Photo Credit: Lou Murray
The seventh week of the 2024 MHSAA Football season is upon us. Several big games took place on Friday night, as teams look to make a run for their conference championships. The MSR team has all of the final scores, stats and links to recaps below:
Belding 30 Oakridge 3
Bridgman 54 Muskegon Heights 0: The Bees improve to 4-3 with their first shutout of the 2024 season. Charlie Pagel threw for two scores, while Jonathan Necas added two more touchdowns on the ground. This is now three straight wins for Bridgman after a 3-game losing streak to start September. Muskegon Heights falls to 3-4 in their debut 8-man campaign.
Byron Center 51 Forest Hills Northern 24
Calvin Christian 26 St Charles 22
Cedar Springs 21 Sparta 12: Sparta started this game with a pair of Carter Degraaf field goals, before Cedar Springs rallied back to improve their conference record to 3-1. Kaiden Dreyer was the star for the victors on Friday night, as he rushed for three touchdowns of runs of 1, 4 and 21 yards. With this win paired with a Coopersville loss, Cedar Springs, Coopersville and Lowell all have 1 conference defeat with two weeks to play.
Central Montcalm 54 Lakeview 6
East Grand Rapids 45 Ottawa Hills 0
East Kentwood 42 Grand Haven 7
Elk Rapids 44 Tawas 8
Essexville Garber 21 Alma 7
Fennville 56 Bangor 20
Forest Hills Central 21 Zeeland East 6: The Rangers improve to 5-2 with a league win over the Chix. Nick Williams was 6/13 passing for 152 yards and a touchdown to Ty Ryan. Ryan finished with 107 receiving yards on just three catches. Max Holser added a rushing TD, while Micah Meadow (7 tackles) and Adam Piotrowski (2 interceptions) anchored the defense.
Frankenmuth 48 Bridgeport 6
Frankfort 26 Muskegon Catholic Central 24: The Crusaders slide to 1-5 with another close loss, this time against the Panthers. Frankfort (6-1) escaped this game with a touchdown pass with one minute to go, after MCC had taken the lead at the beginning of the fourth quarter on a Bryan Convertini touchdown run. Convertini had 17 carries for 102 yards and two scores in this defeat, while also completing 8/13 passing for 163 yards and a touchdown, but two costly interceptions.
Freeland 54 Bay City John Glenn 27: The Falcons improve to 7-0 by doubling up the Bobcats. Max Hyne had a huge night, with five total touchdowns, including one on a 32-yard halfback pass to Zander Wheatley. Hyne added rushing scores of 23, 38, 65 and 82 to provide an explosive spark the entire contest, finishing with 233 rushing yards. The TVC-Red is on the line next week, as the undefeated Falcons face the unbeaten Frankenmuth Eagles.
Gobles 20 Martin 14
Godwin Heights 42 Kelloggsville 14
Hamilton 24 Spring Lake 14
Hart 44 Orchard View 14
Holland 48 Comstock Park 22
Holland Christian 43 Middleville 42: The Maroons needed every one of their 43 points to defeat the Trojans in OK Black action. Evan Abberger was solid once again, completing 30/38 passes for 300 yards and four touchdowns, while adding two rushing scores. Simon Grotenhuis (13 catches, 112 yards, 1 TD) and Gabe Konfara (9 catches, 116 yards, 2 TDs) were his top two targets. His second touchdown pass to Konfara came with just six seconds left to play. Abberger would then find Josh Bruxvoort on a two-point try that lifted Holland Christian to victory.
Hopkins 27 Fruitport 12
Jenison 33 Caledonia 20: The Wildcats used a strong ground attack (216 yards) to defeat the Fighting Scots and improve to 3-4. Caledonia, now 4-3, has lost consecutive games for the first time since 2020. Brody Betser was 22/27 passing for 218 yards and three scores, but he did toss a pair of interceptions.
Kalamazoo United 35 South Haven 0
Kenowa Hills 43 Coopersville 41
Kent City 50 White Cloud 6
Lawton 46 Coloma 8
Lowell 49 Allendale 20
Manistee 62 Shelby 14
Mason County Central 50 Hesperia 13
Mendon 62 Battle Creek St Philip 20: The Hornets remain unbeaten with another league victory against the Fighting Tigers. Mendon built a 32-6 cushion after the first quarter that grew to a 56-12 advantage at halftime. Owen Gorham rushed 6 times for 116 yards and three scores, while the Hornets’ defense forced three key turnovers. Next week, Mendon and Climax-Scotts tangle for the outright SCAA Red title.
Mona Shores 48 GR Union 0
Montague 70 Fremont 64: An absolute marathon took place in Montague on Friday night, as the hosts outlasted the Packers behind their most points scored since 2021. There were over 1100 total yards of offense between the teams, with Fremont securing a 486-341 rushing yard advantage in defeat. Karter Frens (246 yards) and Khai Noordyk (172) eclipsed the century mark for Fremont, while Devlin Dean rushed 38 times for 343 yards and five touchdowns for the victors.
Muskegon 47 Reeths-Puffer 7
North Muskegon 40 Ravena 0
Northpointe Christian 56 New Buffalo 30
Northview 12 GR Catholic Central 3
Norway 36 Newberry 30
Reading 53 Maple Valley 26
Reed City 40 Grant 6
Tri-County 34 Chippewa Hills 28
Twin City Sharks 28 Wyoming Lee 14
Unity Christian 50 South Christian 21: The ‘Saders improve to 7-0 for the first time since 2021 with a victory over South Christian. Max VanKoevering had a big night, rushing for three touchdowns, while Isaac Stienstra added 150 yards on the ground and one touchdown. Carson Vis was 20/27 for 212 yards in defeat.
Wayland 48 GR Christian 34: Hudson Biondo had a remarkable night to power the Wildcats to their first victory in six tries against Grand Rapids Christian. Biondo had 26 carries for 268 rushing yards and four touchdowns, spearheading a Wayland ground game that turned 40 carries into 451 yards and three touchdowns. The Wildcats won this game completing just one of three pass attempts for a 10-yard touchdown.
West Catholic 24 Forest Hills Eastern 23
Whitehall 47 Ludington 10: The Vikings defeat the Orioles to claim the outright lead in the WMC Lakes, as both teams entered this matchup with a 4-0 league record. Gavin Craner had a huge night for Whitehall, carrying the football 20 times for 238 yards and four scores. Camden Thompson added 95 rushing yards and three total touchdowns.
Zeeland West 38 Wyoming 7: The Dux cruise to 6-1 overall and 3-1 in OK Green play. Brandon Holman and Jonah Leslie each had two rushing touchdowns, while Keaton Hendricks added another score.