Byron Center Bulldogs.

Zeeland East and Byron Center both traded punts on their first possessions of the night.  Although the Chix second drive stalled just like the first, they had an early scoring opportunity with a 35 yard field goal attempt, with a stiff breeze at their backs.  Gabe Boss‘ kick had the leg but it sailed wide left.  On the ensuing possession, Byron Center put together an impressive 82 yard march down the field, eating up over five minutes of first quarter play.  The drive was capped off when Garrett Cross rumbled into the end zone from six yards out, giving the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead with just under a minute left in the first quarter.

Neither Zeeland East or Byron Center could get anything going offensively during the second quarter.  The Chix first possession ended in a punt, as did the Bulldogs‘.  The Chix second possession of the quarter ended in another punt, as did the Bulldogs‘.  Zeeland East turned the ball over on downs on their final possession of the half, and Byron Center ran the clock out, content to take a 7-0 lead into the locker room.

The second half picked up right where the first half ended– with one punt after another.  Byron Center punted the ball away on each of their first three second half possessions, and Zeeland East had a punt, turnover on downs, and a fumble.  The Bulldogs had a chance to extend their lead on their fourth possession, attempting a 40 yard field goal, but the knuckle-ball of a kick missed the uprights wide left.

Finally, with 8:46 left in regulation, Zeeland East got on the scoreboard, when Casey VanHoof struck Alex Robbins for a 30 yard touchdown pass, knotting the score up 7-7.  Energized by the late score, the Chix defense forced a Bulldogs punt.  Zeeland East’s offense took the field looking to build off their previous possession, and build they did.  On their first play from scrimmage Spencer Viening took a handoff, slipped through the Byron Center defense, and raced down the field for a 43 yard game-winning touchdown.  The extra point kick was no-good, but the Chix found themselves ahead 13-7, their first lead of the night.  There were still six and a half minutes to go and Byron Center looked to possibly have a strong comeback drive, but an ill-timed holding penalty called back a long  Jake Tetreault completion that would have put the Bulldogs securely into Chix territory.  Following the penalty the Byron Center offense sputtered, giving Zeeland East the ball back on downs, and allowing them to run the clock out for a victory.

Byron Center falls to 4-4 on the season following tonight’s loss.  They now stand at 4-2 in the OK Green.  The Bulldogs will host Zeeland West next week in their regular season finale.  Zeeland East improves to 7-1 overall, and 5-1 in the OK Green.  They will host Hamilton next week in what is their final regular season game.

Josh Snyder (#1) and Michael Greenlund (#56) bring the ball-carrier down.

Garrett Cross (white) had 59 rushing yards and a touchdown.

Alex Robbins looks in a game-tying touchdown pass from Casey VanHoof.

Jacob Fuller (#10) and Zack Gnass (#56) wrestle the rusher to the turf

Spencer Viening runs by defenders for his game-winning touchdown.

Matt Philpott Photography was happy to bring you coverage of tonight’s action.  Please visit his website to view photos from this and other games!

Despite the bitter nip of a gusty wind on Friday night, the homecoming crowd at Grand Haven High School was lively and energetic.  The players on the field gave fans plenty to cheer about, as they easily defeated the visiting Grandville Bulldogs 41-13.

Grandville drew first blood, taking an early 3-0 lead thanks to a 30 yard field goal by Alex Crisan on their first possession.  Grand Haven was quick to respond, answering with a 19 yard Scott Staal touchdown pass on their first possession, taking a 7-3 lead.  Both teams struggled to sustain any other first quarter drives, with the second quarter starting with that same 7-3 score.

The Buccaneers extended their lead midway through the second, scoring another touchdown, this time on the legs of Dakota Smith, widening Grand Haven’s lead to 14-3.  Grandville was now the one to answer quickly, putting up a touchdown of their own, with Colin DeKam connecting with Dean DeVries from 17 yards out, closing the gap to 14-10.  With just under two minutes before halftime Grand Haven managed to find the end zone one more time, with Devin Howard scoring on a 15 yard rush, making the score 21-10.

If the Bulldogs were going to remain in the game, they were going to need to hold Grand Haven when they received possession to start the second half.  Grand Haven quickly put a damper on any of those hopes, however, driving down the field for a touchdown in just under two minutes, with Devin Howard finding pay dirt for the second time, this touchdown coming from 14 yards out.  The score was now 28-10 in favor of the Buccaneers.  Grandville did manage to get some points on the board in the third quarter, kicking a field goal with 5:52 left in the third, but that was the last of their scoring.  Grand Haven did score one more touchdown in the third, with Scott Staal tossing his second touchdown of the contest, this one to Matt Kroll from 14 yards out.

Things got interesting in the fourth quarter, but unfortunately for Grandville, it wasn’t due to any sort of comebacks.  With about eight minutes left in the game, the south-east light standard went out.  Officials stopped the game for a brief moment to talk, and the decision was made to continue play with only three of the standards working.  Moments later, the south-west light standard also went out, in the middle of a Grand Haven extra point kick attempt.  The kick, by the way, was no-good, and following a Dakota Smith touchdown run, the score was 41-13, where it remained until time expired.  With half the field now engulfed in darkness, game officials met with both coaching staffs.  The Grandville special teams impatiently took the field, yelling to continue play, and eventually the decision was made to play.  To help keep lighting situations safe, officials decided to have Grandville/Grand Haven flip sides of the field, so Grandville could receive the impending kick in the light.  If their drive were to cross midfield, the first play after the crossing took place would be turned around, so that the offense would now be coming into the light.  Both teams had a possession under these rules, but neither of them had to “turn around.”  Eventually, with only a couple minutes remaining in regulation, both light standards turned back on.

With this loss, Grandville falls to 0-6 on the season, 0-4 in the OK Red.  They will look for their first win of 2011 next week when they host Rockford.  Grand Haven improves 5-1 overall, 3-1 in the OK Red.  They remain in a three-way tie for second, with West Ottawa and Muskegon, both of whom were also victorious tonight.  The Buccaneers will travel to East Kentwood next week.

Colin DeKam rushed for 120 yards, in addition to passing for 190.

Dakota Smith goes up and over the defender for his first score of the game.

Courtney Myers takes the ball up the middle.

Devin Howard ran for 214 yards and two touchdowns.

Ryan Bischoff runs for the outside edge.

Matt Kroll hauls in a touchdown reception.

Dean DeVries surveys the incoming defense.

Scott Staal threw for 98 yards and two touchdowns.

Matt Philpott Photography was excited to bring you coverage of tonight’s game.  Please be sure to visit his website to learn how you can order prints from this fall’s high school football action!

The Bulldogs‘ offense had little trouble with the Golden Hawks‘ defense in the first quarter, as they raced out to a 22-0 lead, scoring on each of their first three possessions.  Touchdown number one came via a six yard rumble by Garrett Cross.  Cross again found the end zone, this time from 23 yards out, accounting for the second Byron Center score of the quarter.  Finally, Jake Tetreault scored on a QB-keeper plunge up the gut from the one yard line, with just over two minutes left in the first.

Wyoming Rogers struggled to establish itself on offense all night.  The Golden Hawks were forced to punt on their first possession.  Their second possession was cut short thanks to a Byron Center interception by Ryan Ashbaugh.  Another punt was the result of their third possession.  Yet another turnover ended the fifth possession, and so on.  Byron Center put strong pressure on Jack Rozema seemingly every time he dropped back to pass, and when Rozema tried to dish the ball off for a run, more often than not there was nowhere for the ball-carrier to go.

Byron Center scored on its first possession of the second quarter, making it four straight possessions ending with a touchdown.  This fourth drive was capped off with a 32 yard touchdown pass from Jake Tetreault to Zach Busing.  Following this score, which made the score 29-0 in favor of the Bulldogs, Wyoming Roger’s defense clamped down, forcing a Byron Center punt and a turnover on downs, during the next two Byron Center possessions.  The Golden Hawks offense, however, still struggled to find consistency.

Wyoming Rogers received possession to start the second half of play, trailing 29-0.  Their drive progressed to midfield before Byron Center’s defense did its best impression of a brick wall, forcing a turnover on downs as they held tight on a fourth and one attempt by the Golden Hawks.  The Bulldogs put yet more points on the board with their first possession of the second half, as Jeff Saltzgarber scored on a 41 yard run.  With the score now at 35-0, a running clock began.  After forcing another Wyoming Rogers punt, Byron Center scored again, this time on the legs of Cody Lenhart, as he ran the ball in from nine yards out.

Quarter number four started with the game already decided, with Byron Center leading 42-0.  The Bulldogs had one more touchdown left in them, with Christian Thompson finding paydirt, making the game 48-0.  The offensive woes continued for Wyoming Rogers, as on their next possession the ball was fumbled away, being picked up by Byron Center’s Justin McCullough.  With possession once more, Byron Center now ran out the clock, mercifully ending the game, with a final score of 48-0.

Wyoming Rogers falls to 1-4 on the season, 0-3 in OK Green play.  They will next face off against the undefeated Zeeland West Dux.  Tonight’s victory puts Byron Center at 2-3 overall, 2-1 in the OK Green.  Their next game will be next Friday as they host the winless Wyoming Park Vikings.

Garrett Cross takes the ball, looking for a hole in the defense.

Tyrease Lewis with a kick return.

Tyler Roon slips just out of reach of the Rogers defender.

Christopher Wisner makes a hole for the rush.

Zach Busing hauls in a pass.

The Rogers defense swarms the ball.

Jake Lancaster loads up for a pass.

Jack Rozema looks for a running lane.

Cody Lenhart wraps up a tackle.

Jacob Dagley races to the outside.

Matt Philpott Photography was happy to bring you coverage of tonight’s action.  Please be sure to visit his website to learn how you can order prints from this, and other, football action!

The teams may have taken the field a day late, but as the saying goes, the show must go on, and that’s exactly what happened as the Grandville Bulldogs went to nearby Hudsonville to play the conference-leading Eagles.  West Michigan All Star was on hand to cover the first game of a rain-delayed double header, and we were treated to a tense, back-and-forth contest.

For much of the game, runs were hard to come by.  Hudsonville jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, but Grandville immediately responded with a run in each of their next two half-innings.  It seemed that as soon as a potential rally would start, the opposing defense quickly managed to record a key out, promptly holding the damage to a run.    Trailing 2-1 in the fifth, the Eagles knotted things back up, just as before, however, the Bulldogs put up a run of their own in the top of the sixth, taking the lead once more.

With just six offensive outs left at their disposal, Hudsonville entered the bottom of the sixth knowing it was do-or-die time, and after being held quiet for much of the afternoon, their bats finally came alive.  The Eagles tacked up three runs, the first time a team managed to score more than one run in an inning.  The inning was capped by a screaming line-drive home run to right.  Grandville was unable to respond in their half of the seventh inning, and Hudsonville walked away from the diamond with the victory in game one, to a final score of 5-3.

Hudsonville pitching held Grandville to only three runs in a victory.

Bulldogs bats were quick to respond to early runs by the Eagles.

The Hudsonville runner dives back to safety on this pickoff attempt.

Both teams had to battle the sun and a strong crosswind.

Timely hitting kept the Eagles within striking distance.

The Bulldogs allowed only one run through the first four innings.

The Eagles defense responded when called upon.

The Grandville runner slides back to first to avoid being picked off on a pitch out.

Fans witnessed a pitching duel for five innings.

A Bulldogs run slides safely across home.

A three-run sixth spelled victory for Hudsonville.

Grandville held Hudsonville scoreless for three straight innings.

Matt Philpott Photography was happy to provide photo coverage of today’s action.  Please visit his website to view additional photos!

Following back-to-back wins over OK Red front runners Rockford and Muskegon, Hudsonville entered their game at Grandville with momentum on their side.  That momentum remained strong as the Eagles easily defeated the Bulldogs by ten, 56-46 on Tuesday night.

Coach Eric Elliott’s Eagles came out of the gate running as they quickly opened up at 20-11 lead at the end of the first quarter.  The Bulldogs, led by head coach Kyle VanderWall, were not about to roll over, however, as they started the second quarter on a 9-5 run, bringing them within five points at the midway point of the quarter.  Any ground they gained in the second quarter was quickly lost in the third, as the Hudsonville outscored Grandville 17-10.

Needing only to eat time, the Eagles slowed the pace of the game down in the final quarter of play.  Grandville tried to save valuable clock time by starting to play ‘Hack-a-Shaq’, but the tactic backfired as Hudsonville shot an impressive 83% (15-18) from the charity stripe.  Free throws also played a significant role for Grandville as they only attempted one freebie all game.

Junior, Blake Hibbitts, led the way for the Eagles, scoring a game-high 23 points and pulling down six rebounds.  He was also a perfect 8-8 from the free throw line.  Also in double digits for Hudsonville were juniors Hunter Prince and BJ VanLoo, each putting up 10 points.

Ben Lanning, a senior, put up a team-leading performance for the Bulldogs, scoring 14 points and hauling in eight boards.  Senior, Davon Wade, knocked in 11 points of his own, including his team’s only free throw.  Caleb Cook, also a senior, drained two threes en-route to an eight point showing.

With tonight’s win Hudsonville has a three game OK Red winning streak going.  They improve their conference record to 6-5, and overall record to 8-8.  They next play conference powerhouse East Kentwood at home on Friday.  Grandville drops to 6-10 overall with the loss, and 3-8 in the OK Red.  Their next action sees them travelling to Muskegon to challenge the Big Reds on Friday.

Cody VanNoord (#2) forces his way in for a layup.

A potential rebound falls just out of reach of Ben Lanning (left).

BJ VanLoo (#42) backs his way into the key.

Davon Wade (#5) drives in from the outside.

Jake Blauwkamp (left), BJ VanLoo (center) and Ben Lanning (right) fight for a rebound.

Blake Hibbitts moves the ball on offense.

Ben Lanning (#10) with two of his 14 points.

Hunter Prince (blue) struggles to get the low shot off, Ben Lanning (white) on defense.

Jake Blauwkamp (#12) takes off to the races after pulling in a loose ball.

BJ VanLoo (#42) hauls in a rebound.

Matt Philpott Photography was please to bring you tonight’s photographs and game recap.  Please visit his website to get info on how you can purchase prints from the game, as well as view additional preview photos.

East Grand Rapids took down Byron Center in the District semifinals on Friday, final score of 45-29.  This was East’s 29th consecutive victory.

The Pioneers were the better team this night, but Friday’s game foreshadows a tendency to start slowly out of the gate.  This is something they must shore up if they are to reclaim their state championship throne for the fifth consecutive year.

The story of the game is best told by David Chandler Photography.  Action shots and the rest of the gallery are available here.

Looks like a pick is actually a touchdown for Byron Center to put them up early | DavidChandlerPhoto.com

East's Nick Mulhall on the go | DavidChandlerPhoto.com

Ryan Elble directs traffic before throwing a first down | DavidChandlerPhoto.com

Directing the front line | DavidChandlerPhoto.com

East wideouts found openings when Elble had time to work | DavidChandlerPhoto.com

Pep talk for the D | DavidChandlerPhoto.com

Byron Center found room to run in the second half | DavidChandlerPhoto.com

Byron Center's defense played with intensity | DavidChandlerPhoto.com

In the end, East was just too good | DavidChandlerPhoto.com

Grandville took home their first Division 1 rugby state championship on Saturday.  Congratulations and pats on the back abounded, as well they should.  Your first state championship is always sweet.

Except that wasn’t Grandville’s first state rugby championship.

It wasn’t even their first championship of the day.

Grandville’s B team won the Division 3 state championship, beating Berkley 32-8 in the first game of the tripleheader. After West Ottawa won its third consecutive state title by beating Washtenaw 46-10 in the Division 2 final, Grandville’s A team captured the Division 1 state championship with a 19-5 victory against Catholic Central.

Michigan high school rugby teams are assigned to postseason divisions according to how they fared during the regular season, with the better teams playing in Division 1. Until Saturday, no school in the MYRA’s roughly 15-year history of state championships had won two state finals on the same day.

Fielding two teams from one school has the potential to dilute the talent pool on either or both teams, making it more difficult to be successful at the highest levels.  Try telling that to the Bulldogs, who proved on Saturday that a significant chunk of their school is better on the rugby field than most established rugby teams.

Pretty safe to say that this ridiculous accomplishment will stand the test of time.  That is, unless Grandville fields three teams in 2011.

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WMC's Evan Bruinsma lead the way for the Warriors

One more game to make history.  The last time a boys basketball team from West Michigan won three consecutive state titles, Kalamazoo Central in 1949-51, people watched the game on this doohickey.  You wanna talk greater Grand Rapids area?  Well, then you’re talking Grand Haven in 1933-35, when they didn’t even have anything to watch.  Now, after one of the most thrilling contests of the season, Western Michigan Christian has the opportunity to do it again.

It. Was. Not. Easy.

After playing much of the game with a good-sized lead, in the end the Warriors won by about six inches — the distance by which Covert guard Amere May Jr. missed a game-winning jumper as the buzzer sounded. Western Michigan Christian held on for a 62-61 victory, in a game that people will continue talking about for years.

(On that note, will somebody please pat me on the back, or buy me a Coke or something?  I was darn near prescient yesterday.)

Western Michigan Christian erupted early, playing their way to a 19-10 first quarter lead (a lead, it turns out, that would sustain them the entire game).  C0vert managed to stem the bleeding during the second quarter, playing WMC even to go into halftime down 37-28.  Covert made up ground for the first time in the third quarter, ending the period down only eight (51-43).  That’s when the fun started.

Backs against the wall, the cornered Bulldogs rallied.  They chipped steadily away at the Warriors lead, playing with an intensity unmatched by either team throughout the first three quarters.  Their flurry of basketball urgency was almost enough, too.  They came up only inches short.

May lead the way with a game-high 26-points on 11-for-25 shooting, while teammate Demonte Atkins tallied 17-points.  For Western Michigan Christian, all-state forward Evan Bruinsma lead with 18-points and 13-rebounds, while London Burris and Omari Lewis each scored 14-points.

Insider’s perspective

After following the Warriors for a couple years now, the Muskegon Chronicle’s Ron Rop caught something interesting near the end of Thursday’s game:

His (WMC coach Jim Goorman) team had not played one second of zone all season long, but did against the Bulldogs. Goorman went to a 2-1-2 zone and also used a Box-and-1 against May…

Is this something worth writing home about?  Probably not.  May is a unique talent, and the Warriors are unlikely to repeat their zone-liness in the finals against Marine City Cardinal Mooney.  But it’s worth keeping an eye on, if only as proof positive that WMC has the intelligence and savvy to maintain poise in the most unusual situations.

Looking to the future

All that stands between Western Michigan Christian and a historical three-peat is Marine City Cardinal Mooney, who beat Eben Junction Superior Central 66-55 in the second Class-D semifinal.  The Cardinals are an excellent team in their own right, but after surviving Covert the Warriors are well set up for a victory.

Pay attention on Saturday, because this very well could be one of those times about which we’ll all reminisce for the next fifty-odd years, saying “I remember when…”

Congrats on making it to the finals, WMC.  You’ve played some fantastic basketball, and you should be very proud of your season.  But we as fans know you’re not satisfied.  And neither are we.

There’s history to be made.

Keep up with the latest action and analysis by becoming a WMA fan on Facebook, or join the conversation by following WMA on Twitter.  Heck, even start your own topic over at Allstars Among Us.