We got conference games in the books in some leagues, we have got rivalries decided by close (and not as close) margins, and we are starting the set top for some classic conference title races in the new-look leagues across west Michigan – Let’s jump in to this week’s 4 downs…
1st Down: (Good Luck) Going For (OK) Gold
Of all of the new-look conferences the new Ok-Gold football division was one before the season started that promised to be among the most competitive and intriguing divisions… Turns out it might be the most competitive in the whole state, and very likely could feature multiple state champions from it’s ranks when it’s all said-and-done.
South Christian, Unity Christian, Zeeland West and FHC all sit at 3-0 headed into conference play – Three of the Four played in at least the state semis last season, South Christian lost the D4 title game, and FHC won it all in D3!
Add in to that mix a reinvigorated Unity Christian team that returned all three RBs in Craig Tibbe’s T offense, and have been dominant, scoring 37+ points in all three of their wins.
You could make a strong case that Zeeland West and South Christian with their impressive early wins (ZW over Muskegon, SC over West Catholic/EGR) may the favorites to win it all in the respective divisions this year, after each came so close last year. Each also have produced some of the best (albeit different styles) QB play in the first third of the season with Carson Vis (SC) averaging over 5 TDs a week and Trey Sloothaak for ZW, when adding his is exploits at safety , may be the most valuable player in the area so far.
Add in the ‘wildcard’ to this battle for gold – the reigning and new-look D3 champs at FHC, the Rangers have many new players and a new coach – but not a new attitude – this looks like a classic FHC team that is going to be firmly in the fight to the last week of the year.
I’m really excited to personally see a couple of games straight from this conference, as the MSR GAME NIGHT crew will be at Zeeland West vs. East this coming Friday and then Zeeland West vs. Unity Christian the week following – It’s going to maybe be the most fun league in Michigan to watch this year.
2nd Down: The Rams ‘Dot the I’ and Prove It
Don’t really need to say a ton here – But Rockford won over rival Grandville in the game of the week in a fashion that I think proved their championship mettle more than their first two wins of the year. The Rams trailed at the half 12-10, with Grandville getting the ball to start the second and all the momentum in the world.
Take out a Grandville fumble, the half-time score easily could have been closer to 20-7 in favor of the ‘Dawgs at the break. But Rockford responded, getting multiple stops while their offense racked up the second half points, putting the Bulldogs away 37-20 in a second half shootout.
I want to focus on one play from the second half though that proved to me more than anything else that this Rockford team is legit as we thought they could be. Rockford had already scored once and gone up 17-12, they then got the ball back in plus field position after Isaac Post nearly brought back a Grandville punt.
The Rams broke away from their typical spread shotgun offense and line up with a couple TEs and FB in the I Formation, they proceeded to run Poot on a power run out of the I and he took it through a big hole to the house. We’ve seen how good this Rockford O Line is all year, sometimes high school football is way easier than coaches try to make it – Rockford lining up and pounding the Rock to score what would be the winning points is something I want to continue to see out of them, and if they do – this could be a team with a real chance to make the trip to Ford Field Thanksgiving weekend.
3rd Down: Forget What I said Last Week About Rebuilds
What great points I made last week about preaching patience with new coaches and EK and Jenison proving in their week two losses that it’s going to take time, even for state title coaches and new look rosters to turn it around.
Then Kentwood went to the Ralph and led Caledonia 34-0 at the half this week.
The Scots were able to nearly rally back in impressive fashion, and prove they still aren’t ready to vacate theirntop as a force in the Red, but the possible new-era powerhouse led by coach Ty Spencer sure made a statement in going on the rod to one of the toughest places to win in West Michigan, jumping out to a big lead and then protecting it against a second half comeback.
If EK’s offense continues to burgeon and play as they did on Friday, look out. EK opens an interesting stretch with a really hungry West Ottawa team this week before back-to-back games with Hudsonville and Grandville, a couple games that could really show us where the Falcons are in year one of the Spencer era.
Regardless, EK looks like a sure-fire playoff team, and depending on their draw and how the new team continues to come together, they could make some real noise. By the way, they play Rockford week 9 too, we’ll see what type of position they can put themselves in for that game.
4th Down: The Legend is Back
I am labelled as a Grandville guy (and inherently anti-Rockford I guess, then) – despite being a Hamilton grad (is that because I’ve covered Grandville with GAME NIGHT since 2017 – I suppose). But, this is a true week that you have to give your props to Rockford, and we’ll continue with another story that I think Rockford fans are happy to see.
How about coach Ralph Munger and the Newaygo Lions? A team that has really struggled in the past several seasons have now matched their win total (3) from last year after a 3-0 start. Year two of the Munger era is certainly proving that maybe the greatest coach in the history of our state has still got it.
Also, I like that Ralph is doing it his way. The Lions are tough, they are pounding the rock out of the flexbone and I think will be a team that will continue to build to hopeully make some conference and playoff noise this year and in future seasons.
The game has changed a ton at the top divisions of high school football. We all understand the pressures, transfer recruiting (public and private schools now), modernization, and control that have been taken out of a coaches hands to be able to mold a program from the ground-up. But, there’s something to be said about smaller divisions and small-town football like at Newaygo that shows that a coach like Ralph absolutely can make a team better from inside their own halls and program quickly.
It’s great to see a throwback coach and throwback team in a lot of ways with their system and style back to winning.
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At the start of the year, I promised myself I wouldn’t become too much of a curmudgeon with this column – But it took until week 3 for me to focus on Rockford running the I form for a play and Ralph Munger back to winning with the flexbone option. So, next week we will decry the air raid (shoutout Holland Christian and their great 3-0 start, though) and discuss why having more than two WRs on the field is an insult the game of football (kidding, kind of).
Another huge week coming up – be sure to keep up with everything, as we’ve got rankings, previews, podcasts, shows and more all leading up to the live games on Friday!
