In a tradition that dates back to 1972 (1969 if you count Grand Rapids East Christian), the South Christian Sailors took on their rivals on the gridiron. South Christian returns several key pieces from their undefeated State Championship run last fall, so they posed a tall task for the Eagles, who looked to snap a five-game skid in this series.
From the start in this game, the offenses were ready to play. The dynamic duo of Carson Vis and Jake Vermaas struck twice in the opening frame, on touchdown passes of 6 and 32 yards. After the first quarter of action, the Sailors were ahead by 12.
South Christian would extend their lead to 18 when Vermaas took a punt 40 yards to the end zone. On the ensuing kickoff, Ben Toly put the Eagles on the board with an electric 82-yard return. Vis and the Sailors would quickly strike back, as he took to the air and found James VanderArk on a 20-yard score. Vis’ fourth touchdown pass of the half, a 32-yard strike to Austin Tietsma gave South Christian a 30-7 lead.
Each team would get one more touchdown before heading to the locker room. Jude Klunder would lead the scoring attack for GRC, hauling in a pass from Zay Caviness, while Carson Vis used his legs for a short touchdown scamper. At the break, it was 36-14 in South Christian’s favor.
Charlie Schreuer held the Sailors extend their lead with a touchdown run in the third quarter. GRC answered with a quarterback keeper from Caviness to trim the lead to 21. Carson Vis and the Sailors would immediately respond, as he found James VanderArk for a 66-yard strike, his fifth touchdown of the night.
Jude Klunder would find the end zone twice more on touchdown catches, Eagles’ scoring plays of 71 and 13 yards. Zay Caviness would add his fifth touchdown of the night, a quarterback keeper, in defeat. South Christian closed the scoring with a touchdown pass to Tanner Raak from Vis, and a touchdown run by Will Fennema.
The 66-42 final saw fireworks across the offensive attack. The Sailors finished with 505 yards of offense, including 299 through the air. Carson Vis completed 16/18 passes for 6 scores to captain this attack. Jake Vermaas had 103 of those receiving yards. Zay Caviness finished 16/23 for GRC, passing for 242 yards and rushing for 109 on 17 carries. Though he had five scores, he also had three interceptions.
Next week, South Christian will host East Grand Rapids, who also enters with a 1-0 record. Grand Rapids Christian will look for their first win of the year when they travel to Fruitport.
