Tag Archives: Hudsonville football

Hudsonville squeaks past East Kentwood with touchdown on final play of game

Citizen Journalism, City of Kentwood, Kent County, Local Sports, Sports, West Michigan, , , , , ,
(Photo Courtesy, Eli Reed)


By Greg Chrapek
WKTV Contributor
greer@wktv.org

It was a showdown for first place in the OK Red Friday when East Kentwood traveled to Hudsonville. The contest lived up to all the hype and then some as the Eagles edged the Falcons 43-42 in a game that came down to the final play.

That final play was a 26-yard touchdown pass from Hudsonville quarterback Brady Van Laecke to Andrew Meerman who caught the pass in the back of the end zone after it was deflected with the final seconds ticking off the clock. The Eagles tacked on the extra point to secure the deciding point and come away with the win and keep their record perfect at 7-0 for the season, 5-0 in the league.

The climactic final play capped a stunning six-play, 70-yard scoring drive in the final 31 seconds of the game that gave the Eagles an amazing come-from-behind win after East Kentwood surged ahead with a late-game drive of its own that culminated with a touchdown with 31 seconds remaining in the game.

“It was a great game between two great teams,” said East Kentwood Coach Tyrone Spencer. “I thought our guys played well. It all came down to a couple of plays. Both teams had guys making plays and for them they made the final play when the clock ran out.”

What looked to be the game-winning drive

Trailing 36-35 with 5:52 remaining in the game, East Kentwood mounted what looked to be the game-winning drive. Starting out on its own 20 after Hudsonville had taken the lead on a two-yard touchdown, EK moved the ball 80 yards in 15 plays. The drive was a pressure-packed excursion as the Falcons twice kept the drive going by taking a page out of Detroit Lions Coach Dan Campbell’s playbook and going for a first down on fourth down. The first successful fourth-down play was when the Falcons faced a fourth-and-three on their own 27-yard line. Falcon running back Davien “Bam” Nettleman kept the drive alive with a five-yard run. Later in the drive, the Falcons faced a fourth-and-12 situation on their own 40 with less than two minutes remaining in the game.


With their backs to the wall, Falcon quarterback Kayd Coffman found Ahman Edmonds open and Edmonds turned on the jets for a 14-yard gain to keep the drive alive. With 45 seconds remaining in the game, Coffman again hooked up with Edmonds for a key pass play, this time the play netted the Falcons 38 yards and gave Kentwood a first-and-goal on the Hudsonville two-yard line. After a one-yard run on first down, the Falcons took the lead when Coffman scored on a quarterback sneak giving the Falcons a 42-36 lead after Jayden Garcia tacked on the extra point.

East Kentwood Quarterback Kayd Coffman passed for 188 yards and three scores. (Courtesy, Falcon News Network)


“I was really proud of the way the guys kept battling,” Spencer said. “To be on the road and come back like they did.”

Spencer also was pleased with how the Falcons started the game. Getting out to a fast start was a goal of the Falcons entering the game and that was exactly what Kentwood did.

Kayd Coffman keeper starts up the scoring

On the first possession of the game, Kentwood forced Hudsonville into a three-and-out deep in Eagle territory. After taking possession of the ball at the Hudsonville 45-yard line, the Falcons needed just four plays to score the first points of the game as Coffman took off 33-yards down the middle of the field to score on a quarterback keeper.


Eagles score right away as well

Hudsonville answered that score with a six-play, 80-yard scoring drive of its own.

East Kentwood regained the lead on the next possession. This time the Falcons drove 70 yards in seven plays with Coffman finishing the drive by hooking up with Stephan Jones on a 26-yard touchdown pass giving the Falcons a 13-7 lead.

Falcons grab 20-7 lead in first quarter

East Kentwood upped the lead to 20-7 late in the opening quarter. That score was set up by a fumble recovery by Dmari Love-Simmons at the Hudsonville 22-yard line. The Falcons cashed in on the turnover when three plays later Coffman again hooked up with Jones, this time on a 16-yard scoring strike.

“Our offense really got off to a fast start,” Spencer said. “We took advantage of some things that they were giving us. Their defense did a good job of stabilizing things in the third quarter.” 

Hudsonville answered that score with an eight-yard touchdown pass by Van Laecke with 9:46 remaining in the first half cutting the Falcon lead to 20-13.

The two teams closed out the first half by trading touchdowns. Coffman snuck over from one-yard out for the Kentwood touchdown while Van Laecke threw a touchdown pass from 15-yards out with 20 seconds remaining in the first half cutting the Kentwood lead to 27-21.

Hudsonville took its first lead of the game in the third quarter, when the Eagles drove 65 yards for a score in six plays with Van Laecke tossing a 29-yard pass on fourth down. Hudsonville added a two-point conversion to go up 29-27.

The East Kentwood defense rose to the occasion on the next two Hudsonville drives and forced a pair of three-and-outs.

“Our defense kept us in it when Hudsonville stopped our offense in the third quarter,” Spencer said.

Falcons regain lead early in fourth

Early in the fourth quarter the Falcons regained the lead, driving 48 yards in seven plays with Coffman connecting with Owen Van De Veen on a 22-yard touchdown pass. Coffman then connected with Edmonds on a pass play on the two-point conversion putting the Falcons up 35-29 with 11 minutes remaining in the game. 

Hudsonville answered that score with a methodical 68-yard, 14-play march that ended with a touchdown that put the Eagles up 36-35 with 5:52 remaining in the game setting the stage for the late-game dramatics.

With the loss, East Kentwood fell to 5-2 overall, 3-2 in the conference. The Falcons return to action this Friday at Grandville.

“At the end of the day, a game like this prepares us for the playoffs,” Spencer said. “The regular season is important, but we want to end the season playing at Ford Field and these kinds of games prepare us for that.”

The East Kentwood offense was paced by Coffman who passed for 188 yards and three scores. Jones caught seven passes for 102 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while Edmonds hauled in eight passes for 50 yards and Van Der Veen caught two passes for 32 yards and a score. Coffman added 58 yards rushing and three scores while Jesse Phillips ran for 42 yards.

East Kentwood falls 25-23 in playoff thriller with Hudsonville on final play of game 

Citizen Journalism, City of Kentwood, Kent County, Kentwood Public Schools, Local Sports, Sports, West Michigan, , , , ,


By Greg Chrapek

greer@wktv.org



The East Kentwood football team made it a memorable playoff appearance for themselves and new coach Tyrone Spencer.


Taking on OK Red Conference champion Hudsonville (9-1 overall), the Division 1 District Semifinal contest came down to the final play of the game when the Eagles kicked a field goal as time expired to escape with a 25-23 win.

“They (Hudsonville) got it off just as time expired,” Spencer said. “Our guys played great; they played fantastic. They played through a lot of adversity and I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

The game was close throughout, much different then the Week 5 game between the two OK Red heavyweights that Hudsonville won 35-6.

“The last time we played them we gave them some cheap stuff,” Spencer said. “They are 85 percent run and I told my defensive backs that they will probably throw about 10 passes. I told them they are going to have to defend those passes and not give up any big plays. We did a pretty good job of tackling and we didn’t give up any cheap plays down the field. Our guys were ready to play and in sync.”



East Kentwood football Coach Tyrone Spencer 2024. (WKTV, Greg Chrapek)



Hudsonville took the early lead in the game when quarterback Griffin Baker scored on a short run putting the Eagles up 6-0 in the first quarter.  

East Kentwood shaved the lead in half in the second quarter when Jayden Garcia connected on a 32-yard field goal making the score 6-3.

The two teams then traded scores later in the second quarter. Hudsonville scored when Brady VanLaecke broke through a hole in the Falcon line and raced 37-yards for a touchdown putting the Eagles up 13-3.  

13-10 Hudsonville in the second quarter

East Kentwood responded with a drive led by their standout running back Elijah Jones, who capped it with a touchdown run and extra point from Garcia closing the gap to 13-10.

Late in the half, Hudsonville extended the lead to 16-10 on a field goal.



East Kentwood running back Elijah Jones. (Courtesy, Falcon News Network)



Edmonds TD kickoff return called back before halftime

On the next play, the Falcons seemed to have turned the tide when Ahman Edmonds returned the kickoff for a touchdown. The score, however, was nullified from a penalty.

“At halftime we should’ve been leading as we returned the kickoff for a touchdown,” Spencer said. “There was a penalty called that didn’t even have an effect on the touchdown. That held us back a little.”

Eagles up 22-10 after Baker’s 51-yard run

Hudsonville added to its lead in the second half. Baker again provided the big play for the Eagles as he found an opening and took off for a 51-yard touchdown run. Hudsonville missed the two-point conversion leaving the Eagles with a 22-10 lead.

Jones gets Falcons within five on 80-yard TD run

Facing adversity again, East Kentwood showed it was not about to fold. Again, the Falcons turned to Jones, their explosive running back. This time Jones broke through a hole in the Hudsonville line and raced 80 yards for a touchdown. Garcia tacked on the extra point and the Falcons were within five at 22-17.



East Kentwood quarterback Kayd Coffman. (Courtesy, Falcon News Network)



Kayd Coffman strike to Murphy-Ware puts Falcons up in fourth

In the fourth quarter, Kentwood struck again. After a Hudsonville turnover, the Falcons went to the air. Kentwood quarterback Kayd Coffman dropped back and aired a pass out deep down the field to Christopher Murphy-Ware. Murphy-Ware caught the ball in stride and sped into the end zone completing the 51-yard scoring strike and putting the Falcons up 23-22.  

Ian Jenkin’s 34-yard field goal gives Hudsonville the win as time expired

With 1:31 remaining in the game, Hudsonville began a final drive at its own 39-yard line. The Eagles managed to move the ball into field-goal range and with the clock winding down, Ian Jenkins booted a 34-yard field goal as time expired giving Hudsonville the win.

With the loss, the Falcons ended the season with a 5-5 record.
   

“I’m really proud of the kids”

“I’m really proud of the kids,” Spencer said. “It would’ve been great to cap the season off with this win, but I think the life lessons the kids learned through football this year are more important. I’m really proud of them and how they competed all season. They came out and competed every day and battled through adversities. I’m really proud of our players, our coaches and everybody that is a part of this program.”

Spencer, in his first year as head coach of the Falcons, laid a solid foundation for the future.

“I feel the foundation has been laid,” Spencer said. “We had a lot of young sophomores and juniors who came into the year inexperienced and now they have a lot of experience. I think that will be beneficial for us. We also return seven starters on defense next year and four starters on offense. Any time you have 11 starters returning you should be a decent football team.”

Offensively, Jones led the Falcons this season with 1,208 yards rushing (7.2 per carry) and 12 touchdowns. Coffman led the team in passing with 56.5% completions for 1,594 yards and 11 touchdowns against just two interceptions.

A trio of Falcon receivers totaled over 400 yards receiving this season. Edmonds caught 29 passes for 479 yards and four touchdowns. Caiden Holt caught 22 passes for 476 yards and five touchdowns, while Murphy-Ware caught 32 passes for 451 yards and three touchdowns.

Defensively, Terence Kabanda led the way this season with 71 tackles, including four tackles for loss. Donavan Jones added 50 tackles, two tackles for loss and an interception. James Jones Jr. totaled 44 tackles including seven tackles for loss and a sack. Defensive linemen Syncere Hobson-Washington and Tyler Meeuwsen both totaled seven tackles for loss with Hobson-Washington adding two sacks and Meeuwsen one. Javani Overstreet and Major Barnes both finished with 31 tackles apiece. Lloyd Nelson finished with 25 tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack.           

East Kentwood earns crucial 29-20 win over Hudsonville; keeps playoff hopes alive

City of Kentwood, Sports, West Michigan, WKTV Featured sports, , ,

By Zach Fanko, WKTV Contributor

Needing a win to improve its playoff chances, East Kentwood pulled away late in the fourth quarter to put away Hudsonville 29-20 at Falcon Stadium.

The Falcons jumped ahead 6-0 in the first quarter on an Elisee Kandee touchdown run that was set up by a J’Kari Couch 40-yard run.

Kandee returned to the end zone once again in the first half, this time on defense with a Pick-6. East Kentwood carried a 22-14 advantage at the half.

Despite being in a solid position to qualify for the 32-team playoff field (the Falcons are ranked No. 23 in playoff points for Division 1 according to MHSAA.com), East Kentwood coach Tony Kimbrough spoke about the importance of playing with a sense of urgency.

The crowd at Falcon Stadium takes in a game between East Kentwood and Hudsonville. (WKTV/Nathan Piers)

“We feel like we control our own destiny in terms of the playoffs,” Kimbrough said. “We treated tonight’s game as a playoff game and I think our effort reflected that.”



The Eagles pulled within two in the third quarter on a Trey Carr touchdown pass, his second TD of the night.



However, the Falcons responded with a touchdown of their own as QB Ben Cash kept it himself for a 14-yard scamper to push the EK lead to 29-20 with 9:20 left the final stanza. A fumble on a punt return would later seal Hudsonville’s fate.

The Falcons defense lines up against Hudsonville’s offensive unit. (WKTV/Nathan Piers)

“Didn’t play our best football tonight,” Hudsonville coach Brent Sandee said. “Had some turnovers and penalties at key moments in the game.



“The effort was certainly there, but we lacked the execution at times tonight.”




Cash finished with 119 yards through the air with a passing TD, as well as 38 rushing yards and a score. Kandee added 56 yards on the ground. Meanwhile, linebacker Stellan Bowman finished the game with 12 tackles.



East Kentwood (5-3, 4-2 OK Red) now looks ahead to its senior night game next Friday with Grandville (6-2, 4-2 OK Red), as both teams jockey for playoff positioning.



Hudsonville (2-6, 2-4 OK Red) hosts Grand Haven (1-7, 0-6 OK Red) next Friday.

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