WKTV News Station Manager Tom Norton checks and adjusts cameras and video equipment in preparation for the upcoming WKTV Friday Night Highlights show (Courtesy, Deborah Reed WKTV)
By Cris Greer
WKTV Managing Editor
greer@wktv.org
The WKTV Friday Night Highlights show is coming soon, along with our in-depth Journal website coverage of the Wyoming and Kentwood area football teams. Our FNH host will walk you through highlights from most of the local games every Friday night throughout the season and into the playoffs.
We plan to bring you another great season of local high school football, covering your favorite teams from Wyoming and Kentwood, including East Kentwood, Wyoming, Godwin Heights, Godfrey-Lee, Kelloggsville, South Christian and Tri-unity.
Game of the Week airs every Friday night on WKTV Comcast Channel 25 & AT&T U-Verse Channel 99 at 11 p.m. with a rebroadcast on Saturday at 11 a.m. If you don’t have cable, visit our website at WKTV.org to watch the livestream. Watch at home on your Smart TV in brilliant HD. Broadcasts also are available on Video on Demand at a later date.
WKTV Friday Night Highlights will bring you some great high school football clips from the Wyoming and Kentwood area teams, highlight top performers and their stats, give final scores, and show a snapshot of the latest conference standings.
As a bonus, we will have a reporter on the field at the Game of the Week to interview coaches and players for the show and occasionally have them come into our studio for a live interview as well.
Thanks to strength class instructor Curt Copeland, South Christian beefed up in the offseason and started strong with a 42-7 win over Grand Rapids Christian Friday night in its opener.
“We’ve put a big emphasis in the weight room and the kids have bought in,” said South Christian coach Danny Brown, giving props to former Athletic Director Copeland, now a physical education teacher. “Football is pretty physical.
“I think our defensive front was very physical and made it hard for them to run the ball. We limited the big plays and we were able to cover well. Our pursuit was great.”
(Image courtesy of South Christian)
An interception by Junior Austin Tiesma on the first play of the game quickly set the tone for the Sailors.
South Christian led 14-0 at the end of the first quarter and 28-7 at the half to take control.
“I think we’re blessed to have a few kids in their third year of varsity,” said Brown, whose Sailors were 8-4 overall last year with a deep playoff run in Division 4. “We lean on their experience.”
Jake DeHaan throws four TDs and runs two
Senior quarterback Jake DeHaan threw four touchdown passes and ran for two to lead South Christian’s offense. He threw for 255 yards and ran for 40.
“He’s a really good quarterback and a heck of a football player,” Brown said.
Sophomore receiver Carson Vis scored three touchdowns on 95 yards, while senior Jake Cashen led with six tackles.
“It’s a fun group of kids that love to compete,” Brown said.
South Christian capitalized on Eagles’ mistakes
Grand Rapids Christian coach Rueben Riley said the Sailors capitalized on his team’s mistakes.
“We threw a pick the very first play of the game inside the 30 and it was a very short field to travel,” Riley said. “They jumped out 14-0 on us pretty fast and we just couldn’t get out of our own way. They’re a very well-coached, sound and disciplined team. Hats off to South for having one heck of a game plan.
“South definitely paid attention to the weight room. You’ll see that team make a deep run in the playoffs.”
Junior Isaiah Caviness got the lone score for the Eagles on a run.
South Christian travels to East Grand Rapids on Thursday, Sept. 1 at 7 p.m.
“You know what you’re getting with East; they’re physical” Brown said. “We haven’t beat them in a long time, they kind of have our number.”
A file photo of the Kelloggsville High School football team practicing last season. (WKTV)
By Zach Fanko, WKTV Contributing Writer
If there ever was a perfect way to start a season, Owosso found it.
Sophomore halfback Hoyt Patrick ran the opening kickoff to paydirt in a 42-18 victory over Kelloggsville on the Rockets home field.
Owosso had not one, but two kickoff returns for touchdowns as junior Daniel Wittum made the other house call.
Lots of “D”
Special teams wasn’t the only part of the game clicking for the Trojans, however, as their defense came up with two fumble recoveries and an interception on a 2-point try by the Rockets. Patrick led the way with 7 tackles, a sack (one of 5 sacks on the night for Owosso) and a forced fumble.
Trojans Coach Ron Tyner, in his first year leading the program after 11 years coaching college football, outlined how important it was to win the turnover battle.
“Both sides of the ball we won the touchdown to turnover battle,” Tyner said. “That’s what we hang our hat on and how we evaluate our success.”
Tyner also gave credit to senior quarterback Hugh Doyle, in the first year running a new offensive scheme. Owosso installed a pro-style offense in the offseason after running a Wing-T option offense the past few seasons.
“He is one of those kids that’s a diamond in the rough,” Tyner said. “To be honest with you, I lucked out with a really good quarterback that checks all the boxes.”
Kelloggsville’s Brendon Tuinstra scored 3 TDs for the Rockets. (Courtesy of Alex Chavez)
For Kelloggsville, it was a game of missed opportunities with some errant deep balls early, according to Coach Brandon Branch.”
“We didn’t hit on a couple big plays early,” Branch said. “If we hit on two of those we go into halftime tied at least.”
However, it would be the Trojans who seized control of the game from the start with a 16-0 lead. The Rockets had a chance later on before halftime to get within a score, but a fumble inside the redzone stalled a promising drive as Owosso carried a 22-6 advantage into the break.
Little things the difference
“Just little things,” Branch said. “If two of those go our way it’s a different story going into half, but Owosso came out and executed and did a great job.”
The Trojans return home to face Charlotte on Thursday, Sept. 1 at 7 p.m. Meanwhile, the Rockets host Ionia in WKTV’s Game of the Week on Thursday, Sept. 1 at 7 p.m.
Get ready for high school football. The season opens this week on Thursday and Friday, Aug. 25 and 26 for your home teams in Wyoming and Kentwood. (pxhere.com)
By Cris Greer, WKTV Managing Editor
WKTV is bringing you another great season of high school football, starting with our season-opening truck coverage of Ionia at Kelloggsville on Thursday, Sept. 1.
Our high-tech WKTV Game of the Week truck will film one game each week, which will include two play-by-play announcers, a field announcer and various camera angles with slow motion replays to capture all those great plays for our broadcast.
Game of the Week airs every Friday night on WKTV Comcast Channel 25 & AT&T U-Verse Channel 99 at 11 p.m. with a rebroadcast on Saturday at 11 a.m. (See schedule below) If you don’t have cable, visit our website at WKTV.org to watch the livestream. Watch at home on your Smart TV in brilliant HD. Broadcasts also are available on Video on Demand at a later date.
The Wyoming Wolves travel to Forest Hills Northern on Thursday, Aug. 25. Game time is 7 p.m. For your team’s football schedule visit here
We are planning a much greater presence this year with high school football. Yes, even bigger than before if you can believe that. Every week, our sports staff will post football game stories and roundups covering each varsity high school team in our viewing area in Kentwood and Wyoming.
We plan to give you the stats and highlights of each game in our stories … explaining the details of how your team marched to victory.
Look for you school’s game story or roundup on our WKTV Journal website each week.
Support your team in every way by going to the games, cheering them on, watching the featured Game of the Week on WKTV and visiting the WKTV Journal for the exciting game stories.
WKTV Game of the Week Truck Schedule
Thursday, Sept. 1 Ionia at Kelloggsville
Friday, Sept. 9 Ottawa Hills vs. South Christian (at EK)
Friday, Sept. 16 Jenison at East Kentwood
Friday, Sept. 23 Reeths-Puffer at Wyoming
Friday, Sept. 30 TBD
Friday, Oct. 7 TBD
Friday, Oct. 14 Tri-unity at Godfrey-Lee
Friday, Oct. 21 TBD
Game of the Week airs every Friday night on WKTV Comcast Channel 25 & AT&T U-Verse Channel 99 at 11 p.m. with a rebroadcast on Saturday at 11 a.m. If you don’t have cable, visit our website at WKTV.org to watch the livestream.
Your football team’s season schedule
For your home team’s complete football schedule click here
For more information on WKTV and what we offer, visit here
Godwin Heights goes for a two-point extra point conversion after junior quarterback Jeremiah Drake (1) punched in an early Wolverine touchdown in their Oct. 2 home game against Belding. (WKTV)
While Grand Rapids South Christian High School ran their record to 3-0, with a win over Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills (0-3), 41-24, both East Kentwood and Wyoming high’s offense kicked into high gear with the playoffs looming and three games remaining on the shortened 2020 regular-season schedule.
East Kentwood (1-2) rolled up 42 points in an easy road win at Grand Haven (0-3) as the Falcons defense held the Buccaneers to just 12 first-half points and running back Jeffery Perry rushed for 143 yards on 16 carries and two touchdowns.
Also standing out on offense for East Kentwood was senior quarterback Brandon Miller, who passed for 146 yards on a 13-of-24 night, with one touchdown, while also adding 55 yards on the ground. Senior running back Drapher Cribb scored a rushing touchdown and senior Evan Milliken caught Miller’s touchdown pass. Senior Jaylen Smith added a defensive touchdown on a fumble recovery.
“We overcame some early mistakes on both sides of the ball,” East Kentwood head football coach Tony Kimbrough said to WKTV. “We played well in all phases of the game, especially in the second half. Jeffrey Perry was a big part of our success.”
East Kentwood’s next game is Oct. 9 at home against Jenison (2-1). And in a change to the WKTV Featured Game schedule, we will be covering the Falcons game live on cable television and live-streamed at WKTV.org (click on the Live button).
Wyoming Wolves score 57 points in heartbreaking loss
Wyoming high’s offensive was in high gear for the second straight week with a dominating ground game totaling more than 500 yards and six touchdowns. But the Wolves (0-3) fell just short in a shoot-out on the road at Grand Rapids Union (1-2), 59-57.
Wyoming high coaches talk to their Wolves team from an early season game. (WKTV)
Wyoming had two players go over 200 yards rushing, with senior Cameron Simon totaling 264 yards on 18 carries, and senior Jeremy Barber totaling 209 on 27 carries with four touchdowns. Junior Mateo Ledesma added 42 yards and two touchdowns. But Wyoming head coach Irvin Sigler said the key to his explosive offense is his senior laden offensive line.
“We had two backs over 200 yards rushing, and that is an amazing feat,” Sigler said to WKTV. “Our offensive line had a tremendous game … lineman Anthony Alvarado, Seth DeYoung, Sam DeYoung, Ronald Divers, Sawyer VanDyke, as well as fullbacks Guizzippi Jobse and Collin St. John, were stellar.”
Senior quarterback Matthew Berg was 11-of-19 passing with one touchdown, and senior Mahki Matthews led the receivers with three catches.
The Wolves will be at home, this week, Oct. 9, against defending state Class A champions Muskegon Mona Shores (3-0). And Sigler said his defense will need to be better this week and continue to get better as the playoffs approach.
“Defensively we struggled all night and did not tackle well,” Sigler said. “Our kids will work to improve and get better at all types of tackling this week.”
The rest of the local action
Grand Rapids South Christian (3-0) at home (playing at East Kentwood) defeated Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills (0-3), 41-24. The Sailors’ next game is Oct. 9 at Cedar Springs (2-1).
At Godwin Heights, after an early touchdown by junior quarterback Jeremiah Drake and two-point extra point conversion, the Wolverines (1-2) lost at home to Belding (3-0), 26-8, in what was the Oct. 2 WKTV Featured Game. The game was broadcast on cable live and live-streamed, and will be available on-demand at WKTVlive.org later this week. The Wolverines next scheduled game, at Grandville Calvin Christian on Oct. 9, has been cancelled, so its next game is Oct. 16 at Hopkins (currently 3-0).
Kelloggsville (0-3) lost at home to Comstock Park (10-2), 56-14. The Rockets next game is Oct. 9 at Sparta (1-2).
Lee (1-2 with forfeit win) lost at home to Comstock (2-1), 58-8. In that game, Legends quarterback Imiliano Valdez connected with Takayon Smith for a 68-yard touchdown strike, as well as a 2-point conversion. The Legends next game, scheduled for Oct. 9 against Muskegon Orchard View (0-3), has been cancelled by Lee.
With just a week of full, in-pads practice under their belts, most local Wyoming and Kentwood football teams struggled in various degrees in the season’s delayed Week 1 contests (Week 4 on the original schedules).
The only win was Grand Rapids South Christian gaining a home-field win over Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills, 25-15.
In the Sailors win, quarterback Ty Rynbrandt (20-of-27 for 213 yards) had two short touchdown passes to Elliott Grashuis, the second with under two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter to put away the game. The pair also connected on a 2-point conversion after a 9-yard TD run in the third quarter by Daniel Possett. Eli Smith was Rynbrandt’s favorite target, however, as he had 10 receptions for 138 yards. Jeff Herrema added a field goal and two extra points.
“We played tough on defense once we settled in,” South Christian head coach Danny Brown said two WKTV. “Very happy with our tenacity and pursuit to the football. Lots of positives on offense but had a few penalties and untimely missed assignments that ruined drives.”
Outside of that, the best games of the night for local teams were Godwin Height’s outstanding defensive effort at home against Sparta in a 6-0 loss, and East Kentwood’s 21-13 loss at home to Hudsonville, 21-13.
In other games, Wyoming high lost at home to Zeeland West, 60-20, in a WKTV Featured game which was broadcast on cable live and live-streamed. and which will be available on-demand at WKTVlive.org later this week. In that game, the Wolves gained touchdowns from seniors Mekhi Bobo and Cameron Simon, as well as on a pass from senior quarterback Matthew Berg to senior Mahki Matthews.
Also, Kelloggsville lost at GR Northpointe Christian, 37-14, and Wyoming Lee lost at home to Niles Brandywine, 61-7.
Godwin Heights defense strong in tight loss
Despite the loss, Godwin Heights head coach Brandon Kimble said he expects a good year out of his Wolverines, “an experienced team” with double digit starters returning on both offense and defense.
“The offense will be led by (junior) Jeremiah Drake at quarterback and an important piece offensively will be (senior) Jamontae Burrell, both players were all conference last year.” Kimble said in an email to WKTV about his team’s outlook. “On the O line and D line, Godwin has a highly recruited offensive tackle and defensive end in (senior) Ru’Quan Buckley. Players to watch defensively will be (senior) Craig Hughes and (junior) Jabari Crump(-Moore). Craig is a returning all conference honorable mention player at safety and Crump is returning from injury after starting at linebacker the previous year.”
At East Kentwood, senior Branden Miller scored a touchdown for the Falcons’ only offensive score. Miller also led the team in rushing with 29 yards and passing with 62 yards. (Programming note: WKTV’s Feature Game live game coverage crew is tentatively scheduled to be at East Kentwood on Sept. 25 for the team’s game against Grandville.)
In Kelloggsville’s opening night game, sophomore quarterback Zack Zerfas was 11-of-20 passing for 205 yards and touchdowns to junior Damario Montgomery and junior Jabari Campbell, who led the team in receiving with six receptions for 116 yards. Sophomore Camron Townsend led the team in rushing with 41 yards and added 59 yards receiving.
What is Thanksgiving Day without football? Just turkey and mashed potatoes.
Again this year, WKTV will offer a day full of high school football coverage focused on teams from the Wyoming and Kentwood communities.
WKTV’s Channel 25 will run its 16th Annual Turkey Bowl, a 15-hour special starting at 9 a.m. that highlights high school football games from this past season.
Our schedule includes two East Kentwood high games during the team’s 4-5 season and two Wyoming high games, exciting October contests against Rockford and South Christian during the team’s 5-4 season, and the always exciting clash between Wyoming’s Lee and Godwin high schools. The day is capped off with Kelloggsville high capping off an outstanding 8-2 season (5-0 and a conference title in the OK Silver Conference) with its opening round playoff game against Allendale.
Times and teams:
9 a.m. Hudsonville vs. East Kentwood
11:30 a.m. East Grand Rapids vs. Wyoming
1:55 p.m. Wyoming vs. South Christian
4:30 p.m. East Kentwood vs. Rockford
7 p.m. Lee vs. Godwin
9:15p.m. Allendale vs. Kelloggsville
Ya, we know the Lions will be playing on Thursday, but why not blend a little high school action into your football day?
