The Stevensville Lakeshore Lancers were at home in their playoff opener, hosting the Zeeland East Chix. It was all Lakeshore early, before Zeeland East rallied to force overtime. In the extra period, the Lancers escaped with a 30-23 victory.
In the first minute of this game, Lakeshore got on the scoreboard. Cage Davison rushed for a 2-yard touchdown to get the Lancers rolling. On their next drive, Davison scooped up a fumble and rumbled to the end zone. Finally, the defense of Lakeshore recorded a safety to give the Lancers a 16-0 lead after the first quarter.
Zeeland East scored the lone touchdown of the second quarter. Cebe Hunderman rushed for a 14-yard touchdown, but a missed conversion left them behind by ten points at halftime. The Chix continued to chip away in the third quarter, as Hunderman scored again. This time, Paige Westra booted an extra point to pull the squad within three points, 16-13 with a quarter to go.
Stevensville Lakeshore attempted to distance themselves from Zeeland East with a 39-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Korfmacher to Matt Vaughn, giving the Lancers a 23-13 lead. The Chix would not go away, scoring on their ensuing possession on a third Cebe Hunderman touchdown carry. With 23 seconds to play in regulation, Paige Westra connected on a 25-yard field goal to send the game to overtime.
Stevensville Lakeshore got the football first, and they scored on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Korfmacher to Trevor Griffiths. This meant that Zeeland East would need a touchdown on the ensuing drive. It appeared they got that on fourth down, as Cebe Hunderman raced across the goal line, but it was called back after a crucial holding penalty. Facing 4th and 16, Zeeland East was unable to convert, ending the ball game.
Zeeland East had 314 yards of offense in this game. Austin Keur was 6/10 passing for 106 yards, with 86 additional yards on the ground. Cebe Hunderman had 106 receiving yards and 120 rushing yards on 25 carries.
Stevensville Lakeshore was led by Ryan Korfmacher, who completed 11/17 passes for 131 yards and two scores. Andrew Lies rushed for 114 yards for the Lancers on 18 carries. Trevor Griffiths paced the receivers with 66 yards and 5 catches. Zach Warren (14), Tanner Jackson (11) and Zach Ort (11) each had double digit tackles in this game.
Next week, Lakeshore will host SMAC rival St Joseph in a District Final. This is a rematch of a Week 7 thriller that the Lancers won 35-28. St Joe surprised many with their win over Zeeland West in the playoff opener.
