By Zach Fanko
WKTV Contributor
The 2022 South Christian Sailors cemented their legacy Friday night at Ford Field, as they finished a perfect 14-0 season and brought home the school’s fourth state championship en route to a 28-0 victory over Goodrich.
The Sailors defense was up to the task of shutting down a Martians offense that had scored 40 or more points in four of their last five games.
South Christian held Goodrich to just 57 total yards in the first half, as the Sailors built a 14-0 lead on two Jake DeHaan touchdown passes.
The first of which came at the 9:48 mark, as Nate Brinks capped off the scoring drive with a 3-yard TD reception.
Another South Christian touchdown came with 5:48 left in the half, as DeHaan found Carson Vis for a 23-yard strike to extend the lead.
Despite four turnovers by the Sailors, including a fumble by South Christian on its first play, Goodrich was unable to take advantage.
Sailors coach Danny Brown was pleased to see his defense complete the shutout on the big stage after flirting with shutouts throughout the season.
“We’ve had a heck of a defensive year, probably one of the best we’ve ever had,” Brown said. “We just don’t talk about it because of the numbers being put up by the offense.”
With the game still hanging in the balance, South Christian all but put it out of reach on a DeHaan 59-yard touchdown run to push the Sailors lead to 21-0 with just 5:53 left in the fourth quarter.
The All-State signal caller finished his final game as a Sailor with 220 yards on 14 of 18 passing with three total TDs, in addition to 94 yards on the ground.
A few minutes later, South Christian’s Jake Vermaas put to rest any chance of a miracle comeback with a 23-yard Pick 6 for the game’s final score.
Vermaas also starred on offense, making big catch after big catch for the Sailors and finished with a game-high seven receptions for 143 yards.
When the clock finally hit triple zeros, the celebration was on at Ford Field for South Christian as DeHaan reflected on a season he will not soon forget.
“You don’t even know what to feel and you don’t even know how to put it into words,” DeHaan said. “We believed it and we proved that we could do it.”
With the state championship clinched, Brown put his feelings into words on a mission accomplished.
“Going into the season, we knew we’d be pretty good,” Brown said. “But you never anticipate 14-0 and winning a state championship.
“All you’re looking at is the game ahead of you, the day ahead of you and you just replicate that success over and over again. The fact that happened over however many games and practices is amazing.”
