The Jenison Wildcats (1-1) defeated West Ottawa (0-2) Friday night on the Panthers field by the score of 35-25. This game was closer than the ten-point margin would indicate, as Jenison’s rushing attack expanded the final tally.
Jenison took the opening drive down the field in five running plays and took an early 7-0 lead. West Ottawa came back and had their own march later in the quarter with Blake Bosma tying the score on a 23-yard run. The teams would trade touchdowns in the first half until Jenison scored on a 16-yard passing play from quarterback Jadon Vandalsen to wide receiver RJ Rathsack, who made a nice one-handed grab with seven seconds left in the half to give Jenison a 21-14 edge.
Jenison relied primarily on the ground game in the second half to create separation on the scoreboard, as Vandalsen had three touchdowns. Vandalsen would finish the game with 197 yards rushing to lead all rushers. Seniors Alex Schmidt, Kaden Bucholz and junior Caleb Dean all contributed to the potent Jenison ground game. For West Ottawa, quarterback Jake Zimmer threw for 198 yards with Bosma receiving the bulk of the yardage with 124 yards on 9 catches. Zimmer had an additional 56 yards on the ground.
Jenison will host their first home game against Caledonia (1-1) next week while West Ottawa hosts the 1-1 Rams from Rockford. Both of these games will be LIVE on Michigan Sports Radio.
