Districts got started off with a bang in Hudsonville as the Unity Christian Crusaders nearly blew an 11 point halftime lead, narrowly edging out the Coopersville Broncos, 48-46.

Unity Christian controlled much of the first half of this contest, en route to a 29-18 lead at the half, however Coopersville wasn’t about to go down without a fight.  Coming out strong to start the second half, the Broncos were able to whittle down the Crusaders’ lead to only four by the end of the third quarter.  Both teams went back and forth throughout most of the final quarter of play, with Coopersville remaining within striking distance, 42-38 with under two minutes remaining.  The slow first half, however, was too much to overcome, as the Crusaders managed to hang on in what was an exciting, topsy-turvy half of play.  Coopersville senior Chadd Pfahler nailed a three from just inside the half-court line as the final horn blew, giving us the final score of 48-46.

The Broncos managed to use hot outside shooting to help stay in tonight’s game, sinking seven shots from outside the arc.  The Crusaders, on the other hand, made none.  Unity Christian, however, was able to take advantage of a huge difference in trips to the free throw line, nearly tripling Coopersville’s total, shooting 24 freebies compared to nine.

Coopersville was led in scoring by senior Trevor Banks’ 12 points.  Chadd Pfahler, a senior, scored 11, including nailing three shots from downtown.  Senior Nathan Flagg scored nine in the loss, and led the team in free throws, sinking four of six from the charity stripe.

Mitch Sytsma’s 16 points led Unity Christian tonight.  The senior had four field goals and was a perfect eight for eight on free throws.  Tyce Clement, a sophomore, score seven for the Crusaders.  Payton Ponstein (senior), Alec Jolman (freshman) and Travis Vegter (senior) each had six points.

With tonight’s victory Unity Christian advances to the next round of the 52-B District tournament.  They will face off against West Catholic on Wednesday night, with a 7:00 p.m. tipoff.  Be sure to check in with West Michigan All Star for complete coverage of this game!

Matt Philpott Photography was proud to bring you coverage of this game.  Please visit his website for info on ordering prints as well as additional photos!

Payton Ponstein (white) sails in for the layup.

Trevor Brinks (#3) puts up an inside shot.

Eric Brower (white) and Rob Reens (green) tangle as they fight for a rebound.

Travis Vegter (#21) dishes off the pass from inside the lane.

Evan VanderKolk (#2) with a shot near the top of the key.

Mitch Sytsma (#30) and Chadd Pfahler (#21) scramble for the loose ball.

Payton Ponstein (#5) drives the ball from the top of the key.

Nathan Flagg launches up a three pointer.

Alec Capel (#23) with a jumper.

Chadd Pfahler with three of his eleven points.

This Class B District, being played at Unity Christian, in Hudsonville, features two pairs of conference foes, and only one squad that finished the conference season with a record above .500.

Team               Overall Record            Conf. Record             Head-To-Head Record

Zeeland West              10-8                 8-6                                           3-1

Coopersville                9-9                   5-7                                           2-2

Unity Christian           9-10                 6-8                                           2-1

Allendale                     7-12                 6-6                                           0-3

West Catholic             5-14                 4-7                                           1-1

Zeeland West- The Dux finished 3^rd in the OK Green and appear to be the favorites in this District.  They’re the only team to finish the conference season with a winning record, and have already beaten three of the other four schools in this District.  Zeeland West will play at West Catholic in their final game of the regular season, March 4, so they have the potential to possibly have beaten every team in this District.  The Dux were led in scoring by Isaac Hernandez, who scored 174 points on the season.  Hernandez was tied with Braden Werley for the team lead in three-pointers, each draining 14.  Zeeland West should have the easiest path to the District Final— a victory against Allendale in the first round (whom they beat by 20 in January) puts them into the finals.

Coopersville- The Broncos finished 5^th in the OK Blue and come into Districts looking like a team that either runs real hot or real cold.  They have averaged 75 points in their previous two wins, but on the flip side averaged only 51 points in their previous two losses.  Coopersville had two players score over 200 on the season, Nathan Flagg (236) and Trevor Brinks (210).  Flagg also nailed 24 shots from beyond the arc.  The Broncos open up this District tournament on Monday, against host Unity Christian, whom they have not faced this season.  A victory would put them into a matchup against West Catholic, which whom they split the season series.

Unity Christian- The Crusaders ended the conference schedule 5^th in the OK Green.  They’re the only team in this District that has beaten Zeeland West, on a one point 48-47 thriller back in December.  As the host school of this District tourney, one never can count them out—basketball is a sport greatly impacted by crowd intensity, and Unity will likely benefit from that built-in advantage.  Mitch Sytsma led the ‘Saders with 153 points this season, shooting an impressive 76% (32-42) on free throws.  If Unity Christian downs Coopersville on Monday night, they’ll earn the right to square off with West Catholic on Wednesday.

Allendale- The Falcons wrapped up their OK Silver season in 4^th place.  Allendale seems to have had a season with two sides—they were poor 1-6 in non-conference matchups, but then went 6-6 in the tough OK Silver.  The Falcons will have their work cut out for them if they hope to win this District, they are 0-3 in head-to-head games with other schools in the District, and were beaten soundly by their fist round matchup, Zeeland West.  Nate Wiersma was a force for Allendale this year, putting up an impressive 252 points.  Wiersma was able to establish an inside presence, as only nine of those points came from outside the arc.  If Allendale is able to climb the mountain that is Zeeland West, they will find themselves in the District finals on Friday night.

West Catholic- The Falcons finished 6^th in the OK Blue this season, finishing just a half game behind Coopersville.  With a first round bye, West Catholic will get an extra night to rest its players and scout the opposition.  They will face the winner of Monday night’s Coopersville/Unity Christian opener.  Andy Slomski scored a team-high 205 points this season, sinking 24 threes (good for over a third of the team total).  The Falcons will get a bit of a preview of a potential District Final matchup as they play host to Zeeland West on March 4.

The Unity Christian/Coopersville matchup on Monday night should prove to be an exciting, competitive game, but in the end, I predict Zeeland West will win this District.  They’ve got experience against all the other teams in the District, which should prove invaluable when it comes to formulating game plans.  Be sure to check back with West Michigan All Star as we will be providing extensive coverage of all games being played in this District!

Interesting game where physical defense on both sides made for a lot of loose balls and second chances.  Its hard to know what to say about it exactly so we’ll go straight into the photography.

Zach Leach was accurate from the outside and the ball handler of the game.

#4 Rob Reens could you please move your arm so we know who took that nice jumper?

#3 Trevor Brinks with a nice falling away look.

#21 "just out of reach".

#21 Chadd Pfahler "The Postman"

#4 Rob Reens "DELIVERS"

No freebies in this game on either side.

Leach with a foul making Coobersville earn their baskets down the stretch.

Coach Mike Cnossen delivering the message that helped his team hold on to win.

All Photos provided by David Chandler Photography, to see more action from tonight’s game or to purchase prints hit up David’s site.

District #27

Teams: Byron Center, Hamilton, Holland, Holland Christian, Unity Christian, Thornapple-Kellogg, Zeeland East, Zeeland West

The Lowdown: Also known as “Division OK-Green.” Expect this district to mimic the conference tournament. Wyoming Park and Wyoming Rogers are absent (more on them later) and Holland and Thornapple-Kellogg have been thrown into the mix, but every other team belongs to the OK-Green conference and will no doubt enter state playoffs with memories of the conference tournament fresh in their minds. However, you certainly can’t ignore Holland. They haven’t played a lot of the teams in this particular district, but they have proven themselves time and time again against strong teams.

Players to Watch: Travis Vegter, Greg Timmer (Unity Christian); Ryan Jacobs (Holland Christian); Jake Carter, Hadyn Beal (Holland)

Prediction: Unity has a state title to defend, and there’s no reason to believe they won’t do so.

But don’t count out… Holland. Just because they lost to Unity once this season (but then again, who hasn’t?) doesn’t necessarily mean a second potential match-up when it counts will have the same result.

District #28

Teams: Forest Hills Eastern, East Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids Catholic Central, Grand Rapids Christian, Forest Hills Northern, Ottawa Hills, Wyoming Park, Wyoming Rogers

The Lowdown: If any district in West Michigan is up for grabs, this is it. Three of these teams (Forest Hills Eastern, Forest Hills Northern, and Catholic Central) have appeared somewhere in the Division II state rankings throughout the season, though Forest Hills Eastern is the only one still in. Catholic Central recently beat both Forest Hills Eastern and Forest Hills Northern, 1-0. Wyoming Park has lost a couple recent games, though their most recent loss was to Northview, the #2 team in Division II.

Players to Watch: Brandon VanHees (Wyoming Park); Chris Hindenach (Catholic Central)

Prediction: Catholic Central. Just because a team isn’t in the state rankings doesn’t mean they aren’t talented.

But don’t count out… Forest Hills Eastern. Forest Hills Northern. Wyoming Park. Any of these four teams could definitely move on into regionals.

District #29

Teams: Comstock Park, Coopersville, Fruitport, Grand Rapids Creston, Kenowa Hills, Northview, Sparta, Spring Lake

The Lowdown: Northview has maintained consistent possession of the #2 spot in Division II all season long. They have won all but one game this season: a 3-3 tie with Unity on Aug. 30. Spring Lake has also had an impressive season and is easily on top of the Lakes 8 Conference with not one conference loss all season.

Players to Watch: T.J. Van Slooten (Northview); Adam Clauss (Spring Lake)

Prediction: Northview has everything they need to make a deep run in the state tournament and shouldn’t have much trouble advancing to regionals.

But don’t count out… Spring Lake. They haven’t played most of the teams in this district, but they’ve been playing well for much of the season.

QB Mark LaPraire, Rockford, 21-of-27 274 yards and 4 TDs (62%, 83 Votes)
QB/RB Gabe Dean, Lowell, 31 carries for 257 yards and 7 TDs (76%, 104 Votes)
WR Neil VanderLaan, Rockford, 7 catches for 134 yards and 2 TDs (59%, 74 Votes)
Def. Josh Domanski, Coopersville, 10 tackles and held Forest Hills Northern to one score (54%, 110 Votes)

Check out the results for yourself.

Four weeks of football. The same number of weeks in an NFL playoff season. Week four is the hot tamale, the Super Bowl. Thankfully, we get a taste of that same spice and excitement in week four of high school football. Zeeland West “at” Zeeland East. Both stand at a convincing 3-0, which put them in our Top Ten rankings, East at #6 and West at #9.

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.

Before heading over to the Zeeland-All game, make sure to check out our write of games for each team. When the Zeeland East Chix Hatched and when Zeeland West Took to the Air. Heck, go watch some video of Zeeland East and Zeeland West.

Other Top Five games: Hudsonville @ Muskegon, Rockford @ Grand Haven, Caledonia @ Hastings, Coopersville @ Cedar Springs.

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

And be sure to check out the top-20 quarterbacks and rushers from week-3 as well.

Read the full story with The Grand Rapids Press: “GR Catholic Central wins big…”

Catholic quarterback Miles Morrissey threw for 167 yards on 8 of 18 passing, all in the first half.  In response to why he sat the second half “He just got a little dinged there, so we decided to keep him out but he’s fine” said new coach Todd Kolster.

Bronson Hill, who runs a 10.8 second 100 meter dash, showcased every bit of that speed and more with three electrifying touchdown runs – including an 81 yard sprint around the right edge.  No one could find the right angle in pursuit of Hill as he rushed for 186 yards on only 7 carries, not to mention a 55 yard touchdown called back for holding.  Ryan Bradley’s sure hands made four textbook catches for 85 yards and 1 TD, including a game long 64 yard reception.

Coopersville passed for 128 yards, most of which by Rob Glerum, but interceptions in Catholic territory ruined any chance Coopersville had of making it a game.  After Catholic took a quick 16-0 lead Coopersville had opportunities while their defense held.  They forced a fumble that rolled endlessly in to their own end zone, touching multiple hands before Chad Pfahler secured it for a touchback .  “All I could think was hold on to the ball, hold on to the ball” said Pfahler after a tough loss.

The momentum had changed.  The student section, dressed like superheroes, showed life.  But it was not to be.  Late in the second quarter Catholic intercepted Glerum and went on a 15 play, 70 yard touchdown drive to close the half at 24-0.

As intense as the game, was the clever repartee between opposing student sections.  Catholic’s, one of the loudest in recent memory, came en masse.  In fact, if you had not known better you would have thought it was their home game.  This was also due to the fact that Coopersville’s band was wearing blue shirts.  Catholic’s student section baited the Coopersville fans with chants of “We can’t hear you” and “This is our house” as the night grew darker and less optimistic for the home team.

In the second half, Hill added an early touchdown that ended the scoring at 30-0 after the extra point was blocked.  After the game Ryan Terpstra joked “So what’s the goal next week, a 90 yarder” Hill responded, smiling “Just to win.”  Coach Kolster admitted, “They are starting to believe.”  However he was quick to follow by saying, “We’ve got a long way to go.  We still have a huge hill to climb both offensively and defensively.”

Next week Coopersville is at home against Sparta while Grand Rapids Catholic Central hosts Ottawa Hills.  Ottawa Hills will be fresh off a 59 – 6 home loss to Muskegon, their worst defeat since 1952 against Catholic Central.

Only 90-minutes to game time. Let’s go.

Holland Christian (1-0) at West Ottawa (1-0)

The Maroons are without starting quarterback Luke Brower who went 21-of-30 passing for 345 yards and four touchdowns last week against Holland. Senior wide receiver Reid Compagner steps in at quarterback. Compagner found some time under center last year. Against Wyoming Rogers, Compagner went 6-of-13 passing for 91 yards and one touchdown.

Grand Rapids Catholic Central (1-0) at Coopersville (1-0)

First year head coaches Todd VanHouten and Todd Kolster face each other with very similar teams. Big, quick defensive ends Chris Stuyfzand and Casey Nottingham could have Coopersville recording its first win against Catholic Central.

Lowell (1-0) at Forest Hills Central (1-0)

Forest Hills Central faces an uphill battle against the visiting Lowell Red Arrows. Spencer Nehls rushed 183 yards and two touchdowns for the Rangers while quarterback Jack Shull added two more rushing scores. Lowell only allowed 63 yards total yards against Walled Lake Western after Western’s first possession.

Check out Forest Hills Central head coach Greg Ganfield’s post-game report. The Ganfield Report.