By Greg Chrapek
WKTV Contributor
greer@wktv.org
After a tough regular season grind, the South Christian team played some of its best football of the season in the playoffs last fall. This year, with plenty of veteran players returning, the Sailors are poised to build on that momentum.
The Sailors, who have been on a roll as a program the past several years, turned in a 5-4 regular-season record last fall playing in a new-look OK Gold Conference that featured powerhouses like Zeeland West, Forest Hills Central and Unity Christian. That gauntlet of a schedule paid dividends come playoff time as the Sailors reeled off three straight wins before falling to Niles in the Division 4 state semifinals to finish the season with an 8-5 overall record.
With a solid core of players returning from last year’s squad, South Christian is poised for another exciting season.
“We’re excited about the season,” said South Christian Coach Danny Brown. “Obviously, camp was a grind. It was a lot of football, but I thought it went well and the team grew a lot together. We’re excited to see how everything comes together.”
The Sailors will have a different look on the offensive side of the ball this year as two-year starting quarterback Carson Vis has moved on to Western Michigan University where he’ll play basketball this winter.
Taking over the quarterback duties this season is junior Austin Burgess (6-0, 175) who is looking to carry on the Sailor tradition of developing strong dual-threat quarterbacks.
“Austin is a good leader and has a calming presence,” Brown said. “When he plays free and is having fun out there it’s contagious. He has a good command of the offense. He can throw and run, and that dual-threat ability is a good asset to have on offense.”
Burgess will have a big-time receiver to throw the ball to in senior wide receiver Owen Burgess (6-1, 180), a returning all-state performer.
“Owen is a good route runner,” Brown said. “He also has real good hands. He had a good year for us last year and we’re looking for him to have another really good year.”
Behind Burgess are several receivers looking to step up this season who also give the team outstanding depth at the position.
Depth also is a strong point at running back where a trio of ball carriers are in the mix for carries this season. Juniors Isaac Osterhaven (6-0, 195) and Jesse Van De Griend (5-9, 150) and sophomore Kyle Naklizki (5-9, 185) give the Sailors plenty of options.
“This is a year where we are really deep at running back,” Brown said. “We have three guys that can run well. The backfield will be a shared responsibility. It’s going to be nice to spread the ball around and ride these guys.”
South also is deep along the offensive front where several veterans are also back to anchor the line.
Returning at left tackle is junior Jackson Rynalda (6-3, 210), who started last season. Back at right guard is junior Greyson Hunderman (6-0, 205) while senior right tackle Carson Joldersma (6-6, 250) also started some games a year ago.
Rounding out the offensive line is senior left guard Grant Jansen (6-1, 175), who earned some starts last year along with junior center Joseph Gritter (6-0, 195).
“We’re excited about our offensive line group,” Brown said. “They have quite a bit of varsity experience and have played in some big games.”
A key for the Sailors on the offensive side of the ball is establishing the ground game.
“For us the big thing is establishing the running game,” Brown said. “Running the ball will be important for us to create success and to set up the pass.”
On the defensive side the Sailors also return plenty of experience.
Up front, senior Ben Buiter (6-2, 205) is a returning starter that’ll help anchor the defensive line.
Junior defensive lineman Nathan Potter (6-3, 250) also is a returning starter and will make the Sailors tough to run against.
Junior defensive end Gavin Bouma (6-3, 190) also is back after playing in every game a year ago.
“We are going to count on good years from those three guys,” Brown said.
At linebacker, the Sailors return senior Kasjen VanSolkema (5-11, 182) and senior Caleb Wieneke (6-3, 205). Wieneke was a starter last fall and is moving to inside linebacker this season.
Senior Noah Klump (6-0, 155), who started at safety last year, will play a hybrid safety/linebacker position this season.
In the secondary, the Sailors return a pair of starters in junior Mark DeJong (6-1, 175) and Owen Burgess. Sophomore Brody Shilts (6-1, 170) is a returning starter who has a year of experience to draw on. Fellow sophomore Ben Jackson (6-0, 175) was moved up to the varsity for the playoffs last season and also will see playing time in the secondary.
“Defensively we’ve had a scheme change that we have been working on in the offseason,” Brown said. “The kids have taken well to it. The nice thing about this defense is that we have some guys who played meaningful minutes last season and we have some guys ready to step in and provide depth. I’m excited about our defense this season.”
As usual, the Sailors face a rugged schedule not only in the conference, but out of the conference. South Christian opens at Grand Rapids Christian on Friday in the WKTV Game of the Week and then takes on East Grand Rapids in Week 2.
The conference schedule again includes defending Division 3 state champion Zeeland West along with playoff teams like Forest Hills Central, Unity Christian and Zeeland East. The Sailors close out the regular season against Grand Rapids Catholic Central.
“It’s a tough league,” Brown said. “There are a lot of really good football teams in the OK Gold. There are teams that have had a ton of success and a ton of playoff success. It is definitely in my opinion one of the toughest conferences around.”
