The Hudsonville Eagles began 2021 with two heartbreaking losses to Saline and Orchard Lake St. Mary’s. There was a sense of urgency as OK Red play began against the West Ottawa Panthers, a club that also began 0-2. Hudsonville showed that they are a strong football team in their convincing 42-17 win over West Ottawa.
In the first quarter, there was just one touchdown scored. Drew Baine was able to find a seam in the Panthers’ defense, and 47 yards later, he was in the end zone to give the Eagles a 7-0 advantage.
Midway through the second quarter, Baine recorded his second touchdown run. A 7-yard sprint across the goal line pushed Hudsonville ahead by fourteen. Trey Carr and the passing attack would carry the offense the remainder of the first half, as he threw for two scores. Carr found Eli Vanderveen (62 yards) and Brad Raredon (26 yards) to extend the Eagles’ lead to 28-0. West Ottawa would break the drought with a 29-yard field goal by Theo Borgman to end the first half.
Ryan Stam scored the first touchdown of the second half, trimming the deficit to eighteen points. Trey Carr would respond with two touchdown runs, one in the third quarter (3 yards) and another in the fourth quarter (2 yards) to re-extend the lead to 32 points. West Ottawa would score the final touchdown of the night on a 27-yard pass to Bryce Baldwin.
Hudsonville is now 1-2 on the year, and 1-0 in the OK Red. Next week, the Eagles will square off against rival Jenison. West Ottawa, 0-3 under first-year head coach Pat Collins, will take on Grand Haven on Friday.
