The Grandville Bulldogs and Traverse City West Titans met for the ninth time overall, and the second consecutive year in the postseason. Just like every other prior meeting, Grandville earned a victory. On Friday night, it was easily achieved, as they captured a 45-8 win.
Donnie Osborn continued his strong second-half push with a 1-yard touchdown run to get this game started. Later in the first, Damian Merrick, who scored for the first time a week ago, found the end zone again. His 14-yard carry was paired with a conversion run by Cade Pilczuk and Grandville led 16-0 after twelve minutes.
In the second quarter, the ‘Dawgs found the end zone three more times. Osborn (1 yard) and Merrick (8 yards) each returned to the scoring column again, both scoring in the first four minutes of the quarter. With 28 seconds to go before half, Grandville quarterback Ian Sanders found Cade Pilczuk on a short touchdown pass. Pilczuk hauled in the conversion, completing the Octopus, giving Grandville a 38-0 halftime lead.
The running clock was in effect over the duration of the second half. Each team, despite the reduced possession count, was able to score once. Cade Pilczuk rushed for a 2-yard touchdown in the third quarter to round out the Grandville offense. Brandon Konchek finished the scoring with a 3-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter.
Cade Pilczuk led the Grandville attack with 145 yards on 11 carries. Ian Sanders completed three passes for 83 yards, and Pilczuk hauled in two of those passes for 55 yards. Traverse City West was held to 218 yards of offense, with Konchek passing for 88 and rushing for 51.
Next week, Grandville gets another shot at the Rockford Rams. In Week 4, Rockford outlasted Grandville 53-46 in overtime. This was the third straight win in the series for Rockford, including a three-overtime thriller in last year’s District Finals. It is sure to be a thrilling matchup next Friday.
