The Big Rapids Cardinals travelled over to the lakeshore to face Whitehall in a District Finals battle. Though the Cardinals were the heavy underdog on paper, the beauty of the playoffs came to life. Big Rapids pulled a stunning upset in a 28-27 victory.
The Cards struck first when Riley Vennix found Garrett Foster for an 11-yard touchdown. Whitehall immediately struck back with their own touchdown drive. Kyle Stratton used his legs for a 3-yard quarterback keeper. After twelve minutes, the clubs were tied at 7.
In the second quarter, Big Rapids struck first yet again. Vennix struck through the air again, this time finding Kaleb Dubowski on a short touchdown toss. Whitehall would rally, with consecutive touchdown drives to close the half. Stratton used his legs again for a 5-yard touchdown, and Malcom Earvin put the Vikings in front 21-14 with a 2-yard plunge.
After a scoreless third quarter, Big Rapids was able to draw even with Whitehall. Six seconds into the quarter, Vennix threw for his third touchdown of the night. This one paired up with Foster again, a 10-yard connection.
Whitehall would jump back ahead with a Stratton pass to Earvin. This 22-yard scoring play was followed by a missed PAT kick. As a result, Whitehall’s lead was just six, 27-21.
Big Rapids had plenty of time to respond (5:37), and they did just that. With 45 seconds to play, Big Rapids found the end zone again. Vennix scored his fourth touchdown of the night, this time on a 5-yard quarterback keeper. Jace Heck was able to boot the extra point through the uprights and seal Big Rapids’ ticket to the Regional Finals.
This is the first District Championship for Big Rapids since 2003. Interestingly enough, in that year’s semifinals run, they also took down Whitehall, although that was a regional final battle. With this win over the Vikings, Big Rapids will travel down 131 to take on defending State Champion South Christian in the Regional Finals next week.
