By Greg Chrapek
WKTV Contributor
While there was some rain in the area Friday night, there was definitely some lightning in the Byron Center area. That lightning was provided by the South Christian football team as the Sailors put on a dazzling outburst of points in the first quarter of the regional title game against Big Rapids.
South Christian scored an amazing 41 points in the first quarter en route to a 55-35 win over Big Rapids. The Sailors advanced to the Division 4 regional semifinal next Saturday where they face undefeated Portland at 1 p.m. at Forest Hills Eastern High School.
Familiar fashion; Vis to Vermaas
The points in the regional title game came fast and furious with the Sailors striking with big plays on both sides of the line. South scored their first two touchdowns of the games in familiar fashion. Sailor quarterback Carson Vis hooked up with wide receiver Jake Vermaas on touchdown passes of seven and 13 yards. Drew Bruinsma added both extra points giving the Sailors an early 14-0 advantage.
“We came out with guns a blazing,” said South Christian Coach Danny Brown. “It was a good one. It was probably our best half of football that we’ve played all year. Offensively and defensively, we were just clicking. Defensively we were flying to the football and offensively, we were making big plays. It was a game that was a lot of fun to be a part of.”
South takes early 21-0 lead
South used a big play via the ground game to up the lead to 21-0 as Charles Schreur broke loose for a 25-yard touchdown run.
Big Rapids answered with a big play of its own as Cardinal quarterback Riley Vennix tossed a 65-yard touchdown pass cutting the deficit to 21-7.
Sailors up 41-7 to end the first quarter
South closed out the first quarter with three consecutive touchdowns to go up 41-7.
Vis tossed a 20-yard touchdown to Noah Funk for the fourth touchdown of the quarter and Schreur added a two-yard TD run. The Sailor defense provided the final points of the opening quarter when Vermaas intercepted a Cardinal pass and returned it 48 yards for a touchdown.
While the Sailors seemed to do everything right in the opening half, it was the preparation in practices the past few weeks that produced the results on the field.
“Our practices have been so good the past few weeks,” Brown said. “Everyone is so dialed in. We’ve changed some things in practice and the energy at practice is absolutely great. Once you get in the playoffs there is more of a do or die mentality. We won a couple of games and the confidence is really high.”
While the first quarter produced a total of 48 points, the second quarter was a total offensive lull as neither team was able to light up the scoreboard.
The two teams exchanged touchdowns in the third quarter. South scored on a nine-yard touchdown run by Schreur while Big Rapids countered with a 24-yard touchdown pass from Vennix.
Vennix, who passed for 222 yards in the Big Rapids’ district title win against Whitehall, turned in an even more productive game against South Christian. Vennix finished the game completing 22-of-35 passes for 358 yards and five touchdowns. Vennix tossed three of those touchdowns in the fourth quarter when the Cardinals outscored South 21-7 to make the final score 55-35.
“They (Big Rapids) are a real good football team,” Brown said. “We were fortunate in the first half that we were able to get up on them. They have a lot of firepower and they are able to put up points.”
South played everyone on the roster for most of the second half with everyone on the team getting extended minutes.
“That was the fun thing about it,” Brown said. “We were able to play everyone in the second half. Anytime you are able to do that and give everyone playing time in a regional game is pretty special. We were able to play everyone and it was a total team effort.”
South Christian sophomore Kayd Coffman closed out the scoring for South with a 53-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
Balance was the key for the South Christian offense. The Sailors finished with 241 passing yards and 237 yards rushing. Vis led the way in the air as he completed 12-of-19 passes for 185 yards and three touchdowns. Schreur led the Sailor ground game as he carried the ball 17 times for 103 yards and three touchdowns. Coffman added 68 yards rushing on six carries.
On defense, the Sailors received a big game from senior Tanner Raak. Raak totaled five tackles and one assist along with a pass interception. Ben Mulder added three tackles and an assist, while junior outside linebacker Tyler Brinks added three tackles including two tackles for loss. Funk also had one tackle, three assists and a tackle for loss.
