By Greg Chrapek
Wyoming-Kentwood News Today Contributor
greer@wktv.org
Heading into the new season, the East Kentwood football team had some high expectations. So far, the Falcons are proving those expectations correct, as three games into the season the team has reeled off three consecutive double-digit wins.
After opening the season with a 55-0 win against Southfield A&T, Kentwood beat Byron Center 42-14 and Grandville 56-35 in the OK Red opener.
In the latest win against Grandville, the game was not as close as the final score indicated as the Falcons led 42-14 at halftime. Kentwood jumped out to a 21-7 lead at the end of the first quarter before doubling the score in the second quarter.
East Kentwood mixed its passing game and the run to gash the Grandville defense. The Falcons totaled 224 passing yards and added 241 yards rushing for a total of 465 yards.
Senior quarterback Colin O’Connor connected on 13-of-20 passes for 224 yards and tossed five touchdown passes to pace the attack while adding 30 yards rushing.
Stephan Jones led the receiving corps with five catches for 97 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Ezekiel Ferrell caught three balls for 39 yards, while Austin Nelson caught one pass for 52 yards and a touchdown. Nelson also added a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
The ground game, which produced 241 yards rushing on 14 attempts (17.2 avg.), was paced by Dallas Moody, who carried the ball three times for 147 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Chris Thompson led with 10 tackles
On the defensive side of the ball, Chris Thompson led the Falcons with 10 tackles, followed by Donavan Jones with seven; Alijah Bondon, four, including two quarterback sacks and a tackle for loss. Dmari Love-Simmons and Tyler Meeuwsen both added six tackles, including a tackle for loss, while Jeremiah Adams, Kenneth Harris and Jayden Stewart also had six apiece.
The Grandville win capped an opening third of the regular season that saw the Falcons hit on all cylinders in the three wins.
“We definitely feel good about every win we can get,” said East Kentwood Coach Tyrone Spencer. “We want to continue to build on that and get better each day in every way we can.”
One area the Falcons will work on is keeping the focus up the entire game.
“We were up 42-14 at the half against Grandville,” Spencer said, “but we were outscored 21-14 in the second half. We also had four penalties in the second quarter. We have to make sure we remain focused in the second half.”
The Falcons are averaging 51 points per game and capable of striking through the air or via the ground game.
Season Stats
O’Connor has completed 71% of his passes for 587 yards with nine touchdown passes against one interception. Stephan Jones leads the receivers with 15 catches for 276 yards (18.4 avg.) and five touchdowns. Nelson has caught two passes for 101 yards and a pair of scores.
Moody leads the running game with 334 yards rushing (15.9 avg.) and six touchdowns.
“Our guys are doing a great job on offense,” Spencer said. “They are executing the gameplan and staying on schedule. Our quarterback is also doing a great job of putting us in the best situations. The guys we are counting on are doing a really, really good job of coming through. Also, a shout out to the offensive staff. They are doing a phenomenal job working with our offense.”
On the defensive side of the ball, Thompson leads the defense with 25 tackles. Bondon is the top playmaker on defense with 4.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. Love-Simmons has 16 tackles along with three tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks, while Donavan Jones and Major Barnes both have 17 tackles apiece.
East Kentwood looks for win No. 4 Friday when it goes on the road to face a Grand Haven with a 2-1 record.
“We have to focus on Grand Haven,” Spencer said. “It will be a challenge to win on the road against a really good Grand Haven team. Our guys will have to be focused and play a full four quarters. I tell our guys we have to get one percent better each day. Offense, defense and special teams, we have to continue to get better and work the kinks out.”
