By Greg Chrapek
Wyoming-Kentwood News Today Contributor
greer@wktv.org
Last season, South Christian lost four games by a touchdown or less. This season, with many of those same players back, the Sailors are coming out on the other end of those close games.
Last Friday evening, South Christian won a second straight game by three points or less when it defeated Zeeland West 19-16. The Sailors won the game in dramatic fashion as Hudson Kerstetter kicked a 19-yard field goal with two seconds remaining on the clock. The win improved South Christian’s record to 4-1 for the season, while Zeeland West fell to 4-1.
“The biggest unknown coming into the season was that we lost four games by seven points or less last season,” said South Christian Coach Danny Brown. “A lot of those guys are back from that team, but you can’t just assume that they learned from that experience and will win those games this year. Understanding it and doing it are two different things.”
South Christian played with the lead for most of the game as it took a 6-0 edge during the first quarter. Brody Shilts scored the first Sailor touchdown of the game when he ran in from two-yards out midway through the first quarter putting the Sailors up 6-0.
South Christian led 13-0 at halftime
The Sailors upped the lead to 13-0 late in the second quarter as Houston Wildeboer connected with Jesse VanderGriend on a 19-yard touchdown pass with 27 seconds remaining in the first half. Kerstetter added the extra point giving the Sailors a 13-0 margin heading into halftime.
South Christian increased its lead to 16-0 at the 8:24 mark of the third quarter when Kerstetter kicked a 25-yard field goal.
Zeeland, however, was not about to go down without a fight and the Dux got on the scoreboard late in the third. West quarterback Drew Albrecht ran in for a touchdown from four-yards out with 2:51 remaining in the third. Albrecht then hit Kenny Howe with a pass to add a two-point conversion that shaved the Sailor lead in half to 16-8.
West tied the game midway through the fourth quarter as Brandon Holman ran in from four-yards out for a touchdown with 6:43 remaining. The Dux added the two-point conversion to tie when Albrecht ran it in.
The game came down to the final drive which Kerstetter capped with the field goal with two seconds left.
“Our defense did a really good job,” Brown said. “They did not give up any big plays. Zeeland was getting a lot of three and four-yard gains and picking up first downs, but they didn’t break any big plays. That was a big thing for us, to focus on limiting the explosive plays. That’s how Zeeland hurts teams.”
Gavin Bouma led Sailors with eight tackles
The South Christian defense was led by Gavin Bouma who totaled eight tackles and Jack Weiss, seven. Jack Buist, Brody Shilts and Xander Burgess added six tackles apiece, while Nathan Potter totaled five. Joe Gritter, Daxton Blackport, Cameron In’tHout, Cody Jones and Jackson Ringnalda all added four tackles in a total team effort on defense.
Houston Wildeboer led South with 81 yards on 15 carries
On the offensive side of the ball, Houston Wildeboer led the Sailor ground game with 81 yards on 15 carries. Wildeboer also completed four of five passes for 27 yards. Austin Burgess also connected on seven of 10 passes for 63 yards. Jesse VanderGriend led South in receiving with four catches for 65 yards.
The win against Zeeland West comes after a big 34-33 comeback win against Unity Christian the week before. In that game the Sailors trailed 27-7 at halftime before rallying in the second half to win the game 34-33.
“I think the kids had to believe,” Brown said. “To say we got a shot and actually do it is another thing. I think we kick started that in the second half when we started it by running the kickoff back for a touchdown. After that our defense played lights out and we stopped them on back-to-back three and outs. Our offense also scored after both of those stops.”
With those wins, the Sailors improved to 4-1 at the midpoint of the season, while playing through the most demanding part of the schedule. South has wins against 4-1 Zeeland West, 3-2 Unity Christian and East Grand Rapids, with the lone loss against 4-1 West Catholic.
“If you told me we would be 4-1 after our first five games I would’ve been ecstatic,” Brown said. “The season is long, however, so we have to continue to get better. I’m definitely happy with how we’ve answered since the loss to West Catholic. We played Unity Christian which got to Ford Field last year and Zeeland West which made it two years ago. To get these two wins after that loss says a lot about the kids, their resiliency and ability to find a way to win.”
