Zeeland East and Zeeland West met at Zeeland Stadium on Friday night for the annual Bird Bowl. This was the 21st meeting between the two schools since their separation in 2005. Zeeland West captured their fourteenth win in the series, defeating the Chix 48-21.
The Dux struck quickly, scoring the first sixteen points. Parker Holman rushed for a 33-yard touchdown four minutes into the action, with Cade Overweg adding the two-point try. Later in the frame, Skyler Geurink ran for a 9-yard touchdown. Erick Lozano added a two-point run of his own.
In the second quarter, Zeeland West continued to score. Geurink powered across the goal line from a yard out, before passing to Trevor Waller on the conversion. This put the Dux ahead by 24 points.
Zeeland East finally found the end zone midway through the second quarter, as Austin Keur found Ian Bannach for a 29-yard touchdown. Zeeland West would respond with a 28-yard touchdown run by Parker Holman, giving the Dux a 32-8 halftime lead.
The second half saw both teams score a pair of touchdowns. Zeeland East got touchdown runs from Brady White and Cebe Hunderman, with Paige Westra adding one extra point. Zeeland West countered with runs by Parker Holman and Hayden Reider with two successful two-point carries.
This is the fourth straight win by the Dux in the Bird Bowl. It is highly possible that these two will see each other in the playoffs, something that has happened three times in the past four years and five times since 2005.
Next week, Zeeland West will conclude their regular season against Holland. Zeeland East has a tough challenge against the Muskegon Big Reds.
