Photo Credit: Lou Murray
The heart of conference play brought us through Week 5 of the 2024 MHSAA football season. Our team at Michigan Sports Radio covered all of the action, with scores, stats, and full recaps found below:
Belding 58 Fruitport 7
Big Rapids forfeit win over Grant
Bridgman 64 Wyoming Lee 6
Byron Center 48 GR Union 6
Caledonia 42 West Ottawa 27: Caledonia secured their second straight win, taking down the Panthers by 15. The teams were nearly equal in yardage, 366-365 in favor of Caledonia, but the extra West Ottawa turnover, paired with their 1/10 third down conversion rate, proved to be the difference. Brody Betser had a strong night once again, finishing with 14/23 passing for 176 yards and four scores, while adding 94 rushing yards and another touchdown on 13 carries. Lincoln Senti hauled in five passes from Betser, scoring three times and racking up 88 yards. In defeat, Kayden Forbes had 20 carries for 129 yards and two touchdowns.
Central Montcalm 22 Berrien Springs 9
Chippewa Hills 62 White Cloud 24
Concord 32 Morenci 16: The ‘Jackets stung the Bulldogs to capture their third win of 2024, snapping a two-game skid. Gavin Riske was phenomenal, completing 23/34 passes for 221 yards and a touchdown, while adding 81 rushing yards and two scores. Jordan Medellin was Riske’s favorite target, hauling in 13 catches for 153 yards and both passing touchdows.
Eau Claire 14 Muskegon Heights 12: The Beavers were able to escape the Tigers’ grasp, with a successful two-point conversion attempt proving to be the difference. Jovany Raya had 87 rushing yards in addition to that key conversion, while both Eau Claire scores came on passes from Aidyn Dohm to Brady Williams. Carti Vance had 81 rushing yards and two scores in defeat for Muskegon Heights.
Forest Hills Central 34 South Christian 13
Forest Hills Eastern 28 Hamilton 7
Forest Hills Northern 31 Reeths-Puffer 13
Freeland 64 Alma 0: The Falcons dominated Alma, enacting the running clock in the second quarter. Freeland scored 44 points in the first quarter alone. Keenan Cooper posted an Octopus in the first quarter, one of six scoring plays for the victors in the opening twelve minutes. Alma could not get anything going offensively, nor could they stop Freeland in any capacity. Now 5-0, Freeland has outscored their opponents 257-12.
Gobles 38 Northpointe Christian 8
Grand Rapids Catholic Central 35 Ottawa Hills 0: The Cougars blanked the Bengals for their tenth straight win in this long-standing City showdown. Ottawa Hills’ slide continues, with losses in their last 28 games. Dale Gant got things started with an explosive 95-yard punt return touchdown. Jamison Williams hauled in Odin Spencer’s throw to double that lead. Kamall Hillard, Tim Clarey and Cameron Maley rounded out the offensive attack.
Grand Rapids Sacred Heart 44 Calvin Christian 8
Grandville 53 Grand Haven 13: The Grandville Bulldogs cruised past Grand Haven to improve their record to 2-3. In this victory, the Bulldogs ran 38 times for 390 yards. The spearhead of this attack was Jayden “Tank” Terry, who had 14 carries for 221 yards and three scores. In tonight’s win, he secured the school career touchdown record.
Hastings 46 Battle Creek Pennfield 0
Holland 37 Kelloggsville 0: With tonight’s win over the Rockets, the Dutch already have as many wins in each of the past four seasons combined (2-31), and the most wins in any year since 2018.
Holland Christian 21 East Grand Rapids 20: For the first time since 2009, the Maroons improve to 5-0, posting a statement win against East Grand Rapids. Evan Abberger was 17/23 passing for the victors with 137 yards and two scores. Caden VanHuis’ three extra points were crucial in the final tally. In the closing seconds, East Grand Rapids had a field goal attempt to take the lead, but it missed the mark, giving Holland Christian this crucial conference win.
Hopkins 14 Comstock Park 6: The Vikings win their third straight, improving to 4-1 with a league win over Comstock Park. Zac Wierenga and Christian each ran for a Hopkins touchdown to give them a 14-0 first quarter advantage. Comstock Park lost a fumble that Hopkins recovered, but they were unable to extend their lead. Evernando Benitez got the Panthers on the scorebook with his 5-yard touchdown carry. CP would get back down inside the red zone, but were unable to convert the equalizer. The Panthers are 0-5 for the first time since 2018, a season which they finished 1-8.
Hudsonville 35 East Kentwood 6: The Eagles improve to 4-1 with a statement win over the Falcons. After taking down Rockford last week, Hudsonville is now in the driver’s seat in the OK Red title race with a perfect 3-0 mark.
Jenison 15 Rockford 14
Kenowa Hills 34 Battle Creek Harper Creek 30
Lowell 28 Cedar Springs 14: The Red Arrows dealt Cedar Springs their first loss of the season, with scores on both sides of the football. In this win, Lowell rushed for 268 yards, with Logan Dawson pacing the way at 125. Dawson failed to reach the end zone, with three other Red Arrow ball carriers crossing the goal line. Cedar Springs threw the ball an unusually high eight times, with one passing being intercepted for a touchdown.
Ludington 45 Montague 34
Martin 40 Marcellus 24
Mendon 66 Colon 0: The Hornets easily disposed of the Magi in an SCAA-Red clash. The Gorham duo (Owen and Ryder) scored the first five touchdowns, all in the first quarter of play. JT Lux, who caught the final of those five touchdowns, added a rushing score in the second quarter. Zak Iobe also found the end zone on a short plunge, giving Mendon a 52-0 halftime lead. Xavior Zinsmaster added the only touchdowns of the second half, on runs of 31 and 65 yards.
Mona Shores 42 Muskegon 27
North Muskegon 42 Hart 6
Northview 72 Middleville 24: The Wildcats are 5-0 for the first time since 1977 with tonight’s victory over the Trojans.
Oakridge 56 Fremont 6: The Eagles soared past the Packers on Friday night, giving their home fans plenty to cheer about. Oakridge scored the first 56 points in this one, including 28 in the opening quarter, before the Packers got a late score. Oakridge put together a team rushing performance for the ages, racking up 455 yards on the ground in their 43 carries.
Orchard View 32 Muskegon Catholic Central 27: The Cardinals scored the only touchdown in the fourth quarter, and that score was the difference. They rallied from a 20-7 deficit to secure their first win of the year. Brian Convertini accounted for three touchdowns in defeat, rushing for 161 yards on 28 carries, while adding 11 tackles on defense. Timmy Railing also had a strong showing for MCC, finishing with 109 rushing yards and 11 tackles. This loss causes the Crusaders to slide to 1-4 for the first time since 1968, when ironically their lone win in that stretch was Orchard View.
Sparta 17 Allendale 0
St Joseph 46 Stevensville Lakeshore 7
Unity Christian 20 Zeeland West 8
Wayland 21 Spring Lake 14: The Wildcats jumped out to a quick lead in this game, scoring the first fourteen points on touchdown runs by Carson Reurink and Hudson Biondo. Spring Lake used a Reid Grimmer touchdown run to claw back within seven. Before the first half concluded, Reurink and Trent Sikkema connected for a 22-yard touchdown. Spring Lake scored once in the second half but could not overcome the deficit.
West Catholic 35 GR Christia 13
Whitehall 49 Manistee 6: The Vikings cruised past Manistee. Whitehall outgained the Mariners by almost 200 yards, scoring the first 49 points of the night. Camden Thompson finished 7/14 passing for 98 yards and a touchdown toss to Hunter Osborne, while adding 58 rushing yards and two carries that resulted in points.
Zeeland East 60 Wyoming 6: The Chix improve to 3-2 after thrashing the Wolves in an OK Gold matchup. Will Drnek was 10/13 passing for 186 yards and four touchdowns. Eli Walcott added 11 carries for 97 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Coby Moller had 32 receiving yards, a receiving touchdown and a punt return score. The biggest hat tip goes to the Chix’ defense, which held Wyoming to 61 yards of total offense, 40 of which came on their touchdown pass in the late first quarter.
